The Ice Princess by Elizabeth Hoyt

The Ice Princess

#4 in the Princes Trilogy (short story)
Elizabeth Hoyt
Historical Romance

SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN As the madam of Aphrodite's Grotto, the most infamous brothel in London, Coral Smythe knows everything possible about men's needs and desires. Yet she's never experienced the love of a single man-not even that of Captain Isaac Wargate whose hawk-like eyes stare at her with both condemnation...and lust.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF ECSTASY Captain Wargate heartily disapproves of the sensuous madam who always wears a golden mask. She lures his officers from both his ship and their duty. But when Coral herself is offered up as the prize in a game of chance, Wargate impulsively enters...and wins.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF LOVE Now the puritanical navy captain has just seven nights to learn everything he can about the mysterious madam and what she knows of a man's desires. But when Coral is threatened by the new owner of Aphrodite's Grotto, will Wargate take a chance on the woman beneath the mask...and on love?


This was EXACTLY what I needed ~ something swoony enough to appease the romantic in me, and short enough that I could enjoy it all in one seating. I've never read anything by this author before, but Elizabeth Hoyt came highly recommended by a good friend, and needing something to pull me out a reading funk ... this was it. Even though it is a short story, it provided a story that pulled me in straight away. How can you not want to find out about a puritanical naval captain and the madame of the most popular brothel in London? Two opposites brought together because they were meant to be together. It set off all my romance junkie signals, and I LOVED IT.

Coral, through circumstances, first finding herself a whore, then an owner of Aphrodite's Grotto and then an unwilling partner with someone without scruples is drawn to the man who refuses to use the services her employees provide. Issac Wargate, is everything the debaunchers of the brothel are not, and he intrigues her. Through a game of chance where she is offered up as a heady prize, she is stunned to see Isaac enter ... no more surprised than Issac. He only comes to the brothel to ensure his men are kept safe, the idea of being with a whore no where enticing. But all it takes is the tremble of Coral's body, and the look of panic when her body is offered up for a week of sensual pleasure and he acts without thinking to save her. What follows is swoony.

I loved these characters.Two people from different pasts, living different lifestyles and they find love. They had to learn to lower guards long enough to see beyond experience, and take risks in letting their hearts become involved. Issac is like no other man Coral has ever known, and it's a struggle for her because all the tricks of her trade don't work. Isaac sees beyond the status of the whore - strips Coral down and sees her. There's no fooling with him, and I loved how brave Coral was in allowing that. I can't imagine how difficult it was, but I would've expected her to be jaded, but she was still able to maintain some semblance of who she truly was, and hold onto it.

I HEART ISAAC. I don't know if it's because of what I'd been reading earlier, but he reminded me of a historical version of a Dom. He had seven days where he could have wrapped himself up in Coral sexually, slaking his lust before heading back out to sea, but he saw HER. He wanted more, and he was firm in how he got it. He did simple things to help her relax, to see there's more to entertaining a man than sexual acts. He talked with her, wanted her real name, and my FAVORITE scene was when they finally did make love. Coral spent a night showing him what she thought it meant, and he spent the next night showing how he felt it was. I admit, I SWOONED. He was tender, gentle and I fell in love with him.

Don't ever let the size of a book sway you. I'm so glad I purchased this book, even knowing it was a short story, because it was an amazing read. I would've missed out on spending seven nights with two great characters, and finding a new author to love. I'll definitely be buying more of Elizabeth Hoyt's stories. Happy reading!

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