Mistress by Marriage by Maggie Robinson (Courtesan Court #3)
August 30, 2011
Historical Romance
Trade Paperback
Brava

Reviewed by Mandi

I absolutely adored this book. I went in with a little trepidation because while I liked the first book in this series, Mistress by Mistake, I ended up not being able to finish the second book, Mistress by Midnight. But everything works in this third book.

Baron Edward Christie is a very controlled, regimented man. He wears the “Christie face” proudly, never allowing a hint of emotion to bleed onto his face. After his prim and proper wife dies, leaving him with three children, he does something a little rash for a Christie. He sets eyes on Caroline Parker at a ball, and marries her just a few days later. Caroline is just barely in good standing with the ton. With scandal in her past and no money to her name, her flaming red hair and luscious curves is enough of a temptation for Edward to lose his mind.

They marry and it is a disaster. She is outspoken and just full of fire. She does not make a proper wife for the very stuffy Baron Christie. It’s not only that but while Edward is all starch and stiffness in the daylight hours, at night they can’t get enough of each other. But with three kids to raise, and a reputation to uphold, Edward can’t keep living with Caroline. Caroline is also caught in a compromising position with a childhood friend. A friend who is known for his outlandish sexual ways. At this point they both just give up. And Caroline can’t agree more. They separate, and Caroline ends up living in a house on Jane street, where the men of the ton house their mistresses. For the next five years, Caroline becomes friends with her neighbors, supporting them as they come and go. She also becomes a very popular romance writer, putting out a book a month with very naughty scenes and basing her characters on the men her mistress friends tell her about. And of course, Edward is always disguised as a villain in her books, usually meeting his demise in some very unfortunate incident.

Every June 14th though, on their anniversary, Edward comes for one night. One night of passion, and then leaves for the rest of the year. But now Edward and Caroline think it might be time to go ahead with a divorce. But taking that step is much harder than they each expect.

I love this book because Edward and Caroline are so horrible to each other, but at the same time it is so sexy and funny. Their angst – oh their angst killed me throughout this book. They are both faithful to each other the five years they are separated but they don’t know it!!  It’s true love they just need to be convinced of it and that is just the sexiest thing right there. They love each other but they are both so stubborn and know exactly how to get under each other’s skin that they can’t help but just pick at each other constantly when in each other’s presence. But they have this burning fire between them that is just so sexy in this book. There love can be summed up in this passage:

He wanted to tell her he loved her too, but the words wouldn’t come. They had never tumbled out with ease. He hadn’t said them in years to anyone. But even unspoken, they were true, and she was right. It was terribly inconvenient, but he didn’t think he could stop loving her. Ever.

So this was love. It was nothing like the ballads and sonnets and psalms, or the comforting closeness he’d shared with Alice. It was sharp, as sharp as the iron spikes on the wall, as ruining as the crushed flowers beneath his arse. Caroline made his blood boil and his mind turned to mush. It was more than inconvenient – it was inconceivable that Edward Allerton Christie could love Caroline Louise Parker.

This book gave me many surprises too. We learn early on that Caroline was involved with a man named Andrew Rossiter in her childhood and early on in her marriage. You aren’t given many details but you know Edward blames part of the demise of his marriage on something Andrew and Caroline did. And because of what he thinks happened between them he has grounds for divorce. But quite early in this book you learn what really happens, you even get Andrew’s point of view, and not to give too much away, but his role becomes something I didn’t expect. And we learn so much about him and his role with Caroline and her brother. Shocking things that really adds a lot to this book.

Another aspect of this book that took me by surprise is the humor. I laughed out loud more than once. Caroline is just a hoot. She has such a temper, but is so quick witted. She writes these dirty romance books, and refers to killing off Edward throughout the book. It is so adorably funny.

Also, to start each chapter, there is a tiny excerpt from one of Caroline’s books that foreshadows what the chapter will be about. For example, Chapter 6:

His appetites were insatiable, keeping her a slave form morning until night, until the hours turned into days and Mariette heard no cock crow but his own.

~Dreams at Dawn

Or Chapter 7:

There was nothing she liked so much as matchmaking but Lady Laura lived alone, doomed to press her lightly –freckled nose against the glass and watch the world in love without her.

~Lady Laura’s Lesson

They really became something I anticipated as each new chapter began. But there is humor between Edward and Caroline too.  Edward writes a list of ways Caroline might better please him if they were to proceed with this marriage, and he wants Caroline to do the same. So she writes a list of 47 things, starting with:

“Your handwriting is so very difficult to read, my dear. Hm. Number One. Stab myself in the thigh with a –fuck?”

“Fork you imbecile! Stab yourself in the thigh with a fork, hard enough to draw blood.”

He looked down. “Ten times? Surely I would be successful at the bloodletting after the second or third round.” He removed his glasses and calmly laid the list on the windowsill. “You are aware that puncture wounds frequently lead to infection. I might lose my leg.”

Caroline Shrugged. Legs, arms – there was too much of him already.

“I would expect you to engage in conjugal relations despite my infirmity, you know.Once I’d heal, of course. In sickness and in health was a part of your vows.”

“Just as I promised to honor and obey you, which I will not! Ever!”

Can’t you just feel the love? Even those these two clash, they have very, very sexy times together. The combination of the angst, the humor and the naughty romance really makes this book for me. The sex is very erotic (heck, Caroline has a mirror on her bedroom ceiling). There is a smaller suspense part with some men who are not happy with how they are portrayed in some of Caroline’s books. I enjoyed how this twists into an idea with Edward to win Caroline back towards the end of the book, although the final scene that wraps up the suspense I could have lived without.

Overall, I love this book. One thing for sure is that Maggie Robinson can write books that bring about strong opinions and I’m so glad I tried this one.

Rating: B+

Recent Reviews:
Ramblings from a Chaotic Mind – 4/5
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