Review: Poignant Read  ***4 1/2 Stars***
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 8, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this little novella.  It was very heart-rending.  At only 112 it makes for a very quick read, but with a fully developed plot and characters it is very satisfying.  The heroine, Sophie, is a wonderful character.  Sophie has had very little happiness in her life.  Her mother died when Sophie was very young and she was raised by an uncaring father.  After a brief marriage (her husband died) and a rape, Sophie, penniless and alone, is forced to turn to her older sister, Delia, for help.  Delia is a selfish, mean spirited, jealous woman.  She takes Sophie in, gives her a room in the servants quarters, and hides the fact that Sophie is her sister from her (Delia's) friends.  When the story begins Sophie has been living with Delia, running her household for three years.  Delia is supposedly an actress, but in reality she earns her keep by being a kept woman.  Sophie meets the hero, Jackson, when he comes to see Delia to ask her to be his mistress.  Jackson's childhood makes Sophie's seem like a day in the park.  Poor Jackson, although raised by a loving mother, was completely ignored by his father (who was married to another woman).  Jackson grew up scorned and mistreated by others because of his illegitimacy.  Worse is the way Jackson is treated by his two evil half-sisters.  In any event, Jackson suffered an injury which left him with only one eye and a very severe scar on one side of his face.  Because of his injury, Jackson has trouble finding female companionship.  He is very lonely and would like to have someone in his life.  However, he does not want to have to resort to the one night, cash transactions, in order to satisfy his sexual urges, and he really wants companionship.  To that end he has decided to hire a fulltime mistress to live with him at his farm in rural Missouri.  While on business in St. Louis, Jackson makes attempts to attend to the matter of finding a mistress.  The attraction between Sophie and Jackson is instant.  From the first moment when they meet the story quickly develops to the HEA.  However, despite the fast pace I found the story to be both enjoyable and satisfying.  I really loved both characters, but I felt a bit more kinship with Jackson.  I loved how much Sophie cared for him and loved the fact that he was finally going to have some happiness in his life.  I would give this book 4 1/2 stars.  It really only needed an epilogue to rate 5 stars, IMO.  It would have been nice to see how Sophie and Jackson were adapting to life, not only with each other, but also with their neighbors and fellow town folk, years down the road.  I highly recommend this book!