His Mistress by Christmas by Victoria Alexander

October 5, 2011
I've been nuked...er...Nooked!
http://www.victoriaalexander.com/

Yes, fellow Romanceland travelers, I finally did what I thought I'd never do - bought a Nook. It was all Victoria Alexander's fault. You see, her latest book, His Mistress by Christmas, is/was being released in two formats: hardcover and electronic book... no paperback. So, while I was meandering through Barnes and Noble grumbling about the extra $10.00 for a hardcover, what should I spot? W-e-l-l, the Nook person, positioned right at the front of the store, similar to a Walmart greeter. I wandered over and started asking questions, all the time thinking Christmas present. However, something overwhelmed me and I found myself purchasing a Nook and a few of the accessories that go with it. You know those tri-fold fake leather covers look awfully nice and one mustn't forget the plastic screen saver thing. So, I spent somewhere in the area of $300.00 dollars just to save $10.00. Somehow at the time it all made sense.

On to the book. When I first started reading His Mistress by Christmas, the story seemed to me to be dragging a bit. I of course blamed my Nookbook. And, I was troubled that there was a period of adjustment when all there used to be was a turning of the page. But after awhile, it dawned on me that it wasn't the equipment I wasn't enjoying (cause you can do all kinds of whizzy things with it, like highlight bad parts of a book). No, it wasn't the equipment, but the book. I was almost - and I hate this word - b-o-r-e-d. I struggled reading this story. The two characters of Veronica and Sebastian had all the makings of an interesting couple. However, for some reason they just fell flat. It wasn't until the middle of the story that things picked up. There is a really hysterical Christmas party, with wonderful misunderstandings and mix-ups galore. However, that part of the book was over way too fast. There were also numerous hints of secondary stories and I wanted to find out more about those characters than I did about the main couple.

I also thought that even though this is a story about mistresses and such, it was mighty short on sexual tension. So, I was rather disappointed with His Mistress by Christmas - and my first trip down Electronicland. I'm not sure this was worth the $10.00 savings.

Time/Place: Victorian England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Bland