Mistress to Her Husband
3 Stars

Arriving at work one morning, Kate Vincent is shocked to learn that her new boss in none other than Sean Howard, her ex-husband and the man who broke her heart. Sean is just as surprised, but soon comes to realize that his love for Kate has never died, and one touch is all it takes for their passion to be re-ignited. Can their renewed connection withstand the secrets of the past?

Despite the trappings of the 21st century and a more risqué writing style, the characters and storyline are still typical of a 1980s category romance replete with familiar tropes such as the forced seduction and secret baby.

Kate is a proud and independent single mother, nothing new in this day and age, yet she is constantly being chastised by others for her lifestyle, and feels guilty for not being a stay-at-home mom. Seriously?! The book was originally published in 2004, so why has the author reverted to outdated concepts of a woman’s place in society?

Sean is also a throwback to the 1980s borderline abusive and judgmental hero. His actions, both past and present, are inexcusable and one never gets the impression that he truly regrets his behavior. That said, his interactions with little Ollie are sweet and his willingness to love and accept a child he believes is another man’s son is one of his more redeeming qualities.

The book’s main saving grace is the chemistry between Kate and Sean, which is rather steamy for this genre.

All in all, not a bad read despite its shortcomings and the terrible title, which is completely irrelevant to the plot. ( )

Solidly written HP. Decent motivation for the secret baby. Reasonable motivation for the hero's decision to divorce the heroine. Reasonable in his mind but I think it's kind of silly on his part. My only real caveat is that the heroine married him at 18 and was married to him for 2 years and divorced for 5. He is 35 when the story starts and the author keeps talking about how he was such a young angry man when they met, poorly educated and rough around the edges. She came from a higher class background and helped polish him up and he has since become really wealthy. I'm thinking super wealthy in 5 years doing construction is not real realistic. I'm also thinking that 28 is not all that young to still be so young hungry and rough. He was written more as if he was 22 or 23 when they were married. Most guys by 28 are starting to get their sh*t together and don't really need an 18 year old to teach them how to go on. ( )

Mistress to Her Husband
3 Stars

Arriving at work one morning, Kate Vincent is shocked to learn that her new boss in none other than Sean Howard, her ex-husband and the man who broke her heart. Sean is just as surprised, but soon comes to realize that his love for Kate has never died, and one touch is all it takes for their passion to be re-ignited. Can their renewed connection withstand the secrets of the past?

Despite the trappings of the 21st century and a more risqué writing style, the characters and storyline are still typical of a 1980s category romance replete with familiar tropes such as the forced seduction and secret baby.

Kate is a proud and independent single mother, nothing new in this day and age, yet she is constantly being chastised by others for her lifestyle, and feels guilty for not being a stay-at-home mom. Seriously?! The book was originally published in 2004, so why has the author reverted to outdated concepts of a woman’s place in society?

Sean is also a throwback to the 1980s borderline abusive and judgmental hero. His actions, both past and present, are inexcusable and one never gets the impression that he truly regrets his behavior. That said, his interactions with little Ollie are sweet and his willingness to love and accept a child he believes is another man’s son is one of his more redeeming qualities.

The book’s main saving grace is the chemistry between Kate and Sean, which is rather steamy for this genre.

All in all, not a bad read despite its shortcomings and the terrible title, which is completely irrelevant to the plot. ( )