.A courtesan is hired to provide a nobleman with an education so that he can please his yet to be determined wife. The plot is different with an open door content, so this story is only for mature readers over 21. Characters are charming and the author shows their personalities from the inside out rather than what others believe to be true. This is a story in a series and while it can stand alone, I much prefer reading the entire series.

A very satisfying ending to the Society of Sirens. Thais was a charming protagonist, and this subverted a lot of the typical ways romances (especially historicals) talk about sex, so that was refreshing and engaging.

This book is hot, hot, hot!!!!

The Mistress Experience was a highly anticipated book 1) because I love Scarlett Peckham & 2) this is the last in the series. I am very ecstatic to report that this book exceeded my expectations.

I loved the couple so much. They had the perfect dynamic. The build-up to their love was done wonderfully and had the classic Peckham touch (which means cauldron hot chemistry!). The steamy scenes are out of this world. I think Peckham does a fantastic job with spice and The Mistress Experience is a display of this talent. I couldn't get enough of these two!!!

Definitely recommend!!

The Mistress Experience is third in The Society of Sirens series. This was a new to me author and I was able to read this as a standalone.

It was such a wonderful story and I loved every bit of it with all the great aspects of a historical romance - heartwarming with lovable characters and a sweet love story with heat mixed in.

I loved the MC, they both have a reputation in society that portrays them for who they are on the surface and they’re both content at being seen that way; but I loved how it was written to showcase who they were underneath, as well. They’re opposites that fit together beautifully with vulnerabilities that they’re able to share with one another to create an understanding and sweet bond.

This is great if you’re looking for: older MC (H 40, h didn’t catch age but late 20s?), close proximity, lessons, celibate hero and s*x worker heroine.

There were four encounters with a few brief scenes that I didn’t count.

I received an advance ebook from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book tugged me out of a reading slump before I had even finished the first chapter. I inhaled it within 24 hours. If you aren’t aware, Scarlett Peckham can WRITE. Everything I look for in a romance was here: exceptional banter (with the bawdiest jokes), humor, so much swooning and tenderness between the MCs, a good grovel, and exquisite attention to detail in lovemaking, and sex lessons for the MC. To say I might be obsessed with this book is an understatement. The cover alone is breathtaking and after reading it so perfectly captures the story and the characters.

I would almost recommend going in blind to The Mistress Experiment (I saw the author name and cover and I was like, SOLD!). So I will not hold it against you if you choose not to read further and just go out immediately and get this book. But I will try my best not to spoil anything that might make your reading experience less. Thaïs is a sex worker, and probably the most notorious one in London and possibly all of England for her beauty, her ability in the bedroom, and her bawdy humor. She knows exactly who she is and loves her work; she uses the word whore and courtesan to describe herself without shame in those words. When the novel opens, she is being auctioned off to the highest bidder for a month of her time (she has the luxury to bed men only once and only one time a week), in exchange for the funds to be used by the Society of Women for their school.

I’ll skip to the good part; Thaïs mistakes the identity of whom pays for her services. And gah! the reasons he wants her? Only the most romantic thing ever—to give him lessons making him proficient at sex and to teach him how to make lovemaking good for his future wife. The lessons are EVERYTHING in this book. Here’s what I loved. Although this is very much open door and openly descriptive, Peckham uses Alastair’s uncomfortableness and eagerness with any sexual situation involving Thaïs to draw out their encounters. It’s almost a slowburn of the most delicious kind with the give and pull between what Alastair desires and the amount of control he’s willing to give up. Thaïs is so gentle with his insecurities and yet she doesn’t let him get away with anything. Likewise he is so kind-hearted and soft towards her, cracking her hardened exterior by truly seeing her for herself, and not just as a beautiful woman on a pedestal or as a lowly whore undeserving of affection.

The majority of the story takes place in a country cottage where Thaïs’s city girl personality truly shows. Her boredom brings playfulness and humor and with a month of time on their hands Peckham is able to delve deep into Alastair and Thaïs’s characters. I loved the cooking scenes and to have a hero who will not think twice about stepping below his station to provide for his mistress made my heart soar. This is competency kink at its best; Alastair wants to be “perfect” in all things, including the bedroom and it takes a Thaïs sized being to teach him.

You will not want to put this one down. I loved Alastair, loved Thaïs and loved the sex lessons premise (it’s so steamy—really really good!). I wish I got a little bit more out of the epilogue; what was the ton’s reaction? What is their future like together? But even though I have a few unanswered questions, this book is a solid five stars for all the feelings it drew out of me while reading. I received an early copy from Avon and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Steam: 🧯🧯🧯🧯
Number of 🐔: 5️⃣9️⃣ and one 🦚

I have a mixed relationship with Scarlett Peckham's books. I often feel like she is taking on way too much: these are sexy romances, with HEAs and lots of open door scenes, but they're also often used as vehicles to get across her sex positive feminism. (I think she succeeds at both the romance and the politics to an equal degree. And that degree is "almost!")

This book is her most conventional romance yet. Yes, the FMC is a sex worker, but any experienced HistRom reader could identify at least 3 other books with the same beats: super starchy nobleman falls for inappropriate woman; asks her to be his mistress because she's not suitable to be his wife; learns the error of his ways and proposes. Thais, the FMC, also has a pretty conventional end goal: she wants to have a family. Specifically, she wants to be a mom and have kids with a husband who is devoted only to her.

This is also my favorite entry in the series, and my second-favorite Peckham to date (after The Lord I Left). Maybe I'm conventional, or maybe I'm just a sucker for a virgin (or virgin-adjacent) hero who falls for a more experienced woman. Who knows?

OK, in more detail: Thais, London's most celebrated and sought-after courtesan, hires out her services for a full month to the highest bidder, profits going to a feminist cause. Lord Eden hires her - secretly! - to get him ready to be able to please whoever he ends up marrying in bed. Eden suffers from premature ejaculation. Plus, he'd probably identify as demi in this day and age; he is uncomfortable both mentally and physically with the idea of having sex with a stranger. Once Thais arrives, they live together in close proximity (he has a tiny cottage without any live-in servants and COOKS FOR HER EVERY NIGHT). They end up being compatible in and out of the bedroom, but he knows he can't marry a notorious sex worker!

Peckham does do some interesting things with this relatively common setup: Eden is starchy, and can't imagine marrying someone below his station, but less because he's a snob and more because he's seen what happens in these "mismatched marriages": his father DID marry "below himself," which (Eden thinks) caused a lot of issues, even leading to his mother's death by suicide (CW alert!). Eden is also a political progressive, and he intellectually understands that he is not Thais's social better. His obsession with the perfect has led him to miss out on a lot of things in life, not just his current conundrum with Thais.

Anyhow, I really liked this one! Plus the Avon covers of the Society of Sirens really knocked it out of the park.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Renowned and exclusive courtesan Thaïs has auctioned off a month of her time to raise funds for her friends’ charity and is expecting to spend a month in the country with a dissolute rake. She’s surprised to find herself at a rustic cottage with a very straightlaced earl instead. Alastair is planning to take a wife this season and needs some lessons in the bedroom to ensure that he’s fulfilling his wife’s needs. He’s secretly hired Thaïs to help him be able to perform. Due to all sorts of insecurity and hang-ups and his overwhelming desire for her, Alastair is incredibly awkward and reserved. He clearly needs to have trust and an emotional connection to be open to any sort of physical activity and it takes quite some time to pull him out of his shell. Over this month in isolation, we get to see a steamy slow burn romance develop and these two people connect and let down their walls. The heartbreaking downside of course is that they’ll have to go back to reality and it’s not like this ever-proper earl could marry a courtesan. Or so he thinks.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The Mistress Experience is the third and final book in Scarlett Peckham’s Society of Sirens series. It can be read as a stand-alone, but I’ve loved the series for its themes of sisterhood and tearing down the patriarchy, so I would recommend all the books.
However, this one has a special place in my heart, as it’s one of my favorite tropes: sex lessons. And while the role reversal with the woman being the teacher has been done before, I loved the setup here in particular, in part due to the characters and their dynamic. Thaïs is a sought-after courtesan in London, but I loved her growth in realizing she wants domesticity, including marriage and a husband, while also being loud and unapologetic about her identity as a courtesan throughout the book. It was nice to have a balance for her, not having trauma around how she got into this line of work, while also craving “traditional” things too.
Alistair is also wonderful. He’s buttoned-up, and not very sexually experienced, and his flaws in that department in the encounters he has had give him insecurities about how he might “perform” when he gets married. It was sweet, if a tad unusual, for him to solicit lessons for this purpose, but I liked that it made him stand out from a lot of the other heroes out there.
Thaïs and Alistair have a wonderful connection that grows over their just-over-a-month acquaintance, and I love how their romance balances both the physical intimacy as she proceeds in the lessons, and the growing emotional connection. While there is a bit where they have a conflict over him not being able to marry her because of her being a sex worker, I appreciate that this was handled sensitively, with him not diminishing her profession, and his perspective on marrying outside one’s class growing in a realistic way.
As this is the last book in the series (sob!), I love that it closed out some of the external plot threads, like Lady Elinor’s toxic marriage/pending divorce, not to mention the series closing out on a fun note including all the series leads, in addition to them all playing major roles in each others’ books. I love that all of the women and their partners ended up happy on their own terms, while also continuing to crusade for women’s rights.
This was perhaps my favorite book in the series (hard to believe since I practically made The Rakess my entire personality in 2020), and it’s in the running to be my favorite of the year. I’d strongly recommend this book if you’re interested in fiercely feminist, sex-positive historical romance.

Obsessed 😍 That’s it. That’s my review.

In all seriousness, though I devoured this book in less than 24 hours, and of course because it’s me, I managed to start a series in the wrong place unknowingly, to which I cannot wait to go back and read the other books in this series and will absolutely be on the lookout for any future works by Scarlett Peckham.

I loved that Alastair was less experienced than Thäis and willing to learn once he formed a connection with her. He is just an absolute cinnamon roll of a man who just wants to love the woman who drives him mad. I love their banter and how easy they get along, and honestly, I could read another book or two solely about their life together and devour every word.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

4.5 Stars

Thaïs Magadalene is the most infamous courtesan in London. She only takes one patron a week and only for one night. But in order to raise money for woman's rights and an institute to educate woman, Thaïs auctions herself off for one month to the highest bidder.

Lord Alastair Eden is not only an earl but a radical politician. His perfectionism shows in everything he does―minus one area. As he is preparing to marry in order to provide his future spouse with pleasure he secretly bids for a month with London's most skilled lover.

Okay, I did not remember what the premise behind this novel was until I started reading it. AND I WAS HOOKED!!!! A man, knowing who knows he lacks in the bedroom, has someone bid for him for a month with a famous harlot???

Was I instantly in love with Alastair after this confession to Thaïs? Yes, yes I was.
Do I generally like cinnamon roll heroes? Not always. But goodness did I love Alastair, even if he does prove to be even more flawed with being careless in what he said in a quip later on in the novel. I loved how he appreciated Thaïs and valued what she had to offer. Oh and how awkward he was especially at the beginning. It made my heart all melty.

Now Thaïs was a woman after my own heart. I adored how she knew where her strengths were and used it to her advantage creating a business for herself and providing support for those woman who found themselves in a similar situation as she did. There is just something about her which made me want to champion her, befriend her and then protect her when she showcased her vulnerabilities and the things she truly desired. And having lived the life she did, how she did not truly feel worthy or that it was an attainable goal. Oh and I can't forget to mention how much I liked the setting of the novel, the exclusivity of it, which forced the characters into a new form of intimacy as well as allowed them to bare themselves fully to what was occurring between them. So so so good.

This was my first Scarlett Peckham novel and I am so looking forward to going back to the beginning of the series to get the POVs of the other characters.

4 Stars The Mistress Experience was a sweet and steamy historical romance and the third book in a series. I haven't read the previous two books in this series, but thankfully I was able to understand what was going on without reading them. This was such a fun read! Thais and Alastair were complete opposites and from entirely different worlds. Thais is foul-mouthed and witty, while Alastair was sweet. But the two went together so well and made for a great story.

Thank you Avon and Harper and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thaïs Magdeline is a self-made harlot who grew up in the brothels from a young age. We saw her in the first two books and got to see a sneak peak of her witty personality during Sera and Cornelia’s stories, but we never got a true look at Thaïs.

I was so excited to start this based on the few reviews I’d seen praising this book for all it was worth. I was severely disappointed with the second book in this series, so I was a bit apprehensive going into Thaïs’ story. Luckily, I had no reason to worry because this book was fantastic.

As the Society of Sirens are closing in on their ladies institute, we find themselves lacking some of the funds needed for the finishing touches. Enter Thaïs, our self-made harlot. She holds an auction for a month of her precious time awarded to the winner, where they are able to do anything with Thaïs that they well please.

I just loved Thaïs and her foul-mouth personality, but I also loved Alastair and his sweet nature. These two were like water and oil when the story began, but were a match made in heaven by the end. I loved the tenderness that Alastair felt for Thaïs, but I also loved how understanding and patient Thaïs was with Alastair. Watching them learn each other's mannerisms and how they functioned was such a joy to experience.

I was so glad that Scarlett Peckham delivered on the closing of this series. After loving the first book and not liking the second book at all, I was so so nervous about going into this one. I was so pleased to find myself unable to put the book down.

I can’t wait for Scarlett Peckhams next series and to dive into her backlist!

I received this as an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Mistress Experience is a fantastic, hot historical romance that exceeded all my expectations. Scarlett Peckham writes some of the best steam around, and in this book her amazing characters shine through too. If you love a great forced proximity romance, read this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brash courtesan Thaïs Magdalene’s skills in the bedroom are unparalleled. So when she and her friends need to raise money for women’s education, she offers a month of her time to the highest bidder. The winner turns out to be Sir Alastair Eden, a progressive Earl who’s decided it’s time to marry. But he’s unsure about his skills as a lover, and wants Thaïs to teach him how to satisfy his future wife. Thaïs is initially bored by their stay in the country, but they both become attached as they spend more and more time together. Can Thaïs keep things simply professional? And will Alastair be able to say goodbye at the end of the month?

Alastair is the sweetest cinnamon roll, and I love the way his feelings for Thaïs develop. Even though he thinks he is bound by the rules of propriety, he is gone for her as soon as he gets to know her. He just wants to take care of people, whether it’s Thaïs, his sister, or his hypothetical future wife. And, the scenes where he cooks for her are fantastic.

The discussion of s3x work is refreshingly matter of fact. Thaïs knows what society thinks about her career, but she’s proud of her ability to support herself, and to help other girls like her. Her feelings for Alastair are truly a threat to her professional and personal well being, though. It doesn’t help that she’s attracted to Alastair and their chemistry is off the charts.

The Mistress Experience has top notch forced proximity, with strong characters, sassy quips, social commentary, and tons of steam. Scarlett Peckham has outdone herself with this impossible to put down story. Any fan of hot historical romance needs to read this book! Now! What are you waiting for?

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

Tropes: MFC gives MMC a sexual education; class difference
Steam level: 4
Language: plenty of "f-bombs" throughout, if that offends you

I actually hadn't read anything by this author before and thought I'd give her a shot, but this didn't work for me. The set-up got my attention (I love a buttoned-up MMC and free-spirited MFC), but nothing really engaged me. Felt as if the plot meandered. If you're new to HR's, or usually read contemporary romance instead, you might like this more than I did.

How do you raise money to fund a radical project to support women's rights and education in (I think) Georgian London? If you are a famous courtesan, you auction your services for one month. Come for the journey to find out who exactly made the bid for Thais' servies, the unexpected people she finds along the way and how a famous sex-worker deals with the sexual disfunctions of her clients. Stay for the innovative ways to curse. The cursing is EPIC!

Something Scarlett Parrish does well is writing non traditional gender roles. The hero is the inexperienced one and the heroine is a sex worker but longs for a more simple, traditional life. My favorite part of the book was the fun banter between Eden and Thaïs. It made me smile and chuckle. Their dynamic is very fun and sexy. I have zero regrets about reading but I felt the ending was a bit rushed and ever so slightly unsatisfying. Like they are together for like 80% of the book, breakup, and get back together in like the last chapter. So I didn’t get enough of those HEA vibes I was hoping for.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!

Without a doubt the most joyful book I’ve read by the author. Her characters are often weighed down heavily by their tragedies (and rightfully so), but this book left me smiling. Thais and Alastair kept me smiling. They both want to do and be their best for others, and try/learn to be light hearted while doing so - they’re both so charming and likable. A true delight.

RATING: 2/5 STARS

I love this old-school historical romance cover, but unfortunately I didn't vibe with the dialogue of this book right off the bat. I would maybe try a future book in this series.

Thaïs is the most sought after prostitute in London. 30 days of her time is auctioned off for charity to a Lord. Only come to find out when she rolls up to a quaint country cottage, she meets a completely different man. Lord Eden bought Thaïs in secret because he wants to take a wife and needs lessons in how to make his wife happy. He knows he's getting a vulgar, rough around the edges but joyful and gorgeous woman to learn from but he doesn't know he's going to fall completely in love with her.

This was a complete delight. The banter was fantastic. Lord Dden is incredibly reserved and sweet. I love a good buttoned up hero who is off kilter by a wild woman. This book is achingly romantic for how crass Thaïs is. There's lessons of Seduction, caretaking, A MAN WHO COOKS, and so much more.

This is my favorite book from Scarlett Peckham for sure.

I received an advanced copy through NetGalley but all my enthusiastic opinions are my own.

It is always nice to have a role reversal. This is the first book I have read by Scarlett Peckham and is a nice addition to the historical romance genre.