Improper Advances
Grade : D+

Improper Advances starts out with an intriguing heroine who seems very different from the pack. She's a widow and a professional singer - not a shy, retiring miss or a spunky, virgin blue-stocking. She also has a reputation, mostly undeserved, for dallying with men. I was immediately interested in her. But alas, the plot is banal and even annoying, which came as quite a disappointment.

Oriana Julian (aka notorious singer Ana St. Albans) is the grand-daughter of King Charles II and Nell Gwynn. Though she has noble (and royal) blood, her birth on the wrong side of the blanket means she is snubbed by many in society. After a scandal involving one of her male friends, she decides to escape to the Isle of Man. She approaches Sir Darius (Dare) Corlett as the widowed Mrs. Julian (rather than the famous Ana) because she hears he has a place to rent. He mistakes her first for a prostitute and then for a fortune hunter, so they get off on the wrong foot. But circumstances draw them together, and they discover mutual passion.

When Dare discovers that Mrs. Julian is a famous singer, he is angry at first, but he wants her so much that he forgives her and pursues her anyway. He wants her to be his mistress and won't take no for an answer. Oriana loves him so much that she acquiesces, even though it goes against her principles and she is afraid of damaging her already tarnished reputation.

And right there, the book just lost me. Oh, we all know that Dare will decide that he can't live without Oriana and ask her to marry him eventually, and he does - at the end of the book. But the bulk of the book consists of Dare and Oriana conducting their affair. Both are in love, but neither wants to say anything about it.

This is probably the fifth or sixth book I'v read this year with a hero who asks the heroine to be his mistress, and I have to admit that I like the plot less every time I see it. What we have here (and in most books with this theme) is a relationship between two people of unequal standing. In this case, both characters are fairly well off, but the heroine is shunned by polite society because of her illegitimate birth, whereas the hero is a respectable Baronet. When Dare asks Oriana to become his mistress, he asks her to desert her principles in return for sex. She puts her reputation in danger and risks pregnancy in return for some loving moments together. Meanwhile, what does Dare have to give up in order to enjoy Oriana's charms? Exactly nothing. Am I the only one who thinks something is wrong with this picture?

After Oriana agrees to become Dare's mistress, the two spend the bulk of the book plotting trysts. The reader isn't privy to many of them, which may be a kindness since at least some of them take place in questionable inns. You would think that there would be at least some sexual tension here, but there is almost none. Their constant plotting reminded me of nothing so much as a pair of horny teenagers trying to figure out places to have sex without their parents' knowledge.

Although the mistress plot failed - badly - for me, I did appreciate the unusual setting of the book. Porter has clearly done her research about the Isle of Man, and there are a lot of interesting details about it. Some Manx songs and poems are included, and many of the characters speak Manx. Dare is an amateur scientist, and Porter goes into some details about geological theories of the time, which is interesting. However, she sometimes goes overboard in her zeal. Everyone likes to refer to Dare as a Manxman, and for some reason several other characters are always described this way as well. There are Manx servants and Manx violinists, and I saw no reason for their nationality to be mentioned every two seconds; after we meet them we know where they're from, already!

If you've read Margaret Evans Porter's books before, you may enjoy seeing some old friends; the lead couple from Kissing a Stranger makes an appearance. Readers who like unusual settings and historical detail may also enjoy this book. But if the surfeit of mistress books this year is getting to you, I'd give this one a wide berth.

Reviewed by Blythe Smith
Grade : D+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : December 27, 2000

Publication Date: 2000

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Blythe Smith

I've been at AAR since dinosaurs roamed the Internet. I've been a Reviewer, Reviews Editor, Managing Editor, Publisher, and Blogger. Oh, and Advertising Corodinator. Right now I'm taking a step back to concentrate on kids, new husband, and new job in law...but I'll still keep my toe in the romance waters.
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