The Serpent Prince

The Serpent Prince By Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher’s Description:

When the devil meets an angel…

Country bred Lucy Craddock-Hayes is content with her quiet life.  Until the day she trips over an unconscious man – a naked, unconscious man – and loses her innocence forever.

he can take her to heaven…

Viscount Simon Iddesleigh was nearly beaten to death by his enemies.  Now he’s hell-bent on vengeance.  But as Lucy nurses him back to health, her honesty startles his jaded sensibilities – even as it ignites a desire that threatens to consume them both.

or to hell.

Charmed by Simon’s sly wit, urbane manners, and even his red-heeled shoes, Lucy falls hard and fast for him.  Yet as his honor keeps him from ravishing her, his revenge sends his attackers to her door.  As Simon wages war on his foes, Lucy wages her own war for his soul using the only weapon she has – her love.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 5

Wow.  This story flowed so well, I was amazed at its seamless quality.  Not for one minute was I bored by a particular passage, nor was I ever tempted to speed-read, skim, or even skip a passage.  The multiple points of view all worked together to tell the story breathlessly without leaving the reader wondering why the author chose that moment to jump to another point of view. 

Sex – 4

The plot relies more on sensuality rather than sex.  There are the requisite scenes, which are well placed and tastefully written, that continue the story on its necessary path.

Language – 3

While the hero of this story tends toward the vulgar in much of his lifestyle, he does not resort to needless vulgarity in his language.  A few characters, including the heroine’s father, do utter curse words here and there, but the scenes do not remain impressed on the reader’s mind.

Storyline – 5

This must have been a very difficult storyline to tackle.  There are so many tough issues intertwined in this story and, I have to say, Ms. Hoyt nailed it!  Revenge has always been a popular subject is Romance, but very few authors will venture to ask the tough question “How does this revenge affect the person carrying it out?”, much less answer it.

Historical Accuracy – 4

The duels fought in this book, as well as The Raven Prince, were fought with swords.  However, the popularity of pistol duels had outmoded fencing duels some twenty years prior to the setting of this book.  As the challenged parties, Simon’s opponents would have been the ones to choose the weapons.  Under no normal circumstances would any of his opponents have chosen to fence him knowing his status as a master.

Overall – 5

I loved this book.  From beginning to end this book held my interest.  The characters were funny and smart, and Ms. Hoyt even managed to create an empathetic antagonist.    

Rant:

I was sad that the destruction of Simon’s green house was not further discussed.  It would have made a perfect epilogue, the reconstruction of the green house to represent the reconstruction of his life.  I was also sad that Christian and Simon’s relationship turned out the way it did.  It was inevitable, but sad all the same.

Rave:

The two scenes in which Lucy enters the green house were beautifully written.  I wanted to cry during both because before the first scene you forgot that Simon was a horticulturist, and because you just knew what the loss of the green house meant to Simon.