Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson
Historical Romance
April 27, 2010
Paperback, 352 Pages
Brava

Why I read: I had heard good buzz about this book on Twitter and asked for a review.

Favorite Quote: He would have made a fine ladies’ maid, if he hadn’t had such magnificent masculine equipage.

Thirty year old Charlotte Fallon has a lonely but content life in her small village of Little Hyssop. She has her own cottage and some stray cats and spends her time tatting lace. Her sister Deborah on the other hand lives a very different life. Deborah is a courtesan, recently set up as the mistress of Sir Michael Xavier Bayard on Jane street, where the mistresses are affectionately called “The Janes.” Bay gets called away to his ill grandmother’s side before they can officially consummate their arrangement. While he is gone, Deborah gets a marriage offer, and can’t resist. She also can’t resist stealing a ruby necklace that had once belonged to Bay’s beloved grandmother. Bay had previously loaned the necklace to Deborah, as a gift for her to wear until he could come back to town.

Deborah begs Charlotte to come to Jane Street to relay the news of her engagement to Bay. Charlotte, not having a lot of backbone when it comes to her sister reluctantly agrees. Later that night, after imbibing in way too much alcohol, Charlotte falls into a deep sleep. Bay happens to arrive home that night to see who he thinks is Deborah in his bed – both sisters happen to have dark long hair and quite a buxom chest.

As Bay enjoys himself that night, Charlotte awakes the next morning startled to realize her x-rated dream actually happened. Bay is shocked to see Charlotte instead of his mistress and once he realizes his necklace is gone, he assumes the sisters planned this scheme together. He decides to keep Charlotte at his house until the necklace is found – and by keep, I mean tied naked to the bed. Charlotte is mortified to be kept on Jane street – although not a virgin, she has had very limited sexual experiences. She may relent to him in bed, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to escape, and cause bodily harm to her captor. As these two fight, bicker, and make dirty love, their feelings start to take a turn. Just when things get really steamy, Bay’s ex-wife shows up, not so well in the head, and not so happy to see him with another woman.

I very much enjoyed Mistress by Mistake, even though it took a couple of chapters to fall in love with the hero and heroine. I honestly was a bit shocked at Bay’s behavior at first. He is very upset his grandmother’s necklace is gone, along with his mistress. But tying up Charlotte and doing sexual things to her – when I wasn’t a hundred percent sure she approved, made me feel a bit squirmy. But that feeling quickly leaves as the very feisty Charlotte soon admits she can’t get enough of Bay. Charlotte is a heroine that cracks me up as she never stops fighting being held captive. She tries to runaway with some of his artwork, only to be sadly dragged back to his place, which then has Bay even more incensed that she tries to steal from him too. Then she tries to whack him on the head with a candlestick and plans a slow poisonous death for him among other things. Bay looks at this supposedly prim and proper woman, who wears a stocking cap, and wonders what in the world possesses him to keep her. Maggie Robinson does a nice job mixing humor into this romance story and I found myself laughing throughout their story.

Their romance is very steamy and surprised me by its erotic nature. It is very naughty for a historical romance and I loved their lustful relationship. Bay’s ex-wife comes on the scene and makes for a pretty good villain. She kind of gives Bay a dose of his own medicine and it makes for a nice twist.

There are also lovely supporting characters. The other “Janes” bond together, since they are usually left to their own devices during the day. They develop a sisterly camaraderie and they help each other with their man troubles. The next two books in this series feature two more courtesans and I can’t wait to get their stories!


Mistress by Mistake has a hero and heroine that start out very feisty and build up to a very sweet and touching romance. A really fun, steamy story to read. I definitely recommend.


Rating: 4/5

Recent Reviews:
Goodreads