The Viscount’s Mistress

Lawrence and Violette have been friends since they were kids. When he was a teenager, Lawrence ran away and joined the navy. Shortly thereafter, Violette was basically banished to France. Now they are both back and their feelings are as strong as ever. Unfortunately, Lawrence is being forced to choose a bride, and it’s not Violette.
So, I really didn’t expect to like this book,but once I started reading it, I really couldn’t stop. It’s a loose retelling of Cinderella that I thoroughly enjoyed. My heart cried for both of these characters. They had already went through so much and everything they went through to finally get their happiness will make you want to cry. I highly recommend.

The H and h were acquainted as children, but they were separated when, at age 14, he went off to join the Navy in defiance of his despicable father. A year later, her family fled to France (her father was French) when it was learned that her father's previous wife was not dead as he had supposed; thus his marriage to the h's mother was bigamous.

We pick up the story some fourteen years later when the h has returned to England following the death of her parents in France. She spent the intervening years caring for her sickly mother and then her father, and never married. Now penniless, she resides with her mother's brother and his cruel wife and stepdaughter in the h's old family home.

The H returns from the sea around the same time, having had an excellent military career. The death of his older brother (in a duel) makes him the heir, and he returns to find that between his brother and his dissolute father, they have managed to fritter away everything not entailed, and a few art objects that were. The father now threatens to sell the H's younger sister to a lecherous old lord -- unless the H, who has control of her dowry, hands it over and also marries an heiress to save the estate. It so happens that there is at hand an heiress; the h's step-cousin, a rather nasty piece of work. The H sets out to woo her against his better judgment, in order to save his sister and his home. All the while, he and the h are fighting their attraction to each other.

This is apparently a first novel from this author. If so, it is a very good one. The general writing and dialogue are first class. The story, while hitting some of the usual romance tropes (would it be a romance if it didn't?) is not heavy-handed about any of it, and manages to avoid some of the most over-used plot ideas. There are no kidnappings and no over-the-top misunderstandings. A person you might peg as one thing turns out to be quite another. The H and h are both intelligent, reasonable people and any flaws they display are more than explained by the difficulties of their history.

I have a couple of plot quibbles. Why the H felt it necessary to hide from the h and his sister any of the reasons he had for pursuing the heiress escaped me. If they knew part of it, why not all? And why were they so angry when they found out he'd been holding back some of his father's nefarious plans? It was all inter-related and I don't know how they couldn't have figured it out anyway. Also, the ending was a bit rushed and an about-face of one of the characters was pretty abrupt. But those are petty quibbles. This is an interesting page-turner that kept my interest without spies, smugglers or palace intrigue.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I particularly liked the heroine. I read it in one afternoon and then had to scramble to get dinner ready for my family. I am looking forward to the another book by this author.

Excellent read! Wow, men & the wild things they will do in the name of family & honor. But, will Lawrence Sutherland, Royal Navy Captain & the Viscount of Glenrith pass up love & desire with his close childhood friend, Violette Pélet de Castelmarou? He needs her help in securing the hand of her wealthy heiress cousin so he can save his family from financial ruin. Can Lawrence & Violette deny their feelings for one another & have a lifetime of misery? This is a great read - I highly recommend you reading it to see if they get their HEA!

Lifelong friends, separated by time and by families with serious character issues, manage to maintain their friendship and turn both their lives around and find a happy ending. A formula story but with twists and turns and good character development along the way and a very interesting tale that I thoroughly enjoyed.

My first time reading this author. The book was pretty slow in the first half but it did pick up a lot in the last half. I'm glad I stuck with it. A couple of steamy sex scenes. All of the characters were well described. The ending was really good.

A sure sign of a wonderful Regency romance is when the reader is left with a happy sigh at the ending. This book was a delightful journey and is well recommended to anyone seeking a lovely historical romance.

'The Viscount's Mistress' by Claire DuLac is the story of Lawrence and Violette. Violette and Lawrence where childhood friends up until Lawrence just up and left at an early age to join the Royal Navy. In addition Violette was shortly moved away with her family. But now they both have returned and try to get their friendship back. But Lawrence's father has set things up where they are so in debit that either he marries a heiress or his sister has to be 'sold' into marriage. The only local heiress is Violette's snotty cousin who Lawrence has Violette help in getting her to marry him. But things its hard to fight their feelings while trying to marry someone else.
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."