Here are a few reasons why I think AKOH is even better than HLM:

1. Awesome historical detail. I have no doubt that Wolf researched the actors she featured in HLM, but the standard Napoleonic Wars stuff that we’ve all read time and again seems brighter and more interesting in AKOH. First off, she’s got the whole of Europe in perspective, and second, it really serves the plot very very well.

2. Excellent depiction of spy craft, which is to say — it’s BORING. (My first husband was friends with a family devastated when the father died fairly young. Only when the obit was printed in the Times of London did his friends realize that he’d been the head of MI-6 for Eastern Europe. They just thought he was a civil servant.) AKOH isn’t boring, but then it isn’t actually too much about the spying. But it’s accurate that spying involved a lot more sitting around reading stuff than cliche cloak & dagger. Still, there’s a wonderful moment when Adam Todd, Viscount Stanford (the hero), admits to having read the baddie’s mail. This confession is met with real horror — a completely accurate historical detail from the 1950s. (Post WWII, the Brits discovered that we (US) were spying on them, and the British ambassador to the UN said, “Gentlemen do not read each other’s mail.” That lasted for a few months…)

3. Real tension as to how things will be resolved. The conflict is very real, and apart from just a bit too much emphasis on how noble and self-sacrificing the heroine is, her choices look pretty meager indeed. And when they fall in love, it’s painful for them, and exciting for us. All of which is in HLM, but there’s a bit of coincidence necessary for the protags to have their HEA at the end of HLM, and no such slight of hand for the denouement of AKOH.

4. Gorgeous protags, although that’s hardly a leg up on HLM…

5. Far fewer instances of the adverb, “serenely.” In fact, I think the writing is noticeably better in AKOH, and I have a very high opinion of Wolf’s writing style. It’s just that she falls back a bit on some tired tropes, and they wear thin (for me) in HLM. Okay, so supposedly the protags in AKOH are all self-contained but every single one of their friends can correctly interpret the briefest of looks they give each other and suddenly Know All, but even that sort of thing seemed easier to swallow in AKOH. With HLM, I kept wondering — if she’s such a great actress, how come everyone knows what she’s trying to hide all the time?

6. Good, maybe even great, use of kids in AKOH. They aren’t merely dei ex machina, they actually have personalities and opinions. It’s true the plot wouldn’t work without them, but they’re mini-secondary characters. By contrast, I noticed something with HLM that I’d not thought of before. When Jess goes to London but tells her family she’s going to Scotland, and the kids are at school, who’s actually running the stud at Winchcombe?

Okay, I’ll shut up now.

Simplistic means “characterized by extreme simplism; oversimplified.” It has a negative connotation. What you meant to convey was probably “straightforward” or “unadorned.”

Also, is his name Linton or Litton? Both are used multiple times.

Otherwise, I find this book very interesting and will be hunting it down.

Joan Wolf Bookshelf

Angie

The Edge of Light (Onyx)

Alfred, dubbed by history “the Great,” succeeds to the kingdom of Wessex on the death of his beloved brother, Ethelred. He is aided in his struggle against the invading pagan Danes by his haughty young wife, Elswyth, of the kingdom of Mercia. As warrior-king, Alfred establishes a governmental system; as Latinist, he translates the poetry and classics that become the foundation of English literature; as a Christian he puts into practice the principles to which he was devoted. Around Alfred’s magnificent defense of the English nation, Wolf ( Born of the Sun ) weaves convincing subplots of passionate love and betrayal that embellish the bare bones of history.

Born of the Sun (Onyx)

Wolf tells the story of Niniane, a Celtic princess, and Ceawlin, bastard son of the King of the West Saxons. Eighty years after the death of Arthur, the Celts are disorganized, drifting away from the cities built by the Romans. The vigorous Saxons, on the other hand, have settled down and become civilized, creating in many ways a more viable culture. Niniane and Ceawlin escape from Winchester, the West Saxon stronghold, after he kills his brother in a fight and is disinherited. With help from the Celts and some dissatisfied Saxon thanes, Ceawlin fights for and claims the Saxon crown. Throughout the years, the couple’s family and love grow, as does the Saxon kingdom, more Celts realizing that Saxon rule provides stability in a dangerous age. Ceawlin also must the fight treachery of his father’s wife, of his trusted adviser, his best friend and most perilously, of his Celtic brother-in-law. Wolf’s vivid picture of life among the Saxons and Celts is well imagined–so little is known about the time–and given an air of authenticity with its attention to detail and acute psychological portrayals.

Apparently Born of the Sun is a follow-up to her Road to Avalon which I have never read, but I was able to read it perfectly as stand alone.

Both quotes from the Amazon Editorial Review section

His Lordship’s Mistress is a prime example of how a great writer can make any plot work. I actually don’t care at all for mistress books, but that didn’t bother me in the least when reading this book.

Silence had fallen, but it was the rich silence of deep, inarticulate companionship. He put down his cup and smiled at her, long and lazily. “Let's go to bed,” he said

Reading this made me stomach drop and is a great reminder that “hot” doesn’t always require details.

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. I do think perhaps there needs to be a differentiation between mistresses and courtesans.