But in the hand of a talented writer, a tale told a thousand times before could become quite interesting. I thought I might have gotten bored by just reading the excerpt. Jaded rake meets uptight bluestocking widow. There is nothing ground-breaking in this short story. I loved Mistress by Mistake, and I've been looking forward to her new books ever since. Review 2: (The rating is for Not Quite A Courtesan by Maggie Robinson only.)Ms Robinson is one of my recent discovers. As to the other you will have to judge for yourself. I am giving this 4/5 stars just because the other two stories are worth the time and effort to read this book. I will not be reading anymore books by this author, unless someone recommends something by her that doesn't sound anything like I just described. I was hoping that something would make her less attractive in his eyes so that he could proved that he loved her for more than her beauty. I also hated the fact that Charles didn't pay Sarah any attention until he notice how beautiful she had become and then instantly it was love.

I loved the premise of the story, but it was the wording or something that I just can't put my hands on that I didn't like.

It had nothing at all to do with the plot, that was actually okay. Sorry Henley fans but this just didn't do it for me. My least fav of course is Beauty and the Brute by Virginia Henley. Prudence is so much like what you expect a proper English girl to be like, but it was wonderful to see her come out of her shell. It wasn't as steamy but it was still good. My next fav is Not Quite a Courtesan by Maggie Robinson. Rather you like the book or not it is worth it just to read this story alone. Not many women then or even today or bold enough to do that. more and let her man know that he was not pleasing her in bed. As a matter of fact the next book that I will be talking about will be another by Ms. This is the first book I have read by either author and for this one at least it will not be my last. There are 3 stories in this book: Beauty and the Brute by Virginia Henley, How to Seduce a Wife by Kate Pearce, and Not Quite a Courtesan by Maggie Robinson.I will just say that my favorite out of the 3 was How to Seduce a Wife by Kate Pearce. Well, none of them are really bad, or else I would have stopped reading, just not to my liking. First of all it's an anthology, so not all the stories are bad. Review 1: I am usually all over historical romance, but this book left something to be desired.

Lords of Passion by Virginia Henley