England – 1760

It’s not often that a viscount visits the sleepy little village of Maiden Hill, let alone one who has been beaten, stripped naked, and left for dead in a ditch by the side of the road. Yet that is exactly how Miss Lucy Craddock-Hayes comes upon Viscount Simon Iddesleigh. Fortunately, she is able to get him home and begin nursing him back to health. But as Simon recovers, Lucy is aware she is becoming hopelessly infatuated with him. His sophisticated charm and handsome looks are captivating, but she can also sense a depth of pain that he keeps well hidden, which also intrigues her. When the time comes for Simon to leave for London, she realizes she cannot go back to her simple existence before he came. But then he unexpectedly returns for her, and Lucy is elated until she discovers that there is something more important than Lucy in his life, something that is destroying him.

Simon is quite certain of the reason he was abducted from outside his London home and almost killed. His enemies want him dead before he can kill them first. They’re frightened because he has already managed to thin their ranks by two, and he will never stop until he has killed every man who had a hand in murdering his older brother Ethan. As soon as he gets his strength back, he will begin the hunt again. But in the meantime, Miss Lucy Craddock-Hayes is a delightful distraction. If he was a better man, he would leave her alone. But Ethan was noble and honorable, Simon is not. He cannot resist flirting with Lucy or stealing kisses. It’s not until a brush with his enemies where Lucy is nearly killed that Simon decides he must go. However, Simon soon finds he cannot stay away, and he has decided that he will find a way to have Lucy as well as his vengeance.

Elizabeth Hoyt’s nuanced depiction of a charismatic, yet deeply flawed hero, and his struggle with personal demons make THE SERPENT PRINCE a compelling read. Simon is immensely likable as a charming dandy in his red-heeled shoes. He’s full of sly wit and has a way with words, but it’s his darker moments when he is justifying his actions in killing his brother’s murderers that give him depth. In these moments, readers see the very human emotional turmoil he is going through. Lucy’s role in the story is rather predictable. She’s good and moral, a light to Simon’s darkness. She’s a lifeline for a drowning man, Simon’s redeemer. However, Ms. Hoyt adds enough twists and shades of gray in Simon’s situation so that Lucy becomes conflicted, too. She’s torn by her love for Simon and her morals, and as the story progresses, her character undergoes changes that save her from being self-righteous and make her more interesting.

With an engrossing plotline centered on revenge and a highly passionate romance between Simon and Lucy, THE SERPENT PRINCE delivers a steamy tale that packs a lot of emotional punch. The three-dimensional characters, high drama, and sensuous love story, make it a page-turner. The attention to detail when describing the time period and the traditions of the day, such as dueling, add to the overall satisfaction. I highly recommend THE SERPENT PRINCE, the third in Ms. Hoyt’s Prince Trilogy.

Sandra Brill