Her Wicked Marquess - Lisa Torquay

 

Can there ever be real love between a powerful lord and the actress he took as a mistress?

A year ago, Hester Green's fascination with Lord Worcester led her to accept his proposition to be his mistress, her first foray into the delights of the bedroom. And what delights! Every time they spent the night together, he made her even more addicted to his prowess. But now the gossipmongers are abuzz with his impending betrothal to a duke's daughter. That is too much to swallow, and she severs their liaison even though it wrenches her insides to do so.

Drake, the Marquess of Worcester, has no intention of bending to his mother's manipulation. Even less marry the girl the dowager spread rumors as being his intended. And he has zero intention to allow it to damage a perfectly convenient arrangement with the woman he can't get enough of. But Hester moves out of the house he bought her—and out of his life. He'll find ways to keep her close, though the woman is revealing to be more of a rebel and less of the meek mistress she once was.

My review

Her Wicked Marquess: Imperious Lords 4 by Lisa Torquay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are many many historical romances that are very similar. Lord meets young Lady, they fall in love, have a few problems along the way and then happily ever after. Her Wicked Marquess is a little different. We join the romance, not at the beginning, but after a year of Hester living as the Marquess of Worcester's mistress. On hearing that he is about to be married, she breaks off her arrangement with him, not being willing to share him. He then pursues her and tries to win her back.
Not only is the romance in this story unconventional, but I think that the whole story is. Drake, our hero is a bit full of himself to begin with and it's only when Hester stands up for herself that he really sees her for who she is and what she means to him. It's clear from the beginning to us at least, that they are both in love with one another. It takes a little longer for them to realise it. For Drake, everything has been fine, why would he want to change anything. For Hester, she has been seeing herself as an object or a possession where Drake is concerned. Of course, for many mistresses, this would have been the reality. Even Drake himself tells us that in the past he tired of the women he took as lovers quickly, sometimes after only a few short weeks of an arrangement.
It's unusual for a romance to touch on this side of things. Mistresses, if mentioned at all are something for the hero to get rid of quickly and even in some cases become the villain of the story.
This is an interesting read with a satisfying romance. If you are looking for something a little bit different to the vast majority of historical reads out there, then I don't think that you will go far wrong with this one.

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