The Secret Mistress [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [MP3 CD]

Well, if you like Mary Balogh and you liked the two Dudley brothers' stories (Jocelyn in MORE THAN A MISTRESS and Ferdinand in NO MAN'S MISTRESS), you should not pass up the opportunity to read this, the prequel to those two books. In this one, their younger sister Angeline is 19 years old and coming to London for her come-out. No suspense here, of course, if you've read the older MISTRESS books, because she's long married in those, which chronologically take place after this new one.

However, it is a nice story (not thrilling, or exciting, or passionate or sensual, just nice) about how Angeline meets and falls in love with Edward. It's also totally predictable. You have a somewhat flighty and fun-loving heroine and a staid and respectable (dare we say almost stuffy and boring?) hero. What we know should happen, does happen. But it's sweet and pleasant and nice. And I must say I found myself liking both the characters. (They're very nice.)

My favorite part of this book is actually what happens between two secondary characters: Edward's longtime friend Eunice Goddard, who he is convinced should be the woman he marries, and Lord Windrow, a rakish friend of Angeline's brothers. That's a bit more fun and I would have liked to read more of their interaction.

So, this is worth a read for a Balogh fan. Her writing is still much better than the majority of HR writers'. Not worth the hardcover price, however. Get it from the library like I did, or wait for the paperback edition.

Wonderful conclusion (or prequel in fact) to the Mistress trilogy. I loved Angie and Edward. So refreshing having a hero that did not think fighting made him a man. I love most of Balogh's books but this went right to the top (almost bumping Slightly Dangerous from favorite Balogh book).

Mary Balogh is, in my opinion, one of the better authors of historical romance out there, and I always look forward to her latest offering, even if the books have perhaps been becoming a little samey recently.

I was very pleased to receive my copy of "The Secret Mistress", the third in a trio of books of which the first two ("More than a Mistress" and "No Man's Mistress") were written back in 2000/2001.

I wasn't sure which way the book would go. I love "More than a Mistress" and think it's one of Mary Balogh's best books and it's one that I often re-read. "No Man's Mistress" didn't work for me at all and I won't bother reading it again. So what would the third book in the trio, the story of the Duke of Tresham and Ferdinand Dudley's sister Angeline, be like?

This books starts with the slight problem that we already know Angeline will marry Heyward because we have seen her with him in the previous two books. Thus the timeline of this story is that it is the first of the three books, although it has been written last. Not that readers are often in doubt as to who will marry whom when reading the blurb on the back of these books, but still.

Angeline appeared as a bubbly, garrulous but overall appealing character in the previous books and Heyward was quiet, reserved and possibly henpecked. The author has kept to this theme in that Angeline does seem garrulous in this book and Heyward quiet and reserved, although this time obviously we learn much more about him.

Angeline is a young debutante and fixes almost instantly on Heyward as her chosen suitor when she meets him, mainly because he is very much unlike her brothers - he is the consummate gentleman. But what could Heyward see in flighty Angeline? She may be suitable in terms of breeding and family but can he be happy with her? And can she with him?

Although it was good to read this story, to meet the characters, to travel with them on the journey as they fall in love, this book didn't entirely work for me. Firstly it seemed to be beset with parts of speech in italics to give us emphases which I felt rather detracted from reading the dialogue. I also felt that Mary Balogh's usual skill in growing characters had somewhat deserted her here and both Angeline and Heyward didn't change much at all during the story.

The significant plot point in the story where Angeline receives a proposal from Heyward also seemed a little unlikely to me (not the proposal, but her response to it), as if the author was trying to work out a way to make the story go on longer. It felt contrived and I wasn't convinced. I also found that the (presumably obligatory) sex scene felt all wrong, inasmuch as the character of Heyward that we were shown was that of someone who did the right thing and thought things through sensibly and somehow the scene didn't work for me.

However, I was left at the end thinking that Angeline and Heyward would be happy together and that they did suit, and the epilogue to the book was a welcome addition to the story. I feel, though, that this book is one that will appeal to Mary Balogh's fans but will not be one that would bring her hordes of new readers if this were their first experience of this talented author.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2011

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