Customer Reviews

The Mistress Diaries (Avon Romantic Treasure)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As if Fate stepped in to intervene, two souls met and came together in a fiery blaze of passion. No promises were asked - none were given. When night faded to day, reality set in and with the click of a door latch two lives were changed forever.

One year later - Lord Vincent Sinclair is known as a Rake. Lover of all women, faithful to none, he finds himself engaged solely to appease his lunatic father and gain his inheritance. Vincent's fiancé has been approved of and while Vincent doesn't want to marry her, he figures he can continue on his merry way after their wedding. It's not as if his fiancé cares for him and Vincent embraces the fact that love will not interfere in his life.

Arriving at his family's estate, Pembroke Castle, Vincent finds it in an uproar of huge proportions. Shaking his head in disbelief when he is told what awaits him, Vincent vows to get to the bottom of the problem starting with confronting the woman currently occupying a guest bedroom. It isn't until he sees the woman that Vincent realizes the importance of her seeking him out. No matter that they promised each other nothing that passionate night twelve months ago, there is something at stake here more important than Vincent or the woman in front of him, something precious and in need of a home.

Lady Cassandra Montrose fully intended to never lay eyes on Vincent Sinclair again. The night they shared together is embedded in her memory and her heart. No man has ever touched her like Vincent and if doctors are correct, no one ever will. Having no choice but to turn to Vincent, Cassandra swallows her pride and while seeing Vincent again tears her up inside, his attitude towards her is confusing. Gaining his word that he will take care of her most precious possession, Cassandra is further puzzled when Vincent makes plans for the future.

Julianne MacLean blows me away every single time I read one of her books. The Mistress Diaries is no different. Vincent is your typical man of the peerage - he is spoiled, a womanizer, and has enjoyed every decadence you could possibly imagine. My fascination with Vincent was born on page one of The Mistress Diaries and never wavered despite his being a consummate Rake. In fact, because of his status as a man who is only out to get one thing, I strived to see beneath his persona to the real man inside of Vincent. I saw a man who had loved someone long ago and was devastated still by a tragic event. This only made me love him more. I found Cassandra's characterization just as strong as Vincent's. She was steadfast in her resolve and I could sense the love she felt for Vincent, especially in the words that filled her diary. Her diary was her outlet and while she fought loving Vincent with all she had, her diary revealed the true story.

Big on emotion and full of sultry love scenes and tender interludes, The Mistress Diaries is a novel to be read and savored. Releasing on July 29, 2008, The Mistress Diaries is the sequel to In Your Wildest Dreams, book one of Julianne MacLean's Pembroke Palace series. Grab some tea and your favorite cookies - The Mistress Diaries is not to be missed!
***Natalie for Wild on Books***

Lady Cassandra Montrose met Lord Vincent Sinclair at a ball immediately upon coming out of mourning. The attraction they instantly felt towards one another was palpable and undeniable. Impulsively, they left the ball and spent a single passion-filled night together that neither one would ever forget. One year later, Cassandra has no choice but to come to Vincent's home . . . but she is not alone. Vincent, a renowned rake and libertine, has recently become betrothed. He doesn't particularly want to get married, but his father, the Duke of Pembroke, has made a stipulation in his will that all four of his sons must be married by Christmas in order to gain their inheritance. When Vincent returns home to present his fiancée to his family, he is shaken by what he learns-he has a daughter.

I really felt for Vincent. He has suffered tragedy in his past-three years before, he was betrayed by the woman he had loved since childhood and his brother. That incident hardened his heart to not only his brother, but also to love. Now, he finds out that a former lover is in the palace at the same time that he has brought his fiancée home. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! Ah, but then he meets his daughter for the first time. That scene is so sweet and so touching and you know that he isn't as heartless as he appears.

Cassandra has had her share of tragedy as well. She was married to a man who loved another, his mistress, until his death. After becoming pregnant (after her night with Vincent), she is shunned by friends and family, left completely destitute and has to work and scrape to make ends meet for her and her daughter. Upon learning from a physician that she hasn't long to live, Cassandra swallows her pride and brings her daughter to the palace in the hopes that the child will be cared for. When she is examined by the Pembroke doctor, she is told that all she needs is rest and nourishment. But, when Cassandra tries to leave with their daughter, Vincent doesn't want them to go.

Cassandra and Vincent are fantastic, well-written characters. Cassandra is proud and determined, but cannot resist Vincent and his charms for long. There were several times in the story when she could have done the "expected" thing, but I was grateful that Ms. MacLean didn't take the easy route. Cassandra was smart and stayed true to her character, and I absolutely respected that. Vincent wasn't always so cynical, but it took the love of the right woman to help him realize it and heal his heart. The scenes between Cassandra and Vincent were filled with sparkling dialogue and plenty of sexual tension. Ms. MacLean is one of those writers that shows you rather than tells you and it's one of the reasons why I am such a huge fan of her work. The Mistress Diaries is a fast paced read brimming with emotion that I highly recommend!

~Andrea
4.5 stars
Reviewed at www.romancenovel.tv

The Mistress Diaries is a relatively good romance that starts off with a bang but finishes with a whimper. MacLean's main characters are fully fleshed out and sympathetic. I liked them both quite a bit. But, the other characters are one-dimensional and without depth. Vincent's father is "mad," but MacLean doesn't delve into his madness enough or explain the reasons behind it. The antagonist, Leticia, is completely selfish and cruel without any redeeming qualities whatsoever. We are given no rationale for her mean character traits. She's basically just the cartoonishly evil character that the plot requires. And the ending is a bit sappy. I could hear the violins playing for the last 50 pages. Pretty eye-rolling stuff. But, all in all, this is a slightly above average romance when you consider the poor quality of other books on the market. It's just not worthy of 5 stars.

One positive thing about this book is that it is much better than the first book in the Pembroke series - In my wildest fantasies. But I do agree with the other reviewers and have to say that it still has problems, not least that many aspects such as the father's madness goes unexplained. But despite all its faults, I quite liked this book and will hang on to it for the time being.

This book started off great and interesting for the first 200 pages, but I think the author began to get restless in the middle and end. I began to see lack of detail in the novel. I thought the so called curse was just an sorry attempt to provide tension in the relationship and keep them apart. The ending was too lovey dovey and sappy, and I did not think the characters had too much emotion. And by emotion, I don't mean verbal demonstration. I mean the type of emotion where you describe the feelings of the characters so much that I can feel it too. The novel overall was just mediocre. When I finished, I literally through the book down and said "stupid novel." Then I went to sleep.

Young widow believes she's dying & goes to Hero's family estate to plead for care of her baby daughter. She doesn't consider that womanizing Hero who she had a 1-night stand with a year before would actually take responsibility for their daughter & hopes his mother would instead. Engaged Hero surprises her by offering her & their daughter lifelong financial support & residence & agrees to heroine's contractual conditions even though she rejects his offer for her to be his mistress. A friendship develops b/w them during his frequent visits to their daughter. Heroine realizes how much more profoundly she feels for him this time around. Hero becomes increasingly drawn to the simpler life that heroine is living but he struggles with his desire to please his father & help his brothers by marrying his cold-hearted fiancé.

This was a meaty MacLean romance where a 1-night stand later develops into a believable deep love. This romance was unique in that Hero & heroine impulsively gave in to their instant & strong sexual chemistry but at their next meeting a year after they didn't care much for the other. So the love that developed b/w them was gradual & well-considered. Their sexual chemistry & love scenes matched their romance development. Good characterization & character development. Hero changed from an avid womanizer & commitment-phobic profligate (that continued after his & heroine's 1-night stand) to a more contemplative & mature man as he & heroine became friends & co-parents. I liked that MacLean didn't make excuses for his selfish & promiscuous behavior & the way his fidelity to heroine was tested convinced me that Hero did truly change.

Definitely recommended.

This is my first book by this author, and had me immediately looking for her other books. It is that good. The hero Vincent was wounded terribly and the heroine does not change him overnight, very realistic. I hate it when authors made heroes out to be very wounded, cynical souls, just by telling, not showing. And often those seemingly tortured heroes becomes all noble and nice the moment they meet the heroine. Vincent and Cassandra had a one night stand and he left. There were consequences and she had to struggle when by herself. Circumstances force her to make contact when he was engaged to another. He had to come to term with his feelings and fight to win her trust. He can be cruel with words and it's good thing that Cassandra is very intelligent and mature. She takes responsibilities for her own actions. She doesn't pout, and is not vindictive although she learned not to trustvor depend on Vincent. Very emotional and intelligent read. J Maclean is now among my favorite authors.

This was an easy read with lots of emotion, sex and adventure. To be honest, I didn't care for Vincent as he was presented in the book about the 1st brother, Devon (In my Wildest Fantasies). So... I was a little leery when I picked this one up to read. However, I enjoyed this book as much as the 1st one! Devon and his bride make appearances thru-out the book... I enjoyed their mentions very much as I didn't want their story to end. And... my opinion of Vincent changed as he evolved and some of the reasons for his former behavior were explained. The heroine is a sexy survivor... and it's not difficult to relate to her. There's another character in this book that caught my fancy: Iris!!! Is she real or is she a spirit? I've already got the 3rd book in this series on order as Blake, the 3rd brother, is missing... I must read his story... and hopefully, learn more about Iris too...

I seldom give bad star, unless I can't finish that book, and it's quite wonderful for me to read a book while its not so popular one, so I don't really know what's & where the story goes. As this book seldom discuss by many reviewer, It's quite refreshing... Guessing & Guessing.
Well, I don't find its difficult to finish this book. The story is yes..about Rake Rake Rake, which usually I get bored easily. But I think with Julianne Maclean's talent, she deliver the story nicely. I don't think this is boring like some reviewer said. IMO, she is better than Lynn Kurland & Candice Hern. I shall find her other book then.

It felt like it never got started. I thought it would have been nice to have the couple interact with his family. It wasn't horrible, but I can't think of a memorable part.