𝑀𝑦 𝐽𝐴𝐹𝐹 𝑂𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛

Lady Francine, orphaned daughter of a Duke, is being pressured to marry by her unpleasant Aunt Prudence. Francine is just a few weeks from her majority and has no wish to marry. Her fortune means marriage is unnecessary and she wants her independence. When Aunt Prudence starts introducing thoroughly unpleasant suitors and neglecting her duty as a chaperone, Francine knows she must find a way out. She asks Lord Blakely, a notorious rake, to pretend to be her betrothed. He takes some convincing but money and the offer of a sexual liaison, seal the deal. Blakely is plagued by burdens of responsibility and a frightening secret. What starts out as a business arrangement, flares to a steamy education in debauchery. The book details their growing relationship, set against a background of wicked relatives and savage murders in London. For the most part, the steamy sections are well done. There is a ménage à trois, which I found uncomfortable reading, particularly when I didn’t know how far the...

Daniel Holbrook, the fourth Marquis of Tremayne is handsome and wealthy. He is also hampered by a speech impediment. His stammer led to ridicule and cruelty by his father. The emotional effects of the experience, still present in adulthood. Dorothea (known as Thea) is an impoverished widow in such dire circumstances that the suggestion of becoming a man’s mistress is an acceptable option. The two meet at a party held to facilitate such arrangements. The book details their growing relationship. She struggles with his reticence in person but is delighted by Daniel’s wit and humour in letters. Daniel will not reveal his stammer to her, afraid of being ridiculed. Corresponding is easier, but raises her expectations of further discourse. Their growing attachment and understanding of each other is adorable, but is there a respectable future for a mistress and her Lord? While this is described as a bundle or box set of the series, to be honest, it is one book. It should never have been publis...