Book Review: The Mistress Experience by Scarlett Peckham

I honestly can’t even explain why, but it feels like my reading slumps never come in small doses. And that’s probably why this is the first book review I’m writing in over six months – because I just haven’t been able to read anything.

As usual, to snap myself out of the slump, I tried reading a bunch of books, but I dropped them either halfway through the first chapter or right before the second.

This time, I decided to give this sweet historical romance a shot, and I’m so glad I did. It reminded me of how much I love reading, and now I’ve been reading like crazy for the past few weeks.

The first thing I’ll say is that The Mistress Experience is a small-town romance. I’m not sure about others, but this is the first historical small-town romance I’ve ever read. It’s kind of surprising because I don’t think this trope is used a lot in historical fiction, but it really works here.

Small-town romance is one of my favorite tropes, so I decided to read it and I love that the author went all out with everything – from the setting to the characters – and it all came together so perfectly.

I will say, though, that it was a little hard for me to get into the story at first. I believe this is the third book in the series, so there was some information that was given, but it was a little confusing. I gave it a little time, and I was blown away.

This book is very much driven by the romance, which was so well-developed and organic. The chemistry between the male and female leads, Thaïs and Eden really pulled the entire story together. 

It was clear that neither of them could live without the other, and they both brought the same level of intensity to the table.

Thaïs, our female lead is a prostitute who offers exclusive services – she works only one day a week or month (I’m not totally sure). Even though she’s in high demand, she’s very protective of her free time, which she uses to focus on things she’s passionate about, like women’s rights.

To raise money for one of her projects with her friends, she decides to auction off a month of her exclusive services. The lucky winner is one of her regular clients, but when she arrives at the small rural town where he sends her, she finds out he wasn’t the one who made the deal. Instead, she’s meant to spend time with Eden, the male lead.

Now, Eden has had a tiny, tiny crush on her for a while, but it’s not the kind of crush where he’s willing to throw away his morals. He admires her boldness, how outspoken she is, and how she still has a soft heart beneath all that confidence. But, he’s adamant about selecting a “proper” bride for himself.

When she arrives at his house, she’s surprised to find him there. She quickly learns that he wants lessons in marital relations (of the sexual kind) so he can make a good impression on his future wife. He needs someone discreet and experienced, and he believes she’s the perfect person for the job.

This is how their romantic relationship starts. At first, it’s a teasing dynamic – Thaïs keeps making trouble, and he gets all shy about it. But over time, Eden learns to give as good as he gets, and let me tell you, their banter was everything.

Thaïs absolutely lives to get a rise out of him, and I didn’t totally get why she felt the need to push his buttons so much – even when he was genuinely uncomfortable. But I loved watching him panic and get shocked by everything she said. It was so fun. 

And, honestly, I enjoyed it even more when he finally got comfortable and started joking back with her.

My favorite part of this book was definitely watching them start to refer to each other as a couple during their month-long stay at the cottage. Seeing them slowly integrate into each other’s lives was so beautiful. It’s not often we get to see two characters so deeply in love that it becomes part of their very essence, and I especially loved it here.

I know I say this about a lot of books, but I would really love to see this one adapted into a movie or TV show. It’s such a fresh, interesting story that I think a lot of people would really connect with. We have Thaïs, who’s kind of stuck in her situation but dreams of more, and Eden, who breaks out of his shell and discovers a whole new world beyond his proper upbringing.

They’re opposites in just about every way, but one thing that made their connection so amazing is how realistic they were about their positions in each other’s lives. They were both reluctant to get together and held back from each other because of their different stations.

Now that I’ve finished the book and have had some time to think about it, I just want to say how much I loved Thaïs. I also really loved the other characters, but she, in particular, is one I’m going to be thinking about for a long time. She’s the kind of person who dares to love and to hate, and I think that’s beautiful to see.

The characters are all imperfect, but what really made the book shine was how every relationship was built on the foundation of strong friendship. That, to me, is the best kind of foundation.

We got some cameos from characters in the series, but honestly, I enjoyed this book so much that I’m not sure I’ll be checking out the rest of the series. I’m always worried about being disappointed when you read one book and love it, but then the author’s other books don’t live up to the first. It kind of ruins the enjoyment of the first one.

Anyway, I genuinely loved this book and think everyone should read it. It’s a sweet, steamy historical romance about two very different people who fall in love in the most unexpected way and choose to build a life for themselves full of happiness.