No Man's Mistress

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.

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.

"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.

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!