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A review by lily_maid
His Mistress by Morning by Elizabeth Boyle
3.0
If you're a frequent reader of traditional historical romances and you're looking to try something a little more experimental with shades of paranormal romance and a parallel reality, His Mistress By Morning might be just what you're looking for.
In spite of the magic rings, the immortals lurking about, and the shift to an alternate reality, the book is still very much a historical. Fashion, art, and poetry are important to the book's plot and Boyle has clearly put research into those details.
Charlotte, a quiet spinster, has secretly dreamed about her best friends brother Sebastian for years. However, the possibility of a relationship is slim. Her family is poor, he's practically engaged to a society beauty, and he can't even remember her name. When her great-aunt's fortune turns out to be a simple ring he seems further and further out of her grasp.
All is not what it appears, however, and the ring turns out to a wish-granting ring that transports Charlotte to an alternative reality where she has become a saucy courtesan named Lottie.
In this new wish-created reality, Charlotte's relationships with the most important people in her life have drastically changed. Sebastian, the man who never noticed her, is her lover, Cousin Finella a straight-laced woman who helped raise her is a noted courtesan herself, her best friend, Hermione Marlow doesn't even acknowledge her.
This alternative reality forces Charlotte to navigate and reevaluate her relationships. The book is an interesting look at how alternate realities and wishes can force us to look at ourselves and our own realities and the things that we would be better off changing.
The ending is a bit rushed, but Charlotte is ultimately able to use the alternative reality to shape her pre-wish reality essentially merging the two.
In spite of the magic rings, the immortals lurking about, and the shift to an alternate reality, the book is still very much a historical. Fashion, art, and poetry are important to the book's plot and Boyle has clearly put research into those details.
Charlotte, a quiet spinster, has secretly dreamed about her best friends brother Sebastian for years. However, the possibility of a relationship is slim. Her family is poor, he's practically engaged to a society beauty, and he can't even remember her name. When her great-aunt's fortune turns out to be a simple ring he seems further and further out of her grasp.
All is not what it appears, however, and the ring turns out to a wish-granting ring that transports Charlotte to an alternative reality where she has become a saucy courtesan named Lottie.
Some things are the same, the important ones. But time is like a garden, touched by winter one year, kissed by a gentle spring the next. You never know what will take root and bloom
In this new wish-created reality, Charlotte's relationships with the most important people in her life have drastically changed. Sebastian, the man who never noticed her, is her lover, Cousin Finella a straight-laced woman who helped raise her is a noted courtesan herself, her best friend, Hermione Marlow doesn't even acknowledge her.
This alternative reality forces Charlotte to navigate and reevaluate her relationships. The book is an interesting look at how alternate realities and wishes can force us to look at ourselves and our own realities and the things that we would be better off changing.
The ending is a bit rushed, but Charlotte is ultimately able to use the alternative reality to shape her pre-wish reality essentially merging the two.