This was good book, but the plot just didn't pull me as much I would like. But would read from this Author again.

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Passionate and intense, this couple have a wonderful chemistry together.
Josiah and Honora are a great pair.
Troubles are many and problems varied, the biggest is her situation are a whore , or a courtesan as Josiah likes her described.

Honora Sister to a Duke ,has no way of getting out of her predicament, her life has been this way since she was kidnapped years before.
Now she’s not sure if it’s wise to get out, she knows no other life and does not want to bring shame on her family, it’s better if she stays lost.

The story is wonderful and very good reading, maybe Josiah is a bit of a weaker character but he fits, and suits perfectly.

A great read and enjoyable.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

I really loved the idea of this book. I love when we see a heroine who doesn’t fall into the traditional role of the perfect virgin. This book just didn’t pull it off though. It was all little things about it that bothered me. Like when the H is telling the Duke about the prostitute he’s got feelings for he describes the scar under her chin and the duke flips a table because he immediately knows it’s his long lost sister from a scar under her chin??? Also she was not a courtesan. I would have loved to see more of her interactions with her family once she was returned to them. I don’t know why these little things irritated me but they did. This could have been a great book if there it had been better plotted. I’m giving an extra star since the heroine was a prostitute.

Always the Courtesan by Emily E.K. Murdock
Josiah Stanhope, Earl of Chester, felt there were too many lies and deceit going around between the fairer sex and men. He watched as his friend, Duke of Mercia, William Lennox married Lady Charlotte St. Maur, even though she was a spinster of thirty-five.
Lady Honora Lennox was standing in a lineup in a brothel. But she still tried to maintain her dignity and sense of shame. Three years ago she had been kidnapped off the street and forced to become a courtesan. She was kept locked up at the brothel with a huge man keeping guard if she or any of the other girls made a run for it they would be beaten or killed.
The story was funny and sad. She was nineteen when they took her, innocent, and unknowing. Josiah was a bit awkward and exasperating. Sometimes he was a little strange but he was always gentle. He would come and they would sit and talk. It had become a usual occurrence. He didn't know what to make of her. He thought she was beautiful and she also was gentle. I very highly recommend this lovely read.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I loved this book! The main characters are great. In the beginning, I didn’t like Josiah that much (he was a bit awkward, I’m not gonna lie) but, in my opinion, he was just shy and made me laugh many times during the book. Honoria is a strong young woman and I really liked her. They had some cute moments together.

This book did not connect with me. The premise was a good one but the short page count meant that the pacing was just too fast and characters too shallow for my taste. If you want a guide and dirty read it may be up your alley.

Quick read and lovable characters. I did not want to put it down. I can’t wait to try out the other books in the series!

This book had promise - the idea of Honora being kidnapped and presumably sold into a brothel could have had a powerful story. Instead, I thought it was a bit underdeveloped and was ultimately kind of underwhelming.

I didn’t feel that Josiah in particular had a lot of depth to him and that unfortunately colored my view of this book because I just couldn’t connect with his character and I thought he was kind of whiny.

I thought the sibling connection between Honora and Mercia was a little bit better written but even that reunion I felt could have had more depth to it as well.

Overall writing style was fine and it flowed well with the exception of some oddly placed time jumps.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy.

The set-up for this novel is rather disturbing. A sister to a duke, Honora, is kidnapped when she’s 16 and basically held prisoner in a brothel. The story starts with the Earl of Chester, Josiah, deciding to escape the society women chasing after him by going to a brothel where he encounters Honora and falls for her. He seems like the most clueless of young men. Here he is sleeping with a woman in a brothel and he seems to think this is the choice she’s made even when he knows he’s negotiating with a madam for every minute he can spend with her. And he also seems not to realize that a prostitute might sleep with other men on the nights when he’s not there.

I just couldn’t have much patience for Josiah. And that colored my view of the book.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.