DUKE OF SIN is book ten in Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series. Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery is a devilishly handsome rogue and aristocratic blackmailer. Hugh Fitzroy, the Duke of Kyle -- one of the supporting characters in DUKE OF SIN -- is much more fitting in the role of hero. However unlikely Val is a hero, he is a witty and vastly entertaining master of all he surveys. Housekeeper Bridget Crumb is the perfect foil for Val. Elizabeth Hoyt crafts a hero and heroine very different from each other but they fit surprising well together. As Val's plans and schemes take him into ever darker waters, Bridget is a courageous protector -- for him, as well as protecting others from him.

Right from the start, in DUKE OF SIN, Bridget and Val play an erotically charged game of cat and mouse. Bridget has infiltrated the duke's household to retrieve items Val is using for leverage against good people that Bridget cares about. Although a shark in everyday life, Val is intrigued by Bridget. When Val calls Bridget his "Seraphine" in a throaty whisper, it is difficult for her to not fall under his spell. Despite her level-headed practicality, Bridget is captivated by the luxuriousness and sensuality of Val and his world.

Any time an author creates a bad boy rake hero it's sometimes difficult to maintain the delicate balance between keeping the hero just bad enough to have his appeal without going totally dark, and to show how finding love changes him without destroying the very thing readers loved most about him. Elizabeth Hoyt nails it. The more I know about Val, the more I like him for more than just his golden good looks or witticisms. Elizabeth Hoyt provides the reader with enough glimpses into Val's background to get a better understanding of why he is the way he is. Bridget is no simpering virgin and can go toe-to-toe with Val when he's trying to play the part of intimidating autocrat. The chemistry between Bridget and Val is really convincing and a big part of why I like DUKE OF SIN so much.

DUKE OF SIN is a story about a seriously sexy scoundrel and the woman who mystifies and inflames him. Young Mehmed and the delightfully scrappy Pip make great supporting characters and inject a lighter mood into the story now and then. Hippolyta Royle makes a convincing damsel in distress, and her predicament coupled with Val's somewhat creepy ancestral home and the fiendish Lords of Chaos waiting in the wings all add a wonderfully Gothic touch. I look forward to the next Maiden Lane story by Elizabeth Hoyt.