Customer Reviews

No Man's Mistress

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is the sequel to Balogh's wonderful More Than A Mistress, and is the story of Tresham's younger brother, Lord Ferdinand Dudley. In MTAM, Ferdinand was portrayed as a loyal, somewhat timid and frequently hapless young man whose lack of ducal title wasn't the only thing he was missing in contrast to his brother.

Having won a country estate in a card game, Ferdinand sets out to view Pinewood. However, to his shock he finds it already occupied, and by a young-ish (ie mid-20s) single lady, Miss Viola Thornhill, who claims that it is her own, that she was left it as a bequest by the father of the current Earl of Bamber, from whom Ferdinand won it. Since neither is prepared to yield, we have stalemate. In order to try to force her to leave, though, Ferdinand insists on moving in.

Viola responds by massing the staff and the local inhabitants to make Ferdinand's life miserable: cold meals, smoking chimneys, inhospitable local pubs and so on. But Ferdinand is a charming man with not much in the way of aristocratic hauteur, and he quickly begins to win people over... everyone except Viola, although she can't forget the memory of their kiss.

And then Tresham arrives and recognises Viola from her infamous life in London, a life she's been trying to escape for the past two years. The revelations here change Viola and Ferdinand's relationship completely.

I've been looking forward to this book for a year, since I read More Than A Mistress, which is quite possibly the best long Regency Mary Balogh has ever written. Unfortunately, for me, No Man's Mistress doesn't live up to the promise. I suppose it was starting from a disadvantage in the first place, as Ferdinand is no Tresham, although I did like Ferdinand a lot.

Part of the problem is that I simply cannot believe in the rehabilitation of 'Lilian Talbot'. It's not that I can't believe that Viola could reform - since she'd never wanted that life in the first place, this isn't a problem at all. I just cannot suspend disbelief so far as to accept that the ton, as prudish as they were during Regency times, would accept into their midst a woman who had been a notorious courtesan. Even though Viola was accepted by the powerful and influential Duke of Tresham, I cannot see that as being enough.

What I liked most about this book, though, was renewing my acquaintance with Jocelyn and Jane from More Than A Mistress; and also getting to know Angeline, the female Dudley sibling. At some time in the not too distant future, Balogh intends to write the story of Angeline and Hayward, her husband, as a prequel to the Mistress books; I'll look forward to that one and hope that it's better than No Man's Mistress.

In NO MAN'S MISTRESS Lord Ferdinand Dudley wins Pinewood Manor in a card game from the Earl of Bamber. He arrives at Pinewood Manor to find Viola Thornhill living there, believing she owns Pinewood. The late Earl of Bamber promised to leave it to her in his will, so when he died 2 years before, she assumed she was the new owner.

With neither one of them willing to concede ownership to the other, they decide to both live there for the week it will take to get a copy of the late Bamber's will sent down to Pinewood. While this is happening, Ferdinand and Viola begin to fall in love.

About halfway through the book the plot changes. We find out more about Viola and Ferdinand. I don't want to give away the plot change, beyond to say that it's different than what you get in a typical historical romance novel. The characters in this book are human.

In the end, it is so much more rewarding when they end up together, because you believed them so much and you believed their pain and what they each went through to get to that point (that's not giving anything away, it is a romance novel - you know they'll be together in the end). It's a credit to Ms. Balogh that they do come off as people, rather than as "characters."

If the change of plot hadn't worked, I would still commend this book for taking a chance and being a little different from so many others. But it works so well I don't have to commend the effort, I can wholeheartedly recommend the result. This book follows MORE THAN A MISTRESS the only other Mary Balogh book I've read. I liked MORE THAN A MISTRESS enough to get this book right away. What I feel about NO MAN'S MISTRESS is different. I more than liked this book. It moved me.

I've written a few negative reviews to warn off other readers from making some mistakes I made. This is the first book that inspired me to write a positive review. To encourage people I don't even know to that they have to read this book!

I agree with the reviewer who said they would give this a 0 if possible and let me qualify that by adding I am (was) a Mary Balogh fan.
The entire plot and characters were completely ludicrous. I won't rehash it; I'll just touch on the major objections. The heroine is a bastard and that alone would be very difficult if not impossible to overcome in gaining acceptance into the ton of Regency England. But beyond that she worked as a prostitute in London for four years yet we are asked to believe that she is now to be accepted into their midst with admiration for her courage! Really? And her former clients, now outraged at learning she was forced into it (that would've made a difference?) are to be her champions and friends, and have her socialize with their wives. Really?? This happens in part at a reception given by her brother in law the duke who had treated her like scum and referred to her as a "whore". But after learning she was a prostitute because she was trying to help her family, he is now sponsoring her respectable entrance into society and his family. What??? Not to mention her mental and emotional problems, briefly mentioned earlier as deeply suppressed self loathing, are now completely gone and she has no problems doing this.
Many of the other characters' actions were inexplicable in addition to the duke's. The heroine's for example: Why didn't she turn for help earlier to her father, or her uncle, or accept it from the hero when offered, or agree to be someone's mistress (like that would have been worse than a different man every night)? Her mother's behavior also was, both before and after learning about her daughter. And the hero's. He "watches her talking and laughing with gentlemen who had known her in her other persona" at the reception with "pride", takes a deep breath and decides it doesn't bother him. SERIOUSLY??? What normal man would have this reaction even today??? But then?-- when women were held to such a terrible double standard of acceptable behavior?? Impossible to swallow.
I like romances but I still have a brain and an education and this insults both. Did anyone at the publishing house read this thing? It is possible to do a "fallen" woman story well--try Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase. Do not waste your time or money on this one.

This book would be an excellent read in itself if it had not been preceded by Balogh's masterpiece More Than A Mistress. That book sent my expectations soaring and of course I expected this book to be better. I found this to be an enjoyable read but it just didn't engage my emotions like MTAM did.

Ferdinand Dudley, the happy go-lucky,reckless younger brother first introduced in MTAM, has won an estate in a game of cards. Upon arriving there, he discovers the house is already occupied by a beautiful young lady who claims the estate belongs to her. Ferdinand agrees to let her stay until he can get a copy of the will which she claims names her as the estate's rightful owner. Viola Thornhill has been residing at Pinewood Manor for over two years, before that she had been known as Lilian Talbot, London's most notorious courtesan. Ferdinand discovers this when the Duke of Tresham comes to bring information about the will and recognizes her. The will doesn't contain a mention of Miss Thornhill and Ferdinand asks her to leave. He has fallen for the charming, seemingly innocent Viola and is quite disillusioned to find she isn't what she seems. Viola is determined to stay at the estate which she still insists was given to her by the previous owner, the late Earl of Bamber. She proposes a wager to Ferdinand that if she's able to seduce him in a week's time the estate belongs to her. Being a Dudley, Ferdinand accepts the wager. However, Viola can't bring herself to coldly seduce Ferdinand because she has already lost her heart to him.

This book is not a keeper for me and I really can't point out exactly what it was that kept it from being one. I certainly enjoyed the story and certainly the dialogue and writing was beyong compare. Very few authors can write with such sparkling, vivrant, humorous skill. I truly believe Balogh's as close to a contemporary Jane Austen as one can get.
I think the main issue I had with the story was the heroine. I've read books in which the heroine was a courtesan before but somehow at the end everything worked out and the reader fully understood the reasons for her career choice and sympathized with her. Also, in those books the heroine has no one else to turn to and she's usually rescued form the lifestyle before any real "damage" can be done. However, in this book Viola works for four years before she meets the Earl of Bamber ( her father) who gives her an apportunity to start a new life. Although the reader is told why Viola became a courtesan, the reasons why were not disclosed until very late in the story and I was not fully convinced that Viola didn't have a choice in the matter. After all, she had a family who truly cared about her and a father who was an earl, no less. I just never really sympathized with her and her plight. Also,I really loved innocent, reckless Ferdinand in MTAM and I couldn't help but feel he got a bum deal by marrying a woman whose clients had included some of his own friends!
Another reviewer pointed out that society wouldn't have so easily accepted such a notorious woman and I agree. It is hard to believe that in Regency England a woman such as Viola would have been welcomed into the ton with open arms as it happens in the book. In reality ladies would have crossed the street if they saw her approaching and both she and Ferdinand would have been shunned by the ton.
In short, I rate it four stars because my reasons for disliking it were purely personal and they do not take away from Balogh and her skill as a writer. I really only recommend this book only to fans of Balogh. If you're new to her I think it would be best to start with her earlier works instead or read the brilliant prequel to this book. :)

Do not read this review if you do not want some of the story spoiled for you. I will warn you not read further when it gets to the spoiler point. I have just started reading Mary's books after reading the first three Bedwyn books. But this book I believe is my all time favorite - that I have read from any author. I usually like funny historicals but this book just took my breath away. SPOILER - I know many may not like it because she has taken the usually virginal regency woman and turned her into an ex-courtesan and the virile male is the actual virgin in this book but that made the story even better! I was a history major in college and trust me - the 19th century is not at all like what we read about - women were sometimes forced into prostitution and Mary has taken the story of one such character and shows you how she had to build walls around herself to protect her mind and her heart. There are many scenes that you will find your eyes welling up in - at least I did. I hated letting these characters go in the end - they were just such likeable and incredible characters - I am sure this will be a book I read again and again.

"No Man's Mistress" works wonderfully well as both a sequel Balogh's "More Than A Mistress", and and as a stand alone novel. After winning a country estate at a card game, Lord Ferdinand Dudley sets out to take claim but finds it occupied instead by a beautiful unmarried woman, Miss Viola Thornhill, who claims that he could not have won it from the Earl since the previous Earl had deeded it to her out of love. Ferdinand does not believe her and they are at a stalemate.
If your looking for your average Regency Hero and your average Regency Heroine "No Man's Mistress" is not for you. However, if you want to read a story about how two loving but damaged people can make their way to one another and make each other whole, this is wonderful book.

Mary Balogh's latest book No Man's Mistress is an absolute delight, featuring a brave (if somewhat overly stubborn) heroine and one of the kindest, most heroic heroes to grace a romance novel in quite awhile. The basic premise is that Viola Thornhill believes Pinewood Manor to be hers while Lord Ferdinand Dudley comes to claim it as a prize from a card game. As usual, tempers flare at first and exciting arguments reveal the main characters' stubborn streaks as well as their immediate strong attraction to one another. Certain scenes had me smiling or laughing out loud: the opening scene at the village fair, the escapade on the roof and in the chimney and the cricket game involving the local children. We start getting cozy in the new friendship developing between our likable hero and heroine when the plot suddenly takes a sharp and twisted turn. Terrified to admit feelings of love and trust, Ferdinand and Viola grow close and then retreat numerous times before the book reaches its (more than) satisfying ending.
I enjoyed this book better than its predecessor More Than a Mistress. The Duke of Tresham and his wife Jane appear significantly in this sequel, (Ferdinand being the Duke's brother) and in fact I think I liked their characters and behaviour better here than before.
Balogh writes a powerful, likable story. This one can be easily compared to her other high calibre works such as Tangled, One Night for Love and Temporary Wife. Read and Enjoy.

As a history major with an emphasis on sexual history. You need to pick up some non-fiction about the 19th century to realize that there were many men that were virgin's in their late 20's. The one example that comes to mind is John Ruskin - who even after marriage did not bed his wife. I think Mary Balogh made Ferdinand such a believable character - he was emotionally scarred by his mother's and father's infidelity. He lived with his mother and watched her float from one lover to the next - perhaps in real life I would have said he was a latent homosexual but this is a damn fiction and a romance to boot! With that said on defense for that portion of the book - which I might add is a small portion of the book. This book is probably one of the best that I have ever read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I usually like the funny historicals or the very steamy ones and one would think this book would have been steamy but Mary brings these two likeable characters to life - you feel for both of them and when Ferdinand takes on Dirby - my eyes welled up with tears! You should read More than a Mistress first - and you will see that Ferdinand's brother was also messed up by his parents behavior. I think Mary has a great grasp on human nature!!!! READ THIS BOOK - Ignore the idiots that scoff at it not being a typical story for the regency era - they just are too idiotic to think outside the box.

I loved More than a Mistress and this is a follow up telling the story of of Ferdinand, the younger brother of the Duke of Tresham. It's quite nice to meet up with Tresham and Jane again, in fact those are the best bits of this book. For me Ms Balogh's attempt to turn the tables and match a male virgin with a female courtesan did not work at all. I disliked the fact that she was forced into prostitution, her mother's complete ignorance of her lifestyle seemed odd to me and then as a grand finale the courtesan (who is pretty notorious amongst the gentlemen of the ton) is reinstated into society...... Um... I don't think so.

Okay, here's the deal. This book is just not in the same league as More Than A Mistress, but to be fair, is was very entertaining and interesting. I enjoyed reading it, but it lacked the emotional depth and feeling that the prequel embodied.

Ferdinand is a 27 year old virgin. That's right.....a male virgin in a romance novel. Let's just say, without giving too much away, that Viola is not. This premsie alone, in my opinion, is worth reading. How often have we read the counter to this plot. Female virgin, male rake,..blah,blah,blah. Mary Balogh is quite the talent. She effortlessly weaves together a storyline that is engaging and romantic.

I liked this book because I loved More than A Mistress. I know that sounds strange, but I enjoyed catching up with Tresh and Jane, and Angeline and her husband. The romance between Ferdinand and Violet was sweet but somewhat unbelievable, but honestly, as readers of romance, do we really care that much about the unbelievable. The happily ever after in this story is a bit contrived, but oh so sweet. Read this if you liked More Than A Mistress understanding that you'll probably like this one a little less.