Claiming the Courtesan (Avon Romantic Treasures)

I had heard a great deal about Anna Campbell's sensational novel and finally decided to have a read for myself. I found it a brilliantly dark romance with two of the most fully developed characters I've ever read. Justin McMurrie, Duke of Kylemore, is not your average romance hero, to be sure, and it is understandable that some readers had difficulty with him and the story of his love for Verity Ashton. Yes, he's a beast for much of the book, but Ms. Campbell's superb writing skills makes his emotional arc as believably compelling to this reader as it was to the heroine. It's not a light read, to be sure, but it's a fully worthwhile and rewarding one. I loved everything about this fine book and will be reading Anna Campbell from now on.

This is a wonderful character-driven tale of two emotionally impaired individuals who find their true selves - and each other - under the most unusual of conditions. Soraya, notorious and much-desired mistress of the powerful Duke of Kylemore, leaves him without a word and steals away in the night - after Kylemore proposes marriage, no less. The proud Kylemore is enraged and humiliated and searches unceasingly for his wayward lover, certain she left him for another man. He had been exceptionally good to Soraya - financially and personally - and feels utterly betrayed by her duplicity. Three long months later, Kylemore finds Soraya living with her brother in a remote English village as a respectable widow under her real name of Verity Ashton. It seems Verity planned and saved for years in order to retire from her hated profession. Kylemore doesn't care about her reasons - he knows only that she deceived and abandoned him, and now she "owes" him. He forcefully abducts Verity and takes her to his isolated Scottish estate where he is eager to exact his revenge. He is not really certain what he wants from Verity but, whether she is willing or not, sex and submission are on the menu. Verity is NOT willing - she no longer wants to be Soraya - and is determined to resist Kylemore and return to a virtuous life. But things are not that simple, as she soon discovers. This is an excellent debut novel whose characters, storyline and intensity gripped me from the first. I have a particular liking for historical romances like this one that walk a little on the dark side and pack an emotional punch. Verity and Kylemore are a potent combination of tender and tough, and from the start there is something very tangible between them. Unlike some other reviewers, the forced nature of their early encounters does not bother me - in fact, it really makes the story. It shocks them into reevaluating who they are and where the other person fits in. Despite a year together, and an acquaintance of much longer, there is so much they have kept hidden - from each other and from themselves. Theirs is an interesting psychological and emotional journey, as well as a compelling physical one. And the author's sometimes sparse phrasing and dialogue creates good dramatic impact. This is no simple romance, nor is it one easily forgotten.

Anna Campbell has written a broad, sweeping romance like the wonderful romance authors of last century. Something to really get your teeth into - and trust me, the story will linger in your mind long after you put the book down. I find it fascinating that the heroine really is a courtesan. For too long we've had books where the heroines are 'pretend' courtesans. Soraya is the real thing, the Duke of Kylemore's mistress, lusted after by all of London. After her year long contract with Kylemore concludes, he shocks Soraya with a marriage proposal, desperate to 'keep' her. She declines, and runs... and he runs after her, ripping her out of her 'retirement' in the country, and spiriting her away to his remote Scottish hunting lodge. He is determined to bend her to his will and she is equally determined not to give in. This is a wild, dark story, full of driven passion and dramatic, fathom-deep emotions. Nothing meek and mild in this romance at all! The emotional battles between Verity (her real name) and Kylemore will leave you breathless. And yes, he pushes Verity to do more than she wants... pushed himself by his dark and lurking shadows from the past. Some of this is not easy to read, but it is breathtaking in its honesty, and realistic in Kylemore's eventual, beautiful redemption. By the end of the book romance readers will adore and tremble for Kylemore as much as Verity. Bravo, Anna! This is a stunning debut and I cannot wait to read your second book. And your third, and your fourth...