Notorious rake, Michael Drake, the Viscount Blackthorn accepts a Christmas wager to be the first to seduce the next lady to walk under the mistletoe, but the lady turns out to be none other than Holly Jenkins; a woman from his past, whom he has sworn to protect, but whose bold antics drive him to distraction…and temptation. Can he protect her from himself? Holly is living a lie. Forced to … lie. Forced to masquerade as a widow to keep herself and her sisters safe, she earns a living helping those being undeservedly blackmailed by using her lock-picking skills to expose the villains behind the schemes. Attending a ball, her clandestine work is interrupted by Lord Blackthorn, a man who is as vexing as he is sinfully handsome. A man who she’s always had feelings for, which she understands are futile. Because everyone knows you can’t give your heart to a rake… Or can you?
But Michael has his own secrets, ones serious enough that could threaten any chance they have of a future together. After all, lies and deception. have a dangerous habit of unravelling when one least expects it…
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Michael and his friends make a wager about seducing the next non-virgin to walk under the mistletoe at a ball, but when he realizes it is is deceased friend’s sister Holly, he knows he has to be the one win or at least protect her from all of them. Holly has her own problems picking safes to retrieve stolen letters so she can earn a living to support herself and her sisters. She decides to use Michael so they can both get what they want, but they never expect their hearts to become involved and secrets to surface. This was a sexy historical romance novella. I liked Holly’s sisters and Michael’s friends and I’m looking forward to their stories in future books.
This is sensual, quick and fabulous read, MS Michaels knows how to bring her characters to life on the pages of her stories they are very easy to fall for. I loved meeting Michale Drake Viscount Blackthorn and the irresistible and strong heroine Holly Jenkins.
A ball, three rakes, a wager and some famed mistletoe that legend has it will determine a man’s matrimonial fate, and Michael appears to be the one who will seduce the lady or will it be the other way around? Michael and Holly have always had a spirited relationship with Holly being the sister of his best friend Edward, but a lot has happened in the last two years since Michael has returned from Crimea.
Holly Jenkins is not overly impressed when she is found doing something she shouldn’t be doing by Michael Drake, it is an age since she has seen him and now he is being his usual overbearing self, but he does help save the situation with a very sensual kiss. Holly finds out about the wager and decides that at her age it might be well time to become a mistress and try the delights of passion.
This really is a fantastic story I loved Michael and Holly oh they clashed in such a great way you could feel the passion and desire coming from them, there are lots of smiles and sighs reading this one, if you love strong heroines and heroes that are to die for then this is one that you should pick up I highly recommend it. Thank you MS Maddison for another fabulous read.
I read this one as part of an anthology, I really do highly recommend it
This story was beautifully written. The compromising relationship of Michael and Holly will give you laugh-out-loud moments.
I absolutely loved these two engaging,unforgettable characters,who make this plot a riveting page-turner.
A wager is agreed by three of London’s most breathtakingly handsome,wealthy,and titled rakes of the ton. The objective,who will seduce the widow,Holly Jenkins Carlton first?
Holly has her own strategy,and she plans to turn this situation around to her advantage.
Highly recommend.
Three notorious rakes make a Christmas wager to seduce the next lady to walk under the mistletoe, each of them pledging a thousand pounds so the winner will win a small fortune. The lady however, is a woman from Michael Drake’s past, whom he has sworn to protect, Holly Jenkins sister of his best friend Edward who died two years ago.
A very accomplished novella & I believe this is the author’s first short story though you wouldn’t know it as it’s so well written. There are strong characters who seemed to come alive. I absolutely loved Michael & Holly & the chemistry between them, their verbal sparring was hugely entertaining & had me laughing out loud. I read this enthralling story in a sitting as it drew me in from the start – well Devlin was involved!! – so how could I not be drawn in.
Stories starting with a bet usually end with a lot of annoying drama as the bet is discovered. This novella neatly sidesteps that trope as Holly leads Michael on a merry chase. I adored Holly’s feistiness, which meshed well with Michael’s (sometimes overbearing) protectiveness.
What a joy to read. I’m almost sure I’ve read this before as part of a bundle, but couldn’t find it listed.
The H/h are both keeping secrets. Not huge secrets, more like omission type. I normally load stories about secrets that are kept, but in this story I understood.
The H/h are both strong and likable character’s. They have great chemistry and have been sorta of friends for years, but always catty with each other. This doesn’t change when they become adults, which is where the great banter comes in.
There is lovemaking, outside of marriage, heat level about 3.5 out of 5 and only described once. Lord’s name used in vain I think once.
Interesting secondary character’s too. There is a wager with 2 of the H’s friends and when the h finds out about it, she isn’t upset, but uses it as a means to help herself. I thought for sure I knew where the author was going with this part of the story. Usually when something like this is discovered it causes estrangement – nope not here and I liked that.
No cheating, no cliffhanger, HEA, romance and a tad of spice. I really enjoyed how this author told her story in this novella, which didn’t feel like one. It does end at about the 86% and the rest is blurb for next book in the series. (ljb)
This was a truly delightful novella. It was a quick and easy read and kept my interest the entire time. Michael and Holly know each other from childhood and when their paths cross again years later, there were true sparks flying between them and you could especially sense these sparks in the fun and witty banter between these two. Both have their own secrets they are trying to keep and have a heavy burden weighing them down. Can they trust each other enough to let down their guards and confide in each other? A truly entertaining and delightful book that I thoroughly enjoyed! Looking forward to reading more of this series!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Finding love where they least expect!
by sewsummore
After the death of her father, Holly decided to take drastic action to avoid a forced marriage to her cousin. She invented a husband who died soon after the wedding, and it was a move that made perfect sense. As a married woman, she could set up “house,” with her two younger sisters and, no one would think twice about the situation. It was when she came face to face with her deceased brother’s best friend that’s all started to go wrong. Before she knew it, she was engaged to be married and at her wits end trying to recover from the truth about her brother’s death. I found this an amusing short story with a happy ending. Love was something Holly had never expected to happen to her; it shocked her as much as it did to her new fiance. Michael had known Holly for many years, but it was not until he thought he would lose her that Michael realized that he loved her, now all he had to do was convince her to marry him.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
This is the first book by Maddison Michaels I’ve read so I came into this experience not knowing the writing style, the world-building, or the creation of characters. Therefore, I had no preconceived ideas or expectations. “The Mistletoe Mistress” is the prequel to the “Saints & Scoundrels” series and quite frankly, was utterly delightful! The world-building kept me in the moment. The characters, Michael and Holly, were absolutely delightful. Their chemistry and absolute quirky personalities kept my interest throughout the story with their antics. I loved this storyline and hope to be able to continue reading through the series as I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this ARC from Booksprout and wanted to give my honest review.
Michael Drake, Lord Blackthorn came from Crimea war feeling nothing. Losing his best friend and lose of follow soldiers he was just living.
At the Mistletoe ball, Michael and his two best friends wager they could seduce the next lady who comes through the arch.
Legend is everyone who kissed under the mistletoe at the ball fall in love and marry. The wager was to prove it was just a joke.
When Holly Jenkins walked through the arch, Michael was angry and refused to allow the wager to go on. Until his friends said, Holly was a new widow and completely eligible for wager.
Unknown to Michael, Holly was married and a widow. He was determine to find out the truth and win the wager.
Holly was pretending to be a widow to protect her and sisters from dowry. Men were after the money.
Holly was secretly helping friends get sensitive information back from Lord Pembroke who was using it to blackmail.
Pembroke was using information to further his gain and to blackmail wealthy men.
Michael and Holly worked together to stop Pembroke and help innocent people.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Maddison Michaels has another five star hit in this one!! Michael Drake, Viscounts Blackthorn and two friends make a wager to seduce the next Lady to walk out from the floor below them. All is fun and games until Michael realizes said Lady is an old friend of his, a sister to his dead friend he swore to protect. Holly is keeping a secret or two herself. The witty banter between these two is lol funny. The chemistry is hot and heavy. This was a very enjoyable read by Ms. Michaels. The characters were well developed and well written. Heartache for the two is palpable. I highly recommend this book to any romance readers. I was gifted this book and am voluntarily reviewing. I give it five stars.
The great character and plot development made this book a very enjoyable read! The interaction and chemistry between Holly and Michael kept me totally captivated throughout the entire book!
When a Viscount makes a silly wager with his friends to seduce and kiss the next lady that walks through the door, it backfires when he realizes who she is and becomes frantic to warn them off. But the lady herself isn’t quite who she pretends to be and when he does kiss her, the sparks fly. A little of everything, suspense, intrigue and a sparkling chemistry pull this story together for the perfect ending! sigh. This was originally part of a collection.
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Book 3.5 in the Saints & Scoundrels series a well written story that kept me turning pages. Notorious rake, Michael Drake, the Viscount Blackthorn and Holly Jenkins and a bet. There is secrets, feelings, blackmail, and romance. I enjoyed reading and want to read the next book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Michael Drake, the Viscount Blackthorn is known as a rake. When he and his friends have a Christmas wager on who can seduce the next lady to walk under the mistletoe, however, he gets a surprise. The lady is Holly Jenkins, the sister of his best friend who had died and a woman he had sworn to protect.
Holly is a strong, bold lady who is pretending to be a widow so that she has more freedom to do what she needs to do to care for her sisters. At a ball, Lord Blackthorn interferes with her dubious task. She has always liked him since they have known each other from childhood. Perhaps she should explore her interest?
The antics with these two delightful characters will keep the reader amused. Secrets abound to add a bit of spice to the mix. And their interaction as each pursues their own agenda is perfect! Grab your copy and enjoy this wonderful book!
A major secret or two.
I love tale about rakes that are really not rakes and then add in a lady with a major secret or two and you have the makings of an engaging piece. Holly is living a lie and Michael has made a bet and lets us just say this is going to bring a problem or two to the main characters. What I like about the tale was its humor and the interaction between characters. There is a bit of steam but this work was splendid piece writing. This book is one I am glad to recommend the author did a fine job in this story. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Very entertaining story with Michael and Holly who are drawn to each other but try as they may find it impossible to stay away. There are some twists and turns in this story that will keep you guessing so set back and enjoy this romance with a touch of suspense.
A wager, between a Viscount, a Marquis and a Duke to bed the next married or widowed woman entering the ballroom, has Holly being the targeted lady. Unfortunately Holly is not the widow she proclaims to be and Michael refuses to let the other lords touch her as he realizes he feels more for her than he should. As a pretend fiancé, this should save Holly but emotions run high and Michael learns her secret. As feelings deepen, secrets that they are each hiding eventually come to light. Understanding and forgiveness play a part in this story. I enjoyed the story as it is well written, entertaining in the banter between the two of them and this makes for a great love story. There is danger but things work out as they should so there is a HEA. I would highly recommend this as a great read.
Michael and his two friends bet on which one of them will be able to seduce the next woman who walks into the ballroom. However, the lady who walks into the room is Holly, the sister of his best friend, lost in the war. He promised his friend to protect her, so he must win the wager. But Holly knows about their bet and is very willing to be his mistress. But Michael has a deep secret that Holly doesn’t know.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Secrets
Loved it can’t wait to read the Devil Dukes story I was so happy to discover I already have it.
My favorite part of the book was where Holly decides she will be Michael’s Mistletoe Mistress. Knowing she was a virgin and that Michael would soon find out and learn her other little secret also. I know it sounds silly but I giggled all the way through the build up and I’ve not read that fast in a long time. I’ve found me a new author for sure. I definitely recommend The Mistletoe Mistress.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.