The Mistress (The Chicago Fire Trilogy, 2)

by Susan Wiggs

Book Overview

Masquerading as members of Chicago's upper crust at a glittering ball on the eve of the Great Chicago Fire, Kathleen O'Leary, a beautiful young maid, and con man Dylan Kennedy find themselves falling... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778327906
• Release Date: July 2010
• Publisher: MIRA
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.6" x 1.1" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

A dream novel!

Kathleen Bridget O'Leary doesn't just weave a fantasy in her mind....she works to make her dreams come true. However, even in the best of her dreams she never conjured up any man as dashing, good looking, or as captivating as Dylan Kennedy. He surpasses everything she ever expected or dreamed of in giving her heart over to a man. However, there are a few little problems with this wonderful rogue. He has made an art of lying and he doesn't know what love is. Kate has her work cut out for her as she struggles to not only survive the great Chicago fire of 1871 and its aftermath, but to also prove to Dylan that love does exist. I haven't been so totally immersed in a book or loved the characters like I have those in "The Mistress in a very long time. This is the first novel by Susan Wiggs I've read and she immediately climbed to the top of my list of favorite authors. So, if you have this book....curl up and enjoy!

I loved this more than words could ever say....

Oh, this book. I want this to be my life. I was so much like Kathleen, wanting things so bad and thinking once I got them my life would be perfect. But no - THIS is perfect, to have someone care about you the way Dylan did, even when he was trying not to. To love what you have, not crave what you lack. This sounds like a sappy country song but read this book, its not sapy, it's very real and so right-on about the way love works in the real world. If this is romance than I'm a fan.

What if you had the chance to be somebody you weren't...

Kathleen O'Leary took the chance with a borrowed dress and jewels, and fell in love with Dylan Kennedy, a wealthy and desired bachelor. So the story ends here, right? Of course not... it's a romance, and we must have turbulence, passion, fire (ha! no pun intended...)! Both were not what they pretended to be, and through a heedless marriage the truth comes out. What's a 12:01 Cinderalla and a dethroned Prince Charming to do? It's a story about how you can find your identity, your peace, in the one you love, and how unlikely that love can sometimes be; it's not unlike The Charm School, another book by Wiggs, that paired together a hero and a heroine that, under normal circumstances, wouldn't even have looked at each other on the street. Well-written and heartwarming, set against the famous fire in Chicago and the stunning effects it had on people's (real and fiction) lives, The Mistress is a lovely, polished gem to spend your day with.

Wiggs is wonderful

In Chicago, impoverish Kathleen O'Leary works as a maid at an exclusive school for young ladies. However, tonight, October 8, 1871 Kathleen pretends to be a wealthy debutante wearing a borrowed gown to attend a high society ball. Also at the gala event is the city's wealthiest bachelor Dylan Kennedy, just back from Europe. When they meet, Dylan sees a beautiful woman perfect for him to seduce. He wants funds from her because he is a con artist. She sees her soulmate.On the other side of town, an inferno has erupted starting at the barn of Kathleen's parents. As the fire spreads and threatens everyone in the city, Kathleen and Dylan hastily marry. Somehow they survive and quickly fall in love, but both, not expecting to live, entered the marriage with deception and duplicity. He trusts no one and needs instant cash that she cannot provide while she continues to shower him with love.THE MISTRESS is an enjoyable Americana romance that centers on the aftermath of the Chicago fire. The story line uses real events and people to propel the entertaining romance to its climax. The lead couple will receive reader empathy as they learn the importance of being truthful as well as earnest in a relationship. However, what makes Susan Wiggs' tale a cut above the norm is the intricate look at survivors whose prize for minor success is clinging to life one day at a time.Harriet Klausner

And now for something completely different.....

Well, I loved this author's last book, THE HOSTAGE, and I wanted to love this one, too. It's totally different, but it left me with the same warm-inside feeling as the first one. It's a story about figuring out who you are and what's most important in life. This book surprised me in several places. Truly satisfying, I would reccommend it to anyone!