Pink Heart Reviews
Claiming The Courtesan
Anna Campbell
ISBN# 0061234915
AVON, April 2007, 375 pp
Historical Romance - Regency
$6.99 (US) $9.99 (CDN)
Reviewed by Laurel
June 2007
Known as the beautiful and exotic courtesan Soraya, Verity Ashton is counting
the days that her current contract with the Duke of Kylemore comes to an
end and she is no longer his mistress. Verity never really liked the prospect
of being a courtesan but dire circumstances forced her to sell her innocence
to support her brother and younger sister. With the intentions of fleeing
London and setting up residence in a small Yorkshire town called Whitby
under the name Mrs. Charles a respectable widow with no scandal attached
to her name. But what Verity was not counting on was that Justin
was not prepared to let her go or end their agreement, nor was she expecting
him to do anything and everything to keep her at his side.
Justin, the Duke of Kylemore is outraged when his mother demands that he marry, he concocts this scheme that involves his mistress Soraya. But when she disappears after he proposes marriage to her, he is outraged and intent on tracking her down. Three months go by and finally he has found her. Kidnapping her and whisking her off to the Highlands of Scotland, there he forces Verity to his will. But he soon realizes that his mistress Soraya and the lady before him Verity are two different beings. Confounded with guilt he tries to let her go, but Verity sees the wounded man lurking beneath the surface and stands by his side while he conquers his nightmares that have plagued him for years.
Anna Campbell is a fresh new voice in Historical Romance. CLAIMING THE COURTESAN exceeded my expectations, to be honest I thought it was going to be a "breeze" to read and have it done rather quickly. But to my surprise and enjoyment, Claiming the Courtesan was a novel with a myriad of emotions, underlying issues and intense story-telling as these two characters learned to trust and accept each other for who they are. Verity is a very strong woman, as displayed time and time again in this novel while Justin is a character that I quickly understood as he so often reminded me of one my all time favourite heroes from another author but oh so different as well. Anna Campbell showed a level of daring in her debut novel and while this novel does deal with mature subject matter it was also portrayed in a way that is solely left to each individual readers opinion, I applaud her for having the guts to listen to her voice and tell this refreshing, evocative and sensually steamy love story. I eagerly look forward to what she is publishing next.
