More Than A Mistress/No Man's Mistress (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
Boy, I love a good Balogh, going all the way back to Secret Pearl, ground-breaking and completely believable. More than a Mistress reminds me of that glorious story, but like a shadow reminds one of that which casts it. The heroine escaping to London believing she has committed murder is an unfortunate premise because it is unbelievable in a Regency setting. Clever duel scene followed by clever mistaken identity scene rescues the beginning somewhat. With a good dose of Balogh-building sensuality, the mistress-master relationship developing to true love rises to three stars. It's not Balogh's best work, because it will forever be overshadowed by some of the best Regency ever written--by this author.No Man's Mistress is a great title and hints at great conflict. Ironically, conflict was not this book's strong point. A courtesan would never be accepted by the ton and the brother who first appeared in the first book simply could not be virgin. Balogh is such a clever author--I was hoping for things to be more difficult for these two star-crossed lovers but she ushers them past roadblocks that would have stopped real historical characters until they achieve a forgettable happy-ever-after.
In MTAM, plain Jane interrupts a duel, resulting in the Duke of Tresham getting shot in the leg. He hires her to be his nurse.An arrogant, intensely private man, Jane is the only person who stands up to him and needles him.Soon she finds herself falling in love — he does have a few redeeming qualities, such as a sense of honor.When her stint as nurse is over, and Jane has no where to go the duke offers her choice: to be his mistress or to pursue a singing career.She decides to become his mistress, and practical Jane is soon appealing to the duke on more than a physical level.But there is shocking revelation, and duke feels betrayed after showing Jane his private self, something she didn't reciprocate.But the duke can't give up his newfound self, and goes after Jane.These two are complex and definitely strike sparks off one another.In NNM, the duke younger brother wins a country estate that already has a resident. The young lady refuses to leave, and the two make a wager. If she can seduce him, he leaves; if he doesn't succumb, he leaves. But somewhere along the way the two fall in love.The ending was hard to believe, but, hey, it's a romance.
What do You think about More Than A Mistress/No Man's Mistress (2005)?
Jocelyn (Tresham) and Jane's story really affected me and it is one of my favourite MB books. Jane's story, is somewhat similar to an earlier book I had read, though, with the heroine being accused of murder and is running away. Luckily, I had read More than a Mistress first and I really enjoyed the relationship between Jane and Jocelyn (Tresh). No Man's Mistress wasn't as riveting as More than a Mistress but I did appreciate the fact that the hero was NOT a rake and was, in fact, rather chaste,
—Da Kamel
