Mary Balogh: The Secret Mistress

In this enticing new romance ripe with sensuality and wit, New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh proves that comfort is no match for passion when a stuffy gentleman becomes the object of desire of an adoring and spirited young woman.

THE SECRET MISTRESS

While Lady Angeline Dudley’s pedigree dictates that she must land a titled gentleman, the irrepressible beauty secretly longs for a simple, ordinary suitor. No wild rakes like the men of her family, just a kind heart and good nature. So when Edward Ailsbury, the new Earl of Heyward, rescues her with unmatched civility from the advances of a scoundrel, Angeline thinks that she has found her true love. Persuading the earl is another matter entirely.

Edward has his future neatly mapped out. He hopes to wed his steadfast companion, a woman who shares his values of loyalty, respect, and decorum. But arriving in London to take his seat in the House of Lords, he is derailed by Angeline, an exquisite bird of paradise seemingly devoted to sending his predictable life into chaos.

From the brilliant hues of her fashion to her hoydenish antics, Angeline is the last woman on earth for Edward. And yet a stolen kiss in the moonlight awakens something deep and primal within him. Naturally, being a gentleman, he does the right thing after compromising a lady: He offers marriage.

Angeline knows that Edward’s proposal is born of duty, not love. But denying something so provocative and passionate is easier said than done. Deep down, Angeline believes that Edward’s dedication to convention will melt behind closed doors, where sensuality and seduction play wicked games. For a proper wife by day can become a husband’s secret mistress by night, when delicious desire rules.

My biggest bone to pick with this otherwise wonderful Regency romance is that the back cover blurb makes it sound like the bulk of the book is steamy “secret mistress” stuff. That is actually only about the last third (or even less) of the book. And it wasn’t super steamy. We are dealing with a virgin heroine, after all. So if you are hoping for a marriage of convenience type story, this isn’t really it.

A prequel to her other “Mistress” series books, we get to see the origins of the romance between chatterbox Angeline and the “dry, old stick” stodgy Heyward. Its been a long while since I read the other books, so learning these supporting characters origin stories didn’t mean anything to me, but may be of interest if you have read the other books in the series recently.

Angeline is the daughter of a Duke (who is now her brother) and has lived a very sheltered life. Pretty much everyone in her family, from father to mother and both brothers, is or was some kind of rake. Her governesses seemed like sad, unhappy people who tried to control Angeline’s high flying ways. And what you have is a self-conscious magpie as a result. Balogh nails the characterizations. Angeline will go on monologues for pages nattering on about everything out of nervous energy and vulnerability. She can be impulsive. Including falling head over ears for Heyward. But I found her so endearing, and my heart hurt for her (including a few unshed tears) when she found herself frustrated by unrequited love.

She has a bit of a character arc, but mostly she is just this young, naïve and kindhearted thing.

Heyward is a man who doesn’t believe in romantic love. And after being spare his whole life, his recent ascendancy to Earl underlines a life devoted to duty. He wants to marry his bestie for comfort, not love. He is pretty Beta, definitely not a rake, and although can alternatively be dense and smart, passionate and dull, is a wonderful diversion from the typical historical romance Alpha. His reluctant love made me think a lot of Henry Tilney, who I adore. A tempered yet growing passion.

A lot of the book is just that, Angeline and Heyward getting thrown together by matchmaking families and Heyward resisting because he is often annoyed or troubled (but definitely lusting) with/after Angeline. Balogh does this, of course, much more deftly and elegantly than I am describing. But the largest character arc is really his, and how he uncovers a passion and love for a woman that seems to wild for him.

I really enjoyed this book, even though the blurb set expectations that I quickly realized weren’t going to get met. This is a truly romantic story about opposites attracting. There is also a wonderful opposites attract secondary romance that I also found utterly charming and loved.

Balogh manages to convey real tenderness, laughter and joy and real pain with a skill that demonstrates just how talented she is…and how much she gets the historical romance reader.

There are some intimate scenes in the last third of the book, and some mentions of mistresses, etc. But its overall pretty vanilla and non-violent.

I would re-read. Balogh is always a solid go to, and one that readers can count on to really provide true romance. I would recommend trying the whole series out if you haven’t but this worked great as a standalone, too.

5 Stars 5 out of 6 How to teach the tinman how to love kind of story