I have been looking forward to this book for four years which is how long it’s been since her last one came out. I was not disappointed! This is the third in the Greycourt series and I enjoyed being back in Hoyt’s world! I will say that, when I began reading, I had to work to keep track of all the characters and their families, but once I got everyone straight, I was caught up in the story and didn’t want to put the book down.

Elspeth first meets Julian when he finds her in his uncle’s library. His uncle is the Duke of Windemere and she is at the Duke’s home for a tea with his duchess. She has snuck into the library in search of a special book she believes his family has (but she doesn’t tell Julian this). Julian takes her aback. He’s gorgeous, with black hair tied in a long braid and a pearl earring dangles from his ear that matched his grey eyes. She is immediately attracted to him. For his part, he thinks she’s curvy and very pretty but far too innocent for him. Plus, she’s in danger–Julian’s uncle is a dangerous man. Julian tries to warn her away from his evil uncle’s home but she doesn’t take his warnings seriously. They part, still thinking about each other.

Julian has his hands full. Their uncle, as head of the family, is planning to marry his sister, Lucretia, to a despicable, cruel man. Julian and his brother, Quintus, are trying to find a way to expose their uncle’s sins without destroying their sisters. Meanwhile, Elspeth is sneaking around London trying to find a special book/diary. When she was six, her parents died and she and one of her sisters were sent to live with an aunt who lived with a group of women who called themselves the Wise Women. Even though Elspeth’s father was a duke, her upbringing with her aunt was unconventional and as a result she is more self-sufficient than the average English miss (which Julian appreciates). After some of the Wise Women’s elders passed away, there was a division in their group and Elspeth believed if she could bring them the diary, originally written by their founders, (and thought to be in one of the Windemere’s libraries) it would heal their rift and bring them peace. They were so extreme they even sent an assassin after Elspeth and I didn’t enjoy the whole Wise Women plot.

Julian and Elspeth’s families have a tragic past connection. Fifteen years earlier, it is believed that Elspeth’s brother, Ranulf, murdered Julian’s sister, Aurelia, who were teens in love. Julian’s father had just died and his mother died soon after Aurelia, leaving his nasty uncle in control. Julian believes that his uncle was involved in Aurelia’s death. There is a mystery about what really happened and while we find out more in this story, there is also a hint that there will be more to come in a future book.

As Julian and Elspeth each continue on their pursuits around London, they run into each other and begin to learn some of each other’s secrets. They begin to work together which leads to some very spicy times.

The first of these happens when Julian goes back to Adders Hall, a hunting lodge his mother left him, looking for evidence to help him and runs into Elspeth there, who is still looking for the diary. The weather turns bad and they end up alone. He thinks she is ‘the sun in the sky, shining more brightly than anything else on earth’. They find warmth and comfort together. One of the unusual things in their spicy scenes is that he needs Elspeth to command him and take control, something she is very eager to do.

The story started out as a B grade for me when I was trying to keep track of all of the characters and get through the part about the Wise Women, but as it went on, both the mystery and romance took off and raised the grade to a B+. I could see how Julian, who came off cold as ice, was starved for love and Elspeth (along with her dog, Plum) had plenty of love for him. They were a perfect fit for each other.

I think Hoyt fans will be thrilled to see she has a new book out and will scoop this up. I enjoyed the twists to the mysteries and the steamy romance and look forward to the next book in the series.