This story was amazing. I couldn’t put it down. It was raw and gritty, like a darker version of Pretty Woman.

Lilith Fontenot is a high class prostitute who was born into the life and expected to continue her grandmother’s legacy. She doesn’t dare dream of any other normal life outside of the Maison D’amour where she lives and works. She’s very good at her job and has never let any man get too close, except two: Nico Santelli whose obsession with her will lead her down a dangerous existence. And Soti Christos who, so unlike Nico, loves her unconditionally and deeply. With Soti, she can be herself and hope for a future. Things don’t always go as planned.

This story took me on an emotional ride I won’t soon forget. The characters are so amazing. Lilith is strong and beautiful but she’s also resigned to living this life she didn’t ask for. She thought she found love with Nico when she was young and naive but she didn’t truly recognize what love was until she met Soti. Right when she thought she had finally found happiness, life craps on that as well.

Soti Christos has lived through a lot of tragedy in his life and fell on some hard times. He now runs a charity and gives back to the community as much as he can. He has a heart of gold and that heart is set on Lillie. Their love is so special and they squeezed every bit of happiness out of it before it was snatched from them.

This story takes many twists and turns and unexpected detours that you don’t see coming. The connection between Soti and Lilith is quite deep and goes back further than they thought. It was an exciting, suspenseful and just overall amazing story and the ending was phenomenal. I’ve read stories by Willow Ester before and she really knows how to make me feel all the emotions the characters go through. Excellent and very talented author whose words I soak up with gusto!

The premise of this book hooked me. Pun intended ;) A prostitute in New Orleans?! Sign me up! I have been to NO several times and I could feel some of the scenes Aster described in her writing. I felt like I was living in the story in some parts. That’s my favorite thing about stories like these.

Don’t be surprised at the lack of sex. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more of it being as it’s NO and the hooker thing. But that just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover!

The writing was great and the angst is high. I love Aster and will always read her works!

I could NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! I opened it up with the full intention of reading some today and the rest tomorrow and yeah... that didn’t happen. I regret nothing. It’s so good.

Amazing!! I LOVE Willow's writing and this one did not disappoint!! The story was captivating!! I stayed up all night reading this one!! Could not put it down!! It is that good!! I highly recommend this book!!! LOVED it!!

This was a hard one to get into. Honestly I didn’t connect with the characters at all. It fell likes chunks were missing. Like things were happening but not really explained. Sadly, this just didn’t work for me.

This book was 5 Stars! Willow's writing captivated me. Soti and Lili had the perfect amount of angst and swoony romance, with enough suspense to keep me turning each page with rapt attention. I loved every minute of this book and would highly recommend it.

3.5 For Soti Stars

Lilith/Lili is a prostitute at her families brothel Maison D'amour in the french quarter of New Orleans. The brothel was started by her great-grandmother and passed down, her mother the queen bitch Madam now runs it.

No one plans to be a whore. Except maybe my mother. It certainly wasn't my life's dream as a little girl.

Nico is a former lover of Lili's, when she finds out he was marrying someone else she walked away from him. Now 2yrs later he's back and Lili knows he has something bad up his sleeve and insists she will not see him, unfortunately her mother has other plans.

Shit hits the fan the next time Nico visits, with someone being murdered and a huge fire only to end with Lili being arrested.

Soti a man Lili has seen only a few times around Bourbon Street, he sees the incident at the brothel on the local news and when he sees Lili who he is captivated by he knows he has to help her.

I can't really go further into the plot but I will say I loved Soti he is a whole lot of Alpha sweetness. That huge surprise/twist Soti spits out did throw me a little as it was totally unbelievable (in my opinion) and left me like......................

So for a book with a name like Whore it sure did skimp in the sex department or what sex there was was vague. Overall I enjoyed this but it had too many unbelievable/unrealistic parts also a few mistakes in the plot but nothing major. I think I was just a little disappointed I had high hopes for this one, maybe that was the problem. You read it and let me know what you think.

I was definitely excited to read this book, the premise sounded fresh and amazing. However, the story just didn't pan out for me.

I had a hard time getting invested in Lili & Soti's characters, as well as their relationship. The character development just wasn't there for me, and i never "got" them being together.

The suspense element didn't really jibe with me, either. Parts of it just felt so far-fetched and convoluted, it just didn't work for me.

Overall, the story was OK, but I really wanted something more from this one.

I honestly was not expecting the story line that unfolded with Whore. It was a true emotional read roller coaster if I ever read one. The pace fluctuates between fast paced and slow and steady throughout the book. Lilith was both frustrating and admirable all at the same time. I did find myself skimming some in the beginning with Soti and Lili’s first interactions bc the pace was too slow for me. It was a really good book.

Whore is my first book by Willow Aster and will not be my last. Whore is beautiful and heartbreaking, yet intriguing. It is a story that had me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. Whore will take you on an emotional roller-coaster and you will enjoy every minute of it. With well-developed characters that pulled at my heart and a great story, I totally recommend you read it.

An arc was provided for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable story with a strong female heroine throughout the story.
I enjoyed this story form start to finish.

I dont really know what I expected when I picked up this book- all I know is what was inside wasn't it.

But what was in there surprised me- and although it took a few pages to accustom myself to the writing style- I soon found myself hooked on Lilli and Soti's story!

A tale of prostitution, love, mafia and redemption- it was well enjoyed.

Lilith is a high class prostitute, made to prostitute by her mother from a very young age and it's all she's ever known. She's owned by her mother, she's owned by a mob boss, until one day it all goes up in smoke and she's 'free'. Ensuing drama follows..

To be honest, this novel started off well and had an interesting premise to draw me in. After a while though it fell flat. I didn't believe any of the chemistry Lilith had with the other main male character (he kinda seemed like a stalker to be honest) and just generally found the whole situation totally unbelievable. Did she have magic private parts? I didn't get the appeal. Also just found the writing a little jumpy and ended up becoming like a teen drama. Not my thing!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dnf at 24%
I want to say that it's me and not the book, but then it would be a big FAT lie.
Whore, an intriguing title that not many readers would want or may be dare unwrap its story, but I so wanted to.
When the ARC landed on my kindle, I was really really eager to read it. But I need someone to tell me what the hell was in there!!
I wanted to challenge my comfort zone with this book but my comfort zone turned out to have a limit I can't cross.

Full review on my goodreads page.

I was not impressed with this book, it drug on I didn't honestly like or feel the characters, I just couldn't get into the story at all. The blurb sounded awesome and I expected alot more out of this story..

I was drawn to this book based on the title and cover. Those two components drew me in. I was seeing the book all over the place. People were raving about it everywhere I turned. So I decided to dive in.

I get why many are over the moon about this book. However, I didn't follow their train of thought with the characters and the story itself. I just didn't connect with the characters. Lilith and Soti felt under-developed to me. I didn't really jive with either of them. The supporting characters... eh. I just couldn't be all-in.

I love the idea of a woman standing up and forcing her own path instead of letting others dictate it for her. Lilith is one of those characters I really wanted to cheer for. But her story just didn't pull at me. It felt forced. I felt like Willow was holding back; afraid to really delve dark into this story.

I was thrown when Soti's revelation hit. That one really made me do a double-take. Kudos Willow, you really got me there!

Overall, this isn't a bad book; it's just not a book I am able to rave about. It was missing a little something for me.

I was very interested in reading this book. I love books where the heroines have unconventional lives. I did like Lily. You could tell she was pretty much a victim of circumstance. She didn’t want the live she had but it was all she knew and her mother made sure she stayed in her place. I liked Soti too. He just wanted to help Lili but it grew to more. The romance moved a little fast for me but it kind of worked. This was more romantic suspense than contemporary romance and this is where the story lost me. Nico is an ex-client/boyfriend of Lili’s who would stop at nothing to have her back. I just didn’t get his motivations, or her mother’s or any of the other players involved in this. I needed more in the suspense of the book. So while the romance worked for me the rest of the story didn’t. Even though it started to drag for me around the last half of the book, overall the book did keep me engaged.

I was intrigued by this book from the blurb. I loved that this was based on the biblical story of Hosea and Gomer. It's kind of like a modern version of one of my favorite books Redeeming Love. It started off really good. Lilith has been essentially raised by her mother to be a high end prostitute. She has never really been given the option to be anything else.

There are two men in her life. Her ex Nico is in the Mafia and a new man Soti who walks into her life. I won't go into details to avoid any spoilers but this book starts off with a lot of action and a series of events puts Lilith in an environment outside the watchful eye of her mother and where she is not seen as a whore. She meets people that show kindness without any expectations and this is a truly novel concept for her. Their goodness confuses her. She starts to believe that she could actually live this wonderful life.

However this life gets ripped away from her and the book takes a dark turn. There is quite a bit of suspense and it almost reads like a dark romance for a while. Now I will say that this story was certainly not boring. This was very action packed but I thought maybe too many things were happening and it was a bit too fast for me. I felt like there were pieces to the story that I didn't fully grasp and some parts just felt rushed.

So I will say I absolutely loved this plot. I also loved this hero. His love for Lilith was selfless and his commitment was unwavering. However, I just could not connect with these characters. For a while there about midway through the book I actually stopped caring if the H and h got together. The end I think definitely redeemed this book though. As the story wraps up we get a few plot twists and Lilith really turns out to be a badass who I had to respect.

So overall I would say to give this book a try. It was not as great as I was expecting but I promise you will be entertained!

3 Stars
Contemporary Romance
Heat Level: Light to Moderate
POV: Dual
HEA

Whore by Willow Aster is a full-length, standalone, darkish romance novel.
Meet Lilith Fontenot. She has it all, beauty, fame, money. But she paid a high price. She´s the highest paid escort in New Orleans. She sees herself as outsider, a waste.
There are two men who care for her. Each one has his own plans for her.
Nico Satelli, a mob boss and Soti Christos a community center owner. Like aforementioned, both have her own agenda and Lilith is trapped in between.
This book is raw, it is gritty and put me through a rollercoaster of emotions.
There is hurt, violence, betrayal, a heart wrenchingly story. The book deals with sensitive subjects and contains explicit sex scenes. I give 4 stars. Thank you, Willow Aster!

This novel was brilliant and gutting and full of healing all in the same breath. Lilith and Soti's story was beautiful and wonderful.

I love the fact that Willow took a story that could have been purely devastating page after page and let us heal words after word. It was an experience I wont soon forget.

Throw all of that on top of a gripping story that you actually want to finish and it was fantastic. It isn't often that an author can weave a story line this one together and have it flow perfectly and this book was IT. This story was everything that I loved about romance books with a compelling story about healing and finding peace.