2 stars. I was really looking forward to this story. I thought it would be different from the typical HR fare because of the virgin hero and experienced heroine. Instead, I feel deeply disturbed by how this story went down.
Please be aware that I'll likely spoil this story completely for those of you who may still be foolish enough to read this mess, so you might want to avoid my review.
This story started out ok, but went downhill quickly after the MCs "consummated" their relationship.
The heroine was a courtesan - AKA a "whore" - as she was called frequently throughout the book. The hero called her a whore, the heroine called herself a whore, I think maybe even the hero from book 1 called her a whore. Basically, she was degraded frequently and harshly after the truth of her past came out. She only became a courtesan because she was blackmailed into it. She would never have chosen that path for herself. Somehow, because of that self-sacrifice, her choices were eventually forgiven. Since she was clearly not a whore by choice, she was free of public censure for it. There's even a long discussion about how women would not choose that profession without some necessity because they cannot feel pleasure without an emotional connection, like men can.
---->First, just the fact that she was forgiven for her past ONLY because she was forced seems to negate that last statement. She would not have been forgiven if the truth of her plight hadn't come to light. Apparently all of the other "whores" deserve the scorn of society - even though it's doubtless that many of them also didn't choose their professions willingly.
---->Second, let's stop spreading the FALSE information that women cannot enjoy sex without an emotional connection. Obviously they can, or else apps like tinder and hinge wouldn't exist. Women are doubtlessly able to enjoy sex, just like men, without any mental stimulation. And even though this is a historical romance and doubtless meant to represent the feelings of the time, I'm still sick and tired of reading this drivel.
The hero is a virgin - because he supposedly has never been sexually interested in any woman before the heroine. I was very excited for the virgin hero because it's so rare to have a role reversal in this genre. And so, it was a little surprising when he was instantly getting hard around the heroine, even when he barely knew her. He seemed to think he needed an emotional connection to enjoy sex, but Balogh certainly didn't write a convincing connection before he was salivating after the heroine. Also, his inexperience really did make him seem like a foolish child who became obsessed with his first sexual partner. He even questioned himself about this several times. The way that he was presented in the first book, coupled with how he was written in this book, painted him as much less mature than the typical 28 year old man. Balogh seemed to try to reverse course on this characterization somewhat - by making him a scholar and a conscientious part of the community. However, I couldn't quite bring myself to believe that his eagerness to marry the first woman he slept with was because of "true love".
The pairing of the hero and heroine was also just a point of frustration for me. I don't understand why we always need to have manwhore & virgin matchups, and I also don't understand the reverse. Why couldn't the heroine been paired up with one of those rakes? Surely he would be able to understand her better than a virgin?? Or does it take a clueless young man to be able to love the fallen woman? SMH.
Finally, the main reason why this rating is as low as it is: the heroine's resistance to ask for help from anyone. She wouldn't share her burden with her family, or share her burden with the hero. When the hero would profess his feelings, she would revert back into her "whore persona", and pretend that he was just a foolish man who didn't understand that they had only shared sex, and nothing more. She would also pretend that she was ok with going back to selling herself, that she had done it because she wanted money, and enjoyed the pleasure. Instead of asking for help, she played the martyr. Over and over and over again she played the martyr. She made me believe that she was an idiot of the highest order. She had choices and options, and instead she allowed herself to be taken advantage of in the most vile ways, she ignored all possible solutions to her problems. AND THEN was ready to return to that life once again - WHEN SHE HAD MORE CHOICES AND MORE OPTIONS THAN EVER BEFORE!!! She was truly a terrible heroine just because of this martyrdom. I hated her for it, and I LOATHED the end of this book because she absolutely refused to ask for help. She decided to martyr herself once again and went forward with her plans to go back to whoring at an almost alarming rate. I cannot stand this kind of self-sacrifice. She really didn't deserve her HEA after how poorly she treated the hero in her effort to save him from her past.
That's my rant. For now, at least. I'm so extremely disappointed in this book. I don't recommend it at all. I should have quit at 75% when her martyr bullshit was just starting to become apparent.
Safe; virgin hero, heroine was a courtesan who had more partners than she said she could count - but basic math says it was 48 since she worked for 4 years and saw one client per month. 🤣 No cheating, no om/ow drama, no scenes with om/ow.