MISTRESS BY MISTAKE by Maggie Robinson

PUBLISHER: Brava, May 2010
SETTING: England, 1820
SERIES: Courtesan Court, #1
VIRGIN HEROINE? Yes
HEROINE: Charlotte Fallon, 30
HERO: Michael 'Bay' Bayard, 33
PURCHASE: link
GRADE: C

FROM PUBLISHER: Charlotte Fallon let her guarded virtue fall once -- and she's paid dearly for it ever since. She swore she'd never succumb to men's desires again. But even a village spinster's life miles from temptation can't save her from a sister with no shame whatsoever. Or a heart that longs for more, whatever the cost...

Sir Michael Bayard found more than he expected in his bed when he finally joined his new mistress. He'd fantasized about her dewy skin and luscious curves, assured her understanding that what passed between them was mere dalliance. But he didn't expect the innocence and heat of her response in his arms. Nor her surprisingly sharp tongue once she was out of them...

A few days of abandon cannot undo the hard-learned lessons of a lifetime. Nor can an honest passion burn away the restraints of society's judgments. Unless, of course, one believes in nonsense like true love...

MY THOUGHTS: I didn't care for this story. Too much humor ran throughout it. The lead characters never seemed to act serious. There was no depth to the story or characters. I found the beginning part of the plot a bit unbelievable. Charlotte wasn't responsible for the item her sister stole so Bay blackmailing her into staying and taking her sister Deborah's place was just crazy...and she had to have known it. She didn't come across as stupid so I don't know why she allowed herself to be blackmailed. I can only assume she wanted to take Deborah's place...and I can't say I blame her!

I really liked the female villain and thought her part could have been more eventful and should have lasted longer. The sex scenes seemed rushed and weren't graphic enough for me. I was expecting more in that category. Overall, I found the story and characters bland.

Maggie also writes under the name Margaret Rowe. You can visit her site here.

MISTRESS OF MY FATE by Hallie Rubenhold

PUBLISHER: Grand Central Publishing, 1/2013
ORIGINAL PUB: 2011 in the UK
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SETTING: England, late 1700s
AUTHOR SITE: Link
MY GRADE: A-

SYNOPSIS: Set during a period of revolution and turmoil, Mistress of My Fate is the first book in a trilogy about Henrietta Lightfoot, a young woman who was abandoned as a baby and raised alongside her cousins, noble children of a lord and lady. At just sixteen years old, circumstance and a passionate love affair tear Henrietta (Hetty) away from everything she knows, leading to a new life fending for herself on the streets of 18th century London as a courtesan, gambler, and spirited intellect of the city.

MY THOUGHTS:

Henrietta/Hetty: A lonely, naive teenager with only her cousin for a friend. She found herself in dire straits a few times and made some adult decisions because she felt she had no choice. She did the best she could.

Lady Catherine: Hetty's spoiled cousin. Not the nicest person to Hetty. I enjoy secondary characters like her a whole lot. I wish her character and her maids had been around longer. I just know she had some evil up her sleeve.

John St. John: Her mother's ex-lover. He's forty-four and she becomes his mistress at seventeen. I like him at first but he becomes so jealous that I start to get tired of him.

George Allenham: Hetty's love interest. I liked him at the beginning but as the story when on and he wasn't in it too much I began to dislike his character. I never understood why Hetty was so obsessed with being with him. I didn't think he was worth her time.

Philip Quindell: Hetty's 'protector'. He's about twenty-four, lovestruck/boderline obsessive and immature. I found him to be a bit annoying.

This was an enjoyable read told in first person narration. It spans about three years. Most of the story takes place in England and the last part, France.

My favorite part is when Hetty becomes St. John's mistress and devises a great plan to escape. I can't tell you anymore about it! My least favorite part is the last sixty-five pages or so. The story went in a different direction that I was expecting and it was a real letdown. I wish the last part could be rewritten, especially the ending.

This is one of just a few books that I've read lately that I really liked. I like historical fiction where the heroine is down on her luck or facing bad circumstances. There was something lacking in this. It needed more twists and turns, needed to be darker. It was a bit too mild. Accoring to the author's website, the next in the series, The French Lession, is to be darker. Yay!

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.