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Gentlemen of Disrepute #1
Unmasking the Duke's Mistress
With trembling hands Arabella dons the mask of Miss Noir for her first night at Mrs. Silver's House of Pleasures. Thinking of her young son, she prepares to smile prettily at the next gentleman who enters….
Dominic Furneaux, Duke of Arlesford, is stunned to see that the woman who shattered his heart has fallen so low. He offers her a way out by making her his mistress!
The temptation to reacquaint herself with Dominic's body is hard for Arabella to resist, but Dominic needs only to look into the Furneaux-blue eyes of her son to uncover Arabella's deepest secret…
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
17 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
Margaret McPhee
87 books51 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Margaret McPhee lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her husband and her pet rabbit called Gwinnie who, at eight years of age, is a grand old lady of the rabbit world. Margaret trained as a scientist, but was always a romantic at heart. She met her husband quite literally between science labs, on a staircase, which was an advantageous first meeting place given their difference in heights—Margaret is small—her husband, tall. It was love at first sight, despite the voluminous white coats, and they're still together fifteen years later.
As a child Margaret spent much of her time in an imaginary world. Her family always said she would grow out of it; she's still waiting. Romance entered the equation when she chanced upon one of her gran's Mills & Boon Historicals, and she never looked back. She's still reading them, but at least she now buys her own! Fortunately for Margaret her school library held a shelfful of old donated Georgette Heyer books. Be still her beating teenage heart. Her view on romance was skewed forever—dashing rakes in buckskin pantaloons and riding boots figure in it somewhere!
Margaret wrote two manuscripts and suffered numerous rejections from publishers and agents before joining the Romantic Novelists Association. A further two manuscripts later and with help from the Romantic Novelists Association's new writers' scheme, the regency romance The Captain's Lady was born.
Margaret enjoys cycling, tea and cakes (although not necessarily in that order), and loves exploring the beautiful scenery and wildlife of the islands of Scotland with her husband. She is ever hopeful that one day she will be lucky enough to see a basking shark in the Firth of Clyde, and a sea eagle in Skye.
Margaret McPhee lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her husband and her pet rabbit called Gwinnie who, at eight years of age, is a grand old lady of the rabbit world. Margaret trained as a scientist, but was always a romantic at heart. She met her husband quite literally between science labs, on a staircase, which was an advantageous first meeting place given their difference in heights—Margaret is small—her husband, tall. It was love at first sight, despite the voluminous white coats, and they're still together fifteen years later.
As a child Margaret spent much of her time in an imaginary world. Her family always said she would grow out of it; she's still waiting. Romance entered the equation when she chanced upon one of her gran's Mills & Boon Historicals, and she never looked back. She's still reading them, but at least she now buys her own! Fortunately for Margaret her school library held a shelfful of old donated Georgette Heyer books. Be still her beating teenage heart. Her view on romance was skewed forever—dashing rakes in buckskin pantaloons and riding boots figure in it somewhere!
Margaret wrote two manuscripts and suffered numerous rejections from publishers and agents before joining the Romantic Novelists Association. A further two manuscripts later and with help from the Romantic Novelists Association's new writers' scheme, the regency romance The Captain's Lady was born.
Margaret enjoys cycling, tea and cakes (although not necessarily in that order), and loves exploring the beautiful scenery and wildlife of the islands of Scotland with her husband. She is ever hopeful that one day she will be lucky enough to see a basking shark in the Firth of Clyde, and a sea eagle in Skye.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 23, 2018
This book was dumb, but I powered through it because by God I will make my reading challenge goal this year. Of all the things I hate in a romance novel, the trope that I hate most is when the couple spends pages and pages and pages agonizing over misunderstandings and problems that could be resolved with a simple conversation, and that's like...98% of this book. The hero, Dominic, has potential, I enjoyed his character fairly well throughout the book, because he wants to talk shit out and I respect that. The heroine, on the other hand, does not want to talk about anything, ever, and instead contents herself with shouting "No!" every time Dominic tries to get to the bottom of something. DUMB. The entire book is constructed of conflicts that could have been resolved in a series of 5 minute conversations if Arabella hadn't been so utterly silly and prideful. Did not enjoy, will not recommend.
June 17, 2015
I skimmed it. Didn't like the Big Misunderstanding plot device nor the secret baby one the way it was used here. The whole "I can hush things up and we can marry and be all right" was too ridiculous for me to believe in.
April 6, 2015
This was a horrible book!! It evoked no emotions in me, it didn't make me like the characters, and TO TOP IT ALL OFF IT WASN'T EVEN HISTORICALLY ACCURATE.
A child born out of wedlock can not inherit!!! Doesn't matter if you marry the mother after!!
Please. Just don't read it.
A child born out of wedlock can not inherit!!! Doesn't matter if you marry the mother after!!
Please. Just don't read it.
November 23, 2014
Unrelated to my rating, but whoever wrote the blurb for this book either wasn't paying attention or didn't care, because the Duke's eyes aren't blue, they're brown (but like I said, that's unrelated to the review -- I know that authors don't write their own book jackets).
This is a book that probably would have benefited from being longer -- flashbacks are usually standard for stories like these (the "reunited lovers driven apart years before by bitter misunderstanding" trope), but in this book, there aren't any at all, which seems a bit odd considering the supposed depth of the hero and heroine's previous romance (on the last page we find out that he fell in love with her when she was fifteen -- apparently this is a ten-year romance that we only see in the present day).
There's also some considerable logic fails. The hero tells the heroine not to worry that she was working in a brothel under her maiden name, since she's going by her married name in society as a widow, but everyone forgets that the heroine's mother (whose married name is -- SHOCK! -- the same as her daughter's maiden name) is accompanying her everywhere.
(Also, I recognize that, unlike the word "cock," there is no widely-accepted/used "sexy" word to describe the vagina in historical romance [not including full-on-erotica, of course], but the use of the phrase "secret woman's place" is unacceptable.)
This is a book that probably would have benefited from being longer -- flashbacks are usually standard for stories like these (the "reunited lovers driven apart years before by bitter misunderstanding" trope), but in this book, there aren't any at all, which seems a bit odd considering the supposed depth of the hero and heroine's previous romance (on the last page we find out that he fell in love with her when she was fifteen -- apparently this is a ten-year romance that we only see in the present day).
There's also some considerable logic fails. The hero tells the heroine not to worry that she was working in a brothel under her maiden name, since she's going by her married name in society as a widow, but everyone forgets that the heroine's mother (whose married name is -- SHOCK! -- the same as her daughter's maiden name) is accompanying her everywhere.
(Also, I recognize that, unlike the word "cock," there is no widely-accepted/used "sexy" word to describe the vagina in historical romance [not including full-on-erotica, of course], but the use of the phrase "secret woman's place" is unacceptable.)
June 6, 2016
Definitely one of the best historical romances out there, that are current. I enjoyed this one immensely and the storyline was written beautifully. It all worked out very well and the hero and heroine were perfect for each other.
October 21, 2017
I'd describe this as poignant. I've read it twice and enjoyed it each time.
September 1, 2018
Fastest binning in my personal history as a reader. I have abandoned sinking ships of irritating, implausible bilge before, but even then I went past the first chapter. Not in this one. What triggered (disproportionately, I grant you, for there are worse writers in the genre out there) such reaction?
To all future Harlequin HR writers, allow me a piece of advice:
When you set out to write a story set in a place and time other than your familiar present and its culture and feel compelled to write into the story specific amounts of money in specific currencies, the least you OWE your readers is a 5 min. search so that you don't commit atrocities against historical facts. If you, dear Mses McPhees of this world, have never read a 19th c. novel in your life, not even the famous ones, so never wondered how much it would be in today's terms to inherit £20,000 as Jane Eyre does, or how much Mr Bingley's impressive (to all and sundry) income of
£5, ooo a year would be (and what that meant in their time compared to what the median income was in the early and mid 1800s); if, that is, you are ignorant of currency values at the time, let alone their conversion to current values and are too lazy to do a search then AVOID getting down to specifics. Leave it as vague as possible. Take this good advice, so as not to embarrass yourselves and write utter nonsense like Ms McPhee has done here. The McPhee heroine decides to prostitute herself and on her first night in the upper class bordello in London, Anno Domini 1809 (Napoleonic wars, btw), she is promised a 'salary' of ONE HUNDRED GUINEAS per week!!! That is £100 pounds sterling (1 guinea = 1 pound). This prostitute would be making more per year than Austen's super rich Mr Bingley would be making a decade later, and in 2 years she will have more than the amount Jane Eyre ended up with after she split it four ways 20 years later. You don't really have to know that 1 guinea=1 pound= 22-30 (inflation/deflation) shillings, or know that a prostitute in the mid 19th c. would charge you two shillings max. for a quickie, to know how ridiculous and pulled out of a titanically ahistorical and lazy head the sum of 100 guineas a week is. Even the duke hero could not have generated that much income pw all those war days ago.
And I am not going to dwell on one of my pet peeves with all HRs, that other readers who read to the end have pointed out about this book: the illegitimate child magically inheriting titles and estates. History is brutal and bites you in the arse, even if you use it (which you shouldn't) to escape into nonsense. Illegitimate children, even if recognised by their peer father remained illegitimate and HAD NO CLAIM to anything connected to their father's title(s) or estate(s). If the father married the mother of the child a split second after the birth, the child was still considered illegitimate. The House of Lords is currently debating whether 'out of wedlock' children (given DNA tests and modern gender relations) should have a legal claim or not and it is only in the past five years that females have been allowed to inherit peerage titles and estates. These are basic, incontrovertible facts and a decent writer of HR SHOULD LEARN TO WORK WITH THEM, and neither be ignorant of or discard them.
Needless to say, I have given up hope that more recent HR writers would ever come up with anything other than books drowning everything in contemporaneous cliches, mores and soap box declarations. Everything in the genre now reads and feels as box ticking. Whatever it is that belongs SOLELY to the past and deserves a voice is stifled or worse still, completely falsified, buried as it is under contemporary expectations of gender and class relations. So in utter resignation, I absolutely expect the latest trend in comfort zone reading to be projected upon the past and come up with all these cardboard concoctions that both irritate and bore this reader to death, but I still expect that the writer pretends to have done some research. For who can read that a prostitute is about to earn 100 guineas a week in 1809 and not see red at the monumental lazy carelessness of it all?
To all future Harlequin HR writers, allow me a piece of advice:
When you set out to write a story set in a place and time other than your familiar present and its culture and feel compelled to write into the story specific amounts of money in specific currencies, the least you OWE your readers is a 5 min. search so that you don't commit atrocities against historical facts. If you, dear Mses McPhees of this world, have never read a 19th c. novel in your life, not even the famous ones, so never wondered how much it would be in today's terms to inherit £20,000 as Jane Eyre does, or how much Mr Bingley's impressive (to all and sundry) income of
£5, ooo a year would be (and what that meant in their time compared to what the median income was in the early and mid 1800s); if, that is, you are ignorant of currency values at the time, let alone their conversion to current values and are too lazy to do a search then AVOID getting down to specifics. Leave it as vague as possible. Take this good advice, so as not to embarrass yourselves and write utter nonsense like Ms McPhee has done here. The McPhee heroine decides to prostitute herself and on her first night in the upper class bordello in London, Anno Domini 1809 (Napoleonic wars, btw), she is promised a 'salary' of ONE HUNDRED GUINEAS per week!!! That is £100 pounds sterling (1 guinea = 1 pound). This prostitute would be making more per year than Austen's super rich Mr Bingley would be making a decade later, and in 2 years she will have more than the amount Jane Eyre ended up with after she split it four ways 20 years later. You don't really have to know that 1 guinea=1 pound= 22-30 (inflation/deflation) shillings, or know that a prostitute in the mid 19th c. would charge you two shillings max. for a quickie, to know how ridiculous and pulled out of a titanically ahistorical and lazy head the sum of 100 guineas a week is. Even the duke hero could not have generated that much income pw all those war days ago.
And I am not going to dwell on one of my pet peeves with all HRs, that other readers who read to the end have pointed out about this book: the illegitimate child magically inheriting titles and estates. History is brutal and bites you in the arse, even if you use it (which you shouldn't) to escape into nonsense. Illegitimate children, even if recognised by their peer father remained illegitimate and HAD NO CLAIM to anything connected to their father's title(s) or estate(s). If the father married the mother of the child a split second after the birth, the child was still considered illegitimate. The House of Lords is currently debating whether 'out of wedlock' children (given DNA tests and modern gender relations) should have a legal claim or not and it is only in the past five years that females have been allowed to inherit peerage titles and estates. These are basic, incontrovertible facts and a decent writer of HR SHOULD LEARN TO WORK WITH THEM, and neither be ignorant of or discard them.
Needless to say, I have given up hope that more recent HR writers would ever come up with anything other than books drowning everything in contemporaneous cliches, mores and soap box declarations. Everything in the genre now reads and feels as box ticking. Whatever it is that belongs SOLELY to the past and deserves a voice is stifled or worse still, completely falsified, buried as it is under contemporary expectations of gender and class relations. So in utter resignation, I absolutely expect the latest trend in comfort zone reading to be projected upon the past and come up with all these cardboard concoctions that both irritate and bore this reader to death, but I still expect that the writer pretends to have done some research. For who can read that a prostitute is about to earn 100 guineas a week in 1809 and not see red at the monumental lazy carelessness of it all?
May 25, 2021
First, I want to say that this book is really a struggle for me. I love it and I hate it at the same time. Why do I love it? A second chance at love is one of my favorite tropes. The pacing of the story is excellent; there are no dull moments; even a brief conversation between Arabella and her mother. Arabella is a strong woman who, despite any obstacles, she will strive to live it for the sake of her son Archie and her mother. She would do everything for them, which in my opinion, is really happening in real life. Bed scenes aren't as detailed, and they're not as smutty when it comes to making love; a little exposure of this and he touched her and kissed her, if you know what I mean. I want to keep this review rated PG guys, please bear with me! Okay let's move on..
What was it about it that I hated? The point of view used here is sometimes perplexing; for example, you're on Arabella's head, which you'd know because she's telling a story, and then you're surprised to find yourself reading Dominic's mind instead. And the other thing is all the ranting about how hurt they both were, how they hated each other, and how betrayed they felt from one another, especially Arabella, it's the same thing over and over, she thought about how betrayed she was again and again, and I think it's becoming repetitive.
In any case, It is an interesting novel and I would recommend that you read it. And I'd be reading the next book by the same author! Good luck with your reading! See you on my next review..
What was it about it that I hated? The point of view used here is sometimes perplexing; for example, you're on Arabella's head, which you'd know because she's telling a story, and then you're surprised to find yourself reading Dominic's mind instead. And the other thing is all the ranting about how hurt they both were, how they hated each other, and how betrayed they felt from one another, especially Arabella, it's the same thing over and over, she thought about how betrayed she was again and again, and I think it's becoming repetitive.
In any case, It is an interesting novel and I would recommend that you read it. And I'd be reading the next book by the same author! Good luck with your reading! See you on my next review..
August 15, 2021
L'amante del duca è il primo volume della serie Gentlemen of Disrepute che attualmente conta 4 libri ma si legge benissimo singolarmente considerato che ogni volume vede protagonista una coppia diversa (il secondo volume sarà dedicato a Sebastian Hunter amico di Dominic Furneaux mentre il terzo a Lady Marianne anche lei collegata a Dominic).
La storia non è particolarmente originale per cui chi è abituato a leggere romance la troverà abbastanza prevedibile, però devo ammettere che nonostante tutto si legge con piacere.
I due protagonisti (i punti di vista sono di entrambi) sono Arabella una vedova che per poter sopravvivere è costretta ad accettare un lavoro in una casa di piacere e proprio durante il suo primo giorno di "lavoro" incontra Dominic, Duca di Arlesford (l'uomo che le ha rovinato la vita sei anni prima).
E' soprattutto una storia incentrata sull'evoluzione del rapporto tra i due protagonisti anche se nelle ultime pagine l'autrice ha voluto inserire un elemento di suspense che personalmente ho trovato inutile e con una soluzione a dir poco improbabile.
Lo stile della McPhee è scorrevole, i protagonisti sono risultati credibili (è facile percepire da una parte la rabbia per quello che è successo in passato, dall'altra l'attrazione che esiste ancora tra loro) e per finire un livello di sensualità molto alto ma ben intrecciato e mai volgare.
Invoglia sicuramente a leggere anche il secondo volume.
La storia non è particolarmente originale per cui chi è abituato a leggere romance la troverà abbastanza prevedibile, però devo ammettere che nonostante tutto si legge con piacere.
I due protagonisti (i punti di vista sono di entrambi) sono Arabella una vedova che per poter sopravvivere è costretta ad accettare un lavoro in una casa di piacere e proprio durante il suo primo giorno di "lavoro" incontra Dominic, Duca di Arlesford (l'uomo che le ha rovinato la vita sei anni prima).
E' soprattutto una storia incentrata sull'evoluzione del rapporto tra i due protagonisti anche se nelle ultime pagine l'autrice ha voluto inserire un elemento di suspense che personalmente ho trovato inutile e con una soluzione a dir poco improbabile.
Lo stile della McPhee è scorrevole, i protagonisti sono risultati credibili (è facile percepire da una parte la rabbia per quello che è successo in passato, dall'altra l'attrazione che esiste ancora tra loro) e per finire un livello di sensualità molto alto ma ben intrecciato e mai volgare.
Invoglia sicuramente a leggere anche il secondo volume.
August 24, 2019
Historical/Secret baby romances are hard to come by so I was excited to come across this book by a new-to-me author. I am surprised by the low rating for this b/c I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Of course there has to be a willing suspension of disbelief and there are certainly some issues with accuracy regarding an illegitimate child inheriting, but we never actually see any of that happen anyway so who knows how things end up. All I know is that the characters are both likable, they have great chemistry and heat between them but they also have love, intimacy and a deep connection. I thought the writing and pacing were really good and I will check out McPhee's backlog for any other interesting storylines like this one.
April 7, 2023
Allora 3 stelle e mezzo quasi. Il libro è semplicissimo, una storia classica senza fronzoli, tutto intuibile dalle primissime pagine ma comunque si fa leggere con piacere ed è scorrevole, i personaggi sono carini anche se non c’è molto approfondimento. Avrei preferito capire, vivere il loro innamoramento, invece ne lèggiamo qualche raro riferimento senza scendere nei particolari, senza viverlo. Questo più la figura di A. Poco sfruttata ed una madre anziana un po’ viperina a cavoli suoi hanno abbassato il voto finale. Tutto sommato fa il suo dovere, intrattenere quindi se cercato qualcosa di sicuro e veloce da leggere lo consiglio
January 11, 2024
Two people separated, and bitter towards each other, come into their reunion with both desperation and incorrect information backing them. It takes a while for them to clear the air, and of course some more bad things happen and there are nefarious actors but it's mostly a family drama. The ending is very sweet and just what our pair needed, honestly.
Good read, will likely revisit.
Good read, will likely revisit.
January 1, 2018
Absolutely Beautiful
What a great love story to read on New Years eve. So happy they found each other again. The sex was off the pages. So much and many outstanding events in this story made it so beautiful to me.
What a great love story to read on New Years eve. So happy they found each other again. The sex was off the pages. So much and many outstanding events in this story made it so beautiful to me.
June 26, 2018
audible romance. young lovers torn apart by man's father. She is pregnant so marries an older man. He is heart broken and doesn't understand why she did this. 6 years later he finds her in a brothel and makes her his mistress. Then finds out she had his son.
July 4, 2020
I tried. I really did. It started out strong and had potential, but it was becoming a story i have read manny time. Predictable. Just couldn't finish. I got a little more than three quarters and told myself the ending.
March 26, 2018
Excellent period piece.
Dealing with issues of marrying within your class and how society and parents deal with an unplanned pregnancy. All the hurt and betrayal.
Dealing with issues of marrying within your class and how society and parents deal with an unplanned pregnancy. All the hurt and betrayal.
April 13, 2019
Omg it got really good and dramatic with that whole blackmail scheme. I was wondering how they were still going to be together after it. I really liked this novel.
January 6, 2022
This is a fun historical fiction story set in the Early 1800’s in England. All Arabella wants is to provide and protect her son but she finds romance and marriage with a Duke and a father for her son
October 17, 2024
Arabella girlfriend, if only u talk to Dominic, this book would not exist.
December 6, 2011
I utterly adored this book! For a Harlequin historical, this story sizzled. A true erotic romance in every sense of the word, but not full blown erotica if you catch my meaning.
Dominic Furneaux, the Duke of Arlesford is your typical aristocratic rake in his late twenties who indulges in drink and gambling and women. His dealings with women had been discrete, but he soon find himself accompanying his friends to a brothel. The women are paraded out for the men to select, they wear feathered masks and go by the french names of colors. Miss Noir catches Dominic's interest.
The mysterious Miss Noir reminds him of a long ago lost love, a love that left him angry and broken-hearted. As painful as those memories are, the pain in his groin is greater. He must have her.
Miss Noir insists on keeping on her face mask. That is fine with Dominic, he can pretend this whore is Arabella Stokes, the woman who left his heart shattered.
After a searing bout of sex, Dominic stands to dress and sees Miss Noir has turned her away from him. He sees a familiar birthmark on her lower back. No. It can't be. Arabella.
Arabella Stokes is a penniless widow with a small boy and a mother depending on her for survival. It is these desperate straits that cause her too seek employment at Mrs. Silver's House of Pleasure. Arabella was stunned when she saw Dominic enter the room on her first night. Hate and lust intermingled with other emotions. This heartless man abandoned her six years ago. He now stands before her and makes her a shocking offer, become his mistress.
Dominic and Arabella are wonderful characters. Arabella is proud, but she must protect her mother and son. Becoming Dominic's mistress would ensure they would not starve in some hovel. She has no other choice. The various layers of emotions in play here is great. So much perceived hurt and anger, yet they cannot deny the desire that still exists between them.
Arabella takes Dominic up on his offer. She hides her son and mother when Dominic comes to call. The awkwardness of their emotions and the situation itself is well done. Each thinks the other to blame for their situation. When the two finally speak in depth, it is revealed what really happened to drive them apart. The last third of the book is not as strong as the first two thirds. When the book focuses exclusively on Arabella and Dominic, the story crackles. However it gets bogged down in a subplot on blackmail and other outside forces which I believe lessens the intimate impact of the two main characters. It also kept me from giving it a perfect score.
That aside, this was a very good read. Sizzling hot for a Harlequin, deeply felt emotions and memorable characters all came together to pack a solid erotic romance punch.
4.5 out of 5
Dominic Furneaux, the Duke of Arlesford is your typical aristocratic rake in his late twenties who indulges in drink and gambling and women. His dealings with women had been discrete, but he soon find himself accompanying his friends to a brothel. The women are paraded out for the men to select, they wear feathered masks and go by the french names of colors. Miss Noir catches Dominic's interest.
The mysterious Miss Noir reminds him of a long ago lost love, a love that left him angry and broken-hearted. As painful as those memories are, the pain in his groin is greater. He must have her.
Miss Noir insists on keeping on her face mask. That is fine with Dominic, he can pretend this whore is Arabella Stokes, the woman who left his heart shattered.
After a searing bout of sex, Dominic stands to dress and sees Miss Noir has turned her away from him. He sees a familiar birthmark on her lower back. No. It can't be. Arabella.
Arabella Stokes is a penniless widow with a small boy and a mother depending on her for survival. It is these desperate straits that cause her too seek employment at Mrs. Silver's House of Pleasure. Arabella was stunned when she saw Dominic enter the room on her first night. Hate and lust intermingled with other emotions. This heartless man abandoned her six years ago. He now stands before her and makes her a shocking offer, become his mistress.
Dominic and Arabella are wonderful characters. Arabella is proud, but she must protect her mother and son. Becoming Dominic's mistress would ensure they would not starve in some hovel. She has no other choice. The various layers of emotions in play here is great. So much perceived hurt and anger, yet they cannot deny the desire that still exists between them.
Arabella takes Dominic up on his offer. She hides her son and mother when Dominic comes to call. The awkwardness of their emotions and the situation itself is well done. Each thinks the other to blame for their situation. When the two finally speak in depth, it is revealed what really happened to drive them apart. The last third of the book is not as strong as the first two thirds. When the book focuses exclusively on Arabella and Dominic, the story crackles. However it gets bogged down in a subplot on blackmail and other outside forces which I believe lessens the intimate impact of the two main characters. It also kept me from giving it a perfect score.
That aside, this was a very good read. Sizzling hot for a Harlequin, deeply felt emotions and memorable characters all came together to pack a solid erotic romance punch.
4.5 out of 5
January 21, 2015
Very good book. I really liked Arabella. She had done everything she could to try to support her mother and son, but had run out of options. When her worst nightmare happens and it is Dominic who buys her "favors" she is terrified that he will learn her secret. Dominic's reaction to seeing the woman who broke his heart is to make her his mistress. However, he finds that, even believing the worst of her, he cannot treat her badly. Each finds that their feelings for each other have not died. They also find out that they had been torn apart years before by the lies and deceptions of others. When he finds out about her son, he proposes marriage. But when Arabella is threatened with exposure, and harm to her son and Dominic, she breaks off their engagement. Dominic is furious and hurt at first, but then realizes that something was wrong. I really enjoyed seeing the way that Dominic worked to make things right, and loved the way he dealt with the blackmailer. The conclusion was fantastic. I am looking forward to reading Hunter's story.
July 6, 2013
DNF.
I read almost two-thirds of the story before I jut could not stand the heroine any more.
This is one of those "Big Misunderstanding" stories where both the hero and heroine are innocent of the misdeeds they believe of the other.
The heroine should be put out of her misery before she destroys the lives of the people around her. Okay that is a bit harsh.
But in her sitution (selling her body for money), people tend to kick into survival mode. They do what they must to keep themselves and their loved ones fed.
Instead, she's grieving (harping on it,really) over what she can never have.
I stopped reading after she made another stupid decision a woman in her position (penniless with two dependents) would never make. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Don't know how I managed to read so far before giving up.
I read almost two-thirds of the story before I jut could not stand the heroine any more.
This is one of those "Big Misunderstanding" stories where both the hero and heroine are innocent of the misdeeds they believe of the other.
The heroine should be put out of her misery before she destroys the lives of the people around her. Okay that is a bit harsh.
But in her sitution (selling her body for money), people tend to kick into survival mode. They do what they must to keep themselves and their loved ones fed.
Instead, she's grieving (harping on it,really) over what she can never have.
I stopped reading after she made another stupid decision a woman in her position (penniless with two dependents) would never make. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Don't know how I managed to read so far before giving up.
February 8, 2014
With trembling hands Arabella dons the mask of Miss Noir for her first night at Mrs. Silver's House of Pleasures. Thinking of her young son, she prepares to smile prettily at the next gentleman who enters….
Dominic Furneaux, Duke of Arlesford, is stunned to see that the woman who shattered his heart has fallen so low. He offers her a way out—by making her his mistress!
The temptation to reacquaint herself with Dominic's body is hard for Arabella to resist, but Dominic needs only to look into the Furneaux-blue eyes of her son to uncover Arabella's deepest secret…
This is another of the Gentlemen of Disrepute series. It was good to see how Arabella and Dominic come together, but the plot was thin. Sexual encounters were well written, but I prefer plot first in my story lines.
May 1, 2012
I really enjoyed this one! The whole fallen woman thing was well written, and the desperation driving Arabella to such a situation was believable and well conceived. The romance between the two main characters was great to read, and I liked the misunderstanding that forced them apart once.
Another great historical romance, and one of my favorites so far. This one is in a two pack with 'A dark and Brooding Gentleman', a book I will get around to reading eventually. It's by the same author, so It should be good, if this one was anything to go by.
Another great historical romance, and one of my favorites so far. This one is in a two pack with 'A dark and Brooding Gentleman', a book I will get around to reading eventually. It's by the same author, so It should be good, if this one was anything to go by.
July 22, 2016
Sensual, sad, mysterious and heartwarming.
This is very well written. A great plot, characters with flaws and depth.
Very few typos. None of them distracting
It needed some sort of separation between perspectives. It changes between characters without warning and made for a second or two of confusion.
Sex scenes are well done and not over the top.
The characters reactions to each other seemed realistic to me. Dialogue was well written.
I did tire of waiting for the mystery of how they ended up separated to get solved, but it didn't derail the story.
Highly recommend
This is very well written. A great plot, characters with flaws and depth.
Very few typos. None of them distracting
It needed some sort of separation between perspectives. It changes between characters without warning and made for a second or two of confusion.
Sex scenes are well done and not over the top.
The characters reactions to each other seemed realistic to me. Dialogue was well written.
I did tire of waiting for the mystery of how they ended up separated to get solved, but it didn't derail the story.
Highly recommend
November 5, 2013
This was one of the worst Margaret McPhee novels that I have read. While the characters were okay, I just felt that there were too many 'misunderstandings' - too many people working against them. Just when you got over one hurdle, there seemed to be another, but so similar to the first that I was just fed up.
Having said this I did enjoy the premise and the first two-thirds of the novel, but around about 190/200 pages, I just lost interest and wanted it to end!
Having said this I did enjoy the premise and the first two-thirds of the novel, but around about 190/200 pages, I just lost interest and wanted it to end!
January 8, 2014
This was a cute sweet book with a lot of introspection which I love. I cringed at a few moments like when the heroine called herself wanton and the narrator mentions a mistress's large breasts. I just felt like the narrator was saying because the girl had big breasts she was promiscuous. But I don't think it was consciously intended.
I like the author's style and I would like to read more from her.
I like the author's style and I would like to read more from her.
December 9, 2011
This was a nice easy read. Only one steamy love scene, but nothing out of sorts. Some parts of the story were predictable, but it still was an enjoyable book to read. I would have given this book more stars, if I didn't feel the book ended abruptly. I just felt that there was so much more that could have been added into the book. Maybe this was done intentional, as there could be a sequel?
June 10, 2012
I found this book in the public library e-books and it was better than I thought it would be. I enjoyed it, even though it was pretty predictable. I've got to say that I'm on vacation and don't want to read too much deep literature right now. I kept on thinking that this book was actually better written than Fifty Shades.
February 14, 2016
The book has a strong base. There are not many romance novels that covers about mistresses and bethrotel. I kind of like the premise. A very thin line exists between the world of the nobles and the world of the mistresses.
But the plot keep going downhill afterwards. Right from the start I know that Archie is the love son of the duke and Arabella..
But the plot keep going downhill afterwards. Right from the start I know that Archie is the love son of the duke and Arabella..
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