The Secret His Mistress Carried

The Secret His Mistress Carried, Lynne Graham Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews Genre: contemporary romance Like a guilty secret I’m kind of hiding my head here admitting that sometimes I just want to read a sappy feel good romance...though I try to look for strong characters still. This sounded a fun read so...
Well, Gio – what a jerk. Poor Billie, good enough to be kept as a mistress, but not good enough to take out in public, and when he needs an heir – well, he needs a wife with the right social standing and that’s not Billie either. It never occurs to him she might be right for him, and that she may be upset. Still, he tells her kindly, she can remain his mistress. He genuinely seems confused that she’s not happy... She does what any self respecting girl would, leaves quickly, and when he returns from his wedding she’s gone without a trace. Her loss he thinks, but in fact he misses her in his life far more than he expected. Marriage isn’t going so well either, with his new wife making it clear children are not for her, and she just wants his social standing....The player got played...Serves him right! A quick divorce and he’s determined to get Billie back in his life as his mistress, and tells his best friend he’ll never marry again. Billie has other ideas though, she sold the one piece of jewellery she took, the diamond pendant he first gave her, and bought a home, and set up her vintage clothing and accessories business. When he finds her he’s shocked at how she’s changed and I was cheering “You go Billie, tell him where he can get off” He seems to think she’ll fall at his feet once again, but she’s changed, grown more on confidence from the scared, awed teen she was. she has her son to think of too. I almost felt sorry for Gio then – he was so so shocked at the fact she’d sold his gift, shocked that she would challenge the neat life he has planned for her. It simply never occurred to him to look at how he’d treated her in the past, that she’d made a new life now, and may not want to give it all up for the insecurity of his whim as his mistress. I felt angry on her behalf at his attitude, and she’s far more forgiving than I would have been. I did want her to stand up much more rather than cave in, she does for a bit but then lets him ride rough shod over her. Then when he finds out about Theo he was like a steam roller...
When we learn more about his past I kind of understood where he was coming from, and why he’d treated Billie that way, and I was glad he took a long, hard look at how he’d behaved when he finds out what Billie has been doing without him. I liked the way she stood up to him over her cousin and his edict she was to have no more contact with her. It could have been ( for me ) a great story if it had been a little longer. His behaviour change was too quick, I wanted more head to heads with them, more jealous trouble making from the ex, and a slower “everything is perfect” ending. It’s just under 200 pages, but for me if it had been longer, and the drama expanded and drawn out it could have made a great read. As it was its just an OK one Sad smile Stars: Three, it’s a shame for me that it wasn’t longer and that would have made a better book IMO – but as always there are readers who don’t need length and depth in books for whom this will be perfect as it is. ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers

This was a fast-paced story with lots of interesting angles. I liked it, but it did feel a little rushed and incomplete. Gio and Billie obviously cared about one another. The ending, however, made up for what might have been lacking throughout. The finale was both charming and sweet, indeed.

Rating: 3/5 Recommend: Yes Audience: Adult Chemistry/Intensity: Yes Conflict/Drama: Yes HEA: Yes

Source: NetGalley Publisher: Harlequin Status: ARC for review in exchange for an honest critique

Wow! Could not put this down once I had started it. Love Lynne Graham's stories and this is another fantastic one from her. Thank you.