His Favorite Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren

Best of the series and still with some flaws. What I liked about this one is that there were no villains waiting to pounce or any mysteries to unveil but just a straight up love story of a Duke that is too stupid to love but not too stupid to realize when groveling in needed!! LOL!

The story starts by introducing us to the heroine which comes from a very unlikely background. Gabriella is the illegitimate daughter of Rafe Pendragon's half brother Burton St. George, Viscount Middleton who was the villain in Rafe and Julianna's story. She has sneaked into Rafe's townhouse in order to kill him for the 'murder' of her father but threatens Tony instead.

Tony disarms her, steals a passionate kiss and proceeds to tell her that Middleton was a vile and dangerous man. Rafe shows up and after confirming Tony's tale offers to shelter Gabriella and make her part of his family. She refuses and flees, but after talking with a close friend seeks to reaquaint herself with Rafe and Julianna.

Now Anthony Black has decided to never marry and is content in leaving his title to his cousin but his attraction to Gabriella might put a hitch to his bachelor days. He realizes that there is a very strong attraction to Gabby and tries to put as much distance as he can between himself and Rafe's niece but time after time he finds himself sharing passionate kisses with her, or if not, standing up with her so society will not snub her due to her illegitimate status. It is on one of these occasions where they are separated from their party on an outing that they are discovered alone and Tony finds himself in a position where he must marry if he is to salvage Gabriella's reputation.

Here comes the mid-story 'event'. This series all have been following a formula where there is a period of time where the couple gets to know each other and then we move into the part where the 'big misunderstanding' takes place. After Tony and Gabriella wed, they are living blissfully until Gabby overhears a remark Tony makes to Ethan. She is all upset and when they go back to London, drops Tony as a hot potato. Well, Tony is not letting that happen and convinces her to allow him to partake of her favors so she can provide him with an heir. This is the second part of the story where Tony discovers he loves his wife and has to make amends.

I love the desperation that is portrayed by Tony when he discovers his feelings and Gabriella just doesn't believe him. I think the story itself was a bit out there since the period was not one of acceptance in society of bastard children. This story line was extending it a bit but in general I found this one the best of the three book of the series.

Grade: B

The Accidental Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren

Hmm... This one was difficult. Not so much that it was difficult to get through, although the first half was a bit on the boring side, but it was a book that by the time you finished you were unsure on your feelings toward it.

Ethan Andarton, the Marquis of Vessey has a brief encounter with a young woman that is disguised as a boy on his way back to London. The encounter sticks with him for weeks until he sees his mystery woman again at a ball.

Lily Bainbridge faked her own death to avoid an arranged marriage that would profit no one except her evil stepfather. Her encounter with Ethan leaves her shaking but she is a sensible girl and soon forces herself to forget the passionate embrace and caresses Ethan gave her in his carriage. She moves into society as a widow, after claiming an inheritance left to her by her grandfather (I didn't get how she didn't claim it before and how easily it was given to her with out any proof of her marriage).

During Ethan's pursuit of Lily the book just dragged on FOREVER!!! He woos her by showing her how to drive a curricle. He would take her driving every day over the course of a few weeks. When Lily finally gives into Ethan and becomes his mistress things start moving along. I loved that they fell into a sort of domesticity that was comfortable. I could see how they fell in love over time, it was not all about the passion they shared. At the same time I just could not see how it was acceptable for Lily to take on an affair so openly and not suffer ruination, even as a widow.

Anyway, there was a misunderstanding at the end that separates our lovers for about a week, villains show up at her door, Vessey saves the day and all live happily ever after.

A bit too neat for me.

Grade: C-

My Fair Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren

The first in Warren's new series about three friends that find love with the women that have become their mistresses.

Lady Julianna Hawethorne is a widow that was forced to marry young to secure her family's financial future and now finds herself trying to save her family once again. Her younger brother has fallen with a bad crowd and has gambled their fortune away.

Rafe Pendragon holds her family's future in his hands since it's to the financier that her brother owes his debt. Julianna approaches Rafe to extend them more time to pay back the loan but he is man of business and is unmovable.

Rafe offers her a bargain he really never thought she would accept, be his mistress for 6 mo to cover the debt owed. But Julianna is no stranger to sacrifice for family and with a young sister at home about to debut in society, she agrees. What she didn't expect was that she would find that being Rafe Pendragon's mistress would be no sacrifice at all!

I found that this story was a bit similar to the previous story I had read The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. Pendragon has earned his riches over the years but he had to fall to the bottom of the barrel before he could pull himself out. The illegitimate son of a Viscount, he knew he was loved but lived ostracized by society. When his father died, his half brother Burton St. George, Viscount Middleton, threw his mother out on the streets causing her death. That was not all he did, though... when St. George and his cronies beat and raped his betrothed they painted a bulls eye on their back and Rafe is determined to see each of them fall, paying for pushing his young love to suicide.

When Rafe finds himself falling in love with Julianna he fears that St. George will find out and harm her, so he pushes her away. This is were the second part of the book picks up, the more annoying part. Although the premise of the story is similar to Hoyt's Serpent Prince, that book became dark and torturous in the second half while this one was just full of lies, that turned into misunderstandings, which in turn lead to frustration for us.

After Rafe breaks things off, Julianna finds herself with child when previously thought barren and when Rafe finds out he takes her as wife but never tells Julianna why he had pushed her away, or that he cares for her or that he has an enemy, he just bulldozes her to do his bidding and expects her to do as he says. I realize this book suffered a lot due to the comparison with Hoyt's book so I needed to step back and look at it differently. I enjoyed the book and the storytelling had enough twists and turns to keep me interested until I turned the last page.

Grade: B-