Romancebookworm's Reviews

Excerpt from Amazon:

She will do anything for him…except surrender.

Mistress Matchmaker, Book 3

Vivien Manning, the notorious Mistress Matchmaker, is tired. Tired of the parties, tired of the lovers, tired of being her. Yet she can’t simply leave London. Not until she learns the fate of the young courtesan she matched with Lord Fincambe, whose drunken, violent tendencies are now aimed at Vivien herself.

As Fincambe’s threats intensify, Vivien is forced to turn to the one loose end she has never been able to tie up. Former lover, Benedict Greystone—the only man she couldn’t control with a smile or twitch of her hips.

When Benedict learns Vivien’s predicament, all the hollow reasons she gave for breaking it off melt away. He will not see her harmed, but his help comes with a price. She will come to his bed, where he plans to show her all the reasons they belong together.

Their rekindled passion is a firestorm of heat and need—but it may not be powerful enough to overcome Lord Fincambe’s determination to have Vivien for his own. Even if someone must die.

INTERVIEW:

I am so excited to have Jess Michaels with us today for an author interview! 

Brandy, Romancebookworm: (Brandy)  Jess, thank you so much for being on Romancebookworms’s Reviews today!  I have to tell you that I love the idea of the Mistress Matchmaker.  How did you come up with this idea for a series?

Jess Michaels, Author: (Jess)  The series really stemmed from the character of Vivien Manning, the Mistress Matchmaker. I really wanted to write a story where a notorious matchmaker for gentlemen and their lovers met her own match, but I wanted to build that up to let readers see her in action and get to know her. So then it became creating the kind of women she would match for. One is the utter innocent (An Introduction to Pleasure) and one is the jaded mistress (For Desire Alone). It’s been a hoot to write the books and see how positive the response has been to them.

Brandy:  A Perfect Match is your third book in this series.  How excited are you for the release of this book?

Jess:  It’s been bittersweet, really. I’m sad to see the series end, but I’m excited to see how readers like Vivien’s story and also to start moving forward with my next series, which I’m writing right now.

Brandy:  I know you write several different types of books.  Do you have a particular genre that you love to read or are you open to anything? 

Jess:  I am very open to anything. I wish I had time to read more romance, but I try not to read it when I’m writing it and it seems like I’ve been writing a lot of it lately, so I’m shut out a bit. But I do love lots of genres and writers.

Brandy:  I saw on your website that you make jewelry and I checked out the store.  I love the superhero pendants.  What pushed you into designing this type of jewelry?

Jess:  I do it as a fun hobby really and when I realized I had a ton of necklaces, I figured I’d start up the etsy store. It’s just another avenue for creativity for me and I really enjoy making the necklaces.

Brandy:  One of my favorite questions to ask in my author interviews is to tell us three interesting things about yourself that might not be common knowledge.

Jess:  I’m a pretty open book, I’m not sure there’s a lot people don’t know that I would be comfortable letting them know. LOL Um, okay I’ll try. 1. I’m a nosy neighbor. My desk faces the window and I love to people watch out neighbors and call out neighbor updates to my husband, whose office is across the hall from mine. 2. I’m trying to walk 10,000 steps every day. I got a pedometer for Christmas and have been making the effort to walk more and get out more. 3. I have 3 tattoos. Two are writing-related (one for my first book, one for my 10^th book). The other is my favorite and more personal.

Brandy:  I have to admit, I started laughing when you said nosy neighbor.  Now I have this mental image of you yelling to your husband, “The neighbors just had a new baby!  They bought diapers at Costco.”  I am one of those as well so we are in good company!  You said on your website that your husband encouraged you to follow your dream of writing.  Had you done any writing prior to that?

Jess:  Oh yes, I wrote in school and wrote my first book in college. But he was the one who pushed me to pursue it as a career.

Brandy:  My husband is that way as well.  I am working on my first book and he is the one that keeps encouraging me.  What is the best thing about being a published author?

Jess:  Probably getting to interact with readers. It’s really very special to know that someone has read what you spent hours, weeks, months crafting. And then liked it!

Brandy:  As a fan, I can tell you the best thing in the world is interacting with your favorite authors.  It is an amazing experience for us as well!  What is the worst thing about being a published author?

Jess:  How little control we have over the success of our work. When a book doesn’t do as well as I feel it should, it feels like a personal failure to me.

 Brandy:  I can understand that.  An Indie author told me that it was like watching her child fail at a sport and feeling like it is your fault that it wasn’t better.  Any thoughts or advice you would like to give to aspiring authors out there?

Jess:  Write a book. Then write another book. Edit the books as best you can. Keep learning your craft. Don’t be in such a rush to “publish” that you forget to make a good story as great as it can be. You learn by writing, so keep writing.

Thank you, Jess for being here with us today and we are grateful to you for taking the time out for an interview! 

REVIEW:

I am never disappointed in a Jess Michaels story!  I was given this story by the author in return for an honest review.  I am not compensated for my opinion.

This is the third and final chapter in the Mistress Matchmakers series.  Vivien is a strong, powerful woman who lives life on her own terms.  Being the mistress of powerful men, as set her finances where they need to be.  Her life is her own, or is it? 

Benedict Greystone is the one man that she has never been able to fully understand or get over.  He is the one that broke through her mask and saw the real woman behind the mistress facade.  When Vivien decides that she is done with this type of life, she makes a list of things she wants to complete before disappearing and starting a new life.  One of those things is Benedict.  She needs to purge him from her system.

I find that when someone has been on your mind and heart for several years, it is a safe bet that love is involved.  Benedict never got over Vivien and the fact that she believes they cannot be together is a blow to his heart.  When she makes it obvious that she wants to start up their affair again, he believes this is his chance.

When heartache and secrets are revealed, I am amazed at the strength both characters display.  I do think that Benedict could have been a little more direct with his brother’s interferring but when he chooses Vivien is a powerful moment.

I recommend this series to anyone that loves historical romances!

Rated 4 stars