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Mistress by Mistake

by Susan Gee Heino

Reading Mistress by Mistake is like being on a long, convoluted, and totally fun lark. While reading this book I couldn't help comparing it to the first season of "Grey's Anatomy." Hot men all over. Beautiful women. Mistaken identities. Gossip. Machinations. Characters you can't believe exist. Plot developments that leave you screaming, "Seriously?!" And yet, you are glued to your seat unable to stop wondering what will happens next.

Lord Dashford has been pretending to live the life of a financially ruined, dissolute rake in the hopes that the woman who tricked him into a marriage proposal will throw him over before the big day. This becomes even more important when he meets Evaline Pinchley, an heiress who has just reached her majority and can finally throw off her abusive and spendthrift aunt and uncle to live her own life.

Although Dashford first mistook Evaline for a drunk maid, knowing she's a marriageable miss hasn't stop him from wanting to bed her. The problem is, Evaline can't remember what happened between them when she was drunk and thinks they have already done the deed. Add to that a number of other misunderstandings, mistaken pregnancies, lies, buffoonery, old flames, and manipulations and you pretty much have the crux of this book.

I really did enjoy the topsy-turvy ride that is Mistress by Mistake. At times I was in awe of the sheer number of farcical plots that were going on. But as I've said before they were all done with such panache that I found myself eating it all up and asking for more. I felt the book was a tad long and suffered near the end for it. All in all, though, I enjoyed the hero and heroine and all the zany craziness the author dealt out.

Bottom Line: You never know what to expect from an new author, but Susan Gee Heino has sparked my interest. Her first novel is not perfect, but her voice is wonderful and she has a way of making the ridiculous seem totally normal. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.