♥ || Twitter || ♥ || Facebook || ♥ || Booklikes ♥ || Instagram || ♥The first rule of the Romance Novel:You don't talk about your potentially ruinous scandal.The second rule of the Romance Novel:You don't talk about your potentially ruinous scandal.Oh, romance novels. You thrive on miscommunication, don't you? Where would you be without it? Plotless...and about 200 pages shorter, methinks.I've been on an HR binge & it's been absolutely glorious. In fact, I think I may have found my niche as a consumer. HR romances!THE MISTAKE is a wallpaper historical that I believe is regency--that woman in the prom dress on the cover doesn't really provide an accurate time stamp. It is about a woman named Julia Forsythe who is a famous courtesan, and her childhood friend Adam Radcliffe, who has been carrying the torch for her for all these years but can't quite come to terms with her new profession.Adam and Julia grew up together. Both were poor, and both were pretty much orphans. Adam's father fucked off, leaving his wife alone to raise a ton of kids & Julia's father was a neglectful and embittered alcoholic who never got over the deaths of his wife and son.In a twist that is Sparksian in its predictable inevitability, the two of them fall in love. But even more Sparksian: they can't be together because of Reasons. Specifically money.And then, later, scandal.Flash forward fifteen years and Julia is now the mistress of a ruthless Marquess who doesn't love her but doesn't want to lose her, either. Unfortunately, she's pregnant and out of options. He forces her into a contract saying that he won't provide for their child unless she is basically his sex slave, so Julia takes a draught that makes her vomit, and the Marquess, thinking her ill, sends her off to the countryside to get better so they can pork to his heart's content knowing she is miserable.And then...Julia finds out that the gardener of this countryside estate is...Adam.SURPRISE! (said no one reading this book)In spite of its predictability, I actually quite enjoyed THE MISTAKE. Julia is a courtesan and has slept with multiple men. She has mixed feelings about this, obviously, and given the context of the times, I get this. She wants to believe herself self-sufficient, but she also has to deal with the snubs of society and the cat-calls and harassment of men who think she's an object.The angst was quite well done, too. Even if it seemed unnecessary, the emotions felt genuine, which gets the author brownie points in my book. One of the problems I have with Julia Quinn, for example, is that her characters have miscommunication issues AND they act in ways seemingly without motive. With THE MISTAKE, I always understood where the characters were coming from.Julia being awesome:"You cannot watch me like I'm the hated whore of Babylon one minute and then become protective of me the next. I am not two different women. I can't be a whore AND an innocent fourteen year old" (74)."It's unfair, isn't it?...If a man said he'd known five lovers, no one would even blink an eye. But even one lover makes a woman a whore" (172).I couldn't quite find myself willing to join Team Adam, though. He was kind of a dick. Very judgmental and slut-shamey and selfish, imho. He obviously thinks he's a Nice Guy but there are tons of women out there who can attest to receiving flash judgments from Nice Guys who were pissed off about their niceness tokens not working in sex vending machines. He couldn't reconcile the vivacious, innocent girl with the jaded whore (33).NO TOKENS FOR YOU, ADAM.3 stars.
This riveting historical romance is the story of Adam and Julia. Friends when they were teenagers growing up in one of the poorer districts of London, the death of Julia's father left her with no one to provide for her future except herself. Though she realizes Adam would support her, the thought of them stuck in an endless cycle of poverty makes her take her future into her own hands, using the one thing she knows she has as a commodity - her beauty. 15 years later she is a well known courtesan, trapped in a loveless relationship with a Marquess who upon finding her pregnant sends her to his country estate. There, she meets Adam again, her would be lover and dear childhood friend who has managed to pull himself out of his own poverty stricken state and become a respected head gardener. Can the friendship they once cherished be reawakened, and if so, will they be able to resist the pull of desire to be with each other?I really enjoyed this story and found myself captivated by the characters and the plot from the very beginning. It's easy to see Adam in the role of hero as a gentle yet strong and determined man, secure in his footing as a well respected gardener. He is financially stable if not wealthy. He takes pride in his work and is confident in his skills. But Julia is another story. A pregnant courtesan makes for the least likely heroine, certainly non-traditional in a regency romance. But Julia is a woman who has done her best to survive the odds and has made something of herself, even if it's not what most women would consider a success. She isn't ashamed of what's she had to do to get where she is, and I liked that about her. While it may not have really been a choice for her to decide to become a courtesan, she still made the best decisions for herself. She chose her men carefully and with forethought to whom would provide best for her. Julia sometimes comes across as cold, but in the context of what she's had to do to survive it isn't that suprising that she is so effective at hiding her true feelings. I really appreciated too that while Adam is not happy with how Julia left him to seek a better life, and while he may not want to think about how she has spent the intervening years, he doesn't denigrate or disparage her character. If anything, he longs to be her protector and her friend again, no matter the cost. He thinks nothing of defending her in public against those who would use her position against her. When the two of them are alone, the memories of their friendship stir the long buried feelings between them, leading to some sexy and tender love scenes. From the beginning of the story, the reader wonders how it can possibly lead to a happy ending with two people of different stations in life, and a woman pregnant by another man. This is what made the story interesting and hard to put down though, as the path to a happy ending takes unexpected twists and turns. Overall, it was a real delight to read a story that contained such unique characters and plot. 5 stars for this unconventional regency romance! Note: a copy of this story was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review.
What do You think about The Mistake (2015)?
I was given a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and a review.Julia Forsythe made a hard life altering decision 15 years ago, After her father sadly passed away and with no one to turn to, she has decided to become a courtesan, she leaves everything including the very life that she knew behind. She had but one regret and that was leaving behind her friendship with Adam Radcliff.Julia is now trapped and pregnant with her latest protector's child. When he finds out that she is pregnant he allows her to spend the coming month at his country estate, she is ecstatic to finally get away. until she gets a huge shock and runs into her old friend Adam who just happens to be the estate's head gardener.Adam is just as shocked and cannot believe that Julia is suddenly back in his life. He never forgot her she was the girl that he fell deeply in love with, but how can he ever compete to win her heart when she has the wealth of her latest and past protectors?Julia wants nothing at all to do with her current protector just for him to provide for their unborn child. Can she do what is truly necessary for their very survival?This book is truly captivating from the beginning to the very end, The plot is so intriguing and the heroine is so different thank any other historical romance that iv ever read.Adam as the hero is just simply perfect he is young gentle and o so strong, he has this determined streak that runs miles. I love how Adam thinks nothing of sticking up for his friends even in public.without giving to much away i no readers will wonder how can they have there happy ending ? just you wait it has some delicious twists and turns that will thrill and shock you.5 Out Of 5 From Cariad Books
—Heidi
Writing reviews of painfully mediocre books is sometimes the hardest. That's what we have here. It's a 2.5 star all day long. I just finished it and I barely remember it. I picked it up because I have a soft spot for unconventional h/h, rare as they are, and here we have a pregnant professional mistress (I am refusing to use the word courtesan) and a gardener. That was about the only unconventional thing about this book. Everything else about it was so depressingly formulaic. The characters didn't catch me. The story was pretty non-existent. The romance was even more so. The writing was somewhat clumsy. I finished it. I was mildly - very mildly - diverted for the time I was reading it, but that's it. And: obligatory sex mention - it wasn't very good, but then with a romance and characters this underdone, that's not particularly surprising.
—Wollstonecrafthomegirl
Happy Release Day!!!While this is the fourth book in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I do appreciate that!This is a quick read, but doesn't lack a beginning, middle or end. Julia is pregnant and is not fond of her protector at all. She realizes his charm at the beginning of their contract was all a facade. She'd walk away, but she has the child to consider. While I didn't understand her choices to begin with, as the author showed us the past, it made sense. There really weren't a lot of choices for women who were left alone during this time frame. Adam was her friend in their young years and his heart was taken by her. He's not happy she left and was shocked when he found her a little later. Later he realizes she left for them. Now that she's back where he can see her, he intends to fight for the right to do so. As head gardener, though, he's not sure he has enough to recommend himself. Personally, I thought Adam was charming! And sweet. And kind. And sexy. Julia thinks so, too.They have to get past her protector first, and I had worries about that.All in all, a nice, enjoyable read. I'll be looking for more from this author.Thank you, Netgalley and Entangled, for the opportunity to read this book.
—Kathie (katmom)
