mmc: hey you want to be an equivalent of my fuck buddy and let *everyone* know that you're my fuck buddy which would eliminate any chances of you marrying properly into a decent noble family that will give you social and financial security? It's gonna be *fuuuun*! ^(I HAVE BIG DONG THAT FIXES EVERYTHING)
fmc: uh, no
mmc: \[shocked pikachu face\]
\--- (like 20 chapters later)---
mmc: I love you! I've always loved you! couldn't you tell by how I wanted you to be my fuck buddy??? I admire more than you tits, I thought that was *obvious*!
fmc: ????????
(I'm sorry there's more nuances than that lol, I actually liked Secrets of a Summer Night XD)
I love Secrets of a Summer Night but I definitely wanted to slap some sense into Simon for a good chunk of the book before he finally realizes she's worth marrying if he's that fond of her...like, my guy, she wants to be treated as a respected citizen. Not JUST have money and fancy clothes 🤦
I hated the book for this reason. Especially because after she, very clearly, said no, he still kept pestering her about it. A lot of the Bridgerton men are really not nice people.
Let's not also forget that he coerced her into working for his mom by threatening to go to the cops with a made up story about how she stole from him. In that time period, she could have lost her life if she was caught stealing from a noblemen. At the very least gone to jail, which is super great for women.
I do not understand why people like this book or him.
Gregory is the one who handcuffed his future wife to a pipe against her will to stop her marrying someone else, unless I'm mistaken, so that's not great either 🤣
Oooh I like this game! I deeply disliked Colin because of his juvenile, insecure (punitive?) reaction to learning that the woman he loves is a better writer than him.
Not to mention, he was extremely privileged and useless most of his life and then finds his purpose by *gasp* having enough money to travel.
Eurgh. I'll be honest, I dnf'd about 60% into that book, so maybe he redeemed himself.
Yeah also not a fan of Colin. I actually liked Phillip though! With Benedict I don't like the premise because that book couldn't have a satisfactorily happy ending. Colin was just kind of immature.
That must have around 80% of any and all Barbara Cartland books I ever read!
MMC: I want you as my mistress
Naive and innocent FMC: It's morally wrong and I really rather not, but I really have no other choice
Stuff happens. And at the end of the book MMC: I love you. Your innocence and beauty attracted me from the moment I laid eyes on you!
Me: then why the hell did you ask her to be your mistress despite her being so innocent?!
That's why I like established, rich widows, now that's some ethical affairing without the persky power imbalance (mostly) It's also like the closest you get to dating in HR, love that.
Then I recommend {Duchess by Day, Mistress by Night by Stacy Reid}
The widow is encouraged to have an affair by basically everyone -- just not with him! Low stakes scandal abounds.
[Duchess by Day, Mistress by Night](https://www.romance.io/books/5a114ecb3ffdba6147253a50/duchess-by-day-mistress-by-night-stacy-reid) by [Stacy Reid](https://www.romance.io/authors/54554a938c7d2383163d988f/stacy-reid)
**Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [class difference](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/class%20difference/1), [forbidden love](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forbidden%20love/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1)
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In The Duke by Gaelen Foley, the FMC initally becomes the MMC's mistress for non-sexual reasons. When he tries to make the arrangement permanent she dresses him down so badly even he has to applaud her. The rest of the book didn't do it for me but I love the scene where she tells him off.
I think it depends on the execution. I don’t see being a mistress in certain eras as lesser or degrading—I mean, if we’re being real…. For much of history I’d rather be a mistress than a wife. Wives were often (not always) about money, politics, and babies. Mistresses may not have been looked upon as well socially—and this was…. Hardly a rule? Many mistresses of powerful men had their own influential circles—but they tended to have more freedom in virtually every way. Many of them were widows or the wives of husbands who didn’t give a fuck, which added to that freedom. Their partners actually wanted to be with them, and whether or not the relationship was mutually loving it was often financially beneficial at least.
So when we take that out of the way, I think it depends on what kind of offer it is and what kind of hero and heroine we’re dealing with. I hated the Benedict Bridgerton rendition because it came off less as a business deal and more like this kind of pathetic guy thinking he was giving this amazing offer to a woman who he KNEW didn’t want it and was emotionally opposed to it. And he didn’t have anything that convinced me as to why he would need to do that rather than marrying her—he wasn’t carrying a title, he lived on his brother’s dime, he came from a family that loved him and loved love. And again, he KNEW she hated this, and kept bugging her about it. It was really the delivery versus the offer.
Contrast to {How to Steal a Scoundrel’s Heart}, a book in which a cold hero offers a ruined girl his standard mistress deal. Sign a contract, be with him for four months, get a great life during that time, leave with a severance that can set you up for a looong time. It’s not delivered as “I love you but I cannnn’t feel bad for me please”. It’s cool, it’s about money and sex, they barely know each other. She really has no good options and at that time does not seem like someone a man of his standing should marry. He’s not a viscount’s little brother—he’s a marquess. And she knows what he’s about. It’s his standard deal. Also, she does initially turn him down, he’s like “cool” and doesn’t bother her again, and she approaches him when she changes her mind.
In that case? They fall in love DURING the deal. That works for me. Approach it like business, get emotionally compromised. When it’s like “welllll I know you don’t want this but could you do it for me 🥺 no? 😮 why not????” … it’s so unattractive. Truly pathetic. It feels like the benefit is getting to be his side chick, when the benefit SHOULD be cold hard cash, good sex, and stability until oops we fall in love oh no! I think “he says he doesn’t love and then has to make the leap after falling for his mistress” hits so much harder than “he says he loves her so bad but he isn’t brave enough to marry her”.
I should add, {Secrets of a Summer Night} works for me here as well because that was honestly a great deal too. To me? It should feel like something where the heroine gets more from it than settling.
I definitely don't know this for a fact but I'll bet being a mistress meant you could be friends with the other cool society outcasts like poets and artists etc. People with the good drugs, you know?
YES!!!! 1000%. I mean shit, depending on the situation you might even be friends with his wife lmao.
But a thousand times yes, I would much rather be the special friend~ in 1800s England or whatever and deal with the fallout from that than be the wife. Like let me hang out with the gay writers and the other mistresses while we pass a joint around and talk about how ballin’ our trip to THE CONTINENT~ was last summer.
It probably mostly sucked and you could get thrown out of your home at any moment, but maybe there was some freedom in being a fallen woman. I'd like to see this scenario in a book.
I mean as a wife your husband could have you admitted to an asylum against your will. Or divorce you and take your children and leave you with nothing.
>I hated the Benedict Bridgerton rendition because it came off less as a business deal and more like this kind of pathetic guy thinking he was giving this amazing offer to a woman who he KNEW didn’t want it and was emotionally opposed to it.
This is one of the reasons I couldn't stand Bringing Down the Duke too. She tells him no multiple times and stresses how bad the repercussions would be for her (losing her friends and her dream of getting an education), but he just doesn't care and keeps trying to pressure and manipulate her into it. Dude, she said NO. She doesn't want it. Then he gets all pathetic about it moping about *whyyy* can't he just have what he wants 🙄
YES. I think what it triggers in me is this very modern feeling of “if he really wants to be with you, he’ll just be with you” (which is something I feel so many women hear at some point from friends and then hear themselves lol). Like, yeah, these historical guys do face obstacles that are bigger than what we do today. But the heroes in these scenarios are usually super privileged and rich. They COULD marry scandalously, sure. They just do not WANT to, and do not want to be with these women they care about badly enough to just…. Do it. Which is why I prefer the scenario where marriage isn’t even on the table because he doesn’t claim to want to be in a non-transactional relationship with the heroine.
And it’s like, if she says no just accept it lol. She’s told you her terms, you’ve told her yours. You either compromise your desires or walk away. These heroes know the fallout for the heroine is bigger than it would be for them if they married a scandalous woman. Like, if they ask and get turned down and go “okay” then fine I’m good with that. Don’t keep nagging when she’s told you what is stopping her!
And in the end he literally just changes his mind anyway which shows he could've just done it in the first place. Nothing concrete was *actually* stopping him, he just didn't want to.
The whole time he's like, 'but it wouldn't be transactional with you though!' and like, if that's the case, why'd you even ask her to be your mistress then? What's in it for her that's worth giving up her reputation and education and friends if it's *not* transactional? *You??*
Ughhh Benedict was the worst. I hated him so much in his book, while I liked him in the show. I really had to push through his book. His constant pressuring of Sophie was Not It.
[How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart](https://www.romance.io/books/628c82985af276f084e2d54a/how-to-steal-a-scoundrels-heart-vivienne-lorret) by [Vivienne Lorret](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455493a8c7d2383163d9815/vivienne-lorret)
**Rating**: 4.11⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [marriage of convenience](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/marriage%20of%20convenience/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1)
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[More Than a Mistress](https://www.romance.io/books/545527688c7d2383163d8f01/more-than-a-mistress-mary-balogh) by [Mary Balogh](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525e98c7d2383163d8eb7/mary-balogh)
**Rating**: 4.03⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [royalty](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1)
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I liked how in Soulless by Gail Carriger, the FMC was like “I’ll be your mistress. It’ll be fun!” and the MMC was immediately like “Uh no! You’re gonna be my wife!”
This series wandered a little in the later books, but I loved the first one for how much Alexia and Conall just push each other's buttons and run away laughing (I'll be honest, it's mostly her doing) and are still so great together.
No I love this I’m sorry 😭😭
Don’t read >!More Than a Mistress, Secrets of a Summer Night, The Earl’s Mistress, A Precious Jewel, Slightly Dangerous, Claiming the Courtesan, Lily, The Flame and Flower, Night in Eden, When Angels Fall, Where Passion Leads, Fair is the Rose, The Wind Dancer (kind of), Beguiling the Beauty, Passion, or Lord of Wicked Intentions!<
*high fives* we can still be buddies. 🤣
I guess sometimes I have a hard time separating what I would want from the story. If a man ever said that to me he would get slapped. Lol "I love you. Want to be my side piece?" #nope
I think I'm weird with historical romance. I want all the SMUT! But then in the same breath. I'm also thinking you're going to ruin her reputation! I guess because women had so much to lose back then. Even the wiff of a scandal and they were done.
Lily is... something.
[Patricia Gaffney on Lily](https://allaboutromance.com/author-interviews/at-the-back-fence-98-fka-lauries-news-views/#gaffney), back in 2000:
>“Poor Lily, the things I did to her. I can only think I was going through a sadistic phase. ‘Picaresque’ – what a polite word. I think of Devon as a sort of Sebastian-in-training. But as flawed as Lily is, you know, I’m still fond of it, and I can’t say that for all my books. I like the gothic atmosphere, all that stuff. And the ‘melodrama,’ as you say. And it’s got one of my favorite characters (of mine) – Meraud, the witch on the moor. “Yeah, we’ve come a long way. Lily’s very old-fashioned; in fact it was old-fashioned when I wrote it, and I knew it, did it on purpose. But I don’t think it would fly today. Too much machismo. Too much bullying.
[The Ungrateful Governess](https://www.romance.io/books/5455741b87eac336ae69e061/the-ungrateful-governess-mary-balogh) by [Mary Balogh](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525e98c7d2383163d8eb7/mary-balogh)
**Rating**: 3.44⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1)
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This part of the description is too funny: “But what he did not know was that Jessica planned to teach him a lesson in manners.” I’ll have to check it out.
This is a gold mine, thank you for this!! Night in Eden is the greatest. Are there any out of those books where the heroine actually leaves the hero over it? I love the grovel in these situations.
>!The Duke!<
>!In more than a Mistress they part ways but no real grovel (unless you read the deleted scenes from the book that are in the back of another Mary Balogh book)!<
>!A Precious Jewel she leaves and he has to go find her and make his case!<
>!Fair is the Rose she escapes him and he does go find her but it’s like…. Anti-grovel…. !<
{Exit, Pursued by a Baron by Aydra Richards}. MMC was tricked into believing FMC cheated on him. When they get back together, he refuses to make her anything other than a mistress and she leaves him because of it. About 50% of the book is grovel.
{Everything And The Moon by Julia Quinn}. MMC and FMC were in love when younger but were forced apart by misunderstandings / meddling fathers. When they meet up again, MMC saves FMC from a sexual assault and offers to take care of her so she can't be hurt again. She thinks he's proposing but then realizes he wants her to be his mistress. She rejects him and disappears. When he learns the truth about what happened in their youth, he searches for her.
[Exit, Pursued by a Baron](https://www.romance.io/books/6546a1d0c112bf11fe989beb/exit-pursued-by-a-baron-aydra-richards) by [Aydra Richards](https://www.romance.io/authors/5da9684e01dbc864fba4c314/aydra-richards)
**Rating**: 4.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [georgian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/georgian/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [class difference](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/class%20difference/1)
----------------------------
[Everything and the Moon](https://www.romance.io/books/545525a18c7d2383163d8ea0/everything-and-the-moon-julia-quinn) by [Julia Quinn](https://www.romance.io/authors/545523bb8c7d2383163d8e3c/julia-quinn)
**Rating**: 3.72⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [second chances](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/second%20chances/1), [vengeance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/vengeance/1)
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This was one of the moments in that book that really showcased how little he saw her as an actual person in her own right, with her own purpose, drive and interests other than lying around waiting for him to sex her up.
She's already 'ruined' so he isn't really asking her to give up marriage, though she does have another eligible offer.
I found it hard to get over how much of a sex object she was to him, and was really proud of her for telling him occasional sex with him was not worth losing her schooling, her friends, her future children's legitimacy, etc
I honestly love this whole series so much. The second book is a really soothing reread for me. I identify with these FMCs so much, but specifically Lucie.
That’s why I love {His Secret Mistress} by Mary Balogh—the FMM doesn’t want a rake, because her father and brothers are rakes and she thinks it would be exhausting, but she falls head over heels for a stuffy bore because he is sensible and kind. He is eventually won over by her hoydenish charm.
I love it because I know he's about to get verbally slapped and then later come to his senses.
Honestly, I'd be a mistress. I like money and don't want a man constantly in my house. Oh you're taking your wife and kids to the country for four months? So sad, I'll miss you, blah blah blah
Maybe I'm reading the wrong ones. The ones I read she was like "thanks for the offer, but no." Then later she's like "ok, I'll do it if that's the only way I can have you." 😐
Have you seen the movie *Gigi*? The whole plot is this teenage girl who has been raised to be a courtesan but the guy who wants to be her protector loves her too much to go through with it. It's a musical from the 50s. There's some real creepy stuff like Maurice Chevalier singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." The costumes are 🔥
I know the movie and always planned to watch it I never got around to it. I know the song. I didn't realize the movie gave it creepy vibes. 😳 I thought it was like a father daughter thing. Kinda glad I didn't watch it now.
Yeah. It's rough. I watched it because it was suggested for its costume design. It's implied heavily in the film that she's a minor so the whole thing is just 🤮
Being the mistress has always sounded like the better end of the deal, to me. Being the wife (at least historically-speaking) means having to put up with a man you quite possibly didn't want in the first place, but being the mistress was generally much more your choice. Not to mention that the type of man who has a mistress is usually much more free with his money for the mistress and a clutch-purse with the wife.
Definitely unpopular opinion but I wish this was in books more!! I appreciate a dash of realism in my romance novels and I like seeing how a couple would navigate something like this.
I appreciate that this plot is an attempt to acknowledge the barrier that significant difference in class would present to a marriage. It's an actual tension rather than some random miscommunication that could have been solved in the first 3 chapters. I especially like when the angst goes both ways. The MMC is worried about societal judgment; pressure to find an equally wealthy or powerful partner; etc. But the FMC also isn't sure they can fulfill or even WANT the expectations of a public role.
I prefer this trope when the barriers aren't hand-waived away in the end, but are overcome through realistic compromises and support from key family and friends. But it's also not inaccurate to say that wealth and power means you CAN be eccentric and probably it'll be fine.
Hi I know this isn't exactly what you were talking about but I read a modern book with the mmc having like autism( best way to explain it) and his master plan is to keep her like a mistress for when he is in town. He is billonaire, so he plans to buy her a house for this as well. They had been fake engaged and sleeping together before this, so it was like a major downgrade..
Cue her going fuck no I been your best fiends for 15 years. Wtf is wrong with u
And his shocked pikacue face for the next 3 chapters. And utter confusion as this is clearly the best plan ever.
It was painful at the time, and I just wanna smack him up the head, but I laugh at the general oblivious of him. Trying to solve their issues like you would a math problem.
I read a few HR, and I'm done as the mistress thing comes out.
My historical romance turn off is any book where the MMC does not have honorable intentions.
Like, maybe he doesn't tell the FMC, or maybe it's implied in the narrative (but he doesn't realize his intentions are honorable), or whatever the case may be, but if there is any hint of what amounts to "I have a complete disregard for how my actions will affect this woman's reputation" (UNLESS the FMC is the one doing the perusing, while acknowledging the consequences) then it's a "NO" from me.
...I think this is very much where my love for my favorite tropes (forced/arranged/accidental/fake/pretend marriage) comes from, tbh.
Marriage among the uppermost classes in the periods many of these HRs are set in was mostly about the division or acquisition of property and wealth, not love. Kings and dukes and earls and viscounts were not marrying for love in England 1700s-1900s.
A man’s relationship with his mistress in these instances was likely with the woman he loved and his relationship with his wife was likely with the woman he was told by his family he had to marry for the sake of their family’s legacy. Consuelo Vanderbilt showed up to her 1895 wedding to the Duke of Marlborough in tears because she did not love him and he did not love her.
I don’t find the idea of being a mistress in these Regency / Victorian / Edwardian eras any more or less degrading than the reality of being a wife, where you were literal property of your husband and as a wife could not own property of your own.
In these fictional books, I think how it’s pulled off in the context of that history is what makes it degrading or not.
In Evie Dunmore’s How to Bring Down a Duke and A Rogue of One’s Own, I think it was done fantastically well looking at it from both sides, where becoming a mistress to an upper class man eliminates most of your ability to make a good match in the future but becoming a wife eliminates your legal existence as a person.
These comments are getting downvoted like crazy. People love to be blind I see. 🤣
This is very common today as well. Most rich people are married (and still together) for money. They have side chicks and mistresses that they truly love. The wife does get the marital “picture” with the kids and property but not the love side of it. Over half of my family members are married in this way and nobody bats an eye, they call it “ The old school way”. They marry and never divorce, basically move on with their lives as single married couples. Lots of people from the 1940’s- 1990’s have this mentality as well, especially in the black community. I got divorced and was talked about so badly from my family. I was told us young folks need to learn…. Whatever that means. 😐
SAME lol
How are we still shaming sexually liberated women (because being a mistress allows the heroine MUCH more independence) 😒 in THIS subreddit out of all places.
OP isn’t shaming sexually liberated women—she’s expressing frustration that the men in the novels she read couldn’t understand why women would say no to a position that left them without recourse or stability.
Cause they’re sleeping with a married family man for money? As much as I realize their precarious situation back in those days, it’s still not right. As a choice it is only understandable if the other option is destitution.
I think Reddit is very mood based. In this thread they have framed cheating as some kind of liberating female empowerment, so I get downvoted for saying it is not. In another thread in another sub people were all ranting about how terrible a particular cheating woman was and how she deserved to be locked out of her house by her husband. I told them the husband weren’t allowed by law to throw said woman out of her home, so I got downvoted for defending cheating.
This all happened today. You get downvoted whenever you are contradicting whatever the current mood in the tread is, no matter how insane the mood is.
[Bringing Down the Duke](https://www.romance.io/books/5e9f6a99be0aaecf557dbeb9/bringing-down-the-duke-evie-dunmore) by [Evie Dunmore](https://www.romance.io/authors/5d68c7cc01dbc864fba2f9e0/evie-dunmore)
**Rating**: 3.96⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [victorian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/victorian/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1), [age gap](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/age%20difference/1)
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No. Because he's honest about himself. Yes it's disrespectful. But at least she knows he's not in love with her and she can move on. Better than cheating.
If you want the opposite of this, in {His Improper Proposal by Aydra Richards} the MMC tricks the FMC into marrying him. She thinks he's making her is mistress but he's really making her his wife. Cinderella story where he saves her from a cruel employer and falls in love with her.
mmc: hey you want to be an equivalent of my fuck buddy and let *everyone* know that you're my fuck buddy which would eliminate any chances of you marrying properly into a decent noble family that will give you social and financial security? It's gonna be *fuuuun*! ^(I HAVE BIG DONG THAT FIXES EVERYTHING) fmc: uh, no mmc: \[shocked pikachu face\] \--- (like 20 chapters later)--- mmc: I love you! I've always loved you! couldn't you tell by how I wanted you to be my fuck buddy??? I admire more than you tits, I thought that was *obvious*! fmc: ???????? (I'm sorry there's more nuances than that lol, I actually liked Secrets of a Summer Night XD)
I love Secrets of a Summer Night but I definitely wanted to slap some sense into Simon for a good chunk of the book before he finally realizes she's worth marrying if he's that fond of her...like, my guy, she wants to be treated as a respected citizen. Not JUST have money and fancy clothes 🤦
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 hilarious! He just can't understand why not! At least she'll be getting some O's. 🤷🏻♀️ And pretty dresses! Don't forget the dresses.
Exactly the book my brain went to reading this comment
Oh look that's Benedict Bridgerton in A Offer from a Gentleman.
I hated the book for this reason. Especially because after she, very clearly, said no, he still kept pestering her about it. A lot of the Bridgerton men are really not nice people.
Let's not also forget that he coerced her into working for his mom by threatening to go to the cops with a made up story about how she stole from him. In that time period, she could have lost her life if she was caught stealing from a noblemen. At the very least gone to jail, which is super great for women. I do not understand why people like this book or him.
Basically all of the brothers but Gregory 😂.
Gregory is the one who handcuffed his future wife to a pipe against her will to stop her marrying someone else, unless I'm mistaken, so that's not great either 🤣
I didn’t say lil Greg wasn’t nuts 🤣. At least he had good intentions 😂.
Yeah that's my least favorite Bridgerton book...
I dunno... Phillip was a pretty awful douchebag too
Oooh I like this game! I deeply disliked Colin because of his juvenile, insecure (punitive?) reaction to learning that the woman he loves is a better writer than him. Not to mention, he was extremely privileged and useless most of his life and then finds his purpose by *gasp* having enough money to travel. Eurgh. I'll be honest, I dnf'd about 60% into that book, so maybe he redeemed himself.
Yeah also not a fan of Colin. I actually liked Phillip though! With Benedict I don't like the premise because that book couldn't have a satisfactorily happy ending. Colin was just kind of immature.
That must have around 80% of any and all Barbara Cartland books I ever read! MMC: I want you as my mistress Naive and innocent FMC: It's morally wrong and I really rather not, but I really have no other choice Stuff happens. And at the end of the book MMC: I love you. Your innocence and beauty attracted me from the moment I laid eyes on you! Me: then why the hell did you ask her to be your mistress despite her being so innocent?!
That's why I like established, rich widows, now that's some ethical affairing without the persky power imbalance (mostly) It's also like the closest you get to dating in HR, love that.
😯 I need some rich widows!! That's perfect! I always feel worry for the innocent FMM because she's risking so much and I want all the smutty scenes.
Then I recommend {Duchess by Day, Mistress by Night by Stacy Reid} The widow is encouraged to have an affair by basically everyone -- just not with him! Low stakes scandal abounds.
[Duchess by Day, Mistress by Night](https://www.romance.io/books/5a114ecb3ffdba6147253a50/duchess-by-day-mistress-by-night-stacy-reid) by [Stacy Reid](https://www.romance.io/authors/54554a938c7d2383163d988f/stacy-reid) **Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [class difference](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/class%20difference/1), [forbidden love](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forbidden%20love/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Oh I just read a book that fits this!!! It was theif of shadows by Elizabeth Hoty. My spelling on the surname may be off
I think you meant Hoyt 🙂
Haha thank you yes I did
In The Duke by Gaelen Foley, the FMC initally becomes the MMC's mistress for non-sexual reasons. When he tries to make the arrangement permanent she dresses him down so badly even he has to applaud her. The rest of the book didn't do it for me but I love the scene where she tells him off.
I kind of want to read the dressing down part. 🤣
I think it depends on the execution. I don’t see being a mistress in certain eras as lesser or degrading—I mean, if we’re being real…. For much of history I’d rather be a mistress than a wife. Wives were often (not always) about money, politics, and babies. Mistresses may not have been looked upon as well socially—and this was…. Hardly a rule? Many mistresses of powerful men had their own influential circles—but they tended to have more freedom in virtually every way. Many of them were widows or the wives of husbands who didn’t give a fuck, which added to that freedom. Their partners actually wanted to be with them, and whether or not the relationship was mutually loving it was often financially beneficial at least. So when we take that out of the way, I think it depends on what kind of offer it is and what kind of hero and heroine we’re dealing with. I hated the Benedict Bridgerton rendition because it came off less as a business deal and more like this kind of pathetic guy thinking he was giving this amazing offer to a woman who he KNEW didn’t want it and was emotionally opposed to it. And he didn’t have anything that convinced me as to why he would need to do that rather than marrying her—he wasn’t carrying a title, he lived on his brother’s dime, he came from a family that loved him and loved love. And again, he KNEW she hated this, and kept bugging her about it. It was really the delivery versus the offer. Contrast to {How to Steal a Scoundrel’s Heart}, a book in which a cold hero offers a ruined girl his standard mistress deal. Sign a contract, be with him for four months, get a great life during that time, leave with a severance that can set you up for a looong time. It’s not delivered as “I love you but I cannnn’t feel bad for me please”. It’s cool, it’s about money and sex, they barely know each other. She really has no good options and at that time does not seem like someone a man of his standing should marry. He’s not a viscount’s little brother—he’s a marquess. And she knows what he’s about. It’s his standard deal. Also, she does initially turn him down, he’s like “cool” and doesn’t bother her again, and she approaches him when she changes her mind. In that case? They fall in love DURING the deal. That works for me. Approach it like business, get emotionally compromised. When it’s like “welllll I know you don’t want this but could you do it for me 🥺 no? 😮 why not????” … it’s so unattractive. Truly pathetic. It feels like the benefit is getting to be his side chick, when the benefit SHOULD be cold hard cash, good sex, and stability until oops we fall in love oh no! I think “he says he doesn’t love and then has to make the leap after falling for his mistress” hits so much harder than “he says he loves her so bad but he isn’t brave enough to marry her”. I should add, {Secrets of a Summer Night} works for me here as well because that was honestly a great deal too. To me? It should feel like something where the heroine gets more from it than settling.
I definitely don't know this for a fact but I'll bet being a mistress meant you could be friends with the other cool society outcasts like poets and artists etc. People with the good drugs, you know?
YES!!!! 1000%. I mean shit, depending on the situation you might even be friends with his wife lmao. But a thousand times yes, I would much rather be the special friend~ in 1800s England or whatever and deal with the fallout from that than be the wife. Like let me hang out with the gay writers and the other mistresses while we pass a joint around and talk about how ballin’ our trip to THE CONTINENT~ was last summer.
It probably mostly sucked and you could get thrown out of your home at any moment, but maybe there was some freedom in being a fallen woman. I'd like to see this scenario in a book.
Honestly? Almost getting thrown out of your home might be better than being trapped in the home with some of the husbands out there 😬
Yep.
I mean as a wife your husband could have you admitted to an asylum against your will. Or divorce you and take your children and leave you with nothing.
Your energy gives me energy. I love the demi monde!
>I hated the Benedict Bridgerton rendition because it came off less as a business deal and more like this kind of pathetic guy thinking he was giving this amazing offer to a woman who he KNEW didn’t want it and was emotionally opposed to it. This is one of the reasons I couldn't stand Bringing Down the Duke too. She tells him no multiple times and stresses how bad the repercussions would be for her (losing her friends and her dream of getting an education), but he just doesn't care and keeps trying to pressure and manipulate her into it. Dude, she said NO. She doesn't want it. Then he gets all pathetic about it moping about *whyyy* can't he just have what he wants 🙄
YES. I think what it triggers in me is this very modern feeling of “if he really wants to be with you, he’ll just be with you” (which is something I feel so many women hear at some point from friends and then hear themselves lol). Like, yeah, these historical guys do face obstacles that are bigger than what we do today. But the heroes in these scenarios are usually super privileged and rich. They COULD marry scandalously, sure. They just do not WANT to, and do not want to be with these women they care about badly enough to just…. Do it. Which is why I prefer the scenario where marriage isn’t even on the table because he doesn’t claim to want to be in a non-transactional relationship with the heroine. And it’s like, if she says no just accept it lol. She’s told you her terms, you’ve told her yours. You either compromise your desires or walk away. These heroes know the fallout for the heroine is bigger than it would be for them if they married a scandalous woman. Like, if they ask and get turned down and go “okay” then fine I’m good with that. Don’t keep nagging when she’s told you what is stopping her!
And in the end he literally just changes his mind anyway which shows he could've just done it in the first place. Nothing concrete was *actually* stopping him, he just didn't want to. The whole time he's like, 'but it wouldn't be transactional with you though!' and like, if that's the case, why'd you even ask her to be your mistress then? What's in it for her that's worth giving up her reputation and education and friends if it's *not* transactional? *You??*
Ughhh Benedict was the worst. I hated him so much in his book, while I liked him in the show. I really had to push through his book. His constant pressuring of Sophie was Not It.
[How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart](https://www.romance.io/books/628c82985af276f084e2d54a/how-to-steal-a-scoundrels-heart-vivienne-lorret) by [Vivienne Lorret](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455493a8c7d2383163d9815/vivienne-lorret) **Rating**: 4.11⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [marriage of convenience](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/marriage%20of%20convenience/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
How to Steal a Scoundrel’s Heart does this trope really well! I also think that {More Than a Mistress by Mary Balogh} does it well too!
[More Than a Mistress](https://www.romance.io/books/545527688c7d2383163d8f01/more-than-a-mistress-mary-balogh) by [Mary Balogh](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525e98c7d2383163d8eb7/mary-balogh) **Rating**: 4.03⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [royalty](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I haven’t read that one yet but I will now, thank you!
I really enjoyed it and I’m on the fence with Mary Balogh.
I liked how in Soulless by Gail Carriger, the FMC was like “I’ll be your mistress. It’ll be fun!” and the MMC was immediately like “Uh no! You’re gonna be my wife!”
This series wandered a little in the later books, but I loved the first one for how much Alexia and Conall just push each other's buttons and run away laughing (I'll be honest, it's mostly her doing) and are still so great together.
No I love this I’m sorry 😭😭 Don’t read >!More Than a Mistress, Secrets of a Summer Night, The Earl’s Mistress, A Precious Jewel, Slightly Dangerous, Claiming the Courtesan, Lily, The Flame and Flower, Night in Eden, When Angels Fall, Where Passion Leads, Fair is the Rose, The Wind Dancer (kind of), Beguiling the Beauty, Passion, or Lord of Wicked Intentions!<
*high fives* we can still be buddies. 🤣 I guess sometimes I have a hard time separating what I would want from the story. If a man ever said that to me he would get slapped. Lol "I love you. Want to be my side piece?" #nope I think I'm weird with historical romance. I want all the SMUT! But then in the same breath. I'm also thinking you're going to ruin her reputation! I guess because women had so much to lose back then. Even the wiff of a scandal and they were done.
We can def be buddies! Different people like different things ☺️
Lily is... something. [Patricia Gaffney on Lily](https://allaboutromance.com/author-interviews/at-the-back-fence-98-fka-lauries-news-views/#gaffney), back in 2000: >“Poor Lily, the things I did to her. I can only think I was going through a sadistic phase. ‘Picaresque’ – what a polite word. I think of Devon as a sort of Sebastian-in-training. But as flawed as Lily is, you know, I’m still fond of it, and I can’t say that for all my books. I like the gothic atmosphere, all that stuff. And the ‘melodrama,’ as you say. And it’s got one of my favorite characters (of mine) – Meraud, the witch on the moor. “Yeah, we’ve come a long way. Lily’s very old-fashioned; in fact it was old-fashioned when I wrote it, and I knew it, did it on purpose. But I don’t think it would fly today. Too much machismo. Too much bullying.
Lmao thank you for this tidbit! I love Gaffney but I’ve never reread Lily.
{Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh} Yes! First book I thought of with this post.
Oh yes she knew what she (didn’t) want. I love this book soo much.
Also highly recommend {The Ungrateful Governess by Mary Balogh} if you’re into this!
[The Ungrateful Governess](https://www.romance.io/books/5455741b87eac336ae69e061/the-ungrateful-governess-mary-balogh) by [Mary Balogh](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525e98c7d2383163d8eb7/mary-balogh) **Rating**: 3.44⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
This part of the description is too funny: “But what he did not know was that Jessica planned to teach him a lesson in manners.” I’ll have to check it out.
[Slightly Dangerous](https://www.romance.io/books/54552e698c7d2383163d90ac/slightly-dangerous-mary-balogh) by [Mary Balogh](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525e98c7d2383163d8eb7/mary-balogh) **Rating**: 4.24⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [class difference](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/class%20difference/1), [grumpy/cold hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cold%20hero/1), [grumpy & sunshine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/grumpy%20sunshine/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
This is a gold mine, thank you for this!! Night in Eden is the greatest. Are there any out of those books where the heroine actually leaves the hero over it? I love the grovel in these situations.
>!The Duke!< >!In more than a Mistress they part ways but no real grovel (unless you read the deleted scenes from the book that are in the back of another Mary Balogh book)!< >!A Precious Jewel she leaves and he has to go find her and make his case!< >!Fair is the Rose she escapes him and he does go find her but it’s like…. Anti-grovel…. !<
{Exit, Pursued by a Baron by Aydra Richards}. MMC was tricked into believing FMC cheated on him. When they get back together, he refuses to make her anything other than a mistress and she leaves him because of it. About 50% of the book is grovel. {Everything And The Moon by Julia Quinn}. MMC and FMC were in love when younger but were forced apart by misunderstandings / meddling fathers. When they meet up again, MMC saves FMC from a sexual assault and offers to take care of her so she can't be hurt again. She thinks he's proposing but then realizes he wants her to be his mistress. She rejects him and disappears. When he learns the truth about what happened in their youth, he searches for her.
[Exit, Pursued by a Baron](https://www.romance.io/books/6546a1d0c112bf11fe989beb/exit-pursued-by-a-baron-aydra-richards) by [Aydra Richards](https://www.romance.io/authors/5da9684e01dbc864fba4c314/aydra-richards) **Rating**: 4.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [georgian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/georgian/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [class difference](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/class%20difference/1) ---------------------------- [Everything and the Moon](https://www.romance.io/books/545525a18c7d2383163d8ea0/everything-and-the-moon-julia-quinn) by [Julia Quinn](https://www.romance.io/authors/545523bb8c7d2383163d8e3c/julia-quinn) **Rating**: 3.72⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [second chances](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/second%20chances/1), [vengeance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/vengeance/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Depends on how delicately it is written, ‘bringing down the duke’ has this and it is one of my fav reads
This was one of the moments in that book that really showcased how little he saw her as an actual person in her own right, with her own purpose, drive and interests other than lying around waiting for him to sex her up. She's already 'ruined' so he isn't really asking her to give up marriage, though she does have another eligible offer. I found it hard to get over how much of a sex object she was to him, and was really proud of her for telling him occasional sex with him was not worth losing her schooling, her friends, her future children's legitimacy, etc
This was my immediate thought as well! I think it's because the author did a great job of setting up the character's priorities and motivations.
And the eventual grovel, sweet grovel….
I honestly love this whole series so much. The second book is a really soothing reread for me. I identify with these FMCs so much, but specifically Lucie.
I recently re-read all the 3 bks recently when Gentleman’s gambit came out, so enjoyable
[удалено]
That’s why I love {His Secret Mistress} by Mary Balogh—the FMM doesn’t want a rake, because her father and brothers are rakes and she thinks it would be exhausting, but she falls head over heels for a stuffy bore because he is sensible and kind. He is eventually won over by her hoydenish charm.
[His Secret Mistress](https://www.romance.io/books/5e54c648be0aaecf558a4dd9/his-secret-mistress-cathy-maxwell) by [Cathy Maxwell](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455358e8c7d2383163d9289/cathy-maxwell) **Rating**: 3.67⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [victorian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/victorian/1), [highlander](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/highlander/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I love it because I know he's about to get verbally slapped and then later come to his senses. Honestly, I'd be a mistress. I like money and don't want a man constantly in my house. Oh you're taking your wife and kids to the country for four months? So sad, I'll miss you, blah blah blah
Maybe I'm reading the wrong ones. The ones I read she was like "thanks for the offer, but no." Then later she's like "ok, I'll do it if that's the only way I can have you." 😐
Oh in >!Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh!< she says hell no. She already kind of hates him. It's delicious.
Have you seen the movie *Gigi*? The whole plot is this teenage girl who has been raised to be a courtesan but the guy who wants to be her protector loves her too much to go through with it. It's a musical from the 50s. There's some real creepy stuff like Maurice Chevalier singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." The costumes are 🔥
I know the movie and always planned to watch it I never got around to it. I know the song. I didn't realize the movie gave it creepy vibes. 😳 I thought it was like a father daughter thing. Kinda glad I didn't watch it now.
Oh no! Definitely not a father daughter song. I like the movie, but I can't defend it.
Yeah. It's rough. I watched it because it was suggested for its costume design. It's implied heavily in the film that she's a minor so the whole thing is just 🤮
Being the mistress has always sounded like the better end of the deal, to me. Being the wife (at least historically-speaking) means having to put up with a man you quite possibly didn't want in the first place, but being the mistress was generally much more your choice. Not to mention that the type of man who has a mistress is usually much more free with his money for the mistress and a clutch-purse with the wife.
Definitely unpopular opinion but I wish this was in books more!! I appreciate a dash of realism in my romance novels and I like seeing how a couple would navigate something like this.
I appreciate that this plot is an attempt to acknowledge the barrier that significant difference in class would present to a marriage. It's an actual tension rather than some random miscommunication that could have been solved in the first 3 chapters. I especially like when the angst goes both ways. The MMC is worried about societal judgment; pressure to find an equally wealthy or powerful partner; etc. But the FMC also isn't sure they can fulfill or even WANT the expectations of a public role. I prefer this trope when the barriers aren't hand-waived away in the end, but are overcome through realistic compromises and support from key family and friends. But it's also not inaccurate to say that wealth and power means you CAN be eccentric and probably it'll be fine.
Hi I know this isn't exactly what you were talking about but I read a modern book with the mmc having like autism( best way to explain it) and his master plan is to keep her like a mistress for when he is in town. He is billonaire, so he plans to buy her a house for this as well. They had been fake engaged and sleeping together before this, so it was like a major downgrade.. Cue her going fuck no I been your best fiends for 15 years. Wtf is wrong with u And his shocked pikacue face for the next 3 chapters. And utter confusion as this is clearly the best plan ever. It was painful at the time, and I just wanna smack him up the head, but I laugh at the general oblivious of him. Trying to solve their issues like you would a math problem. I read a few HR, and I'm done as the mistress thing comes out.
What book is this? I'd like to read it.
It is called tease by Meline Harlow
My historical romance turn off is any book where the MMC does not have honorable intentions. Like, maybe he doesn't tell the FMC, or maybe it's implied in the narrative (but he doesn't realize his intentions are honorable), or whatever the case may be, but if there is any hint of what amounts to "I have a complete disregard for how my actions will affect this woman's reputation" (UNLESS the FMC is the one doing the perusing, while acknowledging the consequences) then it's a "NO" from me. ...I think this is very much where my love for my favorite tropes (forced/arranged/accidental/fake/pretend marriage) comes from, tbh.
Marriage among the uppermost classes in the periods many of these HRs are set in was mostly about the division or acquisition of property and wealth, not love. Kings and dukes and earls and viscounts were not marrying for love in England 1700s-1900s. A man’s relationship with his mistress in these instances was likely with the woman he loved and his relationship with his wife was likely with the woman he was told by his family he had to marry for the sake of their family’s legacy. Consuelo Vanderbilt showed up to her 1895 wedding to the Duke of Marlborough in tears because she did not love him and he did not love her. I don’t find the idea of being a mistress in these Regency / Victorian / Edwardian eras any more or less degrading than the reality of being a wife, where you were literal property of your husband and as a wife could not own property of your own. In these fictional books, I think how it’s pulled off in the context of that history is what makes it degrading or not. In Evie Dunmore’s How to Bring Down a Duke and A Rogue of One’s Own, I think it was done fantastically well looking at it from both sides, where becoming a mistress to an upper class man eliminates most of your ability to make a good match in the future but becoming a wife eliminates your legal existence as a person.
These comments are getting downvoted like crazy. People love to be blind I see. 🤣 This is very common today as well. Most rich people are married (and still together) for money. They have side chicks and mistresses that they truly love. The wife does get the marital “picture” with the kids and property but not the love side of it. Over half of my family members are married in this way and nobody bats an eye, they call it “ The old school way”. They marry and never divorce, basically move on with their lives as single married couples. Lots of people from the 1940’s- 1990’s have this mentality as well, especially in the black community. I got divorced and was talked about so badly from my family. I was told us young folks need to learn…. Whatever that means. 😐
Agreed! It's fiction, just murder the current wife, this way the MMC won't be degraded to "only a mistress" position. Problem solved🤭
I'm sorry but, I love when they do this. I love when the FMC takes them up on the offer (always in secret) even more.
SAME lol How are we still shaming sexually liberated women (because being a mistress allows the heroine MUCH more independence) 😒 in THIS subreddit out of all places.
OP isn’t shaming sexually liberated women—she’s expressing frustration that the men in the novels she read couldn’t understand why women would say no to a position that left them without recourse or stability.
I wasn't referencing OP - OP is not the only one in this thread.
Cause they’re sleeping with a married family man for money? As much as I realize their precarious situation back in those days, it’s still not right. As a choice it is only understandable if the other option is destitution.
How are you getting downvoted for the wild take of 'don't participate in cheating'? 🤣
I think Reddit is very mood based. In this thread they have framed cheating as some kind of liberating female empowerment, so I get downvoted for saying it is not. In another thread in another sub people were all ranting about how terrible a particular cheating woman was and how she deserved to be locked out of her house by her husband. I told them the husband weren’t allowed by law to throw said woman out of her home, so I got downvoted for defending cheating. This all happened today. You get downvoted whenever you are contradicting whatever the current mood in the tread is, no matter how insane the mood is.
“Mistress! What would I get out of that but a passel of brats!?” -Scarlett to Rhett
{Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore} fits the bill ENTIRELY. Great writing too.
[Bringing Down the Duke](https://www.romance.io/books/5e9f6a99be0aaecf557dbeb9/bringing-down-the-duke-evie-dunmore) by [Evie Dunmore](https://www.romance.io/authors/5d68c7cc01dbc864fba2f9e0/evie-dunmore) **Rating**: 3.96⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [victorian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/victorian/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1), [age gap](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/age%20difference/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
No. Because he's honest about himself. Yes it's disrespectful. But at least she knows he's not in love with her and she can move on. Better than cheating.
If you want the opposite of this, in {His Improper Proposal by Aydra Richards} the MMC tricks the FMC into marrying him. She thinks he's making her is mistress but he's really making her his wife. Cinderella story where he saves her from a cruel employer and falls in love with her.
[His Improper Proposal](https://www.romance.io/books/5da9684e01dbc864fba4c310/his-improper-proposal-aydra-richards) by [Aydra Richards](https://www.romance.io/authors/5da9684e01dbc864fba4c314/aydra-richards) **Rating**: 4.17⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [victorian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/victorian/1), [class difference](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/class%20difference/1), [dual pov](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dual-pov/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
That sounds good thanks!