NO MISTRESS OF MINE is book 4 in the American Heiress in London series by Laura Lee Guhrke. This series has slowly improved since its inception- I have given 4 out of 5 stars to the last 2 books in this series. NO MISTRESS OF MINE is a second chance at love story. It's also a rather star-crossed lovers tale as well, mixing a from-the-gutter American gal with the heir to an earldom.

Lola Valentine is a cabaret dancer who'd like to be an actress, who has re-invented herself several times over in her quest for a better life. There is much to admire about Lola. She's a self-made woman who has gumption and a gritty-eyed realism. She has taken risks to grow as a person and also in her pursuit of her acting career. Lola had a lengthy affair with Lord Denys Somerton in England six years ago. Realizing she would cost Lord Somerton his place in society and his family's love, Lola sacrificed their romance and left Somerton to return to America and pursue her acting dream. She had to fool Somerton into believing she was an opportunistic harridan so he would let her go. Somerton was left bitter and disillusioned, but grows up and manages to become a successful and responsible kind of guy, if slightly a stick-in-the-mud gentleman.

Fast forward six years, and Lola is now back in London, having inherited the other half of the theater that Somerton owns. Thrown together as unexpected management partners, Lola and Somerton try to keep things strictly business, but the hurt feelings and past betrayals cannot keep them from gravitating back into each other's' lives and ultimately into each other's' bed. It's fun to see them trying to deny their feelings and act platonically, because they simply can't manage to pull it off.

This is not an accurate-seeming historical read. There are a number of places where the reader must check their disbelief and just go with the flow, ignoring all the historical implausibilities. For the reader that can let go, the reward is a fun romp with a satisfying denouement where true love does truly conquer all. Guhrke's NO MISTRESS OF MINE provides an entrepreneurial heroine I can root for, a hero who's convinced that love really makes the world go round no matter who is at the helm, and a Happily Ever After that makes me sigh with contentment.