The Accidental Mistress by Kate Harper

Sophie believes that desperate measures are required to save her cousin from ruin, which is why she takes Alice's place in the Marquis of Roxburghe's planned seduction. Instead of the easy retreat she was anticipating, however, Sophie finds herself at the mercy of a man who shows no mercy when it comes to his desires. And she quickly discovers that Roxburghe is not a man who takes deception well...

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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.

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55 pages

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