The Mistress Experience

Society of Sirens #3

by Scarlett Peckham

The scandalous women of the USA Today bestselling author Scarlett Peckham’s Society of Sirens are back with the final stage in their fight for female rights—and this time the battle is to be waged in bed…

She’s the most infamous harlot in London…and she’s up for auction

Thaïs Magadalene is a legend. The nation’s most notorious courtesan, she sells herself once a week, for one night only, and never to the same patron twice. Until now. To raise money for the cause of women’s rights, she has auctioned herself off for one month as mistress to the highest bidder.

But the winner is not who he seems.

Lord Alastair Eden is an earl, a radical politician, and a perfectionist in all things—except one. His confidence belies an unexpected secret: he doesn’t know how to please a woman in bed. He’s determined to change that before he marries. And who could be better than the most skilled lover in the country to teach him?

And love is never for sale.

Thaïs dreams of finding a man who will love her unconditionally, never mind her past and reputation. Eden dreams of finding a perfectly bred young lady to be his wife and helpmeet. But when a steamy month in the countryside breeds a connection both in and out of the bedchamber, the two of them must decide how much can be sacrificed for love—one’s dreams, or one’s reputation.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Adult, Audiobook, Forced Proximity

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published June 25, 2024

About the author

Scarlett Peckham writes sexy, gothic, feminist historical romances about alpha heroines. She splits her time between Los Angeles and the spooky cliffs of Coastal Oregon.

For a taste at her critically acclaimed Secrets of Charlotte Street series, download her free novelette, The Emerald Widow: https://geni.us/EmeraldWidow

To be the first to hear about her new releases and cat photos, sign up for her legendary newsletter: https://geni.us/TheScarlettLetter

Reviews

[Hannah B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨The Buttoned-Up to Completely Undone Earl Experience✨

Well this is by far my favorite book in the series!! It was really everything the summary stated it would be: A buttoned-up earl getting sex lessons from a notorious courtesan. He was so bumbling and earnest with his sexy spectacles and cooking abilities!! And she was a city girl trapped in the countryside trying to loosen him up.

I do love an alpha, but Alistair has got to be my favorite hero type. I had so much fun seeing his embarrassment slowly turn to confidence. Thaïs had a heart of gold and I loved her so much. She was so bright and fun. I think it could’ve been a bit steamier—hello, Chekov’s sex toys!!—but it was definitely a hot read. Sex lessons will ALWAYS hit different.

I will say, I do think Peckham phoned it in with the epilogue. It was more so an epilogue for the series as a whole rather than for the couple. Like it gave me a bit, but I wanted to see them at least a year out!!! It was practically expected from what we learned throughout the books and their wants for the future!!!

The third act hurt, but in a good way. I do think we needed like one more chapter??? Just to ease the heartache a bit and see them happy with nothing hanging over their heads. Also how did the scandal go??? This clearly seemed like the final book in the series, but hopefully Peckham will continue to write stories for some of the side characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶️🌶️.75/5


P.S. She better have gotten a kitten!!!! These are the things I need to know!!! Chekov’s kitten!!


I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

[Ali L · Rating 2 out of 5]

A woman with an impressive lack of personality aside from pretty low-effort sex puns auctions herself off for a month to help pay for a school for women. She’s supposed to be the best courtesan in London but all she seems to be good at is making the guy who hired her super uncomfortable, laughing at him, and bitching about having to spend a month in a cute cottage where her every need is met immediately. The dude has issues with premature ejaculation but he bakes pretty much every day so frankly sign me up. How many times can one woman whine about being bored while doing nothing to alleviate the problem and sleeping until noon? Thaïs thinks the limit doesn’t exist. Much like Eden, I was able to finish this very quickly, mostly because every time anything remotely sexual happened on page I skipped ahead so I didn’t cringe myself to death.

[Chels]

DNF at 70%.

Scarlett Peckham's first three novels, the Charlotte Street series, are utterly original historical romances with a whipping house as a backdrop. All three books are high-angst, weaving sexual taboos, shame, guilt, religion, and love into a series that is extremely thoughtful about how sex work can impact a relationship. So what the hell happened in The Mistress Experience?

If you've never read a historical romance novel with a courtesan heroine before, maybe this book will feel groundbreaking. But I have, and Thaïs's characterization was so bizarre and sometimes cringeworthy that I had a hard time focusing on the story and instead went through a mental rolodex of characters I would rather be reading about: Lydia from A Gentleman Undone, Bel from The Duke, Ana from A Candle in the Dark, and even Soraya from Claiming the Courtesan.

Thaïs, who is so sought-after that she only beds a man once a week, and never the same man twice (This seems extremely impractical, both financially and for safety reasons!), auctions herself off at the beginning of the book to be kept for an entire month by the highest bidder. Lord Alastair Eden surreptitiously wins (he hires a rake to place the actual bid), and Thaïs is surprised to discover that Eden wants her for sex lessons. He's decided to marry, and Eden, who hasn't had sex in over a decade, has hang-ups about his sexual performance.

They are an odd couple: Eden is a starchy radical politician who cooks and loves agriculture, and Thaïs hates the country, cooking, and has an unbearably juvenile sense of humor. If I'm being honest, this part of Thaïs's characterization was what killed the book for me: her insistence on peppering every conversation with the most witless innuendos. If she were born two centuries later, Thaïs would absolutely have a "That's what she said" phase.

It really strains belief that Thaïs would be so successful as a courtesan: she is extremely bad at the emotional aspects of her job. Eden, who is clearly uncomfortable with frank sexuality, probably needed gentler handling and sweet nothings, but Thaïs is too busy making cock and ball jokes instead. I can't wrap my brain around this characterization choice. It's not a crime to be extremely unfunny, but if Thaïs is actually a high-tier courtesan she would probably be a lot better at code switching, and the bawdy humor as an accepted default -- in a lofty position where seeming unattainable, rather than earthy, is part of the appeal -- didn't make a ton of sense to me.

The book meanders a lot at Eden's country house where they're cooped up, which only emphasizes how bizarrely written these two characters are. Eden is just too good, too morally correct, and they have a sort of frictionless existence outside of the bedroom. (I can do this too, Thaïs!) Peckham's earlier book, The Lord I Left, also has a starchy hero and a sex worker heroine, but she mines more interesting conflict out of characters who need to shift how they view the world and the people in it in order to let themselves be loved.

I threw in the towel when in the third act, Thaïs reveals that she's faking her orgasms. Not because Eden isn't capable of making her orgasm, mind you! But because she has adopted a more extreme version of the Pretty Woman rule for not falling in love: orgasms make you vulnerable, and she can't lose her heart. She had just spent near 100 pages telling Eden not to be ashamed of his body's reactions, and that feeling good is normal, natural, and sometimes messy. If this is a lie on her part, then what the fuck are we doing here?

[b.andherbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of those historical romances i feel was written specifically to my tastes, what a BANGER. for those of you new to Scarlett Peckham, I would say this is a great starter book for her (typically her work is darker, with heavier themes). While I wouldn't call this "light" it is for the author. I have tabbed up my library copy so heavily I need to go purchase myself my own immediately.

the dynamic of a super buttoned up, nerdy, yet secretly jacked hero with a bawdy, loud, and absolutely gorgeous and sure of herself heroine is so absolutely scrumptious here.

Lord Alastair Eden secures a month of sex lessons from Thaïs Magdalene in an auction to raise money for her and her Society of Siren's ambitious project, a school and boarding house for women and their cause of promoting women's rights. Thaïs believes a different, more rakish man from her past is the one who won her favor, but that man is only a cover to secretly get her out of London and to Alastair's small country cottage where he spends most days paper-working, cooking meals, and enjoying his sheep (looking at them you pervs).

Thaïs is SURE she will be BORED and has not packed to pretend to be Alastair's sister by day and whore by night, and Alastair is LETTING her educate him. Separate rooms!? what!? He's paid well, and Thaïs is determined to give him his money's worth, especially as his strong forearms come out while showing her how to make a cake, rescuing her from a ditch, and overall treating her as an honored guest. She didn't come to the country to get dirty in the mud puddles, but in between the sheets.

Alastair himself is throbbing for the woman he's always had carnal feelings for, but a problem with his over eagerness when it comes to bedly sport has him absolutely terrified the experienced mistress will laugh at him. Alastair needs to learn to be the perfect husband for his yet to be known wife he imagines living with him at his cottage, having his children, and sharing perfect, absolutely perfect, nights with.

The problem with sex (and love) is that it never is perfect. Alastair's position and Thais career are at an absolute cross purpose, so i was kept on pins and needles waiting to see how they would secure their HEA (AND OH HOW THEY DID).

Bawdy, funny, slow-burn with big payoff, and SO much fun, gosh i loved this.


SPOILERY THOUGHTS BELOW STOP READING





I also really appreciated how Alastair's impotence // early orgasming issue wasn't magically solved by one evening // session with Thais. They had to work at it! Alastair was really in his head and honestly he read a bit neurodivergent to me? I can't say for sure since I am not. He was definitely hyperfocused on his interests, and especially on being perfect and really fearing rejection! It was quite intriguing to read in a historical romance, that's for sure! i want more romance that discusses sex issues like this plz!

[nikki | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ . · Rating 5 out of 5]

inexperienced neurotic duke hires a crass courtesan to teach him how to be a good husband, esp in the bedroom. what’s not to love?!?!

but really it’s nice to see the neurotic archetype done w a really likable mmc. authors tend to make that type a v pushy dick w no regard for others, whereas alastair (while picky and selective) was v considerate and sweet of others esp thaïs. it was so refreshing and really made your heart melt for him. makes sense why thaïs’s did too!

i have a few small nitpicks and i wish there’d been more groveling at the end, but i really enjoyed this one. def at the top of my hisrom recs!

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh man.

I'm so confused. I've been holding up Scarlett Peckham's Charlotte Street series for awhile now as an exemplar how romance authors can explore sex work in an interesting and compassionate way. I think there are other good examples of this too, tbh they tend be older books that don't get in the way of themselves, congratulating themselves on good politics. They just tell the story. You don't need to "humanize" a sex worker if you just start from a place of assuming they are human.

I do think romance writers and readers have a duty to speak about sex work respectfully, as a baseline. A lot of the fretting about "our genre" and censorship (which is fair), but those battles are fought and born by sex workers first. One of my least favorite things an author can do is try and separate romance from porn, as if porn is something we need to be above or against. Do not position yourself in opposition to sex workers! I'm always going to be on their side.

But this book reads to me that Peckham has never talked to or read a sex worker before. There were some baseline issues with how Thaïs structures her life that don't get explanations, but also don't make sense without explanations. I didn't understand why her business model is working one night a week, no repeat customers. I could think of some reason why this would work for her (increase in pricing through forced scarcity, maybe she doesn't like sleeping over because she snores! which we know she does!), but it really doesn't get explained. And this runs afoul of sort of a basic tenet not even of sex work, but client work: the hardest thing in sales is getting a new client! Why is she making it not only harder on herself, but more dangerous? Repeat customers who are reliably respectful and who pay well make her safer.

I don't think every sex worker story needs to be one where she is in danger, at all. But this sort of bizarre choice of her business model (again, with no real explanation) is one of those things that makes me think that Peckham has not spoken to sex workers. Which is so not the sense that I got from the Charlotte Street series.

There are other issues in this book with how Thaïs conceives of sex work and her role as a worker. We hear all the time that Thaïs is the best courtesan in London. She says at one point “Being a whore was a bit like being a physician. You took the measure of a man, diagnosed him, and administered a treatment. And Thaïs suspected all Lord Eden needed from her was a bit of confidence." And yet, we see her almost purposefully misunderstand and willfully mock and tease Alistair, in a way that edges on cruel. I don't necessarily think she owes him kindness or even politeness--I think anyone could describe her cruel mocking as "punching up." But this is the first time in the series that we see Thaïs working and she is kind of bad at it? It takes so long for her to help him get comfortable to disclose his anxiety about the marriage bed, in part because she has been making fun for him for like two weeks!

Similarly, Thaïs's wit kind of works like this. We're told by characters all the time that she is so smart. I believe that she could be! But her "wit" mostly comes down to bawdy word association. It's like one step more complicated than "that's what she said" jokes because she has to think of a new line each time. I'm not in the business of being an aristocrat hiring a courtesan, but what is the appeal of this? And actually what is the appeal of having a courtesan you can only sleep with for one night? Again this model doesn't make any sense! She doesn't do any courtesan-ing. It is actually disrespectful of sex work to characterize as purely this physical thing as the thing of value. Does Thaïs go out with these men? When she takes on a client one scene, he comes to her place and they almost immediate start having sex.

Thaïs herself talks about the mental and emotional process of sex work, but her model does not include that and we don't really see it. Even with Alistair, the emotions come when they are falling in love with each other. Thaïs doesn't seem to perform any of the work with him as a client. I can understand that that is difficult to do, but we keep being told that she is good at it!

It is like Peckham knows how she is supposedly to write about sex work progressively, but can't actually conceive of sex work as a mental and emotional service. (This is what reminded me of Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore, but instead of feminism at large, it is specifically sex work).

Beyond the sex work stuff, which I just couldn't believe how much it was underbaked, this book is not edited well. There were multiple passages of dialogue where it felt like Peckham wrote two options for lines and left both of them in. Take this for an example. Early, Alistair tells Thaïs that his mother was French (which she then bizarrely understands as the reason for his olive skin tone. Sure some people in France are olive. But also some English people are olive. It's a weird comment). But then, maybe half an hour later, she does a fake French accent and he corrects her pronunciation and she wonders "how do you know that?" And he reminds her...he just told her his mother was French.

So either, Thaïs is a terrible listener and kind of inattentive to her client (not great sex worker qualities) or this just doesn't make any sense.

I liked the idea of Alistair a lot and there were some charming moments between the couple. But because I know Peckham can do so much better (she's even done better in this series! I love The Rakess and Portrait of a Duchess was fine, if not her best), I'm disheartened by the execution of this book.

And the sex scenes weren't even that hot! Boooooooooooo.

Anyway: watch Klute, read A Gentleman Undone, and Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights. And stop writing girl gangs!

[Lydia Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM OBSESSED. 🚨🚨🚨 New all-time favorite alert.

This book is everything I want in a historical romance and I devoured it in twenty-four hours. I am a HUGE @scarlettpeckham fan and the last installment of the Society of Sirens series delivers so hard 😭😭. Thaïs and Alastair are PERFECT and the way their love story unfolds is just chef’s kiss 🧑🏼‍🍳💋.

Thaïs is a notorious courtesan and Alastair is a respectable albeit politically progressive earl. He wants to marry, but lacks experience (and has one persistent problem in the bedroom!!! calling all readers who like a man who struggles to, uh, contain his excitement—I AM THIS READER). So what does he do? Pay for a month of Thaïs’s time (all proceeds going to the Sirens’ Institute for Women, of course) so that she can teach him how to please his future wife. She is bawdy and loud and chaotic. He is buttoned-up and secretly (okay, not secretly at all) a complete simp for her. It’s soooooo good.

I will also add that this book is relatively low-angst for Peckham, so if you are interested in her work but like a read with fewer barriers for the central couple, I’d recommend starting here!

Thank you so much to @avonbooks for the ARC. THE MISTRESS EXPERIENCE will be out June 25th and can be preordered now. Do it, you won’t be disappointed!! This is one I’ll be thinking about for a long time 🙏🏼.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[amarachireads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really liked this one! This had a good plot, characters and romance and i was here for it. Basically the plot is that a successful lord wants to settle down and get married but he’s horrible at peopling and sex. He hires one of the best escorts for a month to teach him how to do that. The mmc is very reluctant to learn and it doesn’t help that the fmc is confident with her body, sex and escorting. I loved the banter and how comfortable the mmc over time got with it. The romance/spice is a slow burn but it happens i lover how the characters got to know each other and really became friends before the feelings started. There’s trauma/feelings that both characters have and i liked how it was addressed. Overall a really good historical romance, i need to read more from by this author!

Read for:
- Historical romance
- He’s an introverted nerd and she’s an escort
- She gives him sex lessons
- He cooks and cares for her
- Slow burn

[Tina | readinginbliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

Courtesan, Thaïs Magadalene auctioned herself to the highest bidder for a month of carnal passion to raise money for women's rights. But when she shows up in the countryside, all is not what it seems. Earl, Lord Alastair Eden is a radical politician who is perfect in everything he does, except, well, making love. He pays for Thaïs to teach him the ways so he can be prepared when he marries. When their bargain comes to an end, they both feel hurt. Can they summon the courage to tell each other how they really feel?

Wow, what a wonderful book! I really love the chemistry of these two. I love how sweet and thoughtful Alastair is and how sassy Thaïs is. Likewise, I'll definitely be re-reading this book in the future! Now, I have to go back and read the other two.

Favorite quote:

She gestured to the wardrobe. "Dress me, milord."

He winced. "Please stop calling me that."

"Very well, Your Earlship."

"That's not even a word."

[Sarahcophagus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I liked this better than the last book in this series. Who doesn’t love a puppy dog sweetheart hero? Especially a Peer that knows how to bake?? Delightful. Their opposites attract tension and emotional angst was very engaging. Eden’s performance anxiety and how patient the FMC was with her lessons was wonderfully refreshing. Unfortunately as is the case with nearly every historical “clashing classes” romance book, this falls into that same trap of the MMC finally deciding he can “settle” himself to marry beneath his station. Then everything wraps everything up incredibly quickly without going into any details of any fallout that it makes you wonder why there was ever a reason to doubt they could make it in the first place.

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars! The Mistress Experience is the newest release from Scarlett Peckham and this was so good! This is the 3rd book in the interconnected standalone, historical romance series and I loved this one!

Thaïs is the most infamous harlot in London and one month with her is up for auction to help raise money for the cause of women’s rights. Lord Alastair Eden is an earl, a radical politician, and a perfectionist in all things. He ends up secretly purchasing the month with Thaïs since he wants to take a wife soon and wants to know exactly how to please her...a skill he’s currently lacking in and knows it.

I absolutely adored this hero! He cooks, he wants to know exactly how to please his future wife, he wants to be able to harness his own urges. It was so fun seeing him paired up with Thaïs who is so much more brash and upfront about the topic of sex. He’s very prim and proper but in a very endearingly charming way! It was also nice seeing a hero who isn’t just a perfect rake in the bedroom and really needs help and wants to learn and things go awry and he struggles and they figure it out together. She also secretly wants a husband and children of her own one day and it was sweet seeing this pairing! Also some great sick/caretaking scenes in this one! While book 2 was a miss for me, 1 and 3 were both excellent but very different vibes.

I received an ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars My disappointment knows no bounds. What happened to the author of The Rakess and the entire Charlotte Street series?? I've been trying to write this review for months and keep coming back to how this book failed in terms of both characterization and character work, which therefore failed as a romance.

Thaïs is supposed to be one of the greatest courtesans in England. However, I doubt this to be true. She's crass and constantly makes fun of Eden and coerces him into sex instead of listening and helping him feel more comfortable. She reduces sex work to the physical act of sex instead of anything that might come before or after. Surely some of her clients would ask her to accompany them to events? Or perhaps not, if they know what her personality is like.

The whitewashed portrayal of sex work doesn't factor in safety concerns or the economics. Having one client per week who will never be repeated puts Thaïs in a more precarious position. Just how many men in London can even afford her services in the first place? We're told she wants a family more than anything but what is she doing in order to get that? Has she ever thought about doing something other than sex work? More importantly, had she ever thought about retiring before she purportedly fell in love with Eden? I couldn't understand where any of her decisions came from. She constantly complains about being bored in the country and doesn't seem to have any way of entertaining herself. But then... what would she do the other days of the week when she didn't have clients??? This doesn't paint a picture of a fulfilled life or an understanding of sex work.

That's not even the most glaring part, however. Thaïs fakes her orgasms when she's supposed to be teaching him how to pleasure a woman and encouraging him to be fully embodied during sex. What in the Pretty Woman is that?! Then when Eden asks her to be his mistress instead of his wife, she's insulted. But why? Given her profession, it's not a surprising offer; many courtesans would have been thrilled! Her best friends Sera and Cornelia don't want marriage so it would have been in keeping with them had she accepted being a mistress. Before Eden, Thaïs's entire personality was about what a great courtesan she was and never showed even a glimmer of wanting to stop. Falling in love doesn't have to mean retiring if she really loves her work, nor does it mean she couldn't be his mistress. On the other hand, it was hard for me to see where Eden's feelings came from either. I don't believe these two are meant to be. Lastly, I hated the choices made around Elinor's soon-to-be-ex-husband Bell.

I give it an extra .5 for the scenes with Eden baking and cooking but that's about it.

I recommend Emma's review and Chels's review for more insights.


Characters: Thaïs is a white courtesan, possibly in her 20s. Alastair Eden is a 39 year old white earl. This is set in 1790s Cotswolds and London, England.

Content notes: off page attempted rape of secondary character she kills her rapist in self-defense; the rapist was secondary character's soon-to-be-ex-husband who was also her abuser, past death of MMC's mother by suicide (bipolar disorder), sex work (FMC was auctioned at 14), secondary character's abusive husband filed for divorce and is keeping her children from her, past intimate partner violence (secondary character), past kidnapping and institutionalization of secondary character by her husband as revenge, past parental substance abuse, purity culture (MMC has a bit of a Madonna-whore complex), FMC raised in a brothel starting at age 9, past child homelessness (FMC was orphaned), past death of MMC's father and stepmother (fever), past death of secondary character's mother (tumor), rumored infidelity (townspeople), allergies, fever, weight loss, premature ejaculation, impotence, unsafe sex practices (penetrative sex without a condom without discussing STI or pregnancy prevention, whereas before they'd always been careful to use a condom), on page sex, bondage, blindfold, squirting, masturbation, alcohol, casual ableism, gendered euphemisms for genitalia, gender essentialism, ableist language

[Karmen O · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mistress Experience by Scarlett Peckham, book three of The Society of Sirens series
.
Cover: 5/5
Story: 2/5
Steam: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 (+kissing, solo scenes)
Ending: HEA with epilogue
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Stand Alone or Series: Could be read as a stand alone, but there is a subplot occurring that began in book one. I found myself feeling like I was missing some things.
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England
Frustrated Shy Earl
Notoriously Desirable Courtesan
Bedding Lessons
Politically Progressive MCs
Opposites Attract
She's the Teacher
Class Difference
English Countryside
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I am the odd person out. This one didn't work for me. While I feel the storyline had some serious potential, I never found myself captivated or swept away by the romance. Zero. Swoon. It is a real bummer as Teach Me/Bedding Lessons/Art of Seduction is a trope I enjoy!

I found Thaïs to, honestly, be flat-out rude too many times to Alastair. While he was an outstanding jerk to her several times, she felt mean and rude for the sake of being rude.I feel as though there was a great deal to her character and personality that was left undisclosed/undiscovered.

Alastair is made out to be this progressive man, but his continued thought of "can't marry a whole because I am an Earl because what will society think" was eye roll worthy. Even when he realizes he is an idiot and that Thaïs is the only woman he will ever truly love, he makes a big muck out of it. More than once! The causation of his heavy hesitation comes too little too late for readers to experience and understand the full "come to Jesus" moment.
I did not find their romance to be believable beyond them simply enjoying screwing each other. They spent an entire month together, and yet, I was not falling for them falling for each other by the end.
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As for steam, Peckham uses a mix of explicit and allude-to terms. A variety of scene lengths and actions with great details. Passing mentions of bondage.
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Read as a physical copy.
Honest review left voluntarily.
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Content Warning (may contain spoilers):
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Orphaned as young child
Child pr*stitution
S*x work
Su*cide- parent, off page
De*th of parent- fever
Mention of slave trade
Mu*der

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out strong and then my enjoyment slowly declined until I could barely stand the MCs and I didn't care if they got their HEA or not.

While I loved the concept of an experienced woman teaching an inexperienced man how to pleasure his future wife, Thaïs and Alastair had as much chemistry as Thaïs and the mud she fell in. I also never really liked either character. Thaïs would osculate wildly between loving and then demeaning herself and her profession. Alastair...was an inexperienced Earl who liked to bake and talk about his livestock. That was his entire personality.

My plot qualms mostly come down to pacing - much like Book 1 in this series, The Rakess, I felt like this went on a bit too long. Had these two idiots just admitted their feelings, everyone would have been spared their miserable attitudes, the reader included.

But...idk...some choices Peckham made about Thaïs regarding her profession - faking her orgasms for Alastair at first, and then having her squirt when she actually did orgasm - rubbed me the wrong way. The first doesn't lend to the female gaze, and the second absolutely is for the male gaze. On top of that, when Thaïs and Alastair have sex while Thaïs is sick in bed....that's just not hot. None of this was hot.

[Jessica White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tugged me out of a reading slump before I had even finished the first chapter. I inhaled it within 24 hours. If you aren’t aware, Scarlett Peckham can WRITE. Everything I look for in a romance was here: exceptional banter (with the bawdiest jokes), humor, so much swooning and tenderness between the MCs, a good grovel, and exquisite attention to detail in lovemaking, and sex lessons for the MC. To say I might be obsessed with this book is an understatement. The cover alone is breathtaking and after reading it so perfectly captures the story and the characters.

I would almost recommend going in blind to The Mistress Experiment (I saw the author name and cover and I was like, SOLD!). So I will not hold it against you if you choose not to read further and just go out immediately and get this book. But I will try my best not to spoil anything that might make your reading experience less. Thaïs is a sex worker, and probably the most notorious one in London and possibly all of England for her beauty, her ability in the bedroom, and her bawdy humor. She knows exactly who she is and loves her work; she uses the word whore and courtesan to describe herself without shame in those words. When the novel opens, she is being auctioned off to the highest bidder for a month of her time (she has the luxury to bed men only once and only one time a week), in exchange for the funds to be used by the Society of Women for their school.

I’ll skip to the good part; Thaïs mistakes the identity of whom pays for her services. And gah! the reasons he wants her? Only the most romantic thing ever—to give him lessons making him proficient at sex and to teach him how to make lovemaking good for his future wife. The lessons are EVERYTHING in this book. Here’s what I loved. Although this is very much open door and openly descriptive, Peckham uses Alastair’s uncomfortableness and eagerness with any sexual situation involving Thaïs to draw out their encounters. It’s almost a slowburn of the most delicious kind with the give and pull between what Alastair desires and the amount of control he’s willing to give up. Thaïs is so gentle with his insecurities and yet she doesn’t let him get away with anything. Likewise he is so kind-hearted and soft towards her, cracking her hardened exterior by truly seeing her for herself, and not just as a beautiful woman on a pedestal or as a lowly whore undeserving of affection.

The majority of the story takes place in a country cottage where Thaïs’s city girl personality truly shows. Her boredom brings playfulness and humor and with a month of time on their hands Peckham is able to delve deep into Alastair and Thaïs’s characters. I loved the cooking scenes and to have a hero who will not think twice about stepping below his station to provide for his mistress made my heart soar. This is competency kink at its best; Alastair wants to be “perfect” in all things, including the bedroom and it takes a Thaïs sized being to teach him.

You will not want to put this one down. I loved Alastair, loved Thaïs and loved the sex lessons premise (it’s so steamy—really really good!). I wish I got a little bit more out of the epilogue; what was the ton’s reaction? What is their future like together? But even though I have a few unanswered questions, this book is a solid five stars for all the feelings it drew out of me while reading. I received an early copy from Avon and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Steam: 🧯🧯🧯🧯
Number of 🐔: 5️⃣9️⃣ and one 🦚

[Justin Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

A fitting conclusion to an ambitious, if uneven historical romance trilogy, The Mistress Experience is overall an extremely joyful, heartfelt read, thanks to its fiery, no-filter heroine, excellent writing, and the 'sex education' premise that dives into issues rarely communicated with such frankness in a historical romance context.

While Book 2 The Portrait of a Duchess elaborated on the series' world building (really fleshing out the activities of the Society of Sirens), and being more explicit regarding its social commentary, to the point of overriding its romance, The Mistress Experience feels like an extreme course correction; with a very scaled-back domesticity story taking place primarily at a single location. Even though it is a positive change returning focus back to the featured couple, as someone who prefers dynamic plotting /multiple settings in his historical romance, this can also be perceived as a slight downgrade.

I'm glad I was able to follow through with this series; with The Rakess, still reigns as the perfect blend of familiarity and fresh ideas, The Portrait of a Duchess packed with great intentions but fumbles the execution, and The Mistress Experience lands somewhere in between, I can these stories are nothing if not memorable. I'm curious what Scarlett Peckham will write next!

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**

[gottalottie · Rating 1 out of 5]

nothing wrong with this, I loved the premise but didn’t feel the love. it’s kinda like they spent a month together and naturally fell in love but did we witness that? not much actually happened

[abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. I didn’t really hate it or love it either way. It was very middle of the road. I didn’t really find these two characters loving each other by the end believable at all. It honestly felt like they spent no time together besides having sex. So for you to try and tell me they were in love had me raising an eyebrow. I found their interactions together very ehh overall. Honestly I feel nothing towards this book and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It definitely will not be memorable in the future for me.

[Raïssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

trop mimi j’ai trop aimé

[Ninon · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up

solid and enjoyable read, took me just over a day to get through, love the representation of PE and erectile dysfunction

[Jess (JustMaybePerfect) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the final quarter of this book had kept pace with the first three quarters, this would have been an all time fave.

She’s a famed courtesan who uses her popularity to auction a month of her time to the highest bidder. With the money, she and her friends (the rest of the series) plan to build a school/home/training facility for women.

He’s a stuffy aristocrat desperate for some intimacy lessons to prepare him for marriage and has a friend win the auction on his behalf.

After her shock at the revelation of the true winner subsides, they agree to spend one month together in a small cottage living basically as man and wife.

There are so many good things: forced proximity, class differences, progressive politics, doting big brother, he cooks for her, she tries to cook for him, birthdays, helping friends, quick off the mark time and time again, sick bed, caretaking, plus the sex is HOT, and watching them fall in love is wonderful.

And then, this progressive man who has no issue pushing his liberal agenda in parliament decides the woman he has fallen ass over tits in love with isn’t good enough for him and he fucks it all up. Horrible jokes, terrible apologies, massively insulting offers, not nearly enough groveling, ugh, Thaïs deserved more.

Did love seeing side characters Elinor and Jack get their HEA though!

[T Rojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW (thanks NETGALLEY!)

Sex lessons?! Sex lessons the man needs?! Hell yes! I was A little skeptical reading since I havent Read the rest of the series but this can easily be read as a standalone. Thaïs is a whore (don’t worry it doesn’t hurt her feelings calling her that) and Alistair buys her in an auction for a month to get better at sex so he can find a wife. Alistair is a shy cinnamon roll 2 pump chump. Thaïs is kind of over being a hooker and would love nothing more than a husband and babies. I loved The banter between the 2 and how crass Thaïs was, everything she said made Alistair blush and it was hilarious. I really Wish there was more of an epilogue (I’m not sure if this was the end of the series) I just Wanted to see where they ended up living since their whole time in the country they lied and said they were brother and sister

Also A+++ the cover is so pretty!

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

scarlett peckham is a fabulous writer but i just couldn't connect with these characters or their storylines (i mean they didn't adopt kitten that were born in the barn next to the cottage, what kind of romance heroes does that?!)

[ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love scarlett peckham's books especially the secrets of charlotte street series but i felt a little conflicted with this series tbh.

i liked the first book the most, didn't finish the second one because threesomes and quick-to-feel-love-and-lust-for-everyone characters are so far from my type it's not even funny, and i really liked this one. i mean the plot already is just one big forced proxmity trope which is one of my favorites, sprinkled with other adored tropes, and one would think i would've loved it but already the author started off with an author's note gushing about how this book is the most tender of the series, the most emotional, etc. and it set up expectations that were not met.

considering the characters were set up in a sitatuion where they would spend a whole month together essentially alone, expected to explore each other physically, one would think they had plenty of chance to develop their relationship. and there was plenty of cute and funny and tender scenes like them baking together and bantering and smiling at each other, but by the end of it i didn't feel like they knew each other that well. maybe because there was a lot of tell, not show? i'm not a literary critic and english isn't my first language so honestly i don't want to claim to know how to do anything in writing. however the fact that they spent the first two weeks of their month together barely seeing each other because he was avoiding her, and then spent the last two weeks fucking everywhere they could off-page while she faked all of her orgasms almost to the end is probably the thing that made me feel disconnected from them. and then when they separate near the end of the book (as they all do) we have more page-time dedicated to that period of time than we do them getting together. basically it ends as soon as alastair proposes to thaïs.

listen i'm kind of used to that format by now, having read so much romance and especially historical romance, but this was set up to be an emotional and tender romance (also the final installment of the series) and too many of the more important emotional and tender moments were off-page.

it's baffling to me how you can write a character who is a seasoned courtesan but deep down yearns to be a mother and a wife, and THEN not show her get married or have a child. it would've gone such a long way in adding emotion and connection to her character. homegirl faked most of her orgasms and there was barely any description of her feelings and sensations in her inner monologue and i'm supposed to just care and believe that she's deeply in love with the man? the thing is i understand why she did all of that, it's not a matter of not understanding, it's a matter of feeling a lack of depth in her that bothered me because she's supposedly very deep and nuanced and intelligent in theory, but the author didn't linger enough on those traits for me to even notice them tbh.

it's a cute and nice enough historical romance, which is ironic since the author prides herself on her supposedly subversive and angry feminist take. i myself am perceived as subversive and angrily feminist and yet i thought this book was bland in comparison to its own ideal. i guess the things scarlett writes about *are* unconventional on paper but again, the lack of depth to it all just comes across as just another spicy novel.

and i'm talking specifically about this series, because honestly i didn't feel this way about the secrets of charlotte street. her "widow in emerald" short novella felt a thousand times more intense and emotional than this full length story. which is sooo weird to me. would love to know or be able to pinpoint exactly what's so different about how she wrote this series in particular, in comparison to charlotte street.

anyway, still gonna read her books obviously because she's awesome. it's just this series in particular that was disappointing to me.

[April Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thaïs is the most sought after prostitute in London. 30 days of her time is auctioned off for charity to a Lord. Only come to find out when she rolls up to a quaint country cottage, she meets a completely different man. Lord Eden bought Thaïs in secret because he wants to take a wife and needs lessons in how to make his wife happy. He knows he's getting a vulgar, rough around the edges but joyful and gorgeous woman to learn from but he doesn't know he's going to fall completely in love with her.

This was a complete delight. The banter was fantastic. Lord Dden is incredibly reserved and sweet. I love a good buttoned up hero who is off kilter by a wild woman. This book is achingly romantic for how crass Thaïs is. There's lessons of Seduction, caretaking, A MAN WHO COOKS, and so much more.

This is my favorite book from Scarlett Peckham for sure.

I received an advanced copy through NetGalley but all my enthusiastic opinions are my own.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meraviglia assoluta, con una protagonista cortigiana scoppiettante e un protagonista lord scopincûl, proprio il mio genere di accoppiata ♥️
Adorabili entrambi singolarmente, e figurarsi le loro interazioni man mano che si conoscono meglio e sono più a loro agio l'uno con l'altra!
Il terzo atto è stato straziante, in modo diverso da The Rakess (molto più dark quello), e assolutamente necessario perché ha portato a una conclusione molto soddisfacente, senza bisogno di ulteriori perdite di tempo. Il periodo che Thais e Alastair passano nel cottage da soli ha mostrato a sufficienza come funzionino benissimo insieme, non serviva altro.
Le sex lessons sono un trope poco diffuso ma che adoro sempre, e credo che il trope e i protagonisti rendano questo il mio romanzo preferito di Scarlett Peckham ♥️

[Katie (Romance Novel Quotes)]

I seem to be in the minority in that this book was just okay for me.

Loved the positivity around a FMC who is a sex worker, who has agency in her own life and who isn’t shamed or ashamed. Always here for a “sex lessons” premise, in this case for a 40-year-old virgin(ish) earl. I’ll take all the forced-proximity-in-a-cottage I can get, especially if the earl is going to cook all the meals himself.

But in the end, this book didn’t really come together for me, and I’m not sure why. In part I felt that because the hero is portrayed as quite progressive—even within the relatively inclusive historical setting Peckham has created—I needed more of a conflict than the standard “we obviously can’t marry even though we’re in love because she’s a courtesan and I’m an earl.” And the babylogue felt like an afterthought? I don’t know—I really wanted to love this whole series more than I did.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so much. Eden is precious, but Thaïs ended up stealing the show here. What a sweet sweet heroine, and exactly what Eden needed. No notes.

[Carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit funny and cute with some scenes I just think it was missing a climax conflict for me. I enjoyed the audiobook.