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.
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