His Favourite Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren

Hugely disappointing end to the series

2 Stars

When penniless Gabriella St. George tries to shoot a man who has wronged her family, she’s quite put out to discover that she actually has Anthony Black, Duke of Wyvern at her mercy.

The pair become further entangled due to the kindness of a relative who gives Gabriella the chance for a Season in London and the hopes of a new life. But instead of watching over her like he promised, Tony finds that he’s helpless against the scorching heat that engulf the pair whenever their together.

Soon, Tony has to rethink his stance on love and marriage but is it too late to win the one person he knows he can’t live without.

This is the third book in Warren’s Mistress Trilogy after My Fair Mistress and The Accidental Mistress. Although it contains characters and relies on instances that occurred in the first two stories, I still think this book stands alone quite nicely.

Despite that, I was hugely disappointed in this book and quite annoyed that what has been a fun and likeable series of books should end on such a note.

The plot, in my opinion was virtually non-existent and the story just seemed to plod along without much excitement or interest. I didn’t feel any real connection with or between the characters and felt they were too lacking in depth to be taken too seriously.

I also had a real problem regarding the difference in the character’s ages. Gabriella was 17 while Tony was at least 36. It wasn’t the age gap so much as that Gabriella really was written as a 17 year old girl and was immature with it which made the whole thing about a grown man lusting after a teenager a little creepy for me. It might have been the norm for Regency times but Gabriella could at least have been written at least slightly mature for her age.

Tony was also apparently completely uncaring that he was having his way with his best friend’s niece and his switch from never marrying to proposing was laughable in its suddenness.

Overall, this book fell completely flat for me. I’m giving it two stars instead of just one because the writing wasn’t terrible and I at least finished it. I won’t give up on Tracy Anne Warren but unless you’re desperate to read the concluding part to the Mistress trilogy I can’t recommend this book to you at all.

The Accidental Mistress by Tracey Anne Warren

Well-written and enjoyable romance

4 stars

In order to escape marriage to a brutal man, Lily Bainbridge stages her own death and, disguised as a boy, attempts to make her way to London and the independent life she’s always dreamed of. Her plans to awry with a chance encounter with the powerful and dangerously attractive Ethan Andarton, Marquis of Vessey.

Having agreed to a marriage of convenience simply to appease his family, Ethan has no intention of abandoning his rakish ways. But after meeting spirited Lily he is determined to make her his mistress, and find out all her secrets in the process. But when two people who never expected to find love, fall in love, it’s never going to be plain sailing.

This is the second in Warren’s Mistress trilogy after My Fair Mistress and before My Favourite Mistress. Despite having the characters from the first book appearing, you don’t need to have read the first book in the series to understand and enjoy this one.

Both Lily and Ethan are excellent characters with lots of chemistry between them. Despite Ethan being a worldly marquis and Lily a country miss, the relationship between the pair was refreshingly equal and to watch them fall in love, often despite their wishes, was a delight.

If I have one little criticism it’s that there were a few too many Americanisms as well as grammatical mistakes contained within the book. It just jars you from the story which is annoying.

I am fast becoming a huge fan of Tracy Anne Warren’s writing and this book is no exception. If you like fun, interesting and well-written romances then I would recommend this book to you.

The Wedding Trap by Tracy Anne Warren

Entertaining and engaging romance

4 Stars

Bluestocking Eliza Hammond has been in love with Kit Winter forever. Unfortunately, he only sees her as his sister in law’s mousy, shy, bookish friend. After 4 seasons without a sniff of an offer, it would appear that every other man thinks the same. But now Eliza has come into a fortune and is determined that this season will be her best yet – she just needs some help.

So she enlists the help of Kit to transform her into a stunning society belle that will be worthy of catching a great husband. But as their lessons continue, the sparks between Kit and Eliza begin to fly. Kit soon finds himself floored by his desire for Eliza, but will he realise his true feelings before he loses her to another man?

This is the third book in Warren’s ‘Trap Trilogy’ after The Husband Trap and The Wife Trap. The book features the couples from both previous stories but apart from this stands nicely on its own.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The writing was entertaining and engaging and the characters likeable. My main problem with the story was that there was a distinct lack of passion. It was a good read but lacked any great emotional depth so it was hard to develop a great feeling for Kit, Eliza or their emerging love story.

Another great annoyance was the huge number of Americanisms that popped up quite frequently in the book. This really pulled me out of the story and seriously grated after a while.

Despite all its faults, this is still a story that I would recommend. It may not be the deepest or most involved story but it’s still an entertaining and readable story. 4 stars.