Review: How to Wed a Courtesan

When it comes to romance my top two pet peeves are 1) Fated Mates and 2) Cop-Out Endings. Fated Mates is pretty self-explanatory (free will is sexy, I'll die on that hill). Cop-Out Endings as I define them are endings when the conflict, the same conflict that the couple has been fighting tooth-and-nail to overcome to get to the hard-fought happy ending is hand-waved away, washing away all the angsty-goodness that came before.

Lord above, I hate a Cop-Out Ending and the last two chapters of How To Wed a Courtesan by Madeline Martin irritated me no end. 

The timeline of the story hops around a bit, but for all intents and purposes, the story begins in 1809 when Charlotte "Lottie" Rossington makes the acquaintance of Evander, Baron Murray at a ball in Bedfordshire. How did Lottie, the daughter of a poor country vicar, score an invite? Because she's friends with Charles, Duke of Somerville (see first book in series), whose country manor is in tiny Binsey where Lottie and her father live. They were childhood playmates and have remained friends.  Evander and Charles are friends, and when Evander is introduced to Lottie he's immediately smitten.

What follows is a courtship and a proposal, never mind Lottie's father opposes Evander even courting his daughter. Gretna Green is in their future, until just as they begin to make plans, Evander's father dies and he's now the Earl of Westix. Even more troublesome? Dear Old Dad left the coffers bare. Evander can't very well wed Lottie as a pauper, so he sets plans in motion to head overseas to make money. He promises Lottie he'll only be gone 6 months to 1 year. She begs him not to leave. 

Four years later....

Evander returns to London filthy stinking rich and Lottie, the poor vicar's daughter, became a courtesan. She didn't have much of a choice. Her father died shortly after Evander took off and nobody was going to hire her as a governess without references. That led to work in an opera house, which then led to being a courtesan. She has since gotten out of that life thanks, in part, to Evander's mother of all people. Lottie now schools young ladies in the art of seduction and snagging a man - although in reality it's more like lessons in confidence and self-worth with some matchmaking thrown in on the side. 

Evander is still besotted and determined to wed Lottie. Lottie is, quite frankly, pissed. Four years and no letters. In reality Evander, gem that he is, wrote her TWO LETTERS (LIKE WTF DUDE?!) that never got to her because, see dead father, becoming a courtesan yada yada yada. But, fool that she is, she still loves him. What's standing in their way? Her unresolved rage at him (there's a lot of backstory related to her becoming a courtesan) and the fact that her reputation is in tatters. A courtesan does not wed an Earl. It just is not done. 

What follows is Evander persistence in love-bombing Lottie (weekly hot house flowers, among other things) and Lottie opening up to him about what her life truly became while he was off making a fortune that she never truly wanted or asked for in the first place. We've got her grief and his pride, and there are more than a few scenes in this book that damn near ripped my guts out.

So where does it all go wrong? Lottie's reputation. Look, here's the thing - these two have a legit, true blue circle of friends. Certainly there will be corners of upper crust society that will always snub Lottie and look down their nose at her, but ultimately these two are not friendless. Their family members aren't friendless. So who gives a flying fig if some small minded folks snub you? These two would never truly be cast out into the wilderness.  And yet? That's not enough apparently because soon a Big Secret comes to light that makes it all right as rain. Was it sort of fun to see snobs get their commuppance? I mean, a little I guess. But it's so unnecessary and sweeps all the conflict and challenges that preceded the revelation completely aside. I mean, why did I read this book and struggle along with these fictional characters if you're just going to hand wave it away in the end? Ugh.

I think most romance readers can read between the lines here because these sorts of Cop-Out Endings are fairly common in historical romance. It is why, to this day, when readers rejoice in their love for The Proposition by Judith Ivory my lip immediately curls (no amount of beautiful writing makes up for that travesty of an ending, says me)

A book that was easily going to land in my B range (OMG, so much angsty goodness!) immediately ran right off the cliff like a horde of lemmings with that ending. What a disappointment.

Final Grace = C-

Bloomin' April: Unusual Historicals Poppin' in April 2022

Y'all, it's April. April?! I'm not sure how this has happened but 2022 seems to have picked up all the steam of a runaway freight train.  Case in point, I dragged my feet just a wee bit on culling through the Unusual Historicals offerings for this month and good Lord this post took me forever to draft. I mean, LOOK AT ALL THESE TITLES?!  It's a cornucopia.  Grab yourself a nice beverage, sit back and enjoy!

 

Death of a Sorcerer by Jeannie Lin (short story, Kindle Unlimited)

The sequel novella to The Hidden Moon and prequel to Red Blossom in Snow. 

Newly married Constable Gao and Wei-wei have just begun their lives together when they're faced with the death of a Taoist sorcerer during Ghost Month. 

As mysterious occurrences arise during the investigation, are they truly receiving a message from the spirit world? Or is Gao's dark past finally catching up to them, threatening their chance for happiness?

Let's start off this month's post with a gift from Jeannie Lin - yes, it's currently only available via Amazon, but even if you don't have KU, it's currently free (at the time of this posting). This short story is tucked in the middle of the Lotus Palace Mysteries timeline, being a sequel to The Hidden Moon.

Jack of All Trades by Kate Pearce

When the brash railway contractor Elijah Hepworth and his rowdy crew of navvies arrive in Millcastle the town is divided between those who embrace the possibility of change and those who want things to remain the same. Alice Collins, who has recently come to live at Grafton Hall, knows which side she’d prefer to be on, but Mr. Hepworth obviously has other ideas. When the comfortable, safe existence Alice hoped for is snatched from her grasp, will she accept an offer from a man who never claims to be a gentleman, but who might be what she needed all along? 

I could write something pithy here about this fourth book in the author's Millcastle series, but why not crib what the author herself wrote on her website about this book?  "I loved writing this one because the hero isn’t an aristocrat, and he has no desire to become one. He’s hardworking, brutally honest and when he decides he wants something he’ll go all out to achieve his aim. The nice thing is that the heroine is so much more than he bargained for, and he has to grovel quite a bit at the end to get his HEA." 👀

Crying Wolfe by Kerrigan Byrne

He’s the man with the Midas touch… 

Elijah Wolfe is just as ruthless and aggressive as his name suggests. Born in harsh Nevada desert, he used his sharp wits and sharper fists to fight for survival mining ore for terrible men... Until one day he struck gold, literally. Despite his unimaginable wealth, his heart is empty of trust and his world full of enemies. He’s come to England searching for a priceless treasure once stolen from him and is prepared to ruin anyone who gets in his way. 

She’s a thief with a heart of gold… 

Rosaline Goode’s callous father left her nothing but a legacy of shame. Instead of worrying about the women gossiping behind their fans, or the cruelty of eligible men, she spends her nights avoiding society and mapping the stars. That is until absurd circumstances find her, nearly naked, in the home of the famously unscrupulous, lethal American whose name is on everyone's lips. 

The promise of plunder… 

Succumbing to a shotgun wedding is the worst thing Eli can imagine, but if it is what he must do to get what he wants, then so be it. Except now, all the arguments he’d made against the marriage are becoming enticements. His new wife is too young. Too small, sheltered, soft, and sensitive for a man forged in the mines and tempered in the desert heat. If theirs is a Devil’s bargain, then why does her shy touch take him to heaven?

A ruthless hero obsessed with reclaiming a priceless treasure finds himself leg-shackled to a heroine that society loves to snicker and gossip about. The latest in the author's Goode Girls series, features some catnip many romance readers are helpless to resist - the Alphahole hero knocked upside the head by love.

Lady Armstrong's Scandalous Awakening by Marguerite Kaye 

Hers was a body of marble… 

Until he brought it to life 

After her tyrannical late husband ruined her reputation, Lady Mercy Armstrong is longing to reinvent herself. The perfect opportunity presents itself when rebellious self-made man Jack Dalmuir has a daring proposition—a fake dalliance that will change society’s view of her! Only, cavorting with the handsome Scotsman ignites a passion that could change both their lives forever…

This second book in the author's Revelations of the Carstairs Sisters series sounds like it should be subtitled: How the Victorian Lady Got her Groove Thang Back.  Although from the sounds of it, she never had much of a groove to begin with. Added bonus that our hero is a self-made man!

Winning Back His Duchess by Amanda McCabe 

An invitation to Venice… 

To save their marriage! 

Suggesting divorce to her estranged husband, Jamie, Duke of Byson, takes all of Rose Wilkins’s courage. Years of distance and heartbreak have taken a toll—she needs a new start. But Jamie won’t hear of divorce, because of the scandal alone. His counteroffer is a trip to Venice… 

Might discovering Venice’s delights together rekindle the still-simmering desire that drew Rose to Jamie as a starry-eyed young American heiress?

Y'all I am HERE for Victorians and this third book in McCabe's Dollar Duchesses series gives us a not-often-seen Marriage in Trouble trope in a historical, and a trip to Venice in a last ditch effort to save a crumbling marriage and themselves from ruin.

The Knight's Tempting Ally by Ella Matthews

A knight’s enemy...

Becomes his closest ally… 

Knight Theo Grenville will do whatever it takes to discover who’s plotting against his king. So befriending—and even romancing—his target’s middle daughter, Medea, is merely part of his sworn duty. But what isn’t? Falling under the spell of a woman who’s anything but plain in his eyes! Yet every day they become closer, the more torn he is between his allegiance to his king and his heart…

Matthews' second book in her The King's Knights trilogy features a spin on the Big Secret trope I can never say no to - the hero on a mission to uncover the truth who slithers his way next to the heroine to gain access to the information he needs (unbeknownst to her).  Added bonus if the heroine is described as plain, overlooked, and/or generally dismissed out of hand by those around her. 

The Highlander's Stolen Bride by Madeline Martin

From dutiful bride… 

To the laird’s unwilling hostage! 

Kidnapping Elspeth MacMillan on her way to an arranged marriage is the only way for new laird Calum Campbell to avoid more bloodshed and bargain peace for his people. Calum expects her fury but doesn’t expect the feisty lass to break through his defenses into his heart. With war waging between their families, will they ever be able to yield to love?

 

The final book in the multi-author Highland Alliances trilogy finds our hero kidnapping the heroine in a bid to broker peace (OK, sure my dude) and getting more than he bargained for when he starts falling for her.  Will these romance heroes never learn? The surest way to find yourself hitched is deciding to kidnap someone. If you won't to stay single, just don't do it!

Conveniently Wed to a Spy by Helen Dickson 

A daredevil rescue… 

An unexpected reunion Imprisoned during the French Revolution, English spy Lord Laurence Beaumont is finally rescued—by the courageous, beautiful Delphine St. Clair. Back home in Cornwall, Laurence has no interest in the convenient marriage offered by a local landowner—until he discovers the bride is Delphine! With intense memories of their liaison dangereuse in Paris, Laurence knows theirs will be an unconventional union…but can he keep his promise never to be a spy again?

And finally, brace yourself kidddies - a stand-alone book!  I know, it's a little shocking!  There's not a lot of 18th century romances these days, and when you do see one it usually involves Scotland and the Battle of Culloden.  Here we've got the French Revolution (!) and a heroine with enough moxie to save the hero from certain death. 

Whew! That was a marathon!  What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to?

Beat the Heat: Unusual Historical Highlights for July 2021

Somehow it's mid-July and I'm recently back from a trip to my home state where I saw my parents for the first time in two years and my sisters since January 2020 (a trip to Napa to celebrate my older sister's 50th birthday was the last hurrah before COVID shut us all down). The universe told me I really needed this time off when my work laptop decided to brick itself (a Windows loading failure!) and on the day this post will go live I'll be extremely busy back at the office (June and July are the literal worst for me at The Day Job).  I foresee a lot of caffeine and collapsing in my bed every night in my very near future.  But let's not think about work now. Let's focus on some unusual historicals landing on shelves this month!  Here's what is catching my eye for July:

 

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas 

“The devil never tries to make people do the wrong thing by scaring them. He does it by tempting them.” 

Lady Merritt Sterling, a strong-willed young widow who’s running her late husband’s shipping company, knows London society is dying to catch her in a scandal. So far, she’s been too smart to provide them with one. But then she meets Keir MacRae, a rough-and-rugged Scottish whisky distiller, and all her sensible plans vanish like smoke. They couldn’t be more different, but their attraction is powerful, raw and irresistible. 

From the moment Keir MacRae arrives in London, he has two goals. One: don’t fall in love with the dazzling Lady Merritt Sterling. Two: avoid being killed. 

So far, neither of those is going well. 

Keir doesn’t know why someone wants him dead until fate reveals the secret of his mysterious past. His world is thrown into upheaval, and the only one he trusts is Merritt. 

Their passion blazes with an intensity Merritt has never known before, making her long for the one thing she can’t have from Keir MacRae: forever. As danger draws closer, she’ll do whatever it takes to save the man she loves . . . even knowing he might be the devil in disguise. 

I have not kept up with Kleypas' Ravenels series, but this blurb ticks a lot of boxes for me.  A heroine running a shipping company and a rough around the edges outsider hero who owns a distillery!  An inconvenient attraction and a hero that someone wants dead.  I notoriously will skip around when it comes to romance series - do I care that this is book 7 and I've only read book 1?  No. No I do not.

The Viscount Made Me Do It by Diana Quincy 

A seduction that could ruin everything... 

Hanna Zaydan has fought to become London’s finest bonesetter, but her darkly appealing new patient threatens to destroy everything she’s worked so hard for. The daughter of Arab merchants is slowly seduced by the former soldier — even though she’s smart enough to know Griff is after more than he’ll reveal. Whatever it is, the bonesetter’s growing desire for the man just might tempt her to give it to him. 

An attraction that cannot be denied... 

Rumors that he killed his own parents have followed Thomas Ellis, Viscount Griffin, practically since he was a boy. More than a decade after the tragedy, Griff receives a tip about his parents’ killer… one that takes him straight to a captivating bonesetter. Griff is convinced Hanna is a fraud, but the dark-eyed beauty stirs deep feelings in him that he thought had perished along with his family. 

Hanna has a gift for fixing fractured people, but can she also mend a broken heart? More importantly, will Griff let her?

So here's the thing about unusual historicals: if you want to see more of them you need to take chances. They won't all be winners.  Among the corner of Romancelandia I follow I saw mixed reviews for the first book in this series, but Quincy (and Avon's editorial team) drop a lot of Wendy catnip in this back cover blurb.  The heroine is a bonesetter! Oh sure, the hero is a Viscount, but he's a former soldier determined to find his parents' killer.  This one is already locked and loaded on my Kindle.

Her Lady's Fortune by Renee Dahlia 

Together they could help thousands of people, if only they can trust each other. 

Philanthropist Priya Howick isn’t the same person she was before WWI. Only one thing remains true—she has always been defined by her relationship with her brother. Ashwin is the heir to both Lord Dalhinge, and the Carlingford shipbuilding fortune, and that makes her a natural target for those who wish to have the family wealth for themselves. She’s been taught to be wary of outsiders and their motives, which means all her friends are from her family’s close circle. Once, before the war, she stepped outside those boundaries, and met Rosalie, a beautiful older woman. But what happened next only proved her family correct. Now the war is over and Priya has created a charity to build houses for war widows, but her brother sets it up as a joint venture with the bank, Sanderson and Sons. She has to work with Rosalie, and the same sparks fly. Priya must decide if she is brave enough to risk everything. Not just her money and therefore her independence, but also her heart. 

Assertive bank manager Rosalie Sanderson is the only damned serious person in her family. She’s forty-two, the manager of Sanderson and Sons bank, and tired of having to continually prove that she is capable of making a profit and running the family business successfully. Very few people accept her as she is, and it stings that young Priya Howick is one of them. They had one incredible evening together before the war, and then it went sour for no apparent reason, and Priya has been distant in their few business meetings. The rejection shouldn’t nag at her like this, like rubbing salt in a papercut. All the old wounds and passions need to be confronted when Priya arrives at the bank with an incredible work proposal. Rosalie must decide if the opportunity to help thousands of people is worth the heart ache of being close to Priya again. 

A heroine who can never trust that people like her for her (and not the fortune she's destined to inherit) is reunited with a one night stand (an older woman!) who turns out to be a bank manager.  Post WWI was an extremely interesting time for women, and Dahlia continues to mine that with this third book in her Great War series.

A Marriage Made in Secret by Jenni Fletcher

She must choose… 

…her queen—or love! 

As the queen’s new lady-in-waiting, Mathilde Gosselin tumbles straight into Parisian palace intrigue when she meets courtier Henry Wright, who she discovers is a spy! Mathilde’s loyalties are now divided—between this enigmatic, courageous man and her queen. And amid the turmoil, her falling for the unsuitable, illegitimate Henry means they’ve no choice but to hide their new love from the world… 

This new medieval from Fletcher appears to be a stand-alone and this back cover blurb hits on a lot of elements that draw me towards medievals.  Namely, the question of divided loyalties and courtly intrigue - both of which got a lot of people very dead back in the day. It adds tension and ups the stakes to any romance set among that kind of backdrop.  As an added bonus, this one is set in Paris!

How to Wed a Courtesan by Madeline Martin 

  

From courtesan …to society wife? 

When Evander, Earl of Westix, returns from the continent to claim his bride, he is shocked that the innocent vicar’s daughter he once loved has become a notorious courtesan. But Lottie is so much more than the insult society hurls at her. She is resourceful and strong—after all, she’s had to be to survive. Her charms are undeniable, but her heart is beyond his grasp. To win it will mean taking her from bedroom to ballroom… 

Be still my heart! An Earl coming home to finally marry the girl next door discovers she's become a notorious courtesan. I've got a thing for strong heroines bent on survival and if they thumb their nose at society along the way?  All the better.

The Return of Her Lost Knight by Melissa Oliver 

Her second chance 

With her lost love… 

To avoid a forced marriage, Lady Gwenllian plans to escape to a convent. She couldn’t possibly honor another when her heart still belongs to Ralph de Kinnerton, the man she had to betray to save his life—only to hear of his death shortly after. So how is it possible he’s here at this knight’s tournament? Now the pull of their unfinished past forces Gwen to question the choice she’d made for her future…

Another series I'm officially behind on. I enjoyed the first book in Oliver's Notorious Knights series and here we are already on Book #3. Another medieval (yeah!) featuring a heroine who betrayed the hero in order to save his life only to find out later he was killed.  Um, except apparently he wasn't.  A heroine who runs away from the convent and a mess of unfinished romantic business sounds delicious.

Whew!  Another solid month for unusual historicals this month. What are you looking forward to reading?