NUMBER: 7TITLE: The Courtesan
AUTHOR: Julia Justiss
STARTED: January 17, 2006
FINISHED: January 20, 2006
PAGES: 379
GENRE: Romance
FIRST SENTENCE:"C'mon Jack!"
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] After years of dangerous fighting on the Peninsula, Captain Jack Carrington has returned home to take up family duties and find himself a wife. But his life is thrown into turmoil when he views a fencing lesson unlike any other. The talented student is no student at all, but a beautiful young woman, and the most infamous courtesan in all of London - Lady Belle.
Who is the mysterious Belle? A jaded cyprian seeking her next protector? A kind friend helping those in need? Or a mistress of sensual delights that tempt a man to madness? Eager to uncover the true woman behind the facade, Jack wagers he can win a kiss from Belle is he bests her at fencing. And though Belle is a woman he can neither afford to keep nor dare to marry, he's willing to risk it all to win her to his bed.
REASON FOR READING: The book had a sword on the cover.
THOUGHTS: This book was not bad for me not reading the back blurb. I bought this book solely because the heroine was holding a sword on the cover. The plot was a bit contrived to keep the characters together, but it worked in the end. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed the story. Justiss was not afraid to put unsavory twists in. That made the book more realistic and less romance cliche. Those quirks also helped me enjoy the story more because I was never sure what would happen.
The writing was good but nothing exceptional. The characters lacked a bit of depth but they worked well together. The leads had chemistry and they were bagged up by a hilarious rag-tag of servants.
MISCELLANEOUS: My streak of merely picking books for their covers continues to work.
KEEP/SHARE/CRINGE(?): PBSing
RATING: 6/10 [Good]
CR: The Sandman: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman
RN: The Sandman: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman
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