I went back and forth as to whether I liked Victoria Alexander's His Mistress by Christmas. The Publishers Weekly review calls it "inconsistent," and I think that's probably the best way to describe it -- and to explain my vascillating opinion of the book.
On one hand, the story seems promising. Having been raised by independent-minded women, Veronica is an extremely liberated Victorian widow who values her independence. But she is lonely, so she decides that the best option is to take a lover, without the loss of rights and independence that she would suffer if she married.
Great idea, right? But the characters constantly act contrary to their, well, characters. Sebastian, the reputed ladies man she chooses as her lover, apparently suffers love at first sight and decides he must marry Veronica, despite his long history of love affairs. Veronica tries to seduce him, he rebuffs her and proposes, she turns him down.