Review: Her Perfect Match by Jess Michaels

Genre:  Historical Erotic Romance
Series: Mistress Matchmaker Series
Publish: 3/5/13 | Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Format: ebook | purchased
Buy:  B&N | Amazon | Samhain

She will do anything for him…except surrender.

Vivien Manning, the notorious Mistress Matchmaker, is tired. Tired of the parties, tired of the lovers, tired of being her. So she decides to leave London behind once and for all and start a whole new life.

But before she goes, she must tie up some loose ends, so she makes a list which includes one man she’s never been fully able to let go:

Benedict Graystone.

Benedict was broken when Vivien broke off their affairs years ago. So when she comes back into his life… and his bed, he isn’t certain of anything except the power of their desire.

But as Vivien moves ever closer to disappearing forever, both of them begin to question if the past can be overcome and if love might be the one loose end that cannot be neatly tied up.

I was anticipating Vivien's story since I read her in the first book, An Introduction to Pleasure.  Now, reading the first chapter blew me away.  It introduced us to the depraved life of Vivien and how she has been living her life year after year after year.  The first scene actually made me empathize with her as she was trying to find fulfillment in her life.  Considering all the parties and sexual conquests, she was getting fed up with it.  We also get to revisit the previous couples of the other two books and in a way, it makes Vivien want something that they have - love.

I have to say that this is the best book in the series.  I love how Vivien struggles to finish her list before she leaves her life as a mistress for good.  I especially love how Benedict becomes entwined with the whole situation - with him helping her fulfull her wishes and not knowing the true reason why she was doing it.

Benedict and Vivien's relationship is explosive.  I could feel the heat simmering between the pages (or in my case, the reader - LOL) everytime they meet.  And although lust is the driving force of their relationship, I could see how Vivien would fall for Benedict.

I did have a problem with how Benedict's character was written.  I didn't quite think of him as the perfect libertine/bad boy for our Heroine.  I thought that with him not getting over Vivien when she left him was pretty uncharacteristic of an alpha male.  I would have expected him not to pine (sort of) for Vivien - there was a part in the book where he said he loved her in his thoughts even when they just barely got back together again.  True, his love may not have faded but I thought that wasn't too realistic.

On the other hand, I thought Vivien was the alpha in this story (I know I am contradicting myself but whatever).  I love her bravery and her will to face her fears and revisit her past; how she took charge with her life and become the independent woman that she is.  And yes, I did cry when Vivien and Benedict had their HEA.

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BTW, I will be interviewing Jess Michaels on March 8 so stay tuned!