Series: Maiden Lane, #3
Traits & Tropes: forced proximity; widow; antihero; illegitimate hero; slow burn
Publication Date: 10.18.11
Genre/Setting: Historical; Georgian; London, England April, 1738
Heat Level: 5
Rating: 5 stars
Narration Rating: 5/5
Silence Hollingbrook is a widow of reduced means, but she’s unfailingly kind. She must be in an attempt to make amends for the mistake she made nine months ago in going to a river pirate for assistance to save her husband from prison, a bargain which ruined her marriage anyway. Now, since her husband’s death, she has hidden herself away helping her brother run his orphanage. Only now, her peace is about to be shattered once again when the same pirate returns to ask for something more from her.
Charming Mickey O’Connor is well known as London’s most ruthless river pirate. With a beautiful face and a fearsome intellect, he ruthlessly made his way to the top of the hierarchy within London’s seedy streets. He has no heart left with which to feel any sort of tender emotions and sees people in terms of what they may be able to do for him, and yet, he’s never been able to forget the naïve little widow who once came to him for help.
Antiheroes can be a bit hit or miss for me; it’s very hard to have them hit the right note between intimidating menace and redeemable qualities visible beneath a craggy exterior. Hoyt nailed it here. Charming Mickey O’Connor is one of the best villains I’ve read, full of undeniable ruthlessness and with a firm grip on the London underworld, and yet, he was so clearly a product of the circumstances he’d been forced into. As the layers of his character began to unravel on the page he became this multifaceted person who perhaps wanted to be respectable but was afraid to leave behind the power that came with his position as the most notorious river pirate in London. That fear of being without ever again was palpable and poignant, humanizing Mickey and making him a character I wanted to root for. I loved how gone he was for Silence, how she challenged him and made him wonder if and how he could be different. Silence was rather prim and proper herself, but I loved that Mickey challenged her just as much as she did him. He brought out raw emotions that she’d never allowed herself to feel and made her reevaluate much of what she’d assumed to be true in her life. There was so much working against these two that it seemed impossible they could ever have a true future together, but of course it’s a romance so they got their HEA in the end. It was hard won and nail-biting, but oh so satisfying for me. I think this may be my favorite Maiden Lane book thus far and I’m looking forward to continuing my series catch up.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1635324268
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2679221064
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