Tuesday 13 November 2007

"His Mistress by Morning" by Elizabeth Boyle

His Mistress By Morning by Elizabeth Boyle 2006.

I love the idea of this book. "His Mistress By Morning" is a fantasy/regency romance which combines magic and regency manners in a rather charming matter. Unfortunately, it's not quite as good as it could be. "His Mistress By Morning" follows shy, plain Charlotte Wilmont, a girl destined to be a spinster who finds herself desperately in love with her best friend's older brother, Sebastian Marlowe, Viscount Trent. Sebastian barely knows she exists, and is nearly betrothed to a young lady of wealth and fortune who will help to recover the family's sagging fortunes. The book opens with Charlotte deeply dissapointed - an inheritance she had been given by her aunt which she hoped would make her eligible for Sebastian's affections - turns out to be nothing but a strange old ring. Or so she thinks. Putting on the ring, Charlotte wishes that she could be the woman that Sebastian loved - and wakes up the next morning in an alternate universe as his mistress, the famous courtesan Lottie Townsend.

This sounds like an entirely charming plot, and in some ways it is. Boyle doesn't do as much with it as she could, however. The alternate timeline drags a bit, and seems not to be heading in any particular direction. I never quite understood (nor did she make entirely clear) the whole Quince/Milton dynamic - I know they're supernatural, but was I supposed to get more out of that? What I did like, however, was seeing Charlotte grow into a better understanding of herself and of her sexuality, learning to throw some of her strict upbringing to the wind and learn to enjoy herself. All in all, this book had great potential, but didn't deliver as well as it could have.

RATING:

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

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RATING RUBRICS

OVERALL RATING

(or less)
Seriously. Don't waste your time. The author could spell and put together a sentence, but not a whole lot else.

This book might be worth reading, but it had some major flaws. Perhaps there were a lot of anachronisms, or plot elements that were not resolved. Perhaps the heroes were one-dimensional. Perhaps the love story was not believable. Perhaps the writing style left a great deal to be desired. Perhaps the plot was so complex that you got laden down with it about halfway through. These books are worth reading if you're really, really bored, but I wouldn't buy them at full-price.

This is a good book. There is a strong story line, the book is well written, and there aren't too many anachronisms. Still, there is something missing. Perhaps there are holes in the story. Perhaps one of the heroes is insanely annoying. Perhaps there are unrealistic elements in the plot. All in all, worth reading, and perhaps even buying, but there are better ones to be had.

This is an excellent book. Strong characters, good reader connection. The book is well written, interesting, and stays true to the time period. The heroes are engaging and three-dimensional. These books are worth having on your shelf.

These are books that are phenomenal, above and beyond the call of duty. They have everything that exists in a four-star rating, plus that extra little something that just throws them over the top. These books are worth having in hard-cover.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING

(or below)
There is very little to no sex in this book. What little that exists is not the least bit graphic. There is very little, if any, innuendo.

There is a small amount of sex in this book (one or two scenes). The scenes are loving and not incredibly graphic.

There is a moderate amount of sex and innuendo in this book. It is moderately graphic, but consensual and not violent.

There is a lot of sex and innuendo in this book. The sex is quite graphic, but not violent. The innuendo is quite coarse and descriptive.

This book is inappropriate for children. There is a good deal of graphic sex, some of which may be violent or non-consensual. The innuendo is very coarse and descriptive, and found quite frequently. The sex is the over-riding purpose of this book.

Historical Romance Novel Reviews

Tuesday 13 November 2007

"His Mistress by Morning" by Elizabeth Boyle

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