This book was a disappointment. It didn’t really have a story line and the characters never really developed. I was shocked how it just ended with no development of a story line to pull you in. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
#NetGalley

When Catherine gets a job at Nielsen Agency she doesn't expect to get involved with her boss, but that's exactly what happens. Unfortunately, I find this story lacking and unrealistic. Vincent is self-called dominant but he is a jerk, there was no negotiation, nothing safe, sane or consensual with his BDSM games, he was possessive and not a bit emotionally involved. He just takes what he wants and playing dominating jealous boyfriend, while being married is just unfair. He is very selfish and buying his way out of his guilt. I expected more suspense, some twist or at least some more drama with his wife. Some characters (like Molly) could have a potential plot there but is bypassed. Catherine is quite immature about her decisions.
Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me, despite liking that genre and themes.

Intriguing read but be advised that Vincent is married in this book and not to Katherine. Katherine begins working for Vincent Juliano and sparks fly between them. He is dark and dominant and Katherine can’t seem to stay away from him. This is a fast-paced read with lots of drama and suspense. The chemistry is intense and the story is off the charts hot. I really liked it.

I finished the book and I’m so confused. Not sure what the point of the story is, and it ended abruptly. A miss for me.

What the Heck?

This was unlike any romance I have ever read. I didn’t like most of it, but it was well written. The book didn’t have a lot of spelling error or grammatical issues, but I thought I was getting one thing and I got something different. Maybe that was my fault for assuming, but overall I didn’t really like the characters.

The blurb mentions that Vincent Juliano has a dark dominant side, so I incorrectly assumed the the the title referred to the BDSM type of Mistress. It does say that Katherine Collins gets involved in an affair with her boss. However, I’ve seen a lot of books where the terms mistress and affair are used to describe any type of taboo relationship, such as a boss/employee romance.

Though this time those terms were used in the traditional sense, meaning relationship with a married man. I guess I didn’t immediately think that because most romance readers, including me, don’t like to read about the heroine getting romantically involved with a married man. A lot of books even specify in the blurb, that there is no cheating.

I personally don’t like it because I think that the couple involved shouldn’t do it and it is cruel. I mean, divorce is so common these days that if you don’t want to be with someone, just divorce them before you get with someone else, and couples that stay together for the children should know that the children will probably be much better off if they aren’t living with unhappy and/or fighting parents.

I get that Kat started to fall for her boss before he told her he was married, but after he tells her, he still doesn’t tell her anything about his wife or his marriage and she still gets intimately involved with him. Though Vincent does eventually tell Kat why he doesn’t divorce his wife, he is not overly forthcoming and is kind of a jerk most of the time.

The dominance and BDSM scenes were extremely steamy. I just couldn’t get over how weak Katherine was to give in to Victor and how much of prick he was. Everything was on his time, she waited to hear from him, and he was inappropriate to her at the office (not sexually, because that was consensual), but in ways that would be considered sexual harassment. There was possessiveness and jealousy, which I usually like in a romance novel, but it went to far for my comfort.

The book does have a great ending with an HEA, but a small part of it didn’t make sense to me. I know this review sounds pretty negative, but most of it was my personal preference and might not be the same for all readers. Some readers might not mind the fact that he is married.

I know that a lot of classic romance novels involved married men. Mr. Rochester was married in Jane Eyre and in Anna Karenina was involved in an affair with a Count Vronsky. Jane Eyre is one of my favorites but Jane didn’t know that Rochester was married for a great deal of the book, and I never really like Rochester. I mean what kind of person locks a madwoman in the attic?

So if you don’t mind adultery, jerks and if you like BDSM, then you will probably like this book. As I said, the intimate scenes were spicy (5 out of 5 hot peppers 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶), and the ending was good. For myself I give it 2.5 stars out of five, rounded up to 3.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.