A 21st Century Courtesan

I had read The Dark Garden and I was expecting something along the same lines. I was in for a surprise. Yes, the book is as described but it goes way beyond that. It is a study of a woman who has fallen in love and begins to question the way she has lived her life for the past 10 years. The book is an exploration of the life of Valentine written in the first person. It is very detailed. We learn details of her life from childhood until today. She analyzes the choices she has made in the past and she is trying to deal with new choices for her future. We follow her journey which is at times painful. I was quite engrossed in her life. The book is also an erotic love story. I think this is the part that makes it a four star instead of five. This is not your typical romance. Valentine has several sex scenes with different men in her life as well as women. After all, she is a modern-day courtesan. I have never read such detailed sex scenes and I mean detailed. I found them a distraction from the part of the book I really enjoyed.

Valentine Day is a high-class call girl and she knows she is adored by her clients, pampered and spoiled. All of this is good and fine, but for Val, there is something missing in her world and that is true pleasure outside of the boudoir. She wants this to change and so she is going to take control of her destiny by seeking her own erotic journey that begins one night with the aid of handsome Joshua Spencer. Of course she experiences everything she has ever wanted but Joshua has no idea who Val is or what she does. Can she trust him not to shatter her hard earned freedom or will she risk all for the one man that makes her feel more then she has ever before? Ms. Eden is the queen of erotic and sensual prose and in her latest effort nothing has changed. Told in the 1st person, this title is an interesting tale of a woman's journey in finding what she knows is missing and is willing to grasp her future. This is a title I have no problem recommending.

Valentine Day is a high class hooker whose clientele is wealthy and caring. One of her favorite customers is Hollywood producer Enzo Alighieri who has a wife and a mistress, but loves to pamper Valentine; whom he set up at the elite of the profession. Another client Bennett is taking her to a production of La Travolta at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, but due to work is unable to make it. He insists she attend as he knows she loves the opera. Sitting next to her at the show is Joshua Spencer who also attends alone as his guest, his mom, could not make it. They talk and realize they share in common a love of art. He gives his card to her and asks her to call. Valentine wants to ignore Joshua because he stirs feelings she has never had, but she cannot stop herself from calling. In fact she masturbates dreaming of him and has an orgasm for the first time in her life without someone paying her to do so. As they fall in love, she knows her profession disqualifies her for any normal relationship. This Pretty Woman spin is an enjoyable contemporary romance starring an engaging half Jewish former Valley girl and the men in her life especially the first non-paying male who makes her come. Val's clients are too nice as any woman would relish the pampering that Bennett and Enzo provides Val while the danger of her profession is ignored except for an aside or two involving some other woman. Still A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY COURTESAN is an engaging character study as Val knows she is not good enough for the man she loves just by the simple fact she hides her profession from her Joshua. Harriet Klausner

Valentine Day is rich, beautiful, and educated. She is also one of the highest priced courtesans in Beverly Hills and the surrounding area. Her clients ask for her over and over and pamper her with jewels, clothes and trips around the world. Valentine loves sex and relishes each client for the unique person he/she is. Lately, however, Valentine has been feeling restless. Things are starting to bother her that used to never faze her. When a client she is meeting at the opera is unable to attend, Val decides to enjoy her solitude and attends the opera solo. And this night becomes one that Valentine will remember forever - and his name is Joshua Spencer. Joshua invokes feelings within Val that she has kept buried for longer than she can remember. Knowing that there is no way Joshua would ever love a woman like her, at first she doesn't tell him what she does for a living. The more time they spend together the harder it is to lie to him until Valentine is unable to keep quiet a minute longer. She figures to leave immediately after telling Joshua the truth. Her heart is breaking but Val in unsure of what to do. Imagine her surprise when Joshua reacts to her news in a way that she never envisioned. Eden Bradley could write erotic romances on a roll of toilet paper and I would read them. Knowing without a doubt that I wanted to read A 21st CENTURY COURTESAN, I was surprised to find it written in the first person point of view. I forged ahead and thank goodness I did because A 21st CENTURY COURTESAN just might be the most emotionally gripping story I have every read from this extremely talented author. Valentine Day is without a doubt a product of her upbringing. She grew up poor and with less than perfect parents. In order to get out of the horrific life she is in, at a very young age Val makes the decision to leave and never looks back. Making a life and a name for herself, albeit illegally, is what Val thought would make her happy. And for the most part and for many years, it did. However, the life that Val told herself she wanted paled in comparison to the life she craved with Joshua Spencer. Josh made her think of forever and it that petrified her. I fully expected Val to try and sabotage her relationship - I never thought she would take the chances she did. And I am glad for it. A 21st CENTURY COURTESAN is almost surreal. No one writes erotic love stories like Eden Bradley. Her characters are educated and smart. The love scenes are erotic and intense. The words flow and the storyline is gripping. I experienced a plethora of emotions while reading A 21st CENTURY COURTESAN and now, days after having finished, I find myself thinking of this amazing story and the two characters that had enough guts to take a chance on love. While love is imperfect and has flaws, these two characters showed me what eroticism and true love are about - imperfections and all. Bravo! Natalie S.