While Hoyt does a fairly good job of filling that in for one villain, another’s actions are never fully explained, and I believe that could be because that character is being reserved for use in another book (again, more on that later). If your book hinges on the actions of a villain, then the motivation of the villain should be clear.

The villain(s) are one of Thief of Shadows’ biggest problems.

It’s a fine line, to write a romance that relies on child characters as heavily as Thief of Shadows does, without resorting to plot moppetry, and while Hoyt pulls it off most of the time, there are instances when the children are nothing more than plot devices. the children only exist to further plot along, and add nothing whatever to the rest of the story.

Romances with children often fall prey to plot moppet syndrome - i.e.Giles, as hiding seems out of character for him. A much better book would have had Winter openly owning the exploits of the Ghost of St. Brave, yet surprisingly innocent, tough yet tender, Winter Makepeace is what makes this book work, and it gives nothing about the plot away to say that it’s almost gilding the lily to force the character of the Ghost of St.

Winter Makepeace is as delectable a romance hero as I have ever read.Why? I have a theory, but first, here’s what I can say about the book without giving salient parts of the plot away: In the case of Thief of Shadows, I know exactly what’s missing: a satisfying ending. Sometimes I can’t even identify what’s missing, and it nags me for days after I’ve finished the book (or, more often, declined to finish the book). Thief of Shadows is the type of book that frustrates me to no end: beautiful prose, an engaging storyline, likeable, believable characters, and yet… something is missing. For that he might have to sacrifice everything-the Home, Isabel. But when little girls start disappearing from St. Yet when she’s asked to tutor the Home’s dour manager in the ways of society-flirtation, double-entendres, and scandalous liaisons-Isabel can’t help wondering why his eyes seem so familiar-and his lips so tempting.ĭuring the day Isabel and Winter engage in a battle of wills. Lady Isabel Beckinhall enjoys nothing more than a challenge. When the Ghost, beaten and wounded, is rescued by a beautiful aristocrat, Winter has no idea that his two worlds are about to collide. As the moon rises, so does the Ghost of St. But the night brings out a darker side of Winter. By day he’s the stoic headmaster of a home for foundling children. Cover blurb (warning: according to Hoyt’s website, this could contain spoilers for the other books in the series):

Thief of shadows by elizabeth hoyt