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3 stars, would have been 3.5 if the ending wasn’t so abrupt. I want an epilogue!
This story was about Iphiginia (worst heroine name ever) and Marcus (an Earl & the hero). The heroine pretends to be the mistress of the hero in order to gain entry into society and figure out who has been blackmailing her aunt. Marcus finds out someone is posing as his lover and comes back to town to confront the heroine. He is immediately enamored by the heroine and decides that he wants to make her his mistress in truth. They then work together to figure out who the blackmailer is. At the end, they are together, but the ending didn’t feel satisfactory.
Here are my thoughts... while the writing is really good, the plot requires a reader to suspend their disbelief greatly. First, why does posing as someone’s mistress gain them access to society? She appears out of nowhere, uses her real name with a Mrs. and no one is the wiser? The whole premise seems rather far fetched. Second, the heroine falls in love with the hero based on research she’s done on him? Without ever having met him! Third, all the walking into danger that everyone does. The heroine goes by herself to several places without taking any precautions. Finally, where are the authorities? People are dying and yet, no police. ðŸ¤"ðŸ¤"ðŸ¤"
This book was just ok, imo. I would have enjoyed it if the ending was better. Instead, I’m left feeling unfulfilled.
Safe. Amanda Quick I must say Mistress is the first historical romance novel i have ever read by Amanda Quick (aka Jayne ann Krentz) who is one of my top favourite authors.She knows great deal about this genre and knows what readers crave in a romance book.I loved the mystery,intrigue,the witty dialuges and the main-characters lived up my day with their entertaining and funny love-story.I laughed,swooned and shed a few happy tears by the end.Romance always does that to me when executed well!
Iphiginia Bright was a bright heroine indeed!I have no idea how she got the balls to make herself turn into a worldly mistress of one of the most powerful men in England,Earl of Masters and fake it through until the gossips catched up to him.She had thought him dead and had planned to find the person who blackmailed her aunt by coming closer to the people Masters surrounded himself with.Unfortunately Earl of Masters comes back to England to find out what the hell is going on.That`s where the romance starts,and i loved it.Iphiginia is a exuberant,independent and intellectual woman,and to Marcus Valerius Cloud,Earl of Masters,she was like a shooting star who lit up the dark sky in his world.Both were stubborn and together they made me enjoy much witty arguments and electric chemistry that burned off-page.I also loved how Marcus lived by strict rules that he breaks for the sake of his love for Iphiginia and was interested in astronomy and steam engines.A bit of a nerd of our times,but had this dark edge of being a alpha-hero.Loved Iphiginia and Marcus together,they made hell of a power couple and even captured the culprit together.They will have a great marriage of HEA and lots of babies together for sure and i am so happy for them! English This was only my third book by Amanda Quick, but I knew what to expect from her: a funny and charming story with a bright but quirky heroine who defies society's conventions, a brooding hero who's in need of an emotional makeover and a somewhat convoluted mystery to be solved while the H/h fall in love with each other. Mistress had all that, but it was by no means predictable. In fact, the mystery plot had some very unexpected twists, and I'm still a little dizzy.
Iphiginia (ugh, what a name!) Bright is a 27-year-old financially independent country spinster who's just returned to England after a year touring the ruins of Italy, when she learns that her dear aunt Zoe is being blackmailed. Determined to find out who the blackmailer is so she can put a stop to his/her unsavory threats, Iphiginia decides to pose as the unsuspecting Earl of Masters's latest mistress in order to gain access to his inner circle of acquaintances/friends. See, she's sure she'll find the blackmailer among them and she believes Masters is dead, so her plan is quite brilliant, isn't it? Unfortunately (for her), her alleged lover is very much alive and more than curious to meet his newest mistress...
Marcus Valerius Cloud, Earl of Masters, is a bit suspicious of Iphiginia's charade and doesn't buy her explanation, especially after he finds out that one of his friends is being blackmailed. But even though he thinks that Iphiginia is the blackmailer, he doesn't put a stop on her charade and plays along with her, decided to see how far she'll go. The fact that he's more than enchanted by her and wouldn't mind making her his newest mistress for real isn't relevant, because he lives his life by a set of simple and straightforward rules he formulated several years ago and never deviates from them:
#1 - Never remarry.
#2 - Never discuss the past.
#3 - Never explain his actions to others.
#4 - Never retreat from an objective or alter a decision.
#5 - Never get involved with virgins or other men's wives.
Little does Marcus know, but Iphiginia is going to make him break all his rules one by one in a short time. And he won't regret it. ;)
This was another great book by Ms. Quick, and I really liked Marcus, Iphigina and the whole cast of secondary characters. Marcus's sarcastic comments and Iphiginia's smart replies were so funny to read, I couldn't get enough of their witty banter. There were some serious moments between them too, especially when he finally broke Rule #2, but the lighter scenes were the ones that sparkled.
Marcus was a bit inconsistent at first: he was known to gather all facts before reaching a conclusion and making a decision - remember Rule #4, which made him a very judicious man - but he quickly assumed that Iphiginia was the blackmailer without any evidence to support that. Granted, he didn't stick to that misconception too long and he learned to trust her beyond doubt, but his initial behavior was frustrating. Overall, he was a well-drawn hero and it was very nice to see him breaking all his rules and becoming a better person in the end.
Based on the premise, I thought I would have a problem with Iphiginia because, let's face it, her plan to unmask the blackmailer was just crazy. As I read the book, it started to make sense - I mean, the ton didn't know her and she could retire quietly after the charade was over, with no damage to her or anyone's reputation - so I was happy to go along with it. Plus, Iphiginia was a blast of fun and I can forgive a lot of nonsense when I connect with the characters in a book. That said, I wasn't fully happy with the way things ended for her...
As for the mystery part of this book, it was okay but some of the blackmailer's actions didn't make sense to me. At one point, I was so confused that I had to pause and wonder what the heck was going on. I got an explanation for that in the end, but it only made me think that the blackmailer wasn't the brightest person in the world. All in all, that wasn't a big deal because the main focus of this book was always Marcus and Iphiginia's relationship, and that was nicely written.
Final verdict: not my favorite book by Ms. Quick, but a very good read anyway.
Mass Market Paperback In the Beginning, there was Jane Austen, and She wrote the Word, and the Word was Good. And She did Create the Regency Novel in all its Glory.
Then there was Georgette Heyer, blessed be Her name, who did taketh up the torch, and ran with it.
But Lo! There were then imitators, and they were many, and Their name was Legion, and they did taketh the Chaste Kiss that endeth the Regency Novel, and turn it into page after page of instructional descriptions on how to make the Beast with Two Backs.
Here endth the lesson.
Mass Market Paperback Oh! Iphiginia! Your phiginia is so hot and tight! says Marcus, Earl of Whatever, tallest and richest and most desired of the whoevers.
A *unique* (cough) romance hero who has dallied enough for experience (but not TOO much, and not with anyone important, and not too recently), who lives in a self-imposed prison of a loveless life, waiting for a salvic female to unlock his heart through the healing balm of graphic sex.
One of the pointless, self-imposed rules Marcus lives by is that he never dithers with virgins. But, dread! Iphiginia is a phirginia!
I sincerely hope an editor tried to talk the author out of Iphiginia as a name. It would be dreadful if that sailed by without comment, or, worse, that an awful editor decided to change the name TO Iphiginia.
Ah, me.
When I was a wee chit of a girl, and I thumbed through this book at the grocery store register-- how I WANTED it. It had sex in it, and a beautiful gilt carriage on the cover, who could possibly want anything else? But my mom wouldn't let me get it. And my dad scolded me because we were not the kind of people who read those kinds of books.
Now I've read it anyway, so ha.
But alas, with the passing of the decades, I am no longer entranced by fashion porn, and romance characters strike me as distractingly stupid. They can do it; it's their god given right. But who really wants to watch imbiciles doink?
I was in the mood for some pretty, brainless lurff, and this book had it all-- in a rather larger dose than I could swallow. Pretty dresses. Alleged 'intelligence' that drew the couple together. Plot holes you could drive a Conestoga wagon through. Absurd people drawing out pointless angst. I started flagging about a third of the way through, but at the end I read really fast and this seemed to help.
It gets an extra star for having the decency not to take itself too seriously. For being boldly, fiercely, determinedly bad. Proud as a Franklin fart.
Odds of staying together if they were real people, and not romance novel characters: 2/10
Iphiginia is intractable and glories in getting her way-- even insisting that the wedding night be spent proving her (stupid) theory right. When Marcus is done being led around by the dick, he may remember that he is a person who might like to have his wishes respected, who once had a complete life without her, and who may notice the contempt they both feel for each other beneath the lust. English
When her Aunt falls victim to a blackmailer, Iphiginia Bright comes up with a plan. She comes to London posing as the mistress of the Earl of Masters who is out of town and rumored to be dead. She believes that the blackmailer knew both her aunt and the Earl. When the Earl, Marcus Cloud, hears about a mistress he has never met, he travels to London to check her out. Marcus finds Iphiginia beautiful and intriguing; but doesn't believe her wild story. But when a good friend of his is also being blackmailed by the same person, Marcus decides to help Iphiginia catch the culprit.
This older Amanda Quick title hasn't lost any of its charm. It has well developed characters with fun dialogue. The only drawback is the blackmailer is rather easy to pick out. Still I enjoyed this historical romance. My rating: 4.5 Stars.
9780553588651 This is my second book by Amanda Quick and it appears I enjoyed the other book (Dangerous) as well although I can't recall anything from it. Darn.
The narrator really kept me interested in the book. I think I may have a new narrator to add to my top narrators list. :) She kind of sounds like the narrator at the beginning of Disney's Cinderella (not the live-action remake) and I believe that helped draw me in.
Based on some of the blurbs of her books, Amanda Quick tends to insert mysteries into her HRs, which is why I haven't read more books written by her. Not surprisingly, this book had a mystery (who is the blackmailer?), but thanks to the narrator and the likable characters (main and secondary), I ended up enjoying this book more than I anticipated.
I liked the main couple. They're both intelligent and logical. The hero has scientific endeavors and rules of his own that he never breaks probably because of his past (first marriage). The heroine falls in love pretty early. It was refreshing to see that she wanted his kisses. Their first time together ended quite hilariously. The story did kind of dragged a little after this scene, when the heroine refused to marry the hero because he's not in love with her. Same-old, same-old. English My guilty pleasures include regency romances. I love to cuddle up on the couch and indulge in them on stormy days. I even expect a bit of cheese to be involved but this one for some reason was just a little too much on the cheese and crackers side of romance for my taste.
Iphiginia, try to say that three times fast, Bright is an educated woman who doesn’t want to live by the rules. To catch a blackmailer she pretends to be the mistress of Marcus the Earl of Masters a notorious man who has a list of rules a mile wide and whom she believes to be dead. It is Surprising when he shows up unexpectedly to meet the infamous lady parading around town as his mistress.
Iphiginia is a puzzle to him and while he might not believe her tail about a blackmail scheme, he does find her interesting and agrees to continue on with the ruse, in hopes that it won’t be a ruse for much longer because ♫♪♫ I just met you. And you might be crazy. But here’s my number, be my mistress baby ♪♫♪ or something like that.
I should have liked this. I liked the woman that Iphiginia is, like an 18th century Nancy Drew, but I just found myself rolling my eyes every time an intimate moment arrived. Although the way she consoled him after he accidentally took her virginity was sorta hilarious. That was maybe the best/most awkward moment in the book.
I’ve read a few other books by Amanda quick and I really like her quirky intelligent heroines normally so I’m not exactly sure where everything went asunder here. But the Oh Marcus, ooh Iphiginia might have had something to do with it.
Not my cup of tea but it still had a couple funny scenes. Mistress I decided to dig deep from my want to read again shelf and came up with this gem. It's been 9 years since I last read it and I loved it just as much as the first time.
Both H/h were great, smart, funny, and perfect for each other. Amanda Quick writes great HR.
Safety: safe for me English Mistress is the story of Iphiginia and Marcus.
What a wonderful book with so much to love.
Our heroine is Iphiginia Bright, a strong independent intellect who has traveled the world, owns her own academy and business, and is fiercely protective of her loved ones. When her beloved aunt starts getting blackmailed with a dark secret, she takes up a new role..as the pretend mistress of Earl of Masters whom she presumes has been murdered. Making a splash in the society with her beauty and wit, she begins thoroughly investigating the suspects..until the real Earl of Masters, Marcus Valerius Cloud shows up!
Marcus Cloud is shocked when he is informed of his ethereal mistress who is enchanting the society..until he realizes he does not have one currently. Travelling to London to debunk her lies, he soon finds himself awestruck by her beauty..but more by her sharp wit, valor and supposed honesty and earnestness. Initially suspecting her of making up the whole charade, he finally believes her when a close friend falls prey to blackmail too, and he is forced to work with her to unmask the blackmailer.
Honestly, this was a thoroughly engaging read. The heroine was so strong, determined and smart, she should be a paragon for all the HQN sissies. She was honest, did not run away from her feelings and made the hero listen to her, instead of giving in to his or society's dictates. She was also free thinking, and so confident about her intellectual abilities. I absolutely loved and adored her- and how she ONLY gave in to him when a promise of love was returned. The hero was a sexy and scholarly alpha, but he stood no chance when it came to the heroine who had him enraptured from the very beginning. Hot lovemaking, good amount of angst, interesting secondary characters with a few love stories thrown in there too- all concluding in a heartwarming ending.
Why not 5 stars? Because I deserved an epilogue and 100% wanted more.
Safe
4.5/5 Mass Market Paperback
After a year of grand adventures touring the classical ruins of Italy and Greece, Iphiginia Bright returned to England to discover that the real excitement was at home. It seems that her Aunt Zoe has fallen victim to a sinister blackmailer and only Iphiginia can hope to stop the culprit before he can do more harm.
Her plan is inspired: Imitating history's most legendary beauties--Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Aphrodite--the former schoolmistress will remake herself, and descend upon London Society as the dazzling mistress of Marcus Valerius Cloud, the infamous Earl of Masters. Rumors hint that the Earl has disappeared at the blackmailer's hands, and by posing as his unknown mistress, Iphiginia is convinced she can ferret out the villain.
Overnight, Iphiginia is transformed into a vision with a host of eager admirers, including one she does not expect -- the Earl of Masters himself, who strides into a shimmering ballroom one evening to cooly reclaim his mistress. He is everything they say he is... arrogant, attractive, devastatingly seductive, and Iphiginia can't help but be enthralled.
But when Marcus agrees to play along with her charade, she doesn't know that the determined earl has plans of his own: to tease and tempt her, until the beautiful deceiver becomes more than his mistress in name only. Mistress
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