The Courtesan Duchess

I absolutley loved this book! Julia, the Duchess of Colton has been abandoned by her husband for eight years, he actually left right after the marriage ceremony. Julia is struggling, she is very low on funds and fears she and her aunt will soon be homeless. Julia's husband's mother refuses to help her and his cousin is cutting her monthly stipend almost every month. Julia decides that she will masquerade as a fabulous courtesan, travel to Venice, seduce her husband and get with child.
Nick the Duke of Colton, wants nothing to do with England or his wife. Nick's friend Winchester has warned Nick that Julia is being treated badly, but Nick won't hear of it. Winchester helps Julia pose as his mistress. When Nick sees her, he is instantly enthralled and sets out to win her from Winchester.
This book has passion, and hot love scenes, and is a lovely story. Julia develops feelings for her husband because he opens up to her and Nick develops feelings for Julia as well. I highly recommend this one from Joanna Shupe and I want to read more of her books. The next one is about Nick's friend Winchester, I am looking forward to reading his story.

I have a deep seeded fondness for a good historical romance and this is a great one. I adore Julia she remains sweet and good natured despite dire circumstances. She also has a fiery personality that makes her the perfect compliment for her rake of a husband.

The only part I didn't love was how long it took Nick to get his head out of his ass and apologize. However it made his courting phase really rather cute especially since it's a side he doesn't show often.

Another character that I grew quite fond of is Simon. He's one of Nick's oldest friends and considers Julia a sister. I'm excited to see just what is in store for him in the next installment of this series.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

I really liked this book! The way Julia took things into her own hands to get what she needed to secure her future was brilliant!! Nick never knew what hit him! This book was steamy but not vulgar. The author wrote an intriguing yet tasteful story that kept me interested all the way through! The lady Lambert made me want to smack her! I got so thoroughly enthralled in the story I felt like I was there! That is expert writing! I would recommend this book to everyone!

Desperate wives take even more desperate actions. Especially if the wife had been left moments after her groom said a very unwilling “I do.”. Julia had been only 16 when her life was bound to Nicholas, Duke of Colton. He left her and everything to do with his life in England behind without a backward glance. Nick has no intention of setting foot on his property or claiming his wife. Ever.

Now, eight years later, Julia has devised a plan. One in which she seduces her husband, becomes pregnant quickly and gains access to the funds necessary to pay off their debtors. An impossible task for a young woman who has never enjoyed her marriage bed. But with some specific instructions from an impeccable source, if a scandalous one, she will take on the role of a lifetime.

This novel is such a joy to read that I really don’t want to give much away. Honest, I don’t. Julia is such a charming young lady and Nick is such an ass. Sorry but he really is. How one man can be such an idiot and still have a good woman love him is, well, I guess it happens every day, everywhere. But I just wanted to smack him upside his head through the majority of this novel. He has a good wife, stop being a baby and man up.

The Courtesan Duchess gets a 4 outta 5 rating from me. I enjoyed it, and if you love Historical Romance you’d most likely enjoy this one.

*I received an e-ARC of The Courtesan Duchess from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Nicholas Francis Seaton, the seventh Duke of Colton known as the Depraved Duke married Lady Julia Seaton because of his father wishes. He does not want anything to do with his estates or his wife. Without the Duke's direction, Julia is desperate. Julia has to take matters in her own hands and comes up with a plan to seduce her husband to get a heir. Lady Julia seeks advise and guidance from a known courtesan and pretends to be Mrs. Juliet Leighton, another known courtesan. Nick's friend, Damien Beecham, Viscount Quint knows Lady Julia's situation and willing to help her with her plan. Will Lady Julia make her husband fall in love with her? I love this story. I love to discover new authors. It was a wonderful story. This book was heartfelt and exciting. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher thru NetGalley for an honest review.

Joanna Shupe writes Historical Romance, you might be able to tell by the cover... But she also writes about vengeance as a matter of fact, the tagline on her website is.."Revenge can be sexy".. Makes you want to just dive right in and see what she's talking about, doesn't it?

Don't let me stop you!

I picked up The Courtesan Duchess from Netgalley because I liked the pretty blue dress, *GRINS* Call me shallow. The blurb looked interesting and I thought what the heck.. Let me tell you, I love it when quirky choices turn into awesome books.

The Courtesan Duchess is book one in her Wicked Deceptions Series, Books, Two and Three are coming out in April and May so there won't be long to wait for the rest of the series.. Well I hope there will be more but so far, there will be three.

Sold into marriage at the age of 16, Julia the Duchess of Colton was wedded and abandoned. Forced to hear stories of her husband for years, Julia struggled on. But when her husband's cousin decides that he can take over the estate, that Julia needs less and less money every year. Julia grows desperate.. If she doesn't do something soon, she will be out of money and out on the streets. So she comes up with a deliciously wicked plan. Have an heir.. so that's not so bad.. she just needs to get her husband's attention and THAT my friends is the deliciously wicked part. She hires a leading courtesan to teach her how to become one.. Then heads to Venice to seduce her husband. Easy Peasy, right? Yeah, who knew she would actually like the man and eventually fall in love with him?

Colton, is something of a wild one, His nickname is the debauched duke for pete's sake. A name he has gleefully earned. But when Juliette Leighton crosses his path, Colton is totally smitten for the first time in his life. Only he hasn't a clue who she really is and when she disappears, the truth comes out and Colton flies into a furry.

But love and hate are just opposite sides of the same coin and when Colton reappears in London, things get interesting. His wife is pregnant, is it his? Or is she trying to pass off someone else's child as his? There really is no way to tell, especially the way the met..

And if that's not bad enough, someone is trying to kill them.. And the who of the matter is lost to them all? Who hates either of them that much?

Excellent characters, well written storyline, totally great anger and angst! This is an author you all want to get to know.. and get in on this series now! It's that good.

Shauni

This is the first book I have read by this author. I enjoyed it very much. The plot was unique in the way the heroine goes about caputring the attention of the hero. They are married but have never consummated their marriage. He wants nothing to do with her, his title or his estates. He is perfectly haopy to livei in Itlay away from everything to do with his former life. He does not know that his estranged wife is living hand to mouth because the heir apparent to his estate has pretty much cut her funds off and is stealing from his estate. He does not remember what his wife looks like, so when a beautiful courtesan seduces him and then disappears after a week of the best sex he has ever had he is baffled, until he finds out the courtesan was his estranged wife. He follows her back to England and the sparks fly. This is a great love story with deep emotional pain and the redemption of a damaged marriage. The plot moved at a great pace and the sex scenes were just HOT!!!! Cannot wait for the next in this series. Received this ARC for an honest review.

*I received this ARC via Netgallery*
Joanna Shupes' debut novel The Courtesan Duchess adds a strong new voice to the world of historical romance! Well developed characters and a superb, steamy storyline make for a memorable debut and put Joanna Shupe on my must buy list of books. Treat yourself to a decadent dose of wickedness with The Courtesan Duchess!