The Accidental Mistress by Kate Harper

Bad, clichéd short story
1 star

Devereux, Marquis of Roxburghe has his eyes set on the lovely Alice Gaskell. But he’s not ready to settle down so he plans to steal her away and make her his mistress instead.

The lady’s cousin, Sophie Hartwell, is appalled at the plans and realises she must save Alice from making a huge mistake. So when Dev comes to take Alice away it’s really Sophie taking her place.

Dev is furious once the ruse is revealed but realises that his plans needn’t change even if it’s the wrong girl he’s ended up with. But he doesn’t count on Sophie’s spirit and charm changing something inside him that makes him realise maybe he got the right girl after all.


I bought this at the same time as the disappointing His Wayward Ward by the same author. Had I not, I would definitely not have downloaded this one but I had so I felt I should at least give it a go. Unfortunately, I wish that I hadn’t bothered.

Within the first few paragraphs I had taken a huge dislike to our ‘hero’, Devereux. I normally like a dissolute rake that is redeemed by the love of the heroine but in this case it was his character and morals that were flawed and not just his behaviour. At one point he choked Sophie and bruised her but, don’t worry, he was sorry – he has a temper and it would never happen again!! Shocking that such a leading man could be in a romance novel.

Sophie was a fair enough character but she lacked any excitement or strength and you felt it was only lust that the two characters felt for each other. I also couldn’t forgive her for putting up with Dev’s behaviour towards her.

The plot was staid and clichéd but nothing truly offensive. There was also nothing particularly sexy about the story despite it being billed as a risqué Regency romance.

Overall this isn’t worth buying and I can’t recommend it even if it was free. Sorry.