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Mistress on His Terms
Truth...or dare?
Sebastian Caine clearly mistrusts Lily, but that doesn't stop him desiring her -- or passionately seducing her as soon as possible!
It's true that Lily does have a secret. But she's determined that Sebastian will trust her on her terms before she'll reveal anything. Or she'll only ever stay his mistress....
Sebastian Caine clearly mistrusts Lily, but that doesn't stop him desiring her -- or passionately seducing her as soon as possible!
It's true that Lily does have a secret. But she's determined that Sebastian will trust her on her terms before she'll reveal anything. Or she'll only ever stay his mistress....
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
About the author
Catherine Spencer
266 books59 followers In the past, Catherine Spencer has been an English teacher which was the springboard for her writing career. Heathcliff, Rochester, Romeo and Rhett were all responsible for her love of brooding heroes! Catherine has had the lucky honour of being a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist and has been a guest speaker at both international and local conferences and was the only Canadian chosen to appear on the television special, Harlequin goes Prime Time.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 14, 2019
Re Mistress on His Terms - Catherine Spencer has another spectacularly tacky HP outing with this one.
The h is a 26 yr old recently orphaned small business owner whose current business partner is being investigated for all kinds of dubious activities by the Canadian authorities.
When she is cleaning out her parent's safe deposit box, she finds out that her father wasn't really her biological father. It seems that mum was married to some other guy and he, in fact, was the h's bio dad, but apparently gave the h up without thought when his ex wife remarried.
So the h goes trotting off to Toronto to get some answers. She finds her bio dad, who uses his attorney stepson, the hero, to evade the h's quest for answers. The H is all about belittling and berating the h for being an impostor tarty tramp gold digger - even as he is swinging the lurve club with her every chance he gets - no matter that he has a girl friend he is cheating on for most of the book.
The h also learns that she has a younger half sister who wants to go to India for a while and the H cheerfully informs the h that her bio dad said that the h's mother was a slut who ran off with her OB-Gyn doctor and that the bio dad did not really care, as there was a huge age difference between him and her mother.
(For some unfathomable reason, the bio dad refuses to answer any questions about the h's mother or their marriage, so all the information the h gets is relayed through the very tainted lens of the H's incredibly poor perception.)
The h instantly agrees that her mother must have been a tramp and that her entire life was a lie. Then comes the big denouement when the H finds out about the ongoing investigation of the h's business partner.
All kinds of nasty comments follow, with the result that the h finally, finally tells the H off and advises that she is no longer available for convenient piking and poking and goes home. The H learns that the h is actually very wealthy - her parents left her a very nice inheritance- and that the h was completely exonerated by the Canadian authorities.
He chases after the h, he isn't done with the lurve club events, but the h sends him on his merry way and proceeds to have the standard HP h mopey moment. Then her half sister gets back from India and has a life threatening infection.
It isn't until the h is willing to give up a kidney that the H and her bio family are fully prepared to accept her. The H makes some more moves to get the h back into bed - with a tepid I love you declaration- and the h thinks that is good enough for her.
We leave them with the sister recovered, the bio dad thinking the h isn't a tramp like her mother and the H, (who is a divorce attorney,) plotting to get some big bangs in before he files for divorce and marries a woman fit to bear his heirs for the extremely lackluster HEA.
This one was just tawdry, the h's willingness to believe what the H told her about her mother and her bio dad's complete lack of explanations did not sit well with me. Nor did the h having to offer to give up a kidney for acceptance win any awards on the true love believability scale.
The h does manage to give the H a decent telling off when she gets back to her own home, but that wasn't enough to make this an even semi-happy HPlandia outing.
The h is a 26 yr old recently orphaned small business owner whose current business partner is being investigated for all kinds of dubious activities by the Canadian authorities.
When she is cleaning out her parent's safe deposit box, she finds out that her father wasn't really her biological father. It seems that mum was married to some other guy and he, in fact, was the h's bio dad, but apparently gave the h up without thought when his ex wife remarried.
So the h goes trotting off to Toronto to get some answers. She finds her bio dad, who uses his attorney stepson, the hero, to evade the h's quest for answers. The H is all about belittling and berating the h for being an impostor tarty tramp gold digger - even as he is swinging the lurve club with her every chance he gets - no matter that he has a girl friend he is cheating on for most of the book.
The h also learns that she has a younger half sister who wants to go to India for a while and the H cheerfully informs the h that her bio dad said that the h's mother was a slut who ran off with her OB-Gyn doctor and that the bio dad did not really care, as there was a huge age difference between him and her mother.
(For some unfathomable reason, the bio dad refuses to answer any questions about the h's mother or their marriage, so all the information the h gets is relayed through the very tainted lens of the H's incredibly poor perception.)
The h instantly agrees that her mother must have been a tramp and that her entire life was a lie. Then comes the big denouement when the H finds out about the ongoing investigation of the h's business partner.
All kinds of nasty comments follow, with the result that the h finally, finally tells the H off and advises that she is no longer available for convenient piking and poking and goes home. The H learns that the h is actually very wealthy - her parents left her a very nice inheritance- and that the h was completely exonerated by the Canadian authorities.
He chases after the h, he isn't done with the lurve club events, but the h sends him on his merry way and proceeds to have the standard HP h mopey moment. Then her half sister gets back from India and has a life threatening infection.
It isn't until the h is willing to give up a kidney that the H and her bio family are fully prepared to accept her. The H makes some more moves to get the h back into bed - with a tepid I love you declaration- and the h thinks that is good enough for her.
We leave them with the sister recovered, the bio dad thinking the h isn't a tramp like her mother and the H, (who is a divorce attorney,) plotting to get some big bangs in before he files for divorce and marries a woman fit to bear his heirs for the extremely lackluster HEA.
This one was just tawdry, the h's willingness to believe what the H told her about her mother and her bio dad's complete lack of explanations did not sit well with me. Nor did the h having to offer to give up a kidney for acceptance win any awards on the true love believability scale.
The h does manage to give the H a decent telling off when she gets back to her own home, but that wasn't enough to make this an even semi-happy HPlandia outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2023
Well *I* liked it 😂
I might start looking for all the lowest rated by my preferred authors first. I can understand some of the criticism about the H, Sebastian, a typical steely-eyed asshat type. I found his dislike and suspicion to be a bit OTT for a supposed coolheaded lawyer but then I do like an enemies to lovers romance so the nastier the better if they've got the moves and the vibe, and for me he did. The h, Lily, was quite sweet and gave as good as she got. She was upfront and honest in her sexual response and tbh I like that in a modern h. She had the rug pulled out from under her on so many fronts in the story (cheated by her business partner, orphaned by an accident, lied to by her parents, discovering her "other" family, her new crush having a possessive gf) but she stayed true to herself. It was a decent read and the sex was pretty good.
I might start looking for all the lowest rated by my preferred authors first. I can understand some of the criticism about the H, Sebastian, a typical steely-eyed asshat type. I found his dislike and suspicion to be a bit OTT for a supposed coolheaded lawyer but then I do like an enemies to lovers romance so the nastier the better if they've got the moves and the vibe, and for me he did. The h, Lily, was quite sweet and gave as good as she got. She was upfront and honest in her sexual response and tbh I like that in a modern h. She had the rug pulled out from under her on so many fronts in the story (cheated by her business partner, orphaned by an accident, lied to by her parents, discovering her "other" family, her new crush having a possessive gf) but she stayed true to herself. It was a decent read and the sex was pretty good.
October 19, 2017
The title and book blurb were misleading...I don't think this has anything to do with Lily being Sebastian's mistress at all.
I like the Canadian setting of the story which is refreshing for me. The trope of reuniting long long child with parent was kind of well done and it was so lovely to see the stepmother and stepsister being so kind and welcoming! Except Sebastian was the stepbrother from hell.
I could never see what Lily saw in him to make her fall in love. I just cannot.
SPOILERS
First off the issues I have with the book:
Sebastian slept with Lily the first three times without using any protection! THREE! After the first time they freaked out but the next two were just irresponsible. AND THE WORST WAS he was still semi casually dating the nurse! He only broke things off completely after they had sex three times/their second encounter. SHUDDERS.
Sebastian was an asshole right up to the last bit. Even with one apology he delivered some insults and recriminations for free. Gosh Lily might have been strong enough to call him out on his bad behaviour, I really loved the scene in her home in Vancouver when she threw him out, but she was just such a pushover!
He did not even have the grace and good manners to propose properly!
I think being a cynical divorce lawyer made him such a jerk.
I like the Canadian setting of the story which is refreshing for me. The trope of reuniting long long child with parent was kind of well done and it was so lovely to see the stepmother and stepsister being so kind and welcoming! Except Sebastian was the stepbrother from hell.
I could never see what Lily saw in him to make her fall in love. I just cannot.
SPOILERS
First off the issues I have with the book:
Sebastian slept with Lily the first three times without using any protection! THREE! After the first time they freaked out but the next two were just irresponsible. AND THE WORST WAS he was still semi casually dating the nurse! He only broke things off completely after they had sex three times/their second encounter. SHUDDERS.
Sebastian was an asshole right up to the last bit. Even with one apology he delivered some insults and recriminations for free. Gosh Lily might have been strong enough to call him out on his bad behaviour, I really loved the scene in her home in Vancouver when she threw him out, but she was just such a pushover!
He did not even have the grace and good manners to propose properly!
I think being a cynical divorce lawyer made him such a jerk.
October 3, 2014
You know what? If I'm going to read Harlequin Presents, and I think we all know by now that I am, I want the guy to be all in. I don't mind if he hates her at first or denies to himself that he is falling for her. But I want to be able to see from his actions that he's got it bad for the heroine. Here that was so not the case. One instance of "I'm never going to love you," is fine but this guy kept it up and kept on telling the heroine that until nearly the last page. Still if was readable.
June 25, 2023
BIG FAT JERKs of the H and her father.
I woouldn't give the kidney to the sister. It's like that she need to give her life for a bunch of parasites.
The H and her father are the really whore and tramps with their lives with their sluts. Double Standards your BASTARDS.
WTF.
They need to die. How can she be so stupid?
I woouldn't give the kidney to the sister. It's like that she need to give her life for a bunch of parasites.
The H and her father are the really whore and tramps with their lives with their sluts. Double Standards your BASTARDS.
WTF.
They need to die. How can she be so stupid?
March 9, 2024
Wow that’s a lot of…family bonds…😬 and the hero was determined to hate the heroine, and drive her away. The heroine has no reason to like him. Interesting story, but I always dislike the “someone almost died” that brings the couple back together. So read for the unique plot I guess. But know it’s not very good.
July 17, 2021
Started off OK but went downhill and I didn't finish. Skimmed ending which wasn't very good either.
January 2, 2023
The H wasnever in to the h he is a jerk till the end.
June 8, 2014
Lily is off to meet her father that she knew nothing about, however a different man, Sebastian, meets her instead. (odd that Hugo knew it was her calling before she even said hello) Sebastian is pretty nasty to Lily from the get go. He doesn’t trust her but completely trusts Hugo. My problem is that her mother isn’t there to defend herself and Lily takes this new family’s word for everything! Sebastian thinks Lily is up to something, perhaps hurting Hugo the way her mother did years ago. One wonders why pa felt the need to divulge his past w/ his step son?! On the way to pa’s house Lily and Sebastian are forced to spend more time together and sparks fly between them. He is continuously mean to her, but Lily perseveres. He didn’t seem to like her jumping to conclusions about him but of course he does it to her w/out allowing an explanation. She has her own reasons for being there and in search of some family since hers is gone. She acted like hers was so great, but she is quick to believe the worst of them when the new one – more specifically Hugo – delivers the bad news of the manipulations of her momma. So Hugo wouldn’t tell Lily about her mother but he tells Sebastian who tells her, of course. That doesn’t really make a lick of sense as Sebastian has no familial connection to the woman and Hugo should’ve sought counsel elsewhere! Hugo is not like the HP Hs that you read so much about because his explanation for leaving Lily, given by Sebastian, seems very weak. Yeah I suppose it sets up the story but he could have fought more for what he claimed to have wanted so bad instead of being so passive. Fine upstanding Sebastian wants Lily even though he already has a GF. He is not adverse to making a few passes, and we’re not completely sure if his relationship w/ GF is through either. However, he is better than Lily’s mom – still bothers me that she accepts their word for things when all I can think is that of course Hugo will want to look like the wronged man and her mom is gone so why not paint her poorly?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2014
First of, the title did not suit the gist of the whole story.. It seemed a lame one as to even include in a conversation in the story. There is too much familial concepts that the title bears little significance to its whole.
As these types of son/daughter-meets-estranged-parent stories go, there is always a person who'd think bad of an intruder or a newcomer. Understandable, given the circumstances.
There was already an attraction going on between the two of them in the beginning. It didn't take long before things got a little steamy.
But really, when everything's put on the line like your feelings and families, you shouldn't let pride get in the way. It could have saved them the trouble with waiting, in pain, in what could have been. Less regrets and more learnings could be achieved.
As these types of son/daughter-meets-estranged-parent stories go, there is always a person who'd think bad of an intruder or a newcomer. Understandable, given the circumstances.
There was already an attraction going on between the two of them in the beginning. It didn't take long before things got a little steamy.
But really, when everything's put on the line like your feelings and families, you shouldn't let pride get in the way. It could have saved them the trouble with waiting, in pain, in what could have been. Less regrets and more learnings could be achieved.
January 17, 2014
I had a difficult time rating this one. On one hand I like the plot very much; on the other hand I thought the hero was a major PITA and the heroine kept buying into his games. He repeatedly reviled her, didn't believe her, baited her, and instead of ignoring him and ticking him off that way, by not buying into his attitudinal stupidity she always reacted to his attitude which aggravated him more and escalated their battles. I've always loved Spencer's books but his hero rubbed me the wrong way.
December 12, 2021
I can’t say I liked those MCs. The H was awfully rude and condescending. I had hopes for the heroine in the beginning but she soon appeared to me as high maintenance. She was very eager to jump into bed with the H even if she knew he was in relationship with another woman. It happens IRL. Even if she was distressed by the family news that didn’t excuse her. Then she blamed the H for their indiscretion and that she felt cheap . I couldn’t really sympathize. I was interested enough to continue reading.
June 9, 2021
He rejects her continually. Sebastian Caine clearly mistrusts Lily, but that doesn't stop him desiring her--or passionately seducing her as soon as possible!
It's true that Lily does have a secret. But she's determined that Sebastian will trust her on her terms before she'll reveal anything. Or she'll only ever stay his mistress.
It's true that Lily does have a secret. But she's determined that Sebastian will trust her on her terms before she'll reveal anything. Or she'll only ever stay his mistress.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews