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Bluestocking Brides #3
The Rake's Mistress
The Rake's Mistress by Nicola Cornick released on Aug 30, 2005 is available now for purchase.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 3, 2004
About the author
Nicola Cornick
228 books1,174 followersInternational bestselling author Nicola Cornick writes dual-time historical mysteries that draw on her love for genealogy and local history. She studied History at London and Oxford and worked in academia for a number of years before becoming a full time author. Nicola acts as a guide and researcher at the stunning 17th century hunting lodge, Ashdown House and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Friends of Lydiard Park in Swindon. She gives talks and tours on a variety of historical topics.
Nicola lives near Oxford and loves reading, writing, history, music, wildlife, travel and walking her dog. She also loves hearing from her readers and chatting to them. She can also be found on Facebook, Twitter @NicolaCornick and Instagram.
Nicola lives near Oxford and loves reading, writing, history, music, wildlife, travel and walking her dog. She also loves hearing from her readers and chatting to them. She can also be found on Facebook, Twitter @NicolaCornick and Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 24, 2017
As a child, she had been a voracious reader and had devoured everything that came within her grasp, be it romances or treatises on engraving. Once she had started to work, the time for reading and any other pursuit had become very limited indeed and Rebecca had come to the conclusion that romance belonged only between the pages of a book. As far as she could see, marriage was a matter of comfort, convenience and sometimes financial benefit, and yet she had never seen fit to enter the married state for any of those reasons.
This book is horrible mainly because of the hero, Lucas.
He is trying to find a French spy, and suspects and seduces - if you could call this 'seduction,' more on that later - the heroine, a glass engraver named Rebecca.
Now. I am actually fine with the spy plot. You know, he has to seduce her... he falls for her... she cries when she finds out everything she thought was between them was a lie... betrayal... etc. It can be good. Please note for the record that my problem isn't with this aspect.
My problem is that the hero is an asshole. He is SO infuriating.
First of all, he is rough with her. And I don't mean in bed. When he gets upset with her - which is often, he berates her and shakes her.
Lucas let her go with a gesture of repudiation. She stumbled back and almost tripped over the stool. Her vulnerability just made him all the more angry.
Actually, they meet when he aggressively enters her carriage and orders her driver to drive off with him in the carriage. He then promptly accuses her of being a prostitute. This continues throughout the first few chapters. She states she is not a prostitute but he either has a problem believing her or enjoys humiliating and degrading women.
"I can think of many ways you might assist me," he murmured, "but of the moment I am concerned only for my brother. For the moment."
...
"How much did you take him for, Miss Raleigh?" he asked softly. "One hundred guineas? More? What is your price?"
...
"What a charming manner you have, Miss Raleigh. Do you practise it on your clients - in whatever trade it is you profess to perform?"
...
"Why not come clean and tell me the truth?"
...
"A commission," he murmured. "I suppose one might call it that."
So that's FIVE times she has had to deny being a prostitute to him. And we're only in Chapter One. Then he makes her take off her gloves so she can show him that she works with her hands. Then she has to fend off his advances with a diamond-pin scribe for cutting glass. No, I'm not kidding. He won't get out of the carriage. She has to put this at his throat to get rid of him. Then he vows to hunt down her home address.
Needless to say I am not charmed by this putrid piece of humanity. And the accusations of her being a prostitute don't stop there.
Miss Raleigh might not be a courtesan, but such coolness when confronted by masculine nakedness did argue some prior experience.
...
"Have you ever accepted such a commission, Miss Raleigh?"
...
"I am not at all sure whether you are as virtuous as you claim to be..." His hand was sliding to the nape of her neck now, tangling in the curls there, stroking softly.
So, he's KISSING her while calling her a prostitute. WTF. Then he basically offers to buy her.
Why she gives this man any time at all is a mystery to me, much less Cornick trying to convince me she is sexually attracted to a man who seems to deeply, deeply believe she's a prostitute.
Then there is this weird scene in chapter four. Rebecca goes to a masquerade ball where a man tries to rape her in a bedroom. Lucas steps in to stop this. We are relieved. But then,
The bright red indignation mottled [rapist's] throat. "It seems you have some need to play the knight errant, my lord. I assure you this lady has no need of your services."
Lucas moved with predatory precision to stand behind Rebecca. Even before he touched her she could feel his presence, feel the tiny hairs stand up on the back of her neck, feel the goose pimples that tiptoed down her spine. His hands came to rest on her bare arms above the elbow and he drew her back against his body until they were touching. She could feel his chest against her back and the curve of his hip against her buttocks. He held her hard. She felt weak with relief and faint with anticipation.
"My apologies, Miss Raleigh," he murmured, his breath tickling her ear. "Once again it appears that you must convince his lordship that you prefer my company to his."
Rebecca made an incoherent noise that, fortunately, sounded like assent. She could not have spoken had she tried. Lucas had bent his head and was feathering tiny kisses down the side of her neck. His lips drifted across her collarbone, igniting a fierce heat within her.
OK, stop... just stop. *Carmen massages her temples* Are you saying that he stops a guy from raping her... goes over to her, stands behind her and starts doing SEXUAL things to her... in front of her would-be rapist... and insinuates she has to go along with it because she has to 'prove' that she prefers to have sex with him and not the rapist?!?!!?!?!?
I'm honestly speechless. I wouldn't be surprised to find this in a book written by Laurann Dohner in her cyborg series, but in a Harlequin historical romance?! The fuck was Cornick thinking!!? Does this seem ROMANTIC to you? Or does this guy seem like the biggest jerk ever?
"You fool! What the HELL are you doing here?" He snatched off her mask, the red ribbons coming loose and tangling in her hair, wrenching a small gasp of pain from her. The strength of his fury shocked her. His eyes glittered with rage. He looked murderous and, though he stopped short of touching her again, his fists were clenched as though he wanted to shake the life out of her.
"I cannot work out," he said, "whether you are wanton, stupid, or just plain mad."
How is this guy the hero. HOW.
After sex, described in the "How's the sex, Carmen?" section, we get the second half of the book, which revolves around his lying and scheming and spying and how he was just seducing her to get information. Cue the drama. During this time period, he switches from accusing her of being a prostitute all the time to accusing her of being a spy all the time. YEAH, THAT'S RICH. YOU are the spy who screwed her over and betrayed her, Lucas. It's rich that you are accusing HER of being a backstabbing traitor! I just cannot with this hero. Ugh.
She hated the thought that he had been in the studio before and knew where to find all the simple things - the pots and pans in the scullery, a beaker of water... It felt like the greatest intrusion now that she knew he had had another purpose for seeking her out. The fact that he knew so much about her and her life was almost as distressing as the fact that she had had the poor judgment to give herself body and soul to a man whom, it seemed had betrayed her. She started to think about all the things she had confided in him, all the words she had spoken, all the intimate moments they had shared. It had seemed so precious. Now she felt sickened.
HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN?
Well, the idea that I could find the idea of sex with this walking atrocity appealing is frankly ridiculous.
But pushing all that aside. Let's pretend he was a decent hero. Okay? Okay. The sex is terrible. This fucker just goes at it with no foreplay.
Of course Rebecca is a virgin. And then he's like, "Oh, shit."
She was dimly aware of the urgency in his hands as he slid over her, then he plunged into her and the passionate invasion wrenched a sharp gasp of pain from her lips. He stilled in an instant.
"No! You can't be!" He sounded breathless and ragged.
No, fucker, she TOLD you. She told you over and over.
"I TOLD you," she said.
"Yes, but I thought..." Lucas sounded dazed.
Oh, don't you want to finish that sentence, Lucas? "Yes, but I thought you were a liar and a prostitute." FUCKER. PIECE OF SHIT GARBAGE.
And I have never, ever understood this. Never ever. It seems like romance novelists have some idea that if a woman is a virgin, the man has to do foreplay and should do sweet, good, good things to her parts before fucking her with their penis. However, it seems as if the woman is NOT a virgin, it is okay to just pull her panties down and stab her with that thing.
WHY. WHY. Most women in most scenarios want foreplay. Not all, and not in all scenarios, but I think it is a sign of a good sexual partner to put in the time and effort to get a woman worked up before fucking her. It's just common courtesy and good sense. Plus, it is really fun. It's always strange to me that these romance novels think only virgins should be treated to slow fucking with lots of foreplay. Lots of non-virgins would enjoy this, too! Just because someone has had cock in her before doesn't mean she enjoys just having it shoved in there are willy-nilly with no affection and preamble. JFC. Can we DO something about this, romance authors?!?!!? Thank you.
Anyway, yeah. I was not impressed with his performance in bed. NOT IMPRESSED. JUST SHOVES IT IN THERE. FUCKING AMATEUR. RAKE, MY FOOT!
Calm down, Carmen.
Okay, I'm calm. *breathes* So then when he is done fucking her,
"You should have told me that I would be the first."
Rebecca laughed. "I told you several times."
You fucking moron.
She asks for more... which I find hard to believe, but okay... and he fingers her to orgasm and then fucks her a second time. Still not impressed at all. She sleeps with his penis inside her and he has sex with her again when they wake up.
And that pretty much sums up the sex. I was very angry. It could be worse, he could have asked for a blowjob. I guess I should count my blessings.
Then he leaves her and she wakes up alone in a cold bed. Yeah. Yeah. One of my biggest pet peeves. What the FUCK is he thinking?! And she is just deliriously happy. Fucker doesn't even leave her a note, and she is over the moon.
She knew she loved him.
SHE KNEW SHE LOVED HIM. Imagine, loving this shitheel. That poor, poor woman. And every single experience with him has been horrendous, I have no idea what the basis of this 'love' is.
Rebecca rolled on to her back and stared at the cobwebby ceiling. She did not feel guilty at what she had done. She did not feel embarrassed or ashamed or any of the other conventional responses that she might have expected to feel having given herself to a man with such passion and wild abandonment all through the night. It had been exquisite bliss.
Do you want to know what MY feelings would be if I had first-time sex with a man, and woke up to find him gone and me alone in an empty bed?
Um... not deliriously happy?
No, closer to murderous rage. And she was a virgin! This guy is just pushing all my buttons. He is the most disrespectful, inconsiderate piece of shit. *Carmen spits on the ground* And this woman is too big of an idiot to know better or expect any better.
I seem to be running into problems lately with historical heroines who apparently think they are worth nothing more than to be treated like shit, with zero ideas of self-worth or self-value. o.O
He even ties in the ideas of her being a spy and a prostitute.
"I am wondering," he said, "just what you would have been ready to do to keep my from the truth. You invited me to bed with you. You even told me you loved me. There were not many things you were not prepared to do, were there...?"....
Rebecca turned so pale he thought she would faint and he instinctively put out a hand to steady her, but she knocked it aside.
"You disgust me, Lord Lucas," she said between shut teeth. "Get out of my room. I never wish to see or speak with you again."
Unfortunately, that doesn't last. And that's Chapter Ten. So, to be clear, he's still saying horrible things to her even in Chapter Ten.
The sex scene at the end when is no better IMO.
TL;DR - Horrible, revolting hero.
"You are mine, Rebecca," Lucas said. "Do you think that if I cannot have you I would permit anyone else to even touch you?"
Ew, disgusting. And the heroine seems to like him, which is too far-fetched IMO. The only redeeming thing I can say about the man is that he
Needless to say, this is wildly out of character for him.
Not an enjoyable book unless you enjoy frothing at the mouth. Read at your own risk.
ROMANCE CATEGORIES:
Georgian Romance
Historical Romance
Virgin Heroine
This book is horrible mainly because of the hero, Lucas.
He is trying to find a French spy, and suspects and seduces - if you could call this 'seduction,' more on that later - the heroine, a glass engraver named Rebecca.
Now. I am actually fine with the spy plot. You know, he has to seduce her... he falls for her... she cries when she finds out everything she thought was between them was a lie... betrayal... etc. It can be good. Please note for the record that my problem isn't with this aspect.
My problem is that the hero is an asshole. He is SO infuriating.
First of all, he is rough with her. And I don't mean in bed. When he gets upset with her - which is often, he berates her and shakes her.
Lucas let her go with a gesture of repudiation. She stumbled back and almost tripped over the stool. Her vulnerability just made him all the more angry.
Actually, they meet when he aggressively enters her carriage and orders her driver to drive off with him in the carriage. He then promptly accuses her of being a prostitute. This continues throughout the first few chapters. She states she is not a prostitute but he either has a problem believing her or enjoys humiliating and degrading women.
"I can think of many ways you might assist me," he murmured, "but of the moment I am concerned only for my brother. For the moment."
...
"How much did you take him for, Miss Raleigh?" he asked softly. "One hundred guineas? More? What is your price?"
...
"What a charming manner you have, Miss Raleigh. Do you practise it on your clients - in whatever trade it is you profess to perform?"
...
"Why not come clean and tell me the truth?"
...
"A commission," he murmured. "I suppose one might call it that."
So that's FIVE times she has had to deny being a prostitute to him. And we're only in Chapter One. Then he makes her take off her gloves so she can show him that she works with her hands. Then she has to fend off his advances with a diamond-pin scribe for cutting glass. No, I'm not kidding. He won't get out of the carriage. She has to put this at his throat to get rid of him. Then he vows to hunt down her home address.
Needless to say I am not charmed by this putrid piece of humanity. And the accusations of her being a prostitute don't stop there.
Miss Raleigh might not be a courtesan, but such coolness when confronted by masculine nakedness did argue some prior experience.
...
"Have you ever accepted such a commission, Miss Raleigh?"
...
"I am not at all sure whether you are as virtuous as you claim to be..." His hand was sliding to the nape of her neck now, tangling in the curls there, stroking softly.
So, he's KISSING her while calling her a prostitute. WTF. Then he basically offers to buy her.
Why she gives this man any time at all is a mystery to me, much less Cornick trying to convince me she is sexually attracted to a man who seems to deeply, deeply believe she's a prostitute.
Then there is this weird scene in chapter four. Rebecca goes to a masquerade ball where a man tries to rape her in a bedroom. Lucas steps in to stop this. We are relieved. But then,
The bright red indignation mottled [rapist's] throat. "It seems you have some need to play the knight errant, my lord. I assure you this lady has no need of your services."
Lucas moved with predatory precision to stand behind Rebecca. Even before he touched her she could feel his presence, feel the tiny hairs stand up on the back of her neck, feel the goose pimples that tiptoed down her spine. His hands came to rest on her bare arms above the elbow and he drew her back against his body until they were touching. She could feel his chest against her back and the curve of his hip against her buttocks. He held her hard. She felt weak with relief and faint with anticipation.
"My apologies, Miss Raleigh," he murmured, his breath tickling her ear. "Once again it appears that you must convince his lordship that you prefer my company to his."
Rebecca made an incoherent noise that, fortunately, sounded like assent. She could not have spoken had she tried. Lucas had bent his head and was feathering tiny kisses down the side of her neck. His lips drifted across her collarbone, igniting a fierce heat within her.
OK, stop... just stop. *Carmen massages her temples* Are you saying that he stops a guy from raping her... goes over to her, stands behind her and starts doing SEXUAL things to her... in front of her would-be rapist... and insinuates she has to go along with it because she has to 'prove' that she prefers to have sex with him and not the rapist?!?!!?!?!?
I'm honestly speechless. I wouldn't be surprised to find this in a book written by Laurann Dohner in her cyborg series, but in a Harlequin historical romance?! The fuck was Cornick thinking!!? Does this seem ROMANTIC to you? Or does this guy seem like the biggest jerk ever?
"You fool! What the HELL are you doing here?" He snatched off her mask, the red ribbons coming loose and tangling in her hair, wrenching a small gasp of pain from her. The strength of his fury shocked her. His eyes glittered with rage. He looked murderous and, though he stopped short of touching her again, his fists were clenched as though he wanted to shake the life out of her.
"I cannot work out," he said, "whether you are wanton, stupid, or just plain mad."
How is this guy the hero. HOW.
After sex, described in the "How's the sex, Carmen?" section, we get the second half of the book, which revolves around his lying and scheming and spying and how he was just seducing her to get information. Cue the drama. During this time period, he switches from accusing her of being a prostitute all the time to accusing her of being a spy all the time. YEAH, THAT'S RICH. YOU are the spy who screwed her over and betrayed her, Lucas. It's rich that you are accusing HER of being a backstabbing traitor! I just cannot with this hero. Ugh.
She hated the thought that he had been in the studio before and knew where to find all the simple things - the pots and pans in the scullery, a beaker of water... It felt like the greatest intrusion now that she knew he had had another purpose for seeking her out. The fact that he knew so much about her and her life was almost as distressing as the fact that she had had the poor judgment to give herself body and soul to a man whom, it seemed had betrayed her. She started to think about all the things she had confided in him, all the words she had spoken, all the intimate moments they had shared. It had seemed so precious. Now she felt sickened.
HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN?
Well, the idea that I could find the idea of sex with this walking atrocity appealing is frankly ridiculous.
But pushing all that aside. Let's pretend he was a decent hero. Okay? Okay. The sex is terrible. This fucker just goes at it with no foreplay.
Of course Rebecca is a virgin. And then he's like, "Oh, shit."
She was dimly aware of the urgency in his hands as he slid over her, then he plunged into her and the passionate invasion wrenched a sharp gasp of pain from her lips. He stilled in an instant.
"No! You can't be!" He sounded breathless and ragged.
No, fucker, she TOLD you. She told you over and over.
"I TOLD you," she said.
"Yes, but I thought..." Lucas sounded dazed.
Oh, don't you want to finish that sentence, Lucas? "Yes, but I thought you were a liar and a prostitute." FUCKER. PIECE OF SHIT GARBAGE.
And I have never, ever understood this. Never ever. It seems like romance novelists have some idea that if a woman is a virgin, the man has to do foreplay and should do sweet, good, good things to her parts before fucking her with their penis. However, it seems as if the woman is NOT a virgin, it is okay to just pull her panties down and stab her with that thing.
WHY. WHY. Most women in most scenarios want foreplay. Not all, and not in all scenarios, but I think it is a sign of a good sexual partner to put in the time and effort to get a woman worked up before fucking her. It's just common courtesy and good sense. Plus, it is really fun. It's always strange to me that these romance novels think only virgins should be treated to slow fucking with lots of foreplay. Lots of non-virgins would enjoy this, too! Just because someone has had cock in her before doesn't mean she enjoys just having it shoved in there are willy-nilly with no affection and preamble. JFC. Can we DO something about this, romance authors?!?!!? Thank you.
Anyway, yeah. I was not impressed with his performance in bed. NOT IMPRESSED. JUST SHOVES IT IN THERE. FUCKING AMATEUR. RAKE, MY FOOT!
Calm down, Carmen.
Okay, I'm calm. *breathes* So then when he is done fucking her,
"You should have told me that I would be the first."
Rebecca laughed. "I told you several times."
You fucking moron.
She asks for more... which I find hard to believe, but okay... and he fingers her to orgasm and then fucks her a second time. Still not impressed at all. She sleeps with his penis inside her and he has sex with her again when they wake up.
And that pretty much sums up the sex. I was very angry. It could be worse, he could have asked for a blowjob. I guess I should count my blessings.
Then he leaves her and she wakes up alone in a cold bed. Yeah. Yeah. One of my biggest pet peeves. What the FUCK is he thinking?! And she is just deliriously happy. Fucker doesn't even leave her a note, and she is over the moon.
She knew she loved him.
SHE KNEW SHE LOVED HIM. Imagine, loving this shitheel. That poor, poor woman. And every single experience with him has been horrendous, I have no idea what the basis of this 'love' is.
Rebecca rolled on to her back and stared at the cobwebby ceiling. She did not feel guilty at what she had done. She did not feel embarrassed or ashamed or any of the other conventional responses that she might have expected to feel having given herself to a man with such passion and wild abandonment all through the night. It had been exquisite bliss.
Do you want to know what MY feelings would be if I had first-time sex with a man, and woke up to find him gone and me alone in an empty bed?
Um... not deliriously happy?
No, closer to murderous rage. And she was a virgin! This guy is just pushing all my buttons. He is the most disrespectful, inconsiderate piece of shit. *Carmen spits on the ground* And this woman is too big of an idiot to know better or expect any better.
I seem to be running into problems lately with historical heroines who apparently think they are worth nothing more than to be treated like shit, with zero ideas of self-worth or self-value. o.O
He even ties in the ideas of her being a spy and a prostitute.
"I am wondering," he said, "just what you would have been ready to do to keep my from the truth. You invited me to bed with you. You even told me you loved me. There were not many things you were not prepared to do, were there...?"....
Rebecca turned so pale he thought she would faint and he instinctively put out a hand to steady her, but she knocked it aside.
"You disgust me, Lord Lucas," she said between shut teeth. "Get out of my room. I never wish to see or speak with you again."
Unfortunately, that doesn't last. And that's Chapter Ten. So, to be clear, he's still saying horrible things to her even in Chapter Ten.
The sex scene at the end when is no better IMO.
TL;DR - Horrible, revolting hero.
"You are mine, Rebecca," Lucas said. "Do you think that if I cannot have you I would permit anyone else to even touch you?"
Ew, disgusting. And the heroine seems to like him, which is too far-fetched IMO. The only redeeming thing I can say about the man is that he
Needless to say, this is wildly out of character for him.
Not an enjoyable book unless you enjoy frothing at the mouth. Read at your own risk.
ROMANCE CATEGORIES:
Georgian Romance
Historical Romance
Virgin Heroine
September 30, 2016
No sé si es que la traducción es pésima, pero está muy pobremente escrito. Es relativamente entretenido pero el "héroe" (realmente no sé en qué categoría encaja) es un pelmazo y se me hizo insoportable. Meh
September 3, 2025
The title did not seem to match the story line. It was a cute story and predictable as many love stories.
October 9, 2012
Reasonably entertaining story with sensual sex scenes. Apparently this is part of a series and of course I read this out of order (I think the first book in the series is the Virtous Cyprian which I will probably read this week). The fact became apparent at the end where the characters sum up what has happened, most of which did not happen in this book. So I suggest reading the two books in order.
The story contains that "I won't marry him because I love him" line that I'm beginning to loathe (hence the three stars and not four). It's the coward's way out, no risk involved. It's so much easier to run away than to fight for what you want. I'm so tired of that line (or similar lines of thinking). In her defense, Cornick is not the only writer to use this plot device. I'm stepping off my soapbox now.
I've read quite a few of Nicola Cornick's novels (don't know how many) because she tells an entertaining story with interesting characters and situations without relying on sex to sell the book. This may not be a favorite story, but Cornick remains on my to-read author's list.
The story contains that "I won't marry him because I love him" line that I'm beginning to loathe (hence the three stars and not four). It's the coward's way out, no risk involved. It's so much easier to run away than to fight for what you want. I'm so tired of that line (or similar lines of thinking). In her defense, Cornick is not the only writer to use this plot device. I'm stepping off my soapbox now.
I've read quite a few of Nicola Cornick's novels (don't know how many) because she tells an entertaining story with interesting characters and situations without relying on sex to sell the book. This may not be a favorite story, but Cornick remains on my to-read author's list.
April 27, 2013
A good reading, but my first impression of the "Bluestocking Brides" is not to be compared with "The Scandalous Women of the Ton" and "Brides of Fortune". These series both show a more mature writing: more accurate psychology of characters, well balanced mix of action and romance, last but not least, more tasty, passionate scenes.
May 17, 2010
Pretty good, characters were well rounded and interesting. the plot was also involving and kept me interested for the most part. The only downside was the ending it didn't really do the characters justice and it seemed sort of rushed, but overall not bad.
September 29, 2011
Well, I read this one out of order, but it is much stronger than the first story in the series. A little frustrating in that where good dramatic tension develops between the characters, the ultimate resolutions come too easily.
February 23, 2013
I was pleasantly surprised - it was a sweet love story. The side intrigue was just enough - didn't overwhelm the romance. I want to read Richard & Deb's story now (even though it'll be out of order).
October 20, 2010
Sexy historical with a dashing twist of intrigue. I especially liked the look into the life of the engraver. Obviously, certain liberties were taken for the story, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.
December 17, 2013
Oh the shame. This is a run of the mill historical romance. I wanted something light and funny with a guaranteed happy ending (no pun intended). This is that book.
June 8, 2015
glass etching
February 23, 2016
E mais um! ^_^
February 14, 2010
This one’s just your average romance novel; no more, no less.
January 29, 2017
Blue Stocking Brides 3rd of 3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2016
Okay story of an engraver and part of a series
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews