The #1 New York Times bestseller—a thrilling new romance from E L James, author of the phenomenal bestselling Fifty Shades Trilogy.
London, 2019. Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he’s never had to work and he’s rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family’s noble title, wealth, and estates, and all the responsibility that entails. It’s a role he’s not prepared for and one that he struggles to face.
But his biggest challenge is fighting his desire for an unexpected, enigmatic young woman who’s recently arrived in England, possessing little more than a dangerous and troublesome past. Reticent, beautiful, and musically gifted, she’s an alluring mystery, and Maxim’s longing for her deepens into a passion that he’s never experienced and dares not name. Just who is Alessia Demachi? Can Maxim protect her from the malevolence that threatens her? And what will she do when she learns that he’s been hiding secrets of his own?
From the heart of London through wild, rural Cornwall to the bleak, forbidding beauty of the Balkans, The Mister is a roller-coaster ride of danger and desire that leaves the reader breathless to the very last page.
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Sexual Content - 4/5
4/5
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Violence - 3/5
3/5
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Language - 5/5
5/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 1/5
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Summary
I absolutely loved the Fifty Shades Trilogy, so when I heard that E. L. James had written an entirely new book, I was very excited to give it a try. I was eager to find out if Fifty Shades had simply been a fluke or if Ms. James really was that good of a storyteller. After reading The Mister, I’d have to say it’s the latter, at least IMHO. I can’t stress enough, though, that this book is very different from Fifty Shades in that the sensual content is much tamer. Aside from one very brief scene early in the story where Maxim engages in a little light bondage with one of his conquests, there’s absolutely nothing kinky. In fact, a few of the love scenes are even fade-to-black. Instead, this is a sweet but sensual modern-day Cinderella story with a white knight hero who saves the damsel in distress. If this isn’t your type of read then this book probably isn’t for you. But, if like me, you love fairy-tale retellings, then I think you’ll enjoy this one as much as I did.
Alessia is from a traditional area of Albania, where women are not particularly valued and are still treated much like chattel. After her father betrothed her to an abusive man, her mother helped her escape, sending her to a friend’s home in London, but she encountered more ill-luck when she fell into the hands of criminals along the way. She was lucky to get free and make it to London, but she’s now employed as a cleaner (aka a daily) for some well-to-do people. One of those people is our hero, Maxim, who catches Alessia’s eye and stirs her romantic fantasies from the moment she meets him. She loves working for him, because he owns a grand piano. She’s played since she was a child and has an unusual condition known as synesthesia, where she can see the notes as colors, making it easy for her to perfectly recall pieces from memory. If she finishes her cleaning work early and Maxim isn’t at home, she takes the opportunity to play, something that brings a small amount of peace to her troubled life. Although she begins to fall for Maxim from afar, she has no expectation that he’ll ever give her any notice. After all, he appears to be a wealthy man and she’s just his daily. But when the kidnappers from her journey to London show up at Maxim’s apartment and he helps her escape, everything changes. Alessia is a very sweet young woman who was easy for me to relate to, because she reminds me of myself in some ways. She’s shy, gentle, and caring toward others. She’s had a very rough life, and perhaps because of that, she harbors a quiet, inner strength of spirit that’s easy to miss if you’re not looking closely. Music is her one outlet for all the pain and emotion of the past, while also being a guiding light that helps give her hope for the future. I’m sure there will be a lot of readers who won’t “get” her because she’s not the feisty, adventurous heroine that seems to be most prized in current romance trends. While I can appreciate those types of heroines as well, I still really liked Alessia a lot because we can’t all be kick-butt females, so for me, she was more realistic to the type of woman I am.
Maxim is the second son of an earl, the proverbial “spare,” who’s basically been frittering his life away with aimless pursuits. He has talents in both photography and music and pursues those interests when it pleases him to do so, but for the most part, he’s merely a bored aristocratic playboy, looking for his next sexual conquest. However, his life takes a dramatic turn when his older brother, the Earl of Trevethick, tragically dies in a motorcycle accident, leaving Maxim to inherit the title. He has no idea how to run the day-to-day enterprises of an earldom and never thought he would have to, so it’s more of a burden to him than a blessing. Then he meets his daily and unexpectedly finds that she inspires him in ways he never thought possible. Her musical talents astound him, and as he gets to know her and realizes what a difficult life she’s had, he comes to appreciate how fortunate he truly is. He finds her beautiful in more ways than just the physical and wants nothing more than to give her the moon if she’ll have him. That’s why, when the thugs show up at his door, he knows he’ll do anything he must to protect her. However, not wanting to overwhelm her with how far above her station he actually is and also wanting to make sure that she genuinely loves him for himself, he initially keeps the truth of his titled status from her. Maxim begins the story harboring some self-loathing and feeling very disillusioned with life, but Alessia reinvigorates him into a better version of himself. With her, he’s the white knight, a gallant gentleman, who gently cares for her, keeping her safe and rescuing her when needed. I like the way he held himself back for a while to make sure that the employer/employee power differential wasn’t factoring into their relationship in any way. Maxim ended up being a kind, beta-leaning, and near-perfect romance hero for me.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Mister. It came very close to being as perfect as the Fifty Shades books for me. However, there were a few little things that I thought could have been just a tad better. I’m glad that Maxim’s persistence and their love for one another won out in the end, but I would have preferred if the main villain (Alessia’s betrothed) and perhaps her father, too, had suffered more severe consequences. After them abusing her the way they did, I wasn’t 100% satisfied with them having only a minimal comeuppance. I also would have loved an epilogue, perhaps showing Maxim and Alessia happy after some time had passed and her pursuing her music in a more professional way. After all, she said she wanted to work – not just be a kept woman – and what better way for her to do that, especially since Maxim had money, as well as connections in the music world, that could have helped make that happen for her. Otherwise, though, I really did enjoy the book. It’s just the kind of tender, emotional, and deeply romantic story that tends to puts a smile on my face. It simply gave me all the warm fuzzies and squishy feels that I look for in a romance, so for me, it was a wonderful read.
Review provided by The Hope Chest Reviews