REVIEW: Make Me Yours by Betina Krahn

Make Me Yours by Betina Krahn is my first Blaze His­tor­i­cal. That cover screams con­tem­po­rary doesn’t it? Mov­ing on. This also marks my first time read­ing Betina Krahn as well and I’m happy to say that this light his­tor­i­cal romp was a pleas­ant sur­prise and a joy to read.

This Vic­to­rian tales starts off with a bunch of rowdy noble­man dis­turb­ing the peace at Mariah Eller’s inn. To keep the peace and avert destruc­tion, Mariah impro­vises and enter­tains the men and man­ages to calm the sit­u­a­tion down before things get out of hand.

In the com­pany of these drunk­ards is none other than Prince Albert Edward him­self, who also goes by “Bertie” to his fam­ily and friends. Mariah rec­og­nizes him and his bulk immediately.

Jack St. Lawrence aka Iron Jack, is the prince’s man of affairs and the only one he trusts to tell him the truth. He’s also the only one sober after their recent hunt­ing trip. Jack real­izes the sticky sit­u­a­tion Mariah is in for here. She can’t just throw the men out even though they deserve it. This is the future King of Britain we’re talk­ing about here. With a diplo­matic touch, she man­ages to cir­cum­vent destruc­tion to her inn and in doing so she cap­tures Bertie’s lust filled attentions.

When Mariah and Jack help the snor­ing prince to his bed, a mis­un­der­stand­ing devel­ops. A week later, the future king sends Jack St. Lawrence and Baron Marchant to seek out Mariah Eller, a widow, to be his mis­tress. Of course Mariah is insulted. Bertie also wants her to find a hus­band so that after their lit­tle affair is over, she can find her merry way back to her husband’s wait­ing arms.

Accord­ing to the author’s note, using sex for favor was a com­mon prac­tice in Vic­to­rian times. I’d add that it’s true still today as well but that’s -. Bertie does offer to pay for Mariah’s debts and her future hus­band would be some­one who didn’t mind that she shared the prince’s bed. A friend of the prince was a highly sought after posi­tion that had its own rewards.

Jack, who is used to tak­ing charge of Bertie’s sen­si­tive issues, doesn’t care for this one. Espe­cially when he finds out that Mariah insists on vis­it­ing each and every suitor on his “hus­band list.” The romance part of the story takes place dur­ing this impromptu trip. Jack finds Mariah a warm and sen­sual woman. She unlocks that secret part of him that he kept hid­den from the world. She unlocks his secret desires and makes him laugh.

As for Mariah, she is a breath of fresh air. She is a smart woman who embraces her sex­u­al­ity. The romance between Jack and Mariah unfolds nicely. It did tend to get a bit sappy but that’s the cynic in me talk­ing. The story is also burst­ing with humor and none of it felt forced. I think Mariah made this story work because she just wasn’t the typ­i­cal hero­ine who had a bad mar­riage with a vil­lain­ous hus­band who made sex hor­ri­ble.

Make Me Yours is a fun and fast read. I would be hard pressed to com­plain much. I thought the premise was an humor­ous and inter­est­ing one. Mariah was the star in this story but Jack wasn’t too far behind. He is a bit of a stuffed shirt at the start but he ends up mak­ing some changes for the bet­ter. If there were two peo­ple who deserved each other in fic­tion, it would be these two, Mariah and Jack. Good story. B.