Rating: 
Summary: A decent book......
Review: I was walking around the bookstore when I came across this book. The title itself sounded interesting. I started to read the first chapter and was taken with Jane Ingelby, her character and her witty comments. Both heroine and hero were wonderful characters. I decided to buy the book. I've read one of Balogh's short regency story before and enjoyed it immensely. I was into this book, it took me less than two days to read it. It made me laugh and cry. The book was wonderful but the ending......oh..what a disappointment. I was very frustrated by it......so I give it a three.
Rating: 
Summary: Definately a winner
Review: I'm not going to repeat what others have said except you will love the two main characters. Neither of them are weak or spineless. I loved this book and look forward to many more!
Rating:
Summary: Wait for this book in paperback!
Review: I've been a fan of Mary Balogh's for years and read everything of hers I could get my hands on. This is not one of her best books. It's still better than the average Regency or historical - Ms. Balogh knows how to write and her books are always entertaining.I enjoyed this book up until the last few chapters. I don't know who to blame, Ms. Balogh or her editor, but the story seemed to fall apart at the end. I'd recommend you wait for this book to come out in paperback. I might have liked it better if it hadn't cost me over 15 bucks!!!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, moving, poignant and utterly romantic
Review: It's early on a bright spring morning, and the Duke of Tresham is fighting another duel. He's cool, collected and not at all troubled by his opponent, the husband of his supposed lover. Until the order to fire is about to be given, and a scream echoes across Hyde Park; a young woman's voice yelling, "STOP!". Tresham lowers his pistol, but his opponent does not, shooting him in the upper calf. Furious, Tresham delopes - as is his habit in duels - then, in agony, orders the young woman to his side, lashing her with his tongue and demanding that she remains to support him while the surgeon examines him, thus deliberately making her late for work. Having been sacked unless she can produce evidence that her excuse was true, Jane Ingleby turns up at Tresham's home to induce the Duke to write a note for her. She's mistaken for the doctor's assistant and is conducted to his bedchamber, where she ends up helping the doctor to remove the bullet. Furious at her presumption, Tresham employs her as his nurse for the three weeks he will be immobile, telling her that he will soon make her believe that killing her would have been preferable. But Jane turns out to be a surprising companion. No-one has ever spoken to Tresham as she does; she refuses to be cowed, only calls him 'your grace' with reluctance and only as long as he calls her 'Miss Ingleby', she argues with him and entertains him... and, he discovers, has an understanding and compassionate nature. She can also sing like an angel. And he is more attracted to her - his servant - than to any woman he's ever known before. Jane, too, finds herself becoming more and more attached to the rakish, arrogant Duke, to the point that she is tempted to confide in him the truth about who she is and the fact that she's on the run having been accused of murder. And she doesn't want to leave him... so when he offers her a position as his mistress, she accepts. Because it would offer her further protection and enable her to stay hidden, and also because she loves him. Thinking of it as a business arrangement, as all other such arrangements have been, Tresham sets her up in a house and she becomes his mistress. But very soon, in that blissful first week in which they spend almost every hour of every day in each other's company and Jocelyn rediscovers his love of art and music, she becomes so much more than a mistress. Jocelyn, Duke of Tresham, has found his first real friend. And then... well, other reviews have dealt with Jocelyn's discovery of Jane's true identity as Lady Sara Illingsworth and his reaction to it, the breakdown of their relationship. In my opinion, this is Balogh's best book yet, better even than Precious Jewel, Tempting Harriet, Longing and other favourites. The developing relationship between Jocelyn and Jane is beautiful to read; I re-read some of those early chapters immediately upon finishing the book. It's all in the subtleties of dialogue; one word can say so much, as another reviewer commented. Then there are the scenes which make your heart stop: that very first kiss in the music-room, when both are vulnerable and barriers are lowered. The fond, almost loving kiss after the party when he tells her that she can't stay. The moment when, once she agrees to be his mistress, she calls him Jocelyn for the first time. Their first lovemaking - even though he retreats afterwards and calls it 'sex' and 'bedwork'. And those poignant days when they sit together and talk in Jane's den; when he tells her about his chldhood and reveals his utter vulnerability. And, yes, that later kiss others have mentioned, the night before his next duel, where they say not a word to each other. I too am glad that I didn't read the reviews here before I read the book; I utterly disagree with those who said that the resolution took too long, or who blamed Jane for not forgiving Jocelyn. What about his manner whenever they talked? When one word of kindness or love from him would have made her run to him - and he knew it - he remained arrogant and haughty, even after the duel when he knew she'd come because she cared. This is now one of my absolute favourite historical romances, along with Putney's Thunder and Roses and Beverley's Devilish. It's that good.
Rating: 
Summary: good writing and interesting characters
Review: Jane Ingleby has caused the Duke of Tresham no little vexation -- distracting him during a duel in Hyde Park, daring to challenge his commands, and enticing him with that golden hair and bewitching mouth .... you get the picture. This is a standard plot but well-written enough to be entertaining and a fun read. Circumstances result in silly behavior from an otherwise intelligent heroine and we come to appreciate that the Duke's legendary reputation as a rake does not fully encompass the man. The characters have strengths as well as flaws, and the book is very good until about the last 30 pages. The main impediment to the two protagonists' recognizing and formalizing their love for each other is Jane's flight from accusations of attempted murder and theft, yet after this issue is resolved the two characters continue through a series of trivial obstacles for another couple of dozen pages. It was too anticlimactic. There are two scenes of physical passion; one is rather explicit but not graphic. I enjoyed this book and would read others by the same author.
Rating: 
Summary: Good depth of characters but hero is barbaric and there is n
Review: Jocelyn is everything a Regency rake ought to be-rude, arrogant, overbearing, not a pleasant person at all. Jane is the typical heroine who starts out mousy and then shows her true colours. She may see some redeeming features in Jocelyn, but most of us would not. He is a fraud and has no notion of how to love anyone except himself. As for her, she is accused of murder and yet does nothing to try to help herself. He has to sort out all her problems for her, and then she is angry when he does. The getting to know each other part works out well enough, but the whole novel is watered down by the continuous and ridiculous vendetta of the Forbes brothers when Jocelyn has supposedly slept with their sister and allows everyone to go on thinking it even when his own bother is killed. Yes, he may play the piano and paint like an angel but he has few redeeming features and the way he speaks to Jane and treats her is appalling. The so-called love scenes are extremely unsexy, along the lines of a business arrangement, and his hatred of her when he feels he has been betrayed is appalling. Her 'betrayal' consists of not having quite worked up the courage to tell him that she is wanted for murder. She wants to have one happy month with him before she turns herself in and faces the consquences, except they get one week and then he finds out. In any event, this would not be something most people would blurt out to a man who has told her he just wants her for sex, nothing more. His insistence that he must marry her because she is an earl's daughter, and his resentment because of this, is offensive in the extreme and we never get a true sense of commitment at all. The ending where the boring beau tries to get her back is also throwing up yet another obstacle in the path of the couple, leaving us with the sense that he only married her so no one else could have her as if she is some horse bought at Tattersall's. I prefer my heroines with more spine and my heroes less Neanderthal. She tries to give us explanations for why he is like that, but in all honesty the past is the past and the very fact that he has a house to keep his mistress in shows he is not the kind of person who can be redeemed because all women are objects for his amusement only, including Jane throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Good depth of characters but hero is barbaric and there is n
Review: Jocelyn is everything a Regency rake ought to be-rude, arrogant, overbearing, not a pleasant person at all. Jane is the typical heroine who starts out mousy and then shows her true colours. She may see some redeeming features in Jocelyn, but most of us would not. He is a fraud and has no notion of how to love anyone except himself. As for her, she is accused of murder and yet does nothing to try to help herself. He has to sort out all her problems for her, and then she is angry when he does. The getting to know each other part works out well enough, but the whole novel is watered down by the continuous and ridiculous vendetta of the Forbes brothers when Jocelyn has supposedly slept with their sister and allows everyone to go on thinking it even when his own bother is killed. Yes, he may play the piano and paint like an angel but he has few redeeming features and the way he speaks to Jane and treats her is appalling. The so-called love scenes are extremely unsexy, along the lines of a business arrangement, and his hatred of her when he feels he has been betrayed is appalling. Her 'betrayal' consists of not having quite worked up the courage to tell him that she is wanted for murder. She wants to have one happy month with him before she turns herself in and faces the consquences, except they get one week and then he finds out. In any event, this would not be something most people would blurt out to a man who has told her he just wants her for sex, nothing more. His insistence that he must marry her because she is an earl's daughter, and his resentment because of this, is offensive in the extreme and we never get a true sense of commitment at all. The ending where the boring beau tries to get her back is also throwing up yet another obstacle in the path of the couple, leaving us with the sense that he only married her so no one else could have her as if she is some horse bought at Tattersall's. I prefer my heroines with more spine and my heroes less Neanderthal. She tries to give us explanations for why he is like that, but in all honesty the past is the past and the very fact that he has a house to keep his mistress in shows he is not the kind of person who can be redeemed because all women are objects for his amusement only, including Jane throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Regency Romance
Review: Lady Sara, known to her family as Jane, flees her evil guardian and his plot to marry Jane off to his son to secur her fortune. Jane plans to escape to London and her godmother, Lady Harriet's home. The plan goes awry when Lady Harriet is not home. Jane panics thinking she may have killed her ravisher. She decides to find a job & lay low in London until she is safe. On the way to her job as a seamstress, she interrupts a duel causing the Duke of Tresham to be shot in the leg. Jane loses her job for the delay, so she confronts the duke who offers her the job as nurse. Out of desperation to remain anomyous, Jane takes the job. Jane and the Duke of Tresham, or Joceyln (his Christian name) are drawn together for reasons unknown to either of them. Nobody has ever spoken to the duke as Jane dares to. She demands he say please and thank you to her and dares to ask she be called by name instead of girl. This faint description does not do the book justice. The characters are witty and intriguing. Jane has a sharp tongue, but manages to not come off as a shrew. Jocelyn has a quizzing glass (and uses it!) & dandyish clothes, but is not a nellie. (When have we ever seen the hero with a quizzing glass?) The Duke of Tresham's two sibling are a real hoot. His sister, Angeline, has hideous taste in clothes, choosing mustard colored bonnets with pink plumes. His brother is involved in carriage races and bets at White's. There are numerous friends coming and going throughout. And throughout the entire story, the Duke of Tresham is chased by a band of five brothers who wrongly insist he had an affair with their married sister. This book takes the best of the Regency novel-intricately tied neckcloths, quizzing glasses, afternoons at home, afternoon rides in Hyde Park and balls- and combines those with the best of the historical novel-real characters, romantic tension and lust-and puts them together to great effect. Other reviewers seem to have problems with parts of the story. The only thing which was a bit thin for me was that Jane shows up at Lady Harriet's home and finds her gone away on a trip. If Jane is the godchild, the servants and those in charge of the house would know her and offer her a place to stay until Lady Harriet returned. Jane acted like she had no alternatives when Harriet was not at home. Jane only had 15 pounds in her pocket and acted totally desperate enough to stay in crummy boarding houses instead of asking Lady Harriet's butler to let her stay. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I could not put it down until I finished it.
Rating:
Summary: Mary Balogh is my New Favorite Author
Review: More Than a Mistress was my first Mary Balogh book and it most definately won't be my last. If my husband hadn't reminded me that we had an appointment in the morning,I would have stayed up all night and finished the book. As it was, I raced home and picked up the book from where I left off. Jane is definately my type of heroine. She lets people know what she thinks and has no problem standing up to dominering men (Tresham) who is used to getting his own way. The problem is that he needs someone to stand up to him and help him see what life is all about (and love). Jane is running and hiding from a terrible secret and will do almost anything to keep hidden. Thus she accepts the offer of Tresham to be his mistress....but neither one of them counts of falling in love. What happens next is a battle of wills and the fact that true love conquers all.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book by one of the best.
Review: Normally one would be extremely wary of buying a hardcover book from someone who has only written paperbacks. One wonders if the style has changed for the worse,than the better.This has not happened in Ms.Balogh's case.Mary's hardcover debut is a wonder- ful story. I really loved the interaction between Jocelyn and Jane.The secondary characters were also wonderful.
| 
