Mistress (Avon Red)

This book was very well written! It kept my attention! Very erotic at times! i would suggest this to anyone!

Emily Clemens is an orphan with no one to depend on but herself. Gainfully employed as a teacher at a refined finishing school, she is unable to make ends meet. Almost destitute, she makes the decision to pose for a series of scandalous photographs in order to entice a wealthy man to become her benefactor. Her photographer of choice? Eric Twyford. Eric Twyford is instantly attracted to Emily and is thrilled to be able to photograph her. No matter that she will be undressed, Eric vows to treat her respectfully and professionally. He doesn't count on Emily's inhibitions being thrown out the window along with her clothes. With each picture that he takes, he falls further under her spell. While he is very aware of her plans, his emerging feelings can't be denied and he is unable to fight his attraction a minute longer. Eric and Emily embark on an affair that would raise the eyebrows of every society matron in London. When their relationship hits the point of no return, Emily has a decision to make. Will she continue on her path of being a mistress or will she settle for being a wife? Because settle is what will happen if she accepts the one offer of marriage that she has received. And it wasn't from Eric. MISTRESS pushed a lot of my buttons - but in a good way. I am captivated by the 19th century society of London and all the rules that were placed on women. Emily, while being an orphan, was expected to either become a mistress or go to a work house just because she was not a member of the peerage. The arrangement was truly unfair but completely realistic. That in turn made MISTRESS just as lifelike to me as if I was right there along side the characters. Eric wanted to be known as the consummate photographer and in a time where photography was new and sometimes unheard of and not trusted, he wanted to be known as an artist and professional. Imagine his surprise when innocent Emily walked through the door of his studio and rocked his world! MISTRESS will charm even the most finicky of readers. I found myself as wide eyed as Emily as I read this book and could not put it down. Historical romances are a favorite genre of mine and Leda Swann has proven once again her superb ability as a historical author.

Schoolteacher Emily Clemens knows that to keep her position at the exclusive girls' finishing school she must behave with decorum and never be in the middle of scandal. She needs the job, but the endless ennui and the posturing by her superior and the aristocratic parents are driving her crazy. Having no family to turn to, Emily decides to pose for racy photographs hoping she can become the mistress to some affluent rake. However, Emily is stunned when she finds herself attracted to photographer Eric Twyford. He may not meet her criteria, but she does not care. However, when he fails to show even the slightest thaw in his icy professionalism, a despondent Emily returns to her initial plan, but wonders how she will seduce anyone with B & W photos when she failed to move Eric with her flesh. Still she turns elsewhere even as Eric cannot wait to move past this job because he needs to make love with his latest model-client. The theme of this nineteenth century English romance of two people in love misunderstanding the motives of each other has been used frequently; however, Leda Swann refreshes the concept with the lewd photos as the matchmaker. E & E are fully developed individuals who fall deeper in love with each other with every shot he takes. Although Emily makes some asinine selections that feel out of character for her, fans will appreciate the heated historical romance between the model and the photographer. Harriet Klausner