"The Courtesan" by Julia Justiss

The Courtesan by Julia Justiss 2005

"The Courtesan" is the story of Lady Belle, a famous London courtesan, and Captain Jack Carrington, an honorable Waterloo veteran. Invited by a friend to a fencing lesson, he discovers that the victor is none other than Lady Belle - a famous courtesan whose "protector" has recently died. Finding himself irresistibly attracted to her, he challenges her to a fencing match for the prize of a kiss if he wins. Instead, he finds himself greviously injured and convalescing in Lady Belle's care. The attraction is not just one way, and before long she is beginning to feel feelings that she did not know possible...

This is a good book. It is well written and the characters are interesting, although I found myself thinking that perhaps Jack was a little too good. Belle's story reveals itself slowly and keeps the reader interested. One major problems I had with this book, however, is how it "tells" you rather than "shows" you how the characters are feeling. There's a lot of "telling" - page after page in each character's head, but sometimes I'd like to see that for myself, and there wasn't quite enough of that.

RATING:

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:
There is a rape scene in this book, although it is not terribly graphic.