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The Blakehurst-Braybrook Series #1
His Lady Mistress
DOWNTRODDEN SERVANT OR GRACIOUS LADY?
When Max, Earl Blakehurst, meets Verity he sees a downtrodden servant. He doesn't recognize her as the daughter of a colonel under whom he used to serve, the girl he'd once helped years before. The life Verity's now living is untenable. So he proposes a shocking solution--he will set her up as his mistress.
It's only once that Verity's finally agreed, once Max is beginning to lose his heart to her, that he discovers her true identity. Max is taken aback; he would never have suggested this lady become his mistress. Now, to avoid scandal, they'll have to marry!
When Max, Earl Blakehurst, meets Verity he sees a downtrodden servant. He doesn't recognize her as the daughter of a colonel under whom he used to serve, the girl he'd once helped years before. The life Verity's now living is untenable. So he proposes a shocking solution--he will set her up as his mistress.
It's only once that Verity's finally agreed, once Max is beginning to lose his heart to her, that he discovers her true identity. Max is taken aback; he would never have suggested this lady become his mistress. Now, to avoid scandal, they'll have to marry!
299 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
282 people are currently reading
1859 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Rolls
100 books123 followersWe live in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, in a beautiful lush valley full of apple, pear and cherry orchards. We moved here a couple of years back, escaping from the city and it’s just gorgeous. The property is small, only five acres, but we have room for two small noisy boys, three dogs, two cats and several woolly things masquerading a environmentally friendly lawnmowers. Before that we lived in Melbourne, which was fun, but we always wanted to live in the country and now we do.
I’ve been married to an ex-nuclear physicist – don’t ask! for the last 17 years and we have two rowdy little boys, commonly described as “feral”. Most of our friends think we have far too many animals, and everyone knows we have far too many books.I grew up moving around a fair bit. Dad was in the army and every few years we had to up sticks and move on. I was born in England, expelled from kindergarten in Melbourne, started school in Papua New Guinea and finished school in Melbourne. After taking a degree in Music Education I taught music for several years while my husband finished his Ph.D.
How I started writing
I had the writing bug from a very early age. From the time I could read I loved writing stories. Throughout my school days I was nearly always writing something very quietly, and there were several teachers who encouraged me. One student teacher, whose name I have totally forgotten, when I was in sixth grade, as well as a couple of high school English teachers, Mrs Redman and Mrs Mackay.
I started writing my first book after I finished my Masters degree. For one thing I really, really missed my thesis. I’d enjoyed researching it, and I loved writing it. So it seems inevitable now that when I was looking for something to do in the evenings to unwind after work, I started writing again.
I’d been staying with an old school friend. Meg is a fellow Georgette Heyer fan, and she had a very large collection of Regencies on her bookshelves. Well, that was an eye-opener. I’d had no idea anyone else apart from Heyer had actually written them. By the time I went home I had an idea floating around in my brain and I sat down and roughed out some sort of chapter plan. Then I started typing. Six months later I had a story with a beginning a middle and an end which I sent to Meg. After a great deal of talking, she persuaded me to send it off to Harlequin Mills & Boon. After doing the rounds of all three editorial offices and undergoing a major rewrite and extension while I was about seven months pregnant with the second small noisy boy, it was accepted for publication and published as The Unexpected Bride.
Most of my writing friends have threatened to lynch me over that story at one time or another. Personally I envy them for having learnt an enormous amount about writing and the industry before acquiring an editor who understandably expects you to know what you are doing.
I’ve been married to an ex-nuclear physicist – don’t ask! for the last 17 years and we have two rowdy little boys, commonly described as “feral”. Most of our friends think we have far too many animals, and everyone knows we have far too many books.I grew up moving around a fair bit. Dad was in the army and every few years we had to up sticks and move on. I was born in England, expelled from kindergarten in Melbourne, started school in Papua New Guinea and finished school in Melbourne. After taking a degree in Music Education I taught music for several years while my husband finished his Ph.D.
How I started writing
I had the writing bug from a very early age. From the time I could read I loved writing stories. Throughout my school days I was nearly always writing something very quietly, and there were several teachers who encouraged me. One student teacher, whose name I have totally forgotten, when I was in sixth grade, as well as a couple of high school English teachers, Mrs Redman and Mrs Mackay.
I started writing my first book after I finished my Masters degree. For one thing I really, really missed my thesis. I’d enjoyed researching it, and I loved writing it. So it seems inevitable now that when I was looking for something to do in the evenings to unwind after work, I started writing again.
I’d been staying with an old school friend. Meg is a fellow Georgette Heyer fan, and she had a very large collection of Regencies on her bookshelves. Well, that was an eye-opener. I’d had no idea anyone else apart from Heyer had actually written them. By the time I went home I had an idea floating around in my brain and I sat down and roughed out some sort of chapter plan. Then I started typing. Six months later I had a story with a beginning a middle and an end which I sent to Meg. After a great deal of talking, she persuaded me to send it off to Harlequin Mills & Boon. After doing the rounds of all three editorial offices and undergoing a major rewrite and extension while I was about seven months pregnant with the second small noisy boy, it was accepted for publication and published as The Unexpected Bride.
Most of my writing friends have threatened to lynch me over that story at one time or another. Personally I envy them for having learnt an enormous amount about writing and the industry before acquiring an editor who understandably expects you to know what you are doing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 305 reviews
April 3, 2009
Contrived. Purple. Ridiculous. Not worth the time.
"I think I'll write a...." *chucks dart at Romance Genre Dartboard* "...Regency! Good, Regency. Now let's think." *spins Cliche Wheel several times* "...Must mention Almack's. The word 'wanton' must appear at least several times. Bodices, check. Breeches, check. The hero needs a title - let's make him an earl. With a twin brother! Younger twin, obviously. With a limp. The heroine should be a servant! Wait, no... disguised as a servant! Oooh, good, okay. Why is she disguised as a servant? Um..." *chucks dart at Situation Dartboard* "...because her parents are dead and the family that takes her in exploits her because they're mean. Right, that'll do. And I'll throw them into bed together, and have them fall in love, but neither one will say it, and neither one will believe it of the other, and then he has to marry her because he discovers that she is the..." *chucks dart at Character Dartboard* "...daughter of his former commanding officer. Good. [Note to self: look up stuff on whatever war it was. Pick a battle, inflict an injury.] Throw in some angst, some sex, and a gossipy..." *chucks dart* "...dowager aunt, and I'm golden! Whee!"
Bah. Sorry, I thought it was rubbish. The only improvement over Georgette Heyer's worst efforts was the utter lack of the alleged Regency slang that I find so irritating.
This is one of the free ebooks I got from Harlequin.com. Worth every penny I paid, too.
"I think I'll write a...." *chucks dart at Romance Genre Dartboard* "...Regency! Good, Regency. Now let's think." *spins Cliche Wheel several times* "...Must mention Almack's. The word 'wanton' must appear at least several times. Bodices, check. Breeches, check. The hero needs a title - let's make him an earl. With a twin brother! Younger twin, obviously. With a limp. The heroine should be a servant! Wait, no... disguised as a servant! Oooh, good, okay. Why is she disguised as a servant? Um..." *chucks dart at Situation Dartboard* "...because her parents are dead and the family that takes her in exploits her because they're mean. Right, that'll do. And I'll throw them into bed together, and have them fall in love, but neither one will say it, and neither one will believe it of the other, and then he has to marry her because he discovers that she is the..." *chucks dart at Character Dartboard* "...daughter of his former commanding officer. Good. [Note to self: look up stuff on whatever war it was. Pick a battle, inflict an injury.] Throw in some angst, some sex, and a gossipy..." *chucks dart* "...dowager aunt, and I'm golden! Whee!"
Bah. Sorry, I thought it was rubbish. The only improvement over Georgette Heyer's worst efforts was the utter lack of the alleged Regency slang that I find so irritating.
This is one of the free ebooks I got from Harlequin.com. Worth every penny I paid, too.
June 1, 2022
His future, his life, encapsulated in the woman in his arms and the tiny life blossoming within her. He had it all now. Everything he’d never known he wanted. He didn’t know the words to express what he felt. They probably didn’t exist.
When Verity Scott lost everything five years ago, there had been Max who helped her during one of the darkest nights of her life. She never thought that she would see him again and yet he had come to her uncle's ancestral hall as a guest! The moment Verity saw Max, she instantly recognized him as the kind stranger who aided her years ago. However, It seems as though Max doesn’t recognize her. But how could he when Verity is now a girl named "Selina" and is basically an unpaid servant to her supposed guardians? Without knowing that Selina and Verity are the same person, Max offered a shocking proposition to Selina asking her to be his mistress. It is only when he has taken her innocence that Max became aware of the truth regarding Selina's identity. Seeing as Verity is the daughter of his late commanding officer who he respected, he is compelled to do the honorable thing and make her his wife instead of his mistress. What follows is a series of unfortunate misunderstandings and never-ending pain.
His Lady Mistress is the first book from Elizabeth Rolls’ historical romance series, The Blakehurst-Baybrook. This tells the story of Verity Scott, a daughter of a Colonel and Max, Earl Blakehurst. I haven’t read anything from the author so this is my first experience with her. I have seen a friend’s review regarding the book and I was intrigued which is why I decided to read it as well. I do not regret the fact that I've read this book, however, I don’t see myself re-reading it.
The heroine, Verity Scott, is probably one of the most wounded / tortured heroines I’ve read about. The relationship that she had with her late father during his final years wasn't good. The guardians who were supposed to look after her treated her worse and basically made her work as an unpaid servant. Her cousin was also constantly harassing her. In short, she had a very unfortunate life. I do feel sorry for her. This girl wasn’t given a break until the end! I was stressed throughout the book. Her experiences contribute to her actions and why she does what she does so I feel like I can’t be too irritated with her. I did not love this heroine but neither did I hate her. There were just some things she does (though I know the reason) that were honestly just so frustrating. I felt so sorry for her while reading and I liked her strength and how she decided to try to make her marriage work. However, she has the tendency to assume the worst and misunderstand everything the hero does which becomes quite annoying especially because it happened all the time. While I do admire how she tried her best to deal with her situation, I can’t help but be frustrated with her at times.
The hero wasn’t much better. I mean, he wasn’t bad but he wasn’t that good either. He was honorable at least but he’s very hurtful even when the heroine already explained her side of the story. It would’ve been okay had he not known it but he just went on and on being the absolute worst which is why I didn’t like him any better. I do like and can forgive mean heroes but there was just something about Max that I didn’t like but I can’t quite put my finger on it. The heroine’s flaws were always misunderstanding the hero but I can’t really say it’s fully the heroine’s fault. I think the hero also could’ve worded the things he said better so that she might understand him clearly but no, throughout the book he was just saying all the wrong things without even bothering to clear things up. I think the reason why he didn’t want an heir was somehow uniquely weird and weak. I do love his relationship with his twin brother Richard and I definitely liked Richard better. When I like other male characters more than the hero himself, then I guess it is safe to say that I wasn’t really smitten with the hero at all.
I usually give books 3 stars when they bore me or stress me out rather than make me feel glad that I am reading. It is ironic, really. I read this book because I’ve been so stressed and wanted to escape from reality and yet the book I was reading made me feel even more drained than I originally was. I guess we can say that it wasn’t the book’s fault. Perhaps it has something to do with my mood. I just didn’t enjoy reading this book at all. It makes sense that I did not enjoy this though because there weren't any moments that made me feel giddy. From the beginning until the very last chapter, it was just emotionally taxing. I wasn’t expecting a light hearted book because based from many reviews it was angsty…but it wasn’t the angst I was looking for which might be the reason why I wasn’t very into it.
These characters needed to communicate with each other. They needed to sit down and talk and say what they’re thinking each time they argue. The heroine misinterprets the hero and never talks to him before making a further move. While the hero realizes his mistake, he doesn’t make any effort to be close with Verity either because he wanted to give her space. Being respectful of her personal space is a good thing but how would they ever work out their differences if they never talked and they would just continue to guard their heart and build walls between the two of them? It was so frustrating. This book just further confirmed that I really don’t like misunderstandings at all. I can’t stand it especially when there isn't a good reason not to talk. The longer this whole charade of them being guarded went, the more I was annoyed with the book and the characters themselves. I also did not like the fact that the villain re-appeared in the literal last chapter. It felt very rushed. I disliked it because from the beginning the book was stressful and until the very last chapter the heroine just had to come face to face with the villain again? No thanks. I expect the last chapter to be the fluffy ones when I read a book so the ending was just meh for me.
I also realized that I prefer angst stemmed from external factors that are reasonable enough to keep the main couple apart until the end, in short a solid reason for why they can't be together. It makes me feel more because there is a valid reason why they can’t be together other than just being stubborn and constantly misinterpreting each other. I love books that make me feel emotions but this one just didn’t do it for me. It made me feel one thing though: stressed and frustrated but I think those are synonymous so that still counts as one.
This book wasn’t badly written, but I guess I just had high expectations and that never really works well for me because I always end up rather disappointed when I expect too much. Still, this wasn’t a bad book and I think it would be well received by other readers who like this type of angsty story, however, that reader isn’t me. I don’t have any regrets that I read this book but it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. It won’t be likely for me to re-read which is why I’m only giving this book 3 stars. I will still recommend it for people that are looking for a high angst book with HEA.
Some Quotes:
She had one friend. Even if she never saw him again, somewhere in the world was Max. Someone she could love.
‘No matter who you are, no matter who your father was. I love you and you’re mine. Always. In every way there is.’
If Verity needed to cry, this time she was not going to do it silently, without anyone to hold her and comfort her.
‘Why are you here?’ ‘For you.’
How the devil had the chit managed to weave herself into the fabric of his life so effortlessly, until he couldn’t imagine life without her?
When Verity Scott lost everything five years ago, there had been Max who helped her during one of the darkest nights of her life. She never thought that she would see him again and yet he had come to her uncle's ancestral hall as a guest! The moment Verity saw Max, she instantly recognized him as the kind stranger who aided her years ago. However, It seems as though Max doesn’t recognize her. But how could he when Verity is now a girl named "Selina" and is basically an unpaid servant to her supposed guardians? Without knowing that Selina and Verity are the same person, Max offered a shocking proposition to Selina asking her to be his mistress. It is only when he has taken her innocence that Max became aware of the truth regarding Selina's identity. Seeing as Verity is the daughter of his late commanding officer who he respected, he is compelled to do the honorable thing and make her his wife instead of his mistress. What follows is a series of unfortunate misunderstandings and never-ending pain.
His Lady Mistress is the first book from Elizabeth Rolls’ historical romance series, The Blakehurst-Baybrook. This tells the story of Verity Scott, a daughter of a Colonel and Max, Earl Blakehurst. I haven’t read anything from the author so this is my first experience with her. I have seen a friend’s review regarding the book and I was intrigued which is why I decided to read it as well. I do not regret the fact that I've read this book, however, I don’t see myself re-reading it.
The heroine, Verity Scott, is probably one of the most wounded / tortured heroines I’ve read about. The relationship that she had with her late father during his final years wasn't good. The guardians who were supposed to look after her treated her worse and basically made her work as an unpaid servant. Her cousin was also constantly harassing her. In short, she had a very unfortunate life. I do feel sorry for her. This girl wasn’t given a break until the end! I was stressed throughout the book. Her experiences contribute to her actions and why she does what she does so I feel like I can’t be too irritated with her. I did not love this heroine but neither did I hate her. There were just some things she does (though I know the reason) that were honestly just so frustrating. I felt so sorry for her while reading and I liked her strength and how she decided to try to make her marriage work. However, she has the tendency to assume the worst and misunderstand everything the hero does which becomes quite annoying especially because it happened all the time. While I do admire how she tried her best to deal with her situation, I can’t help but be frustrated with her at times.
The hero wasn’t much better. I mean, he wasn’t bad but he wasn’t that good either. He was honorable at least but he’s very hurtful even when the heroine already explained her side of the story. It would’ve been okay had he not known it but he just went on and on being the absolute worst which is why I didn’t like him any better. I do like and can forgive mean heroes but there was just something about Max that I didn’t like but I can’t quite put my finger on it. The heroine’s flaws were always misunderstanding the hero but I can’t really say it’s fully the heroine’s fault. I think the hero also could’ve worded the things he said better so that she might understand him clearly but no, throughout the book he was just saying all the wrong things without even bothering to clear things up. I think the reason why he didn’t want an heir was somehow uniquely weird and weak. I do love his relationship with his twin brother Richard and I definitely liked Richard better. When I like other male characters more than the hero himself, then I guess it is safe to say that I wasn’t really smitten with the hero at all.
I usually give books 3 stars when they bore me or stress me out rather than make me feel glad that I am reading. It is ironic, really. I read this book because I’ve been so stressed and wanted to escape from reality and yet the book I was reading made me feel even more drained than I originally was. I guess we can say that it wasn’t the book’s fault. Perhaps it has something to do with my mood. I just didn’t enjoy reading this book at all. It makes sense that I did not enjoy this though because there weren't any moments that made me feel giddy. From the beginning until the very last chapter, it was just emotionally taxing. I wasn’t expecting a light hearted book because based from many reviews it was angsty…but it wasn’t the angst I was looking for which might be the reason why I wasn’t very into it.
These characters needed to communicate with each other. They needed to sit down and talk and say what they’re thinking each time they argue. The heroine misinterprets the hero and never talks to him before making a further move. While the hero realizes his mistake, he doesn’t make any effort to be close with Verity either because he wanted to give her space. Being respectful of her personal space is a good thing but how would they ever work out their differences if they never talked and they would just continue to guard their heart and build walls between the two of them? It was so frustrating. This book just further confirmed that I really don’t like misunderstandings at all. I can’t stand it especially when there isn't a good reason not to talk. The longer this whole charade of them being guarded went, the more I was annoyed with the book and the characters themselves. I also did not like the fact that the villain re-appeared in the literal last chapter. It felt very rushed. I disliked it because from the beginning the book was stressful and until the very last chapter the heroine just had to come face to face with the villain again? No thanks. I expect the last chapter to be the fluffy ones when I read a book so the ending was just meh for me.
I also realized that I prefer angst stemmed from external factors that are reasonable enough to keep the main couple apart until the end, in short a solid reason for why they can't be together. It makes me feel more because there is a valid reason why they can’t be together other than just being stubborn and constantly misinterpreting each other. I love books that make me feel emotions but this one just didn’t do it for me. It made me feel one thing though: stressed and frustrated but I think those are synonymous so that still counts as one.
This book wasn’t badly written, but I guess I just had high expectations and that never really works well for me because I always end up rather disappointed when I expect too much. Still, this wasn’t a bad book and I think it would be well received by other readers who like this type of angsty story, however, that reader isn’t me. I don’t have any regrets that I read this book but it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. It won’t be likely for me to re-read which is why I’m only giving this book 3 stars. I will still recommend it for people that are looking for a high angst book with HEA.
Some Quotes:
She had one friend. Even if she never saw him again, somewhere in the world was Max. Someone she could love.
‘No matter who you are, no matter who your father was. I love you and you’re mine. Always. In every way there is.’
If Verity needed to cry, this time she was not going to do it silently, without anyone to hold her and comfort her.
‘Why are you here?’ ‘For you.’
How the devil had the chit managed to weave herself into the fabric of his life so effortlessly, until he couldn’t imagine life without her?
April 25, 2019
Oh, this one has angst. Only it’s cheesy, overdone and contrived!
Then put that on a convoluted never-ending loop and you get this book.
The plot and premise are touching enough but then lets-drag-this-out-to-the-max happens.
And this author wrote my very favorite - His Convenient Marchioness . Only similarity to that one is that this book too has spaniels.
Then put that on a convoluted never-ending loop and you get this book.
The plot and premise are touching enough but then lets-drag-this-out-to-the-max happens.
And this author wrote my very favorite - His Convenient Marchioness . Only similarity to that one is that this book too has spaniels.
May 20, 2022
I would have given it five stars solely based on making an emotional wreck out of me. However, some parts didn't sit well with me, so I had to reduce the rating to 4 stars.
One of the best parts of the book is the heroine, Verity. I know that some people would say that she's a doormat, and she is but I get why she behaved in such a manner. I don't condone it, but I get it. The author has laid it down so that her response is somehow acceptable to me. She is the epitome of the wounded and tortured heroine. She has been deprived of affection since her father's suicide (she was only 15) and she was treated horribly by her relatives (they even forced her to change her name). Her father's suicide played a significant role in her actions. She felt so guilty about it, and unfortunately, there was no one around to tell her otherwise (this would be explained later in the story) So, the hero, Max, came along and offered her hope and tenderness. She would have soaked up the attention like a dying plant soaking up the sunshine and water. There were flashes of spirit, but she learned earlier to repress her emotions. She just felt so alone and worthless. The fact that she kept going back to Max even after Max kept hurting her emotionally, some people would say that this is a form of abuse. I'd beg to differ. I believe they're just two people who don't really know each other.
Max wasn't exactly being deliberately cruel. He was just oblivious and self-centred. The biggest problem with them is that they don't communicate. One of the best things I learned from books with misunderstanding as the central trope is the art of communication, especially with your loved ones. It's so dangerous to draw out your conclusion. If only they speak out about what's really in their minds and hearts, a hell of heartache can be avoided.
I thought that Max's backstory was a bit weak. .
I didn't quite like the emergence of the book's villain right at the end. I thought the whole thing was pointless. I felt it was contrived, and it was just there to ramp up the angst factor.
The writing's lovely, and the pacing was good. This book kept me crying almost throughout the book (I'm an emotional reader and a crybaby, so there).
Despite the quibbles, I would highly recommend this book. I think you would like or dislike this book based on your experience and history. I personally feel connected to Verity, and her story touched my heart (I, too, grew up with a mentally ill parent, so her story struck chords with me).
I am definitely interested in Max's twin brother, Richard's story. I believe he has his own book. This is only my second book from Ms Rolls, and I think she's a fantastic author. Her other works are definitely worth looking into.
One of the best parts of the book is the heroine, Verity. I know that some people would say that she's a doormat, and she is but I get why she behaved in such a manner. I don't condone it, but I get it. The author has laid it down so that her response is somehow acceptable to me. She is the epitome of the wounded and tortured heroine. She has been deprived of affection since her father's suicide (she was only 15) and she was treated horribly by her relatives (they even forced her to change her name). Her father's suicide played a significant role in her actions. She felt so guilty about it, and unfortunately, there was no one around to tell her otherwise (this would be explained later in the story) So, the hero, Max, came along and offered her hope and tenderness. She would have soaked up the attention like a dying plant soaking up the sunshine and water. There were flashes of spirit, but she learned earlier to repress her emotions. She just felt so alone and worthless. The fact that she kept going back to Max even after Max kept hurting her emotionally, some people would say that this is a form of abuse. I'd beg to differ. I believe they're just two people who don't really know each other.
Max wasn't exactly being deliberately cruel. He was just oblivious and self-centred. The biggest problem with them is that they don't communicate. One of the best things I learned from books with misunderstanding as the central trope is the art of communication, especially with your loved ones. It's so dangerous to draw out your conclusion. If only they speak out about what's really in their minds and hearts, a hell of heartache can be avoided.
I thought that Max's backstory was a bit weak. .
I didn't quite like the emergence of the book's villain right at the end. I thought the whole thing was pointless. I felt it was contrived, and it was just there to ramp up the angst factor.
The writing's lovely, and the pacing was good. This book kept me crying almost throughout the book (I'm an emotional reader and a crybaby, so there).
Despite the quibbles, I would highly recommend this book. I think you would like or dislike this book based on your experience and history. I personally feel connected to Verity, and her story touched my heart (I, too, grew up with a mentally ill parent, so her story struck chords with me).
I am definitely interested in Max's twin brother, Richard's story. I believe he has his own book. This is only my second book from Ms Rolls, and I think she's a fantastic author. Her other works are definitely worth looking into.
June 27, 2018
I'll start saying this one was free with some others at harlequin's web. I read the other books first so I was expecting this one to be as awful as the others. Now, you'll also have to be in the mood to suffer with Verity and put up with Max's mercurial ways.
Max is all tortured, honorable, mean, responsible and many more contradictions while Verity is all martyr and sweetness.
You'll have to forgive me because this one was my first historical (and I don't know much about the old continent's history) so if it had lots of clichés, bad use of slang or incongruence with the times, places, clothing or some other thing I definitely wouldn't notice.
I loved the way Verity kept her sweetness even after all the things that happened to her. And Max, well how can you not fall in love with your hero?
Max is all tortured, honorable, mean, responsible and many more contradictions while Verity is all martyr and sweetness.
You'll have to forgive me because this one was my first historical (and I don't know much about the old continent's history) so if it had lots of clichés, bad use of slang or incongruence with the times, places, clothing or some other thing I definitely wouldn't notice.
I loved the way Verity kept her sweetness even after all the things that happened to her. And Max, well how can you not fall in love with your hero?
July 9, 2023
The blurb sets this up… Max met a young Verity (16-ish) when he served under her father who he promised to look after should something happen to him. Years after the dad’s death he decides to follow up on that promise and meets a familiar maid named Selina… and is told that Verity is dead.
Verity is in a terrible/Cinderella situation with her evil family including a pervy cousin and agrees (posing as Selina) to be his mistress. After a test drive, Max is smitten until he learns her true identity… then he’s PISSED because he assumes it was all a setup to force him into marriage.
The book had two major issues (for me)
⭕ Miscommunication- The entire plot conflict rest on assumptions/misconstrued bits that could’ve been sorted out with ONE conversation. Like a ten-minute convo would’ve fixed everything, and it goes on for the majority of the book. Then it was just one miscommunication after another, both making assumptions, but no one speaking up. It was completely frustrating and felt lazy rather than developing other devices.
⭕ The writing style was fluffy/exaggerated prose-y and exacerbated my unhappiness making everything worse. I was already frustrated shouting at my kindle for them to just use their freaking words then add in…
Dreams deceived, phantoms of hope that shimmered into nothing. Leaving only an aching heart with too many bitter secrets entombed. Better to be like the falcon. Alone. Dependent on nothing but the air beneath her wings. At least for the falcon, the air had more substance than her foolish dreams of love.
…and I was mentally checked out.
Bottom Line- The ingredients were there, but the execution was lacking. I would’ve DNF’ed had I not paid for it.
Verity is in a terrible/Cinderella situation with her evil family including a pervy cousin and agrees (posing as Selina) to be his mistress. After a test drive, Max is smitten until he learns her true identity… then he’s PISSED because he assumes it was all a setup to force him into marriage.
The book had two major issues (for me)
⭕ Miscommunication- The entire plot conflict rest on assumptions/misconstrued bits that could’ve been sorted out with ONE conversation. Like a ten-minute convo would’ve fixed everything, and it goes on for the majority of the book. Then it was just one miscommunication after another, both making assumptions, but no one speaking up. It was completely frustrating and felt lazy rather than developing other devices.
⭕ The writing style was fluffy/exaggerated prose-y and exacerbated my unhappiness making everything worse. I was already frustrated shouting at my kindle for them to just use their freaking words then add in…
Dreams deceived, phantoms of hope that shimmered into nothing. Leaving only an aching heart with too many bitter secrets entombed. Better to be like the falcon. Alone. Dependent on nothing but the air beneath her wings. At least for the falcon, the air had more substance than her foolish dreams of love.
…and I was mentally checked out.
Bottom Line- The ingredients were there, but the execution was lacking. I would’ve DNF’ed had I not paid for it.
March 20, 2012
Misunderstanding after misunderstanding after misunderstanding.
Perhaps the greatest gift we are in possession of as homo sapiens is that of language. This is why I find it so very frustrating to see it squandered on two supposedly intelligent heroes, who surely have facilities enough to use it. Non? Perhaps that's asking too much.
This is what PISSES ME OFF about novels (and I swear romances are most often the guilty parties here), where the bulk of the tension is drawn from, and the plot driven by, the simple fact that our 'heroes' are toobrain-dead stubborn to understand that everyone’s lives would be rendered a great deal happier by the simple act of engaging in a rational conversation, without flying into fits of histrionics. I mean, they're from Regency England, no? These people like words! And talking! I've read Jane Austen, it must be true!
His Lady Mistress (The name! The name! I thought romances were only named this when people were making fun of romances!) is not terrible. It's a bit stressful to read, and I truly can't abide the situation as described above, but not unenjoyable.
Also, it uses lots of big words, which I liked. It makes me feel intellectual.
While I found it started (on a dark and stormy night, no less) a bit slowly, once Verity reached adulthood, I was hooked, and unable to put the damnable thing down. It's just that, when compared to Julia Quinn's delicious The Viscount Who Loved Me and An Offer From A Gentleman (truly, combine the two, and you very nearly have the plot for HLM [reluctant marriage + poor maid, who is actually a lady in disguise, asked to become rakish gentleman's mistress. Oh my!), it's not half as good (perhaps I shouldn't be comparing, but just try and stop me!).
His Lady Mistress is not awful. It's just not as good as Julia Quinn, who is my official touchstone by which all other romance is judged. It's definitely worth $0.01 from the Kindle store. Perhaps even $0.02!
And now for this pretty purple passage (Look, look! I can alliterate!), because, well, it really was kind of pretty):
"Dreams deceived, phantoms of hope that shimmered into nothing. Leaving only an aching heart with too many bitter secrets entombed. Better to be like the falcon. Alone. Dependent on nothing but the air beneath her wings. At least for the falcon, the air had more substance than her foolish dreams of love."
Perhaps the greatest gift we are in possession of as homo sapiens is that of language. This is why I find it so very frustrating to see it squandered on two supposedly intelligent heroes, who surely have facilities enough to use it. Non? Perhaps that's asking too much.
This is what PISSES ME OFF about novels (and I swear romances are most often the guilty parties here), where the bulk of the tension is drawn from, and the plot driven by, the simple fact that our 'heroes' are too
His Lady Mistress (The name! The name! I thought romances were only named this when people were making fun of romances!) is not terrible. It's a bit stressful to read, and I truly can't abide the situation as described above, but not unenjoyable.
Also, it uses lots of big words, which I liked. It makes me feel intellectual.
While I found it started (on a dark and stormy night, no less) a bit slowly, once Verity reached adulthood, I was hooked, and unable to put the damnable thing down. It's just that, when compared to Julia Quinn's delicious The Viscount Who Loved Me and An Offer From A Gentleman (truly, combine the two, and you very nearly have the plot for HLM [reluctant marriage + poor maid, who is actually a lady in disguise, asked to become rakish gentleman's mistress. Oh my!), it's not half as good (perhaps I shouldn't be comparing, but just try and stop me!).
His Lady Mistress is not awful. It's just not as good as Julia Quinn, who is my official touchstone by which all other romance is judged. It's definitely worth $0.01 from the Kindle store. Perhaps even $0.02!
And now for this pretty purple passage (Look, look! I can alliterate!), because, well, it really was kind of pretty):
"Dreams deceived, phantoms of hope that shimmered into nothing. Leaving only an aching heart with too many bitter secrets entombed. Better to be like the falcon. Alone. Dependent on nothing but the air beneath her wings. At least for the falcon, the air had more substance than her foolish dreams of love."
June 1, 2012
2.5 stars better than just "okay" but not great either. For a free download-Not bad.
I think that when you have a spunky heroine she should stay true to that. Enter Verity. her father commits suicide and she is then left penniless because the law takes everything that is his and confiscates it. That night, she plants flowers on her father's grave, and a man is there to help-Max. He takes her home, feeds her and leaves her to her uncle.
She is shuffled off to said relative who takes her dignity, and treats her like Cinderella-poor cousin who has no choice but to fend off her male cousin's advances, be treated worse than the servants, and have the servants treat her shabbily too. Her aunt/uncle even changed her name. But she is supposedly "not broken" throughout all this. I say she adapted to survive, but in doing so, gave up parts of herself.
She is asked by a man to be his mistress and she accepts, but it is Max! He's an earl who came to find out how she was...too bad her uncle passed her off as a servant and said that Verity Scott was dead-she practically was, just Selina the servant remained. Enter Doormat Verity.
Verity was accused of trapping Max into marriage, and she just wanted escape. Their marriage was a series of back and forth like/don't like scenes.
He felt sweet on Selina, finds out it's Verity and she lied-he hates her. He realizes she didn't try to trap him (meanwhile she is has retreated into herself and become Doormat, as I shall henceforth call her) So Doormat then behaves like a beaten dog-any bit of attention from Max and she has love and hope again, any harsh words she's cold and on the verge of crying.
I actually did like the story, just don't expect a lot from it. It had so much potential-but the back and forth between the two lead characters just annoyed me. Doormat grew a bit of a backbone, and Max would realize how wrong he was about her (this happened several times) but he'd never tell her more than just "you're mine,you're not leaving" it got tedious.
I did give the book an extra half star because I did like the read, I liked Richard, Max's twin who realized before Max did that Verity/Doormat was honest and in love with Max. I just got annoyed with the Spunky girl who became Doormat.
I think that when you have a spunky heroine she should stay true to that. Enter Verity. her father commits suicide and she is then left penniless because the law takes everything that is his and confiscates it. That night, she plants flowers on her father's grave, and a man is there to help-Max. He takes her home, feeds her and leaves her to her uncle.
She is shuffled off to said relative who takes her dignity, and treats her like Cinderella-poor cousin who has no choice but to fend off her male cousin's advances, be treated worse than the servants, and have the servants treat her shabbily too. Her aunt/uncle even changed her name. But she is supposedly "not broken" throughout all this. I say she adapted to survive, but in doing so, gave up parts of herself.
She is asked by a man to be his mistress and she accepts, but it is Max! He's an earl who came to find out how she was...too bad her uncle passed her off as a servant and said that Verity Scott was dead-she practically was, just Selina the servant remained. Enter Doormat Verity.
Verity was accused of trapping Max into marriage, and she just wanted escape. Their marriage was a series of back and forth like/don't like scenes.
He felt sweet on Selina, finds out it's Verity and she lied-he hates her. He realizes she didn't try to trap him (meanwhile she is has retreated into herself and become Doormat, as I shall henceforth call her) So Doormat then behaves like a beaten dog-any bit of attention from Max and she has love and hope again, any harsh words she's cold and on the verge of crying.
I actually did like the story, just don't expect a lot from it. It had so much potential-but the back and forth between the two lead characters just annoyed me. Doormat grew a bit of a backbone, and Max would realize how wrong he was about her (this happened several times) but he'd never tell her more than just "you're mine,you're not leaving" it got tedious.
I did give the book an extra half star because I did like the read, I liked Richard, Max's twin who realized before Max did that Verity/Doormat was honest and in love with Max. I just got annoyed with the Spunky girl who became Doormat.
December 15, 2010
I downloaded this book because it was free and I thought the plot sounded like one I would like. I was surprised how good it turned out to be, if I had paid 7.00 for a paperback copy I would have thought that I had gotten my moneys worth.
Verity (h) was the daughter of Max's (H) camander in the army. Max had never met her until the night her father had killed himself. He did what he could for her that night, knowing that she had family coming to care for her (she was 15 at the time)and then left. Years later he decides to check on her at her uncles house where he is told that she had died. They made her change her name and work as a servent for them, typical "Cinderella" situation. He saves her from an atack from her cousin but doesn't recognize her, he only saw her briefly,in the dark,years ago. She however knows exactly who he is so when he offers her a position as his mistress she accepts,seeing this as her only ecape from her family.
Of cousre when the truth comes out who she is he is forced to marry her. They have all of the problems that you would expect with a forced marraige. Max had been hurt before so he doesn't trust her and she doesn't feel wanted by anyone so there are many misunderstanings between them. Infact that would be my only complaint, there were just a few too many misunderstanings for me.
Verity (h) was the daughter of Max's (H) camander in the army. Max had never met her until the night her father had killed himself. He did what he could for her that night, knowing that she had family coming to care for her (she was 15 at the time)and then left. Years later he decides to check on her at her uncles house where he is told that she had died. They made her change her name and work as a servent for them, typical "Cinderella" situation. He saves her from an atack from her cousin but doesn't recognize her, he only saw her briefly,in the dark,years ago. She however knows exactly who he is so when he offers her a position as his mistress she accepts,seeing this as her only ecape from her family.
Of cousre when the truth comes out who she is he is forced to marry her. They have all of the problems that you would expect with a forced marraige. Max had been hurt before so he doesn't trust her and she doesn't feel wanted by anyone so there are many misunderstanings between them. Infact that would be my only complaint, there were just a few too many misunderstanings for me.
August 14, 2010
I was trying to think what this reminded me of, and then I got to the heroine speaking achingly. Of course... with its rambling plot, schizophrenically-characterized, tender one minute, cruel the next hero and endlessly suffering heroine, it has everything I least like about Judith McNaught. I have a weakness for the suffering heroine and the hero who makes her suffer, so I actually could have enjoyed this, if only it had been as short and as tight as a Harlequin Presents. The need to stretch everything out made it very tiresome; for about half the book I was thinking, 'just end already.
May 11, 2009
This book was absolute torture to get through, but not because of the bad writing, hole-y plot, or one-dimensional characters.
On the contrary, the writing was good (I didn’t care for the British word-use, though), the plot didn’t resemble Swiss cheese, and the characters had so many dimensions it made my head spin.
I loved the female lead. Verity was a wonderful character, so strong I ended up admiring her. After so many blows life's dealt her, others would crumble, she on the other hand, dusted herself off and went on, blow after blow, stubbornly holding on, head held high.
It was the hero that made this one a torture. Because he was an absolute jackass! In the prologue and the first few chapters he was so sweet, gentle, and caring I couldn’t wait for the truth to come out and the two to “find” each other. I was wondering, though, what kind of plot-twist the author had in mind to keep the angst and drama alive till the end.
Well, there weren’t any major plot twists, but the hero gave angst and drama a whole new meaning. And they call us women fickle. This guy couldn’t hold onto an emotion for longer than a few minutes at a time. I want her. She tricked me, so I despise her. I hate her, but I still want her, which makes me hate her even more. She didn’t trick me, so I can want her again, but I can’t have her. Nah, I’d rather break her heart. Now she doesn’t want me anymore and I’m sad, because I still want her. Blah, blah, blah. And so it went, on and on and on and on...Until I kept secretly hoping she’d give up in the bastard and move on.
Unfortunately we’re talking about a historical here and back in the day women (well, most women) couldn’t afford to leave their imbecilic husbands without some serious repercussions...And she was in love with the cretin to boot.
I hope I won’t spoil it for you if I tell you, this does have a HEA, even though the jackass of a hero waits almost until the last chapter to make up his mind.
Yeah, it made my teeth hurt from clenching them, my eyes hurt from rolling them, and my head hurt from trying to follow the jackass and his idiotic thinking, but I still loved this book. I’m nuts, I know.
On the contrary, the writing was good (I didn’t care for the British word-use, though), the plot didn’t resemble Swiss cheese, and the characters had so many dimensions it made my head spin.
I loved the female lead. Verity was a wonderful character, so strong I ended up admiring her. After so many blows life's dealt her, others would crumble, she on the other hand, dusted herself off and went on, blow after blow, stubbornly holding on, head held high.
It was the hero that made this one a torture. Because he was an absolute jackass! In the prologue and the first few chapters he was so sweet, gentle, and caring I couldn’t wait for the truth to come out and the two to “find” each other. I was wondering, though, what kind of plot-twist the author had in mind to keep the angst and drama alive till the end.
Well, there weren’t any major plot twists, but the hero gave angst and drama a whole new meaning. And they call us women fickle. This guy couldn’t hold onto an emotion for longer than a few minutes at a time. I want her. She tricked me, so I despise her. I hate her, but I still want her, which makes me hate her even more. She didn’t trick me, so I can want her again, but I can’t have her. Nah, I’d rather break her heart. Now she doesn’t want me anymore and I’m sad, because I still want her. Blah, blah, blah. And so it went, on and on and on and on...Until I kept secretly hoping she’d give up in the bastard and move on.
Unfortunately we’re talking about a historical here and back in the day women (well, most women) couldn’t afford to leave their imbecilic husbands without some serious repercussions...And she was in love with the cretin to boot.
I hope I won’t spoil it for you if I tell you, this does have a HEA, even though the jackass of a hero waits almost until the last chapter to make up his mind.
Yeah, it made my teeth hurt from clenching them, my eyes hurt from rolling them, and my head hurt from trying to follow the jackass and his idiotic thinking, but I still loved this book. I’m nuts, I know.
December 1, 2025
Imagine each chapter of this book is a dark, bitter chocolate chip cookie with a gooey, salty caramel center 🍪
The first time I read this, I made the terrible mistake of devouring the book whole and was left bereft and my brain shaky with overjudged ooey-gooey angst.
This time around, I was smart about it.
・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The first time I read this, I made the terrible mistake of devouring the book whole and was left bereft and my brain shaky with overjudged ooey-gooey angst.
This time around, I was smart about it.
・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
April 16, 2010
It started out okay but after Max, the "hero", underwent a massive personally shift a third of the way into the book and instantly morphed from a thoughtful, concerned and respectful gentleman into a raging jackass who repeatedly jumped to illogical conclusions at the expense of the heroine, it stopped feeling romantic and just felt sad.
I just can't buy into this genre cliche where emotional abuse and lack of basic communication constitutes a relationship building exercise.
I just can't buy into this genre cliche where emotional abuse and lack of basic communication constitutes a relationship building exercise.
September 9, 2021
My mind the whole time reading this book…
Can👏verity👏catch👏a👏fucking👏break?!?
Seriously! The heroine of this book was nothing more than a wet rag that everyone kept dunking, twisting and reusing! Bless her broken heart! I loved that sad little hoe.
Story- guy doesn’t recognize girl (they have a serious history) he gets the hots and wants to make her his mistress. She has a shit life, lies about her identity and agrees. He finds out who she is, blames her, hates her, wants to hate bang her all the time, but can’t because of some weird agreement with his twin, misunderstandings ensue!
Big misunderstandings in historical romance books annoy me, but I deal with it because that’s part of the game. Anyway, This book was the KING of misunderstandings. All which (of course) could have been solved had the MCs simply talked to one another….BUT as we all know, that’s where all that beautiful angst comes from 😈. However, the hero of this book really was a selfish twat who was awesome at acting selfless but really in the end was always out to protect himself. And might I add, his relationship with his twin was weird or at least the author should have done a better job explaining the connection. Yes, yes- I know, twins have a natural bond, but in this case, it was weird and sorta creepy. Maybe just me? Meh. Twin redeemed himself in the end. So no stars off for weirdness.
Anyway, LOTS of angst and “woe is me” moments- but hell if I didn’t read the shit out of this book. I kept waiting for the angst bubble to POP- but the MF just kept growing and growing! swelling to a giant sized emotional bubble. When it finally popped, I would have liked more groveling, but the damn book kept me hooked. A little steam, lots of tension and HUGE amounts of miscommunications, but if you’re down with all of the above, give it a go!
Can👏verity👏catch👏a👏fucking👏break?!?
Seriously! The heroine of this book was nothing more than a wet rag that everyone kept dunking, twisting and reusing! Bless her broken heart! I loved that sad little hoe.
Story- guy doesn’t recognize girl (they have a serious history) he gets the hots and wants to make her his mistress. She has a shit life, lies about her identity and agrees. He finds out who she is, blames her, hates her, wants to hate bang her all the time, but can’t because of some weird agreement with his twin, misunderstandings ensue!
Big misunderstandings in historical romance books annoy me, but I deal with it because that’s part of the game. Anyway, This book was the KING of misunderstandings. All which (of course) could have been solved had the MCs simply talked to one another….BUT as we all know, that’s where all that beautiful angst comes from 😈. However, the hero of this book really was a selfish twat who was awesome at acting selfless but really in the end was always out to protect himself. And might I add, his relationship with his twin was weird or at least the author should have done a better job explaining the connection. Yes, yes- I know, twins have a natural bond, but in this case, it was weird and sorta creepy. Maybe just me? Meh. Twin redeemed himself in the end. So no stars off for weirdness.
Anyway, LOTS of angst and “woe is me” moments- but hell if I didn’t read the shit out of this book. I kept waiting for the angst bubble to POP- but the MF just kept growing and growing! swelling to a giant sized emotional bubble. When it finally popped, I would have liked more groveling, but the damn book kept me hooked. A little steam, lots of tension and HUGE amounts of miscommunications, but if you’re down with all of the above, give it a go!
July 8, 2025
3.5 stars - they spend a lot of the novel not communicating and it was tiresome how he always assumed the absolute worst. Also the vow was dumb. The last ten pages were great.
Heroine is the daughter of a deceased colonel who is in a bad situation with her family. Hero was in the war under the colonel and is trying to find the heroine 5 years after the death of her father. This is complicated by the heroine being in disguise.
This is my first Elizabeth Rolls book and I’m excited to read more from her.
Heroine is the daughter of a deceased colonel who is in a bad situation with her family. Hero was in the war under the colonel and is trying to find the heroine 5 years after the death of her father. This is complicated by the heroine being in disguise.
This is my first Elizabeth Rolls book and I’m excited to read more from her.
December 30, 2010
This book had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. But I liked it nonetheless.
This book followed the conventions of the romance novel more closely than most I've read in recent years. The structure of the plot was very simple:
1. Protagonists meet under extreme circumstances
2. Years later, protagonists meet again. The heroine, Verity, recognizes the male lead, Max, but he does not recognize her. Verity has remembered him fondly from that first meeting, and she has a warm spot in her heart for him.
3. Max feels drawn to Verity, and offers her the role of his mistress. He believes she is a mistreated servant, probably raped by her employer (he's seen the son of the household accost her), and he's offering her his protection.
4. Misunderstandings ensue.
5. The misunderstandings are resolved, and before the protagonists can experience more than a few hours of happiness, they misunderstand each other again.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 as necessary.
Rolls tried to find every way possible to create misunderstandings and confusion between Max and Verity, constantly finding ways to delay the gratification of their union. If I'd been seriously invested in these characters, I would have probably found that annoying, but I didn't care enough to invest in them. Instead, I simply enjoyed the romp through Regency England. I don't know if I'll bother to read more by this author, but if Barnes & Noble were to offer anything else by this author as a free download (which is how I got this copy in the first place!), I'll gladly add it to my nook.
This book followed the conventions of the romance novel more closely than most I've read in recent years. The structure of the plot was very simple:
1. Protagonists meet under extreme circumstances
2. Years later, protagonists meet again. The heroine, Verity, recognizes the male lead, Max, but he does not recognize her. Verity has remembered him fondly from that first meeting, and she has a warm spot in her heart for him.
3. Max feels drawn to Verity, and offers her the role of his mistress. He believes she is a mistreated servant, probably raped by her employer (he's seen the son of the household accost her), and he's offering her his protection.
4. Misunderstandings ensue.
5. The misunderstandings are resolved, and before the protagonists can experience more than a few hours of happiness, they misunderstand each other again.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 as necessary.
Rolls tried to find every way possible to create misunderstandings and confusion between Max and Verity, constantly finding ways to delay the gratification of their union. If I'd been seriously invested in these characters, I would have probably found that annoying, but I didn't care enough to invest in them. Instead, I simply enjoyed the romp through Regency England. I don't know if I'll bother to read more by this author, but if Barnes & Noble were to offer anything else by this author as a free download (which is how I got this copy in the first place!), I'll gladly add it to my nook.
June 29, 2009
The first chapters are among the best of the book. The heroine is likeable and well-rounded, and there's clearly a lot at stake for her. The hero is a bit of an alpha male, but he's kind and thoughtful to her, so who cares? There's a hint of mystery, there's almost a bit of suspense... I got this book as a free download, and after the first few chapters I really thought I was in for a treat.
And the writing's good throughout the book. Prose, characters, pace - I have no complaint about any of those.
But the characters? The hero starts out as a man of integrity. The heroine is introduced as a calm girl with a lot of personal courage and a rebellious streak. Doesn't that sound promising? Yet for chapter after chapter, he's tormenting and persecuting her, and it happens again and again. No sooner has he repented of his evil ways than WHAMMO, he gets yet another bee in his bonnet and torments her again! And the heroine does little more than endure and make saintly resolutions. I hoped she'd wallop him with her reticule and then RUN and never look back, but no such luck.
That spoiled the ending for me. The HEA seemed as if it could merely be another one of those lucid moments the hero usually has right before he turns into an utter jerk again.
And the writing's good throughout the book. Prose, characters, pace - I have no complaint about any of those.
But the characters? The hero starts out as a man of integrity. The heroine is introduced as a calm girl with a lot of personal courage and a rebellious streak. Doesn't that sound promising? Yet for chapter after chapter, he's tormenting and persecuting her, and it happens again and again. No sooner has he repented of his evil ways than WHAMMO, he gets yet another bee in his bonnet and torments her again! And the heroine does little more than endure and make saintly resolutions. I hoped she'd wallop him with her reticule and then RUN and never look back, but no such luck.
That spoiled the ending for me. The HEA seemed as if it could merely be another one of those lucid moments the hero usually has right before he turns into an utter jerk again.
July 18, 2025
I read this probably 20 years ago and just recently discovered the title again. I don't know if it was nostalgia or not, but I enjoyed it even more the second time around.
June 25, 2010
Okay. It was free. I want to start by saying that. It was a free download through the Kindle store and it sounded promising. It wasn't terrible, exactly, but it was terribly contrived. Genteel, impoverished Verity falls in love with the Earl of somewhere when she was 15 and he showed her an inkling of kindness after her father died. 5 years later, she's being used as a servant by her uncaring guardians/Aunt and Uncle when the Earl shows up at their house. A series of half-truths, lies and misunderstandings have the two of them winding up in bed and when the Earl learns who she is, he agrees to marry her. Cue dramatic music. Seriously, the bulk of the problems between the two of them arise from hurt feelings and a complete lack of communication. Talk. That's all you have to do, people, and then you won't spend half the book moping and pining over the love that you've screwed up beyond redemption. But don't worry, I'm sure the two of you will find a way to overcome all of this. Maybe by talking. No, it's not terrible. It's decently written, it's just not absolutely fabulous.
August 28, 2011
This started out with so much promise. I loved the heroine's bravery. The hero was kind and condsiderate. Then it all went to hell. After Verity's Big Secret is discovered by Max, she became a simpering, spineless fool. He became a giant horse's ass. One misunderstanding after another and I wanted both of them to be bitten by a viper and die a slow death. The hero's reason for not wanting a wife and child was ridiculous. Her inability to communicate with him was so frustrating. Even after they finally declare undying love in the last chapter, you can't help imagining it will just be a matter of time before another Big Misunderstanding leads them to more misery and heartache.
I have read other books by this author that are much better.
I have read other books by this author that are much better.
December 17, 2010
Somewhere between a 2.5-2.75
I'm not sure what sub-genre this book would fall under. But it's the "jerk of a husband hurts the wife so much that he breaks her spirit, and then she freezes him out and then he does everything he can to make it up to her" genre. I love them. One book where this is really done quite well is The Velvet Promise. This was also one of those: "You thought I didn't want YOU?? I thought you didn't want ME" books. With multiple and I do mean multiple other misunderstandings thrown in to fill pages. There was one surprise at the end that I found unnecessary. I thought to myself finish the book already! With all that said, I do like these sort of books. Where the guy is a total jerk to his sweet, innocent and loving wife - says all manner of vile things to her until she finally gets the hint and stops doing sweet and loving things for him. Freezes him out, and either refuses to see him or just completely runs away. Then of course he has to come back and drop on his knees and beg forgiveness. One odd thing in this story is that the hero, Max, just didn't seem like a genuine jerk, because he was so sweet and caring and attentive in the begining and then WHAM she's a whore? It didn't flow well for me. However the book was good enough for me to finish because of the crazy sub genre. :-)
On another note...the steam factor...what was there was good, there just wasn't enough of it!
I'm not sure what sub-genre this book would fall under. But it's the "jerk of a husband hurts the wife so much that he breaks her spirit, and then she freezes him out and then he does everything he can to make it up to her" genre. I love them. One book where this is really done quite well is The Velvet Promise. This was also one of those: "You thought I didn't want YOU?? I thought you didn't want ME" books. With multiple and I do mean multiple other misunderstandings thrown in to fill pages. There was one surprise at the end that I found unnecessary. I thought to myself finish the book already! With all that said, I do like these sort of books. Where the guy is a total jerk to his sweet, innocent and loving wife - says all manner of vile things to her until she finally gets the hint and stops doing sweet and loving things for him. Freezes him out, and either refuses to see him or just completely runs away. Then of course he has to come back and drop on his knees and beg forgiveness. One odd thing in this story is that the hero, Max, just didn't seem like a genuine jerk, because he was so sweet and caring and attentive in the begining and then WHAM she's a whore? It didn't flow well for me. However the book was good enough for me to finish because of the crazy sub genre. :-)
On another note...the steam factor...what was there was good, there just wasn't enough of it!
February 19, 2023
This may be the angstiest book I have ever read. In the top three, at least! Soooooo many misunderstandings, it is almost comical. And the heroine (and hero!) are always leaping to the worst possible conclusions. This is exactly the kind of thing I want to read when I am looking for misunderstandings and wounded heroines and groveling!!!
Upon reread (one of many): there was briefly the implication that Verity is insecure about her looks. I would have loved for that to have been explored too, but this is top-tier angsty insecurity regardless!
Upon reread (one of many): there was briefly the implication that Verity is insecure about her looks. I would have loved for that to have been explored too, but this is top-tier angsty insecurity regardless!
November 14, 2012
I'm trying to think of an appropriate word to describe how I feel about this book, and I'm coming up blank. I don't want to insult this writers hard work - obviously it got published so someone thought it was good. Just not me. I'm going to go with "I'm glad I got this for free because I didn't finish it."
Note to author: it is much more appealing when a character is consistent in their actions.
Note to author: it is much more appealing when a character is consistent in their actions.
September 10, 2015
2.5 stars. May be one of the best opening chapters I have ever read. Alas, the story became so frustrating I now have several book-shaped dents in my walls.
June 18, 2020
Maybe this was me, but this book was a hot mess!
June 7, 2018
4.5 stars
There are so many things about this book that should annoy me and make me want to hate it, but I got sucked into this story and ended up loving it. Points off because the hero is an idiot, but better than some others I’ve read of late...
There are so many things about this book that should annoy me and make me want to hate it, but I got sucked into this story and ended up loving it. Points off because the hero is an idiot, but better than some others I’ve read of late...
December 28, 2012
Also posted at TBR Mountain Range.
HIS LADY MISTRESS by Elizabeth Rolls is an enjoyable rags-to-riches Cinderella theme with some twists. I like Elizabeth Rolls' books because they usually have some quirky humor. This one is a bit dark in comparison, but still a good story.
I received this ebook as a free read from the publisher, with no expectation of review.
In the year of 1817, a fifteen-year-old girl follows two men who throw a dead body into a pony cart. A stranger on horseback also follows the two men. The young girl, Verity Scott, follows at a distance, describing the grisly scene step-by-step since the man in the cart is her father. The stranger turns out to be a friend of her father’s from the war, the one person who insists on some decency in her father’s burial. The stranger, Max Blakehurst, shows kindness to Verity when she needs it most, creating a bond in Verity’s heart that never will be forgotten.
Jumping forward to 1822, Verity is forced by her guardians to change her name to Selina Dering. Left to wear raggedy clothes while her cousin dresses in societies’ finest, Verity blends into the background, not really a servant but treated like one. Once again it seems as if Max Blakehurst has come to Verity’s rescue, when he attends a house party thrown by her relatives, but he doesn’t recognize her. Her aunt and uncle assume that Max is interested in their daughter as a potential wife, but he’s really there to find out what happened to his colonel’s daughter after the man’s suicide. Verity’s uncle insinuates that she has also committed suicide which horrifies Max even more because of his lack of attention toward the girl.
Blakehurst bumps into “Selina” just after she’s fended off her male cousin during one of his advances. Sworn to secrecy about her identity, or be thrown out on the street, Verity doesn’t tell Max who she really is for fear of the consequences. All Max wants to do is rescue “Selina” from the cruelty of this family somehow, the most likely way is to take her as his mistress. He didn’t rescue Verity in time, so he sees his rescue of “Selina” as some type of make-up for his past. Verity accepts Max’s offer as “Selina the governess,” but intends to keep her true identity to herself in hope of earning an annuity for her future.
I love rags to riches stories and this one has a few more twists than expected. The cruelty Verity faces from her guardians is beyond imaginable, which makes it believable that a young, innocent woman would accept a position as a mistress with a well-renowned rake. She has no money of her own, no references and no way to escape other than relying on Max, who turns out to be an earl.
Lord Blakehurst is well-meaning, if not a bit misguided by his wealth, reputation and basically acting as a man who sees his bachelorhood as necessary for one specific reason. He’s a rake who needs taming but does Verity have the fortitude to win him over?
There are several secondary characters who add to Verity’s distress and others who eventually come to her aid, making her circumstances a constant upheaval. It will either break her or make her stronger, but her happy-ever-after depends on developing strength. Will Max realize what he has before it’s too late, or will Verity be forced to find her own way without him?
I enjoyed Verity’s personal growth. Max can be such an idiotic man at times, but that’s all the more reason to hope he’ll eventually get his act together. Verity doesn’t know her own self-worth, but she has enough backbone to stand up to the worst of London society. I sometimes wanted to strangle Max for all his posturing and self-importance, when Verity could have used some compassion. Oh, Max has compassion—he just misunderstands everything about Verity most of the time. Luckily, there are some secondary characters who are more than willing to point out his ignorance, which is very entertaining.
HIS LADY MISTRESS isn’t as humorous as I’ve come to expect from author Elizabeth Rolls, but no one draws out personalities at house parties or society gatherings better, which is apparent once again in this book. From dogs to children, the secondary characters enhance the plot. If you like house parties, society balls, snotty matriarchs who need a set down, or a brooding hero in need of a strong, compassionate wife, then HIS LADY MISTRESS is sure to please.
HIS LADY MISTRESS by Elizabeth Rolls is an enjoyable rags-to-riches Cinderella theme with some twists. I like Elizabeth Rolls' books because they usually have some quirky humor. This one is a bit dark in comparison, but still a good story.
I received this ebook as a free read from the publisher, with no expectation of review.
In the year of 1817, a fifteen-year-old girl follows two men who throw a dead body into a pony cart. A stranger on horseback also follows the two men. The young girl, Verity Scott, follows at a distance, describing the grisly scene step-by-step since the man in the cart is her father. The stranger turns out to be a friend of her father’s from the war, the one person who insists on some decency in her father’s burial. The stranger, Max Blakehurst, shows kindness to Verity when she needs it most, creating a bond in Verity’s heart that never will be forgotten.
Jumping forward to 1822, Verity is forced by her guardians to change her name to Selina Dering. Left to wear raggedy clothes while her cousin dresses in societies’ finest, Verity blends into the background, not really a servant but treated like one. Once again it seems as if Max Blakehurst has come to Verity’s rescue, when he attends a house party thrown by her relatives, but he doesn’t recognize her. Her aunt and uncle assume that Max is interested in their daughter as a potential wife, but he’s really there to find out what happened to his colonel’s daughter after the man’s suicide. Verity’s uncle insinuates that she has also committed suicide which horrifies Max even more because of his lack of attention toward the girl.
Blakehurst bumps into “Selina” just after she’s fended off her male cousin during one of his advances. Sworn to secrecy about her identity, or be thrown out on the street, Verity doesn’t tell Max who she really is for fear of the consequences. All Max wants to do is rescue “Selina” from the cruelty of this family somehow, the most likely way is to take her as his mistress. He didn’t rescue Verity in time, so he sees his rescue of “Selina” as some type of make-up for his past. Verity accepts Max’s offer as “Selina the governess,” but intends to keep her true identity to herself in hope of earning an annuity for her future.
I love rags to riches stories and this one has a few more twists than expected. The cruelty Verity faces from her guardians is beyond imaginable, which makes it believable that a young, innocent woman would accept a position as a mistress with a well-renowned rake. She has no money of her own, no references and no way to escape other than relying on Max, who turns out to be an earl.
Lord Blakehurst is well-meaning, if not a bit misguided by his wealth, reputation and basically acting as a man who sees his bachelorhood as necessary for one specific reason. He’s a rake who needs taming but does Verity have the fortitude to win him over?
There are several secondary characters who add to Verity’s distress and others who eventually come to her aid, making her circumstances a constant upheaval. It will either break her or make her stronger, but her happy-ever-after depends on developing strength. Will Max realize what he has before it’s too late, or will Verity be forced to find her own way without him?
I enjoyed Verity’s personal growth. Max can be such an idiotic man at times, but that’s all the more reason to hope he’ll eventually get his act together. Verity doesn’t know her own self-worth, but she has enough backbone to stand up to the worst of London society. I sometimes wanted to strangle Max for all his posturing and self-importance, when Verity could have used some compassion. Oh, Max has compassion—he just misunderstands everything about Verity most of the time. Luckily, there are some secondary characters who are more than willing to point out his ignorance, which is very entertaining.
HIS LADY MISTRESS isn’t as humorous as I’ve come to expect from author Elizabeth Rolls, but no one draws out personalities at house parties or society gatherings better, which is apparent once again in this book. From dogs to children, the secondary characters enhance the plot. If you like house parties, society balls, snotty matriarchs who need a set down, or a brooding hero in need of a strong, compassionate wife, then HIS LADY MISTRESS is sure to please.
December 2, 2011
As a confessed book addict, a free book is like a free hit of a drug to me. Who could possibly turn down a novel for free, much less one from the famous Harlequin romance novel series? (Thank you Barnes and Noble for your free Nook Books) Follow along as I share my unique experience in reading one of these intriguing romances, His Lady Mistress, and feel free to comment below if you share my experience or feel otherwise.
Our heroine, Verity Scott, is caught in a sad state of affairs. With her father recently deceased due to suicide, she has no inheritance to her name and she is awash with grief. Enter Max Blakehurst, an old friend of Verity’s father who comes to her aid in order to put his affairs in order to the best of his abilities. Verity comes to discover that her father was actually Max’s commanding officer, and she instantly takes to the man as he offers her comfort in her time of need. Fast forward five years, where Verity is now living in the care of her uncle, not as a member of the household but as a common servant. Her family has forced her to change her name, recognizing her as “Selena” only. She crosses paths with Max for the first time since her father’s death, as he comes to visit her uncle’s family but does not recognize her. Even so, he becomes enthralled with her and decides to take her as his mistress as a way to protect her from the mistreatment’s she endures. Upon finding out that Selena is actually Verity he forces her to marry him, claiming that she knew all along the line she was walking. His overall opinion towards her, however, is as changing as the weather, as the two constantly fall in and out of love with each other. What will become of them? Will Verity finally be able to convince him of her innocence?
While the concept of the book was originally intriguing to me, the execution fell completely flat. The entire novel felt like one giant roller-coaster flowing off the ebb of the same conflict. He hates her, she loves him. She hates him, he loves her. Back and forth and back and forth it went. It got incredibly boring an old after the third “misunderstanding”. Max’s jealous outbursts didn’t make sense in the context of the “I hate you” moments. When Verity reveals that she did not sleep with him to trap him into marrying her he believes her, then 10 pages later we’re back to him doubting her.
I’m not sure how I feel about continuing on with another Harlequin romance novel after reading this one. I’ve seen the titles of some others and have serious doubts about finding a good one. (My favorite title I’ve seen to date has to be Reclaiming His Pregnant Widow). Despite these shortcomings, His Lady Mistress did keep me entertained and both Max and Verity were definitely likeable at times. So, when taking into account that this book was free, it’s shortcomings are lessened slightly. Although not for everyone, Harlequin romances do still hold a particular place in the literary world that they fill quite well. Give one a try and decide for yourself.
PS – If you think you can totally change my mind about Harlequin Romances and have one you think I’d like, leave me the title of one in the comments below.
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-FO
Our heroine, Verity Scott, is caught in a sad state of affairs. With her father recently deceased due to suicide, she has no inheritance to her name and she is awash with grief. Enter Max Blakehurst, an old friend of Verity’s father who comes to her aid in order to put his affairs in order to the best of his abilities. Verity comes to discover that her father was actually Max’s commanding officer, and she instantly takes to the man as he offers her comfort in her time of need. Fast forward five years, where Verity is now living in the care of her uncle, not as a member of the household but as a common servant. Her family has forced her to change her name, recognizing her as “Selena” only. She crosses paths with Max for the first time since her father’s death, as he comes to visit her uncle’s family but does not recognize her. Even so, he becomes enthralled with her and decides to take her as his mistress as a way to protect her from the mistreatment’s she endures. Upon finding out that Selena is actually Verity he forces her to marry him, claiming that she knew all along the line she was walking. His overall opinion towards her, however, is as changing as the weather, as the two constantly fall in and out of love with each other. What will become of them? Will Verity finally be able to convince him of her innocence?
While the concept of the book was originally intriguing to me, the execution fell completely flat. The entire novel felt like one giant roller-coaster flowing off the ebb of the same conflict. He hates her, she loves him. She hates him, he loves her. Back and forth and back and forth it went. It got incredibly boring an old after the third “misunderstanding”. Max’s jealous outbursts didn’t make sense in the context of the “I hate you” moments. When Verity reveals that she did not sleep with him to trap him into marrying her he believes her, then 10 pages later we’re back to him doubting her.
I’m not sure how I feel about continuing on with another Harlequin romance novel after reading this one. I’ve seen the titles of some others and have serious doubts about finding a good one. (My favorite title I’ve seen to date has to be Reclaiming His Pregnant Widow). Despite these shortcomings, His Lady Mistress did keep me entertained and both Max and Verity were definitely likeable at times. So, when taking into account that this book was free, it’s shortcomings are lessened slightly. Although not for everyone, Harlequin romances do still hold a particular place in the literary world that they fill quite well. Give one a try and decide for yourself.
PS – If you think you can totally change my mind about Harlequin Romances and have one you think I’d like, leave me the title of one in the comments below.
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-FO
October 21, 2020
A couple of years ago,
His Lady Mistress
was given for free, and as the premise of the book interested me I picked it up.
It took me a while to finally read it, and… it was disappointing.
This book left me feeling slightly exhausted; the premise and plot were promising, but the whole book was unnecessary melodramatic, with characters acting erratic and not communicating at all, resulting with a story that dragged for at least half the pages it was written on.
Being brutally honest, Max and Verity’s story could have had a happy ending somewhere in the middle of this book if only they actually talked with each other. Moreover, not to slight that particular media, but His Lady Mistress ’s narrative structure reminded me of daily soap operas, when it’s a must to stretch and drag each scene to the maximum and throw obstacle after obstacle just to postpone the happy ending. In a book form it’s exhausting to read through.
It’s even bigger shame, because the writing style was great otherwise. The characters were likable and I actually enjoyed their romance. Although, I'm still not sure how much older than Verity Max supposed to be. When they first met she was 15 and he...? I had an impression he was much much older than her, and a big age gaps are not really a thing I enjoy in romances.
I’d love to read Max’s brother’s - Richard’s - book, but… I don’t think I’d enjoy it more than this one.
2/5 stars
It took me a while to finally read it, and… it was disappointing.
This book left me feeling slightly exhausted; the premise and plot were promising, but the whole book was unnecessary melodramatic, with characters acting erratic and not communicating at all, resulting with a story that dragged for at least half the pages it was written on.
Being brutally honest, Max and Verity’s story could have had a happy ending somewhere in the middle of this book if only they actually talked with each other. Moreover, not to slight that particular media, but His Lady Mistress ’s narrative structure reminded me of daily soap operas, when it’s a must to stretch and drag each scene to the maximum and throw obstacle after obstacle just to postpone the happy ending. In a book form it’s exhausting to read through.
It’s even bigger shame, because the writing style was great otherwise. The characters were likable and I actually enjoyed their romance. Although, I'm still not sure how much older than Verity Max supposed to be. When they first met she was 15 and he...? I had an impression he was much much older than her, and a big age gaps are not really a thing I enjoy in romances.
I’d love to read Max’s brother’s - Richard’s - book, but… I don’t think I’d enjoy it more than this one.
2/5 stars
September 3, 2013
This was my favorite from this author. I read this one first, and though there are some issues with this asshole hero, I was totally invested emotionally in the story, which is a good thing. I went on to read several others by her and just barely remember them, while this one, I can still remember key scenes and details. I'm not sure I could've loved a hero quite as obtuse as this one, but I do enjoy reading books that make me feel thing strongly.
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