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Title: The Perfect Mistress by Betina M. Krahn ISBN: 0-553-56523-0 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.09 (11 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Mysterious whisper
Comment: Set later in the nineteenth century than most romances, THE PERFECT MISTRESS offers an entertaining glimpse of the upper crust underground. The novel features the daughter of a successful courtesan, a young woman who suspects that financial security lies in marriage rather than settling as the mistress for some lordling. In that sense, young Gabrielle may appear to be sensible and wise in rejecting her mother's plans for her future, but alas, she is actually prone towards hasty schemes and extreme measures. She initiates the action in this novel by escaping her mother's luxurious home to run wild on the streets of London and, what, meet her future husband?
Er, well, this is a romance. But before satisfying her longing for security, she ends up twice abducted by men expecting her to be your basic fowl-mouthed Haymarket prostitute. The first attempts to reform her against her errant ways, and then the latter seeks to gather evidence of the former's hypocritical interest in whores. At the conclusion of these encounters, she's been roped into British partisan politics, and she's found a pretend suitor in order to stave off her mother's matchmaking/pimping.
You can't expect everything about a book like this to be a breath of fresh air. The hero's dour mother threatens his inheritance, and, natch, he calls her The Dragon. The heroine launches a desperate crusade to win back the hero's trust. There are also a couple of variations on The Misunderstanding, but they don't overwhelm the plot, and seem fairly consistent.
Besides these minor faults, THE PERFECT MISTRESS has plenty of entertaining ideas. For instance, while "courting" Gabrielle, the hero encourages her to scout out those souls who responded to the advertisement that she placed in her quest for eligible and willing bachelors. This scenario plays out perfectly, both amusing and ratcheting up the stakes in their relationship. It will be interesting to see if author Betina Krahn can maintain this level of creativity in her other books.
Rating: 4
Summary: Another warm, witty romance from Betina Krahn
Comment: So far I've read four of Ms Krahn's books (The Husband Test, The Mermaid, The Last Bachelor and this one) and I loved them all and look forward to reading more. I love her style, her sense of humour and of the absurd. She creates great characters with fun and interesting stories to tell. This one centers on Victorian views on morality, the role of wives vs mistresses, and the politics of Conservatives vs Liberals.
Pierce St James has heard it all, but is still surprised when Gabrielle LeCoeur proposes that he pretend to be her lover. She wants him to pretend in order to keep her mother at bay so that Gabrielle can look for a husband! You see her mother is a famed courtesan who believes that true love and passion cannot be found in the drudgery of marriage. But Gabrielle does not want to be a mistress - she claims not to have the "juices" i.e. passionate nature necessary for such a life. She simply wants a respectable husband and a respectable life.
Pierce, who always appreciates the perverse and absurd, agrees to this little charade thinking eventually he will seduce Gabrielle anyway. Besides, he plans to use Gabrielle to his political advantage against Prime Minister Gladstone, whose interest in prostitutes is cause for speculation among the political opposition.
But neither plans on the friendship, camaraderie and sheer enjoyment they get from spending time together. Eventually Pierce proves to Gabrielle that she does, in fact, have the "juices", and when things get serious, they also get very complicated. As Pierce pulls away from Gabrielle, she turns to her "advisory committee" which includes his mother, her own and some of her mother's courtesan friends, to find a way to pull him back. When nothing seems to work and things go from bad to worse, Gabrielle reminds Pierce that they were friends first and that she will be either his mistress or his wife - he only needs to choose.
The only reason that I didn't give this five stars is that I thought Pierce took too long to come around and that he was a bit unreasonable, stubborn, and ultimately hypocritical - the thing he claims to despise most! But she calls him on it and he finally wonders why he has to choose at all. Can't he have her as wife, mistress and friend? A radical notion for Victorian England!
Great read. Ms. Krahn is an author I recommend you investigate!
Rating: 5
Summary: I adore this book!
Comment: What I like best is that Pierce doesn't spend the entire book lusting after Gabby and trying to get her clothes off, because he's a rake and that's what they do - he genuinely likes her as a person and they become *friends* first (gasp!) That doesn't happen near often enough for me in romance novels, so this was a refreshing change. Yes, the friendship does get complicated by physical attraction and social scandal and all those problems have to be resolved. It's just nice to find a story where two people like each other before they fall into bed, rather than having hormones get them together and it taking the rest of the book before they can stand one another in the light of day.
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Title: The Last Bachelor by Betina M. Krahn ISBN: 0553565222 Publisher: Fanfare Pub. Date: 01 September, 1994 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Just Say Yes (Zebra Historical Romance) by Betina Krahn ISBN: 0821773143 Publisher: Zebra Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: The Mermaid by Betina M. Krahn ISBN: 0553576178 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Unlikely Angel by BETINA KRAHN ISBN: 0553565249 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 April, 1996 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Husband Test by Betina M. Krahn ISBN: 0553583867 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 27 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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