La duquesa cortesana

Wicked Deceptions #1

by Joanna Shupe

¿Puede una mentira imprudente conducir al amor eterno? Julia Colton se casó a los dieciséis años con el séptimo duque de Colton, Nicholas Francis Seaton, conocido como el duque depravado. Tras el matrimonio, él le pide dos cosas: dormir en habitaciones separadas y libertad para estar con otras mujeres sin que ella se moleste. Julia no esperaba mucho más, apenas se conocían y su matrimonio fue un acuerdo entre familias. Pero ahora, ocho años después, su marido es un extraño, y ella está enfadada y aburrida. Así que tiene un plan para seducir al marido que la ignora. Un plan bastante indecoroso pero increíblemente placentero:
• Aprender los secretos más íntimos de la cortesana más importante de Londres.
• Hacerse pasar por cortesana, tomando el nombre de Juliet Leighton. • Viajar a Venecia y localizar a su marido.
• Seducir a su marido, concebir un heredero y así, asegurarse el futuro. Lo que empieza siendo un tormentoso flirteo termina convirtiéndose en una auténtica pasión, y el sentimiento es mutuo… ¿descubrirá la duquesa cortesana el amor de su vida en el hombre con el que se casó?

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Audiobook, Fiction

288 pages, Tapa blanda con solapas

First published March 31, 2015

About the author

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USA Today bestselling author JOANNA SHUPE has always loved history, ever since she saw her first Schoolhouse Rock cartoon. Since 2015, her books have appeared on numerous yearly “best of” lists, including Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Kobo, and BookPage.

She currently lives in New Jersey with her two spirited daughters and a dashing husband.

Reviews

[Feminista · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disgusting plot.

This is definitely one of the worst books I have ever read.

The hero marries the heroine and then leaves her and sleeps with countless other women. The heroine being a good girl, remains faithful and a virgin and decides to beget an heir from her husband because while her husband is around gallivanting, she will do the right thing and not sleep with another man.

Then the hero finds out that the courtesan he sleeps with is really his wife. He gets angry because he thinks that she was not a virgin when she came to him and that she is carrying another man's baby. He tells her that she won't give the bastard that she is carrying his name. So what, his wife is supposed to die a virgin? Not be with any other man, but remain faithful to him until the end of her days, while he is out sleeping with god knows how many women and doing god knows what.

What was really disgusting was that after a little sex, the heroine fell in love with him. I am not kidding. A little sex and everything is all love and sunshine and puppies. Forget about the way he treated her and their wedding vows. Oh, no everything is forgiven because he only left to teach his father a lesson. He HAD A REASON, everyone. Who cares that he left behind his wife, an innocent who married him and whose life he ruined by leaving, because a wife during those historical times had little power, she would not be able to marry another man and hell he called her a whore because he thought she slept with another man. So what was she supposed to do with the rest of her life? Knit (not that I have anything against knitting) and aimlessly wander through life waiting for her husband to come back. If it was up to him, he would have selfishly ruined a woman's life in his quest for revenge. But hey, love forgives everything.

[Daniella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading is a risky game. There is always that chance of you investing too much in a story, only to get yourself burned in the end.

I took a risk with The Courtesan Duchess.

And I got burned. So badly in fact that I had to watch cat videos to calm myself down.


Before I rant, I'd have to applaud Ms. Joanna Shupe for her writing prowess. It's not everyday that I'm this impressed by new writers, since normally, their inexperience shows in their inept grasp of the technicalities. There is usually that great flaw in the plot structuring, the pacing, or the planning that screams "fledging writer"--pardon the term--but I didn't find that in this book. In fact, it actually seemed as though Ms. Shupe has been writing novels for years, with the masterful way she wrote the story.

But a good grasp of the writing technicalities is not enough to produce a good book. If it has no soul, if there is no connection with the characters, if the story is not believable, then everything is all for naught.

I have two main issues with this story.

The biggest problem with this book is that I could not stomach the hero, Nick. Reading about him was a big test on my endurance. For one, his way of thinking, his logic, was ridiculous! The author's justification or excuse for his actions was a flimsy one, and downright illogical.

Okay, let's talk facts: During his wedding, Nick's impression of his wife was that she seemed like an innocent girl.

What he did: Nick abandoned her after the wedding, justifying himself with the excuse that she was his father's pawn. Whenever his wife was mentioned, he got angry.

My thoughts: If Nick believed that she was innocent, why would he assume the worst about her? What right did he have to get angry at his innocent wife? And if he planned on abandoning his ducal responsibilities, why get married in the first place? Why did he have to get married BEFORE going abroad? Why not go abroad BEFORE the unwanted marriage?????


Another thing: Simon ("Winchester" as he was called), Nick's best friend, has told him repeatedly over the years that his wife was suffering. Nick knew his family was cruel. Nick met Julia, who was pretending to be a courtesan. He wooed her. He got to know her. Then, he found out that Julia was actually his wife.

His reaction:

That whore.
It had all been a game. The rumors, the flirting, the kissing. She’d merely wanted him to chase her, to fall at her feet. And he had, goddamn nitwit that he was. It was some sort of revenge for ignoring her for eight years. God, and the things he’d told her. Nick had revealed parts of himself to her that he hadn’t shown anyone, ever.
And she and Winchester had been laughing at him the whole time.

My thoughts: How could he assume the worst of Simon, his best friend? Shouldn't the NORMAL reaction would be to give his best friend the benefit of the doubt? Given their extensive history together, you would have thought that Nick would know that Simon wouldn't stoop so low. Also, given that he actually got to know Julia over the days they spent they spent together, I expected him to give her the benefit of the doubt as well. ESPECIALLY since Simon has hinted so many times that she was suffering. Why didn't he even think, for once, that Julia could be experiencing hell with his family????

I'm sorry, but Nick was not justified at all. He was so NARROW-MINDED, so consumed by angst, that I wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face.
CAN YOU TRY TO BE LESS SELFISH, NICK? PLEASE FOR FUCK'S SAKE THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU!!!!!!


After that fuckery, there was no redemption for him. I was killing him in my head with every page.

The other problem with this story was that the justification for the story itself was not convincing. A virgin pretending to be a courtesan without the man knowing it? Umm right. I'm not buying it.

While the writer gave a valiant effort at justifying the story, I'm not convinced. I think I would have been more forgiving if Nick wasn't such a fucking asshole.

Sorry, but yeah, I blame Nick for this 1 star rating. He was awful. Just fucking awful. I have ZERO tolerance for disrespectful, immoral and hypocritical MOTHERFUCKERS like him. He can burn in hell for all I care.

[Pepa · Rating 4 out of 5]

No se puede decir que el argumento no sea original, aunque más que nada la primera mitad de la historia, luego ya se ve venir por dónde van los tiros. Aunque admito que al final la autora todavía guarda un par de giros.
Es una historia que me ha gustado, sobre todo ella y su determinación y valor. Yo hubiera sido más mala persona al final, pero es una historia de amor jajaja. Él no me ha caído muy bien, sí es simpático y guapetón y luego pasa a engrosar las filas de los típicos libertinos –no digo más- .
Le faltan unas cuantas collejas bien dadas.
Hay buenos secundarios que son los protagonistas de la ¿trilogía?
Un estilo sencillo pero bastante cuidado, con algunas frases «raras» creo que fruto de la traducción. Ritmo ágil y con buenos giros.

Reseña completa: http://masromance.blogspot.com.es/201...

[Joanna Loves Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros:
1. The writing
2. Spicy sex scenes (calling them love scenes would be inaccurate) (also a con because I listened to some of these at work, my bad)
Bonus: good narration effort by Carmen Rose, whom I was leery to try again after the last experience.

Cons:
1. The Hero a.k.a jerk ass wanker shithead
2. Not feeling the love (NOT AT ALL)
3. Stupid Villain (utterly, ridiculously stupid and also nonsensical)
4. Plot
5. The only time the h&h’s spend together in any sort of agreeable way is in sack. THAT IS THE SUM OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND CONNECTION. At least it was good sex?

Buddy read with WhiskeyintheJar/Kyraraker in our first real miss.

[Cristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

The blurb says it all.
The H is one cheating bastard that leaves his young wife behind for eight years.
The h is left with no choice but to pretend to be a courtesan to get herself pregnant by the H so she can have use the baby as leverage to get some money,
The funny thing is once the H knew the truth, he was mad she'd tricked him. Give me a break. The girl was 16 when he left her with no money, no word if she was alright.
It was just wasn't my kind of book...

[nikki | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ . · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating: 3.25✨

Learning that this was Joanna‘s debut when I was already like halfway into this made a lot of things click lol. I like the premise, but the execution didn’t work for me.

It definitely fell into most traps of older history romance from what I know of it: some fairly outdated sex tropes, MMC is too shitty with not enough groveling, spoiler FMC getting kidnapped in the near end.

I’m glad that Joanna‘s writing has much improved since this because she’s actually one of my favorite history romance authors. I’ve seen a lot of similar critical review of this particular book though so I’ll see how the rest of the series holds up.

[Cheesecake · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whoa. Don't know what possessed me to buy this one! I like a good 'forgotten bride' story, but the hero has to have at least 2 brain cells to rub together. Really he was a balless wonder...

This is to remind me why I don't read this author;

Why does she love him??? Really?
Must be mental illness on her part cause I would have castrated him in his sleep.
This book has so many of my pet peeves!;

-flagrantly cheating H
-double standards galore
-separation that was way too long (8 years)
-'love' that springs out of sex and not romance
-H is a self-pitying douche
-so h does all the work in the relationship
-H believes the lies of a woman he already knows to be deceitful.
-Oh yeah, and the big kicker... Nick says at the end, "God, I think I fell in love with you the minute I met you." what utterly unbelievable horseshit!


Anyways, read but skimmed through parts I cringed at.

Reminder to self, writing good, story unromantic/bad.. do not read author again.

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

For more quotes and comments - Buddy Read Courtesan Duchess



Hero marries young heroine, leaves before they even consummate wedding night and stays away for YEARS. Why? His father made him get married because he wants to make sure hero continues the family line. Hero does not want to continue line because he hates his father. Why hero didn't just leave before getting married? I don't know.

Heroine is left to the horrible mother-in-law who doesn't live in their home and gets a stipend controlled by the cousin who wants the dukedom to himself. Realizing she has to do something to insure her and her aunt aren't left destitute in the streets by the getting worse cousin. Heroine decides to get hero's friend, who she has becomes friends with too, to bring her to hero in Italy and pretend to be a courtesan and get pregnant, with hopefully a boy so she can gain control of the dukedom's riches.

What follows is a bunch of sex that I skimmed because the insta-lust was immediate and I didn't feel connected or that I knew the hero and heroine to let alone feel connected to them as a couple. I honestly felt the hero was trash and he never redeemed himself. After he finds out the courtesan he was hot for was his wife, he calls her a whore and then thinks she was pregnant by some other dude and was trying to pass it off as his. He stays away from her as we get massive month jumps and only shows up when she goes into labor. He was staying away because if she gave birth too early he would know the baby wasn't his. He never grows to trust the heroine's word.

I do like the set-up of the abandoned wife taking charge to get hers or what seems like in this case, survival but the hero was just absolutely trash. The writing fundamentals were good but wasn't a fan of the plot or characterizations.

[Stacey]

DNF at 35% no rating as I did not finish.

Well, my first attempt using my new Romance Package from Audible was unfortunately not to my liking. I checked out a few reviews and saw that I wasn't alone. Now, unlike others, I kind of knew that I'd be meeting a douchewaffle hero who has no respect for his wedding vows. Where I differ, is that it wasn't my biggest problem (it was a problem, just not my biggest problem). Unfortunately, the narration, mixed with the storyline didn't work. Now, I actually liked the narrator's voice and think she did an OK job, but her reading the sex scenes made my skin crawl.

Now, talking about the sex scenes...it was described as "sweet" on Audible. Bloody Hell!! If that's sweet, I'd love to see what steamy was like. The hero was smarmy and lecherous and not at all what I'm used to in my Historical Romance reads. I don't mind sexy and dirty talk but this did not get my heart pumping or turn me on at all. I suppose the justification was that he thought he was talking to a courtesan?!?

Can't say I'm a fan of the hero and I don't think the rest of the story was long enough to be able to convince me that he could change his spots. I'll pass on The Courtesan Duchess and go searching for something else.

Quite a few positive reviews so don't judge this story on my review alone. Also, keep in mind that I was listening not reading. It may have been a better experience if I didn't have to "hear" him.

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've given this a B at AAR, so 4 stars.

I have to confess that when I read the opening scene of this, Joanna Shupe’s début novel, I almost closed the book and picked up something else. In it, the heroine watches her long-estranged husband pleasuring (though not shagging!) another woman in the middle of a game of cards at a very debauched party – which isn’t really the sort of thing I expect to read right at the beginning of a romantic novel! But I reasoned that I was probably supposed to think “eew”, and kept reading – and I’m glad I did, because The Courtesan Duchess turned out to be an engrossing, angsty story which, while not without flaws, was very readable.

Eight years before the book begins, Nicholas Seaton, heir to the Duke of Colton, was blackmailed by his unpleasant, dictatorial father into marrying a sixteen-year-old heiress for her money. Still reeling from the impact of the death of his beloved older brother, and knowing his father quite capable of carrying out his threats, Nick had no alternative but to agree to the scheme. But that was as far as he was prepared to go, and he left the country immediately following the ceremony, leaving his young bride untouched and dependent upon his cold, uncaring parents.

In the years of his absence, Nick has inherited the dukedom and has had no contact with his wife or his family, and wants none. He ignores what his friends tell him of his wife’s difficulties, and continues his hedonistic lifestyle with no thought or care for what is going on back in England, where Julia is facing penury. She doesn’t want her husband back; she doesn’t even know him other than by his reputation as the ‘Depraved Duke’, but his mother refuses to allow her to live in any of the ducal properties, his cousin is embezzling money from the estate and has drastically reduced her income in an attempt to force her to his bed – and in desperation, she comes up with a last-ditch plan to force the family to provide for her financially...

You can read the rest of this review at All About RomanceShe travels to Venice, where she disguises herself and pretends to be an infamous courtesan, determined to seduce Nick, and get herself pregnant. She reasons that if she is carrying his heir, his miserly mother will be forced to at the very least provide her with an income. I’m not a big fan of the “oops – I shagged you and had no idea of your true identity” type of plotline, but this one is rendered plausible by the fact that the couple didn’t know each other before the wedding, Nick was drunk for most of it and Julia was little more than a girl at the time and her appearance has changed somewhat over the years. The bit I found hardest to swallow was the idea that she’d had “lessons” in how to act like a courtesan from London’s finest ladybird, one Pearl Kelly, whose words of wisdom can be found at the beginning of each chapter.

Everything goes according to plan, and Julia and Nick spend an idyllic week together, actually getting to know each other out of bed as well as in it. The love scenes are nice and steamy, and the author writes the more tender, romantic scenes very well, showing Julia discovering that her gorgeous husband is not at all the hardened reprobate his nickname would suggest. He’s generous, considerate, and quite sweet upon occasion, and before the week is out, she is horrified to discover that she’s fallen for him.

When Nick discovers the truth, he is naturally furious, and immediately suspects Julia of having seduced him in order to foist another man’s child upon him. The infamous double standard that allows a man to put it about as much as he likes and be patted on the back for it, while a woman who does the same is reviled rears its head – Nick refuses to believe Julia when she tells him the child she is carrying is his and calls her a whore. He sends her away to his estate in the country to await the birth, fully expecting the baby to arrive “early”.

During their time apart, however, Nick is brought to see the truth of Julia’s situation and to realise that he has behaved very badly towards her. He still can’t forgive her for her deception, but he can’t forget her either – and he’s furious with himself for the fact that he still wants her, in spite of everything.

It’s always difficult to like a man who jumps so easily to the worst of conclusions and who is ready to fling horrible insults at a woman who has done nothing that he hasn’t done himself. But then, this is an historical romance, and it’s a sad fact that women were held to a much higher standard in this regard than men were at the time this story is set. Julia, however, refuses to take Nick’s crap, and makes it clear that whatever he believes, she is his duchess and that she deserves his financial support if nothing else – and that once he’s sorted all that out, he can bugger off back to Italy with her blessing. But just as Nick discovers the reasons behind Julia’s desperation, so does she come to learn more about the circumstances that caused Nick to behave as he did.

The bulk of the story is concerned with how these two emotionally bruised people find their way back to each other, and in spite of Nick’s being a git for a large part of it, I did want them to work everything out. As often happens in stories like this, the hero probably doesn’t grovel enough. But Julia is no pushover, and struggles between wanting to forgive Nick and wanting to (metaphorically) kick his arse.

The book is well-written and the two principals and major secondary characters are strongly drawn, but the secondary plotline in which someone is out to do mischief to one or both of the Coltons feels like overkill. Nick and Julia have enough to contend with without external threats and the final showdown is rushed and rather too melodramatic for my taste. I also found myself shaking my head at the rather “girly” dialogue occasionally given to the male characters, such as this conversation between Nick’s friends Winchester and Quint –

“he fell for her, Quint. I saw it happen. Colton and Julia fell in love in Venice. They were mad for each other – until the guilt overcame her. She didn’t want to hurt him so she left. And it’s only a matter of time before they realise how perfect they are for one another.”

I just can’t hear a man talking like that!

With those few reservations in mind, I’m going to recommend the The Courtesan Duchess to anyone looking for a new author to try. It’s been a while since I’ve read a début historical romance that I’ve rated above average, and while this one does have a few flaws, I’m definitely interested in reading more by Ms. Shupe.

[shaira ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

only just finished this and i wish i could go back in time to twelve hours ago and read it for the first time all over again 😭

nick and julia were giving very much peter the third and empress catherine from the great vibes. the banter, the humour, the sexual tension is absolutely 💯/10

okay i was really surprised by how much i enjoyed this. it took a unique spin on the estranged spouses to lovers trope and i’m soo fucking here for it. the first 30% of the story had me hooked. it was hot; the spice, the dirty talk, the scenes were just 🔥🔥🔥 all the way.

nick and “juliet” who is really julia seaton, the duchess of colton (his wife in disguise) have quite the reunion after being apart for the entire eight years of their marriage. the circumstances behind this particular reunion involved julia taking desperate measures for a situation beyond her control and i have nothing but utter respect for her for it 👏🏽

nick, while i enjoyed his off the charts chemistry with julia, was a grade A alpha hole like 80% of the time (my main reason for not giving this book five stars). he treated julia abysmally after learning the truth behind the “juliet” charade. the way he was so hypocritical about julia’s “wanton” side while the man himself goes frolicking all about europe collecting STDs like the damned infinity stones. like make it make sense bruv? 🤦🏽‍♀️

what made this particular shortcoming bearable was julia matching his energy and giving it back to him fire with fire. at times i found myself wanting to slap the smug expressions off his face and make him see reason, but i think as a respite i can happily take seeing both of them verbally sparring with each other while also fighting their feelings and eventually giving in once they realise they have it bad.

also, the grovelling and reconciliation between them was so well worth it. and the ending was perfect, seeing them become the loving family that nick himself needed during his youth was 👌🏽

also last but not least, nick and julia’s best friend (well julia’s friend most of the time), simon was the real MVP of the show here. all the scenes he was in were 💯; the way he had julia’s back (re: her plan of getting out of her financial straits), the way he offered his support to her and tried to make her idiot husband see sense through all his pigheadedness; the way he was julia’s literal ride or die through and through, need to say more? i just really loved simon and i can’t wait to get to his story 🥰

[Valerie Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best debuts I've read in years. Joanna Shupe's The Courtesan Duchess is fast-paced, compelling, and super sexy. You won't be able to put it down.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an entertaining, well-written, steamy historical romance novel. It has a likable female protagonist, an engaging male protagonist, wit, a touch of humor, intrigue, secrets, and a heartwarming romance. I am looking forward to reading the next entry in this series with great anticipation. I listened to the audio book, and the narrator, Ms. Carmen Rose, has a lovely voice and does an outstanding job voicing the characters.

[Salma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it I LOVE IT SOOO MUCH .. you may predict some of the events still the Author will blow your mind by other super unexpected things .
Nick & Julia were adorable .. more so were her funny aunt Theo & the incredible Hulk : fitz
Julia's and Nick's best friend Simon was something else i must know his secret so see you in next book Si ;)

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my other reviews at Little Miss Bookmark!

OOH!! This is a good one! Okay ... The Courtesan Duchess. So very good! First, for those of you that don't know what a courtesan is ... it's basically a prostitute for rich fellas back in the day. It was no secret that dudes went outside of the marriage for ... things that they didn't want the mother of their children to do and/or basically to just be a dog. And it was okay back then, women didn't talk about it, courtesans were just a part of their lives. Well, not that I know for SURE that is how it was done ... that is how it is done in the hundreds of historical romance novels that I have read. Anywho ... this is about a woman named Julia who was basically abandoned by her husband after she said "I do" to him. She just deals with this abandonment for eight very long years. Then she comes up with a plan ... she is going to seduce her husband. She gets all of these tips from a lady of the night on how to seduce him and after she disguises herself, she sets the plan into motion. That's it. And what happens is nothing short of a fabulous read!

I just adored this book from the very first page. I don't know what it was ... the writing style, the characters, the whole premise ... it was just awesome. I loved the sassy gumption that the main character had, it knocked the story up a few pegs. If the characters aren't interesting or if they are just ... normal ... it's not interesting to me. I really didn't have to worry about that with this one. Joanna Shupe did an amazing job of introducing you to the characters but not bogging you down with too much background info on them and just let the reader find out for themselves what really makes each character tick.

The way that the story played out, you were really lead to hate Nick (the husband) and I LOATHED this fictional man with everything I had. I really wanted Julia to make him suffer. I won't say whether she did or not because it's something that you have to experience when you crack the spine on this one. The premise was amazing, the execution was amazing ... the whole damn thing was amazing. I've never read anything by this author but I know that she has quickly become a staple in my life and I'm excited to see what the other two novels in the series are like. If they are anything like this one, I know I'm in for a wild ride!

[Océano de libros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Colton se casó a los dieciséis años con el séptimo duque de Colton, Nicholas Francis Seaton, el famoso “duque depravado” pero el mismo día de la boda su marido la abandona. Ocho años después Julia pasa por una mala situación económica y decide tomar las riendas de su vida, así que contrata los servicios de una famosa cortesana y se convierte en Juliet Leighton, la duquesa cortesana que intentará seducir a Nick y lograr su objetivo.

Tenía muchísimas ganas de leer algo de esta autora porque hablaban muy bien de sus novelas, aunque es una pena que solo tenga dos publicadas en español. “La duquesa cortesana” es la primera de la serie y tiene una historia no tan típica. Se trata de una historia de segundas oportunidades, un matrimonio de conveniencia, dos personajes separados por un largo espacio de tiempo, intriga, giros inesperados… creo que lo tiene todo para llamar mi atención.

La ambientación ha estado muy bien, nos moveremos entre Venecia y Londres, aunque me ha gustado mucho la primera parte en la ciudad italiana, será que también es porque es la parte más romántica y pasional. La segunda parte tira más al enfrentamiento y a los reproches con algo de intriga.

Julia como personaje me ha parecido de sobresaliente, una mujer cansada de esperar y de resignarse a la situación que vive se embarca en un viaje no solo a otra ciudad sino un viaje personal en el que darle sentido a su vida. Se convierte en otra persona para seducir a su marido, se convierte en una cortesana y la jugada promete. Julia es fuerte, inteligente, y decidida, la timidez no tiene cabida.

Por otro lado tenemos a Nick... https://oceanodelibros.blogspot.com/2...

[Coco · Rating 3 out of 5]

-3.5-

Me ha encantado la idea tan original que tiene la autora para poder juntar a los protagonistas. Es algo muy novedoso en novela de época, lo que conduce ha escenas muy divertidas.

Peeero siempre tiene que haber un pero, y en este caso sería la actitud del Nicholas cuando descubre el pastel. Entiendo su enfado pero nunca es justificable menospreciar tanto a una persona cuando tú llevas ocho años huyendo como un cobarde.
Julia es todo lo que pido en un personaje: valiente, fuerte, decidida y muy sensata.
Pero es muy blanda, yo le habría hecho de sufrir mil horrores antes de condecerle el perdón. (Soy muy rencorosa).

Quizá algo que me ha parecido flojo ha sido el misterio del "malo", pues con las pistas que daba, lo vi claro cien páginas antes de terminar.

Me quedo con una buena sensación y esperando por su continuación. Tengo muchas ganas de conocer la historia de Simon.

[Debby *BabyDee* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this one just didn't hit home for me with the plot, the H nor the h. This was an audiobook listen of this story and although I enjoyed the narrator, I did not care for the story plot and especially the H in the book. Thought he was a total jerk, especially if he couldn't remember a woman he married. I also did think the heroine had to much sense either to sit and watch her husband get his kicks off with a barmaid right in front of her face without confronting him.

Not sure if I've read anything by Joanna Shupe before, but if I did, this one just didn't win me over.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading this Author and she just gained a new reader.

This book starts in "steam" mode and doesn't let up for about 1/2 of the book. Hot!!

Not going to really go into details about the synopsis of the book. The summary pretty much covers it. Nick (the Hero) was forced to marry Julia by his Father, who he hated (I hated him too). He's bitter and leaves for EIGHT YEARS, right after the "I do's". Julia is treated horribly by his family during the time he's away by his family. Thank goodness for her Aunt which I loved by the way. Julia then decides it's time to do something to survive these horrible in-laws and devises a plan. She seeks help by the best courtesan to entice her husband and accomplish her goals for survival. And Julia and Nick together...WOW!!!

This was a well written and engaging read. The story pulled me in from the first page and didn't let up till I read the last. The characters had great depth and evolved as the story progressed. There's lot's of steam, action, chemistry and a good plot. Again well written story.

I hated Nick at times.

SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!


(there is a part in the book that really made me mad. He was mad at Julia and proceed to find someone to help him forget. So he goes and finds a prostitute and proceeds get a blow job but realizes he's only thinking of Julia and walks away. But really Nick...geez).


But as the story progressed and you learn what Nick had to endure from his Mother and Father you see why he behaves as does. He character grows and you begin to see how Julia brings out the good in him. Julia, she's strong, sweet, beautiful, faithful and determined. I liked how she stood up to Nick. Julia also grew as a character throughout the story.

I enjoyed the secondary characters and am looking forward to future books about their stories.


Netgalley for an honest review.

[Yona Ceaser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I deadly enjoyed this book. It has all my fave tropes, very steamy, married couple and pregnancy love love love ❤️

[Libropacat · Rating 5 out of 5]

ME ENCANTÓ!!!!

RESEÑA

Estoy tan feliz que, aún con el apagón nacional que tuvimos ayer en Venezuela, nada me habría quitado la emoción que me dejó este libro. Aún más con el hecho de que, oficialmente, vuelvo a los libros de romántica histórica a través de él.
Nos establecemos en Venecia, Italia, a finales de 1816 donde la duquesa de Colton, Julia, está en la búsqueda de un marido que no conoce. Hace 8 años desde que Nick Seaton se casó con ella y de inmediato la abandonó, sin consumar el matrimonio ni dejar un “adiós, vuelvo pronto” u “adiós, estaremos en contacto”. Simple y llanamente, Nick se fue sin grandes ganas de volver algún día a Inglaterra, viajando por Europa, ganándose el apodo de El Duque Depravado. Sin embargo, Julia está pasando problemas económicos pues, aun siendo la nueva duquesa, la madre de Colton y el primo de éste se han hecho con lo que debería ser de Julia, dejándola casi en la calle. Formando un plan con su mejor amigo, Simon, conde de Winchester, Julia pretende ir tras su marido bajo una identidad falsa, consumar el matrimonio sin que éste sepa con el fin de concebir un heredero y, por consiguiente, poder tener más autonomía e independencia del dinero heredado por Colton. Pero, hey, ¿acaso nadie le advirtió a Julia de cuidar su corazón en el proceso?

Mi último libro ambientado en la regencia fue leído por el 2016-2017, y no me gustó mucho que digamos. Antes de eso, yo había dejado ese género por el 2014, y vean que desde el 2011 yo era muy asidua al mismo, fue mi primer género cuando inicié en serio con la lectura. Leer este libro se sintió igual a cuando veías una película muy querida de tu infancia, en especial cuando descubres que te sigue gustando tanto como la primera vez –puede que mi decepción con ese anterior fue un bache en el camino.
Julia es una mujer de 24 años, quien fue abandonada por su marido apenas se realizó la ceremonia. Es lista, valiente y decidida. En cuanto su situación económica empeora al punto de estar en la calle por culpa de su suegra y el primo de su marido, Julia arma un plan para buscar al esposo con quien se casó, consumar finalmente el matrimonio y volver con un heredero en el vientre. Para eso, Julia decide hacerse pasar por una famosa cortesana, Juliet Leighton. Como toda señorita de sociedad, Julia no fue educada para ser una servidora de placer, por lo que contrata a Pearl Kelly, reconocida cortesana, para que le enseñe las artes de la profesión. Así, buscando el ajuar adecuado, y tiñéndose el pelo de un rojo pasión, nace la encantadora y sensual Juliet
Por otro lado, Nick Seaton, Duque de Colton, nombrado Duque Depravado, es un hombre cercano a los 30 que ha venido huyendo de Inglaterra desde hace 8 años, un año después de la desafortunada muerte de su hermano mayor y antiguo heredero del ducado Colton. Nicholas es desvivido, sinvergüenza, mujeriego y jugador, ha pasado por París, residiéndose finalmente en Venecia, sin querer volver alguna vez al país que le vio nacer. Tampoco ha tenido una vida fácil. Nunca fue amado por sus padres, y con la muerte de Harry, su hermano, los malos tratos de ellos se volvieron tal al punto que, en cuanto fue obligado a casarse, Nick decidió huir sin hacerse cargo de sus responsabilidades ni hacia el ducado ni mucho menos a su esposa. Así que, cuando conoce a la cortesana Juliet Leighton, de manos de su mejor amigo Simon, las chispas salen entre ambos, la atracción de Nick hacia la ardiente mujer reclamándole tenerla en brazos sin sospechar quién es realmente Juliet. Al menos, de momento.

Llevo un tiempo buscando libros así, libros donde uno de los personajes quiera hacerse pasar por otra persona, tome una identidad falsa, y haber leído este libro fue una de las mejores decisiones de mi vida. Me encantó, me fascinó, me enamoré completamente no solo de los personajes, sino de la historia y otra vez me vi satisfechamente envuelta en un ambiente, una época, tan mágico, que me hizo devorar el libro en dos días.

Las primeras interacciones entre Nick y Julia fueron una delicia, hilarantes, picantes, que me arrancaban suspiros enamorados y risas. El humor de la autora a través de los personajes fue algo que le sumó muchos puntos. Nunca antes había leído nada de Joanna, pero sin duda su forma de relatar fue maravilloso, me adentré muy rápido en la historia, y ni siquiera fue aburrido ningún pasaje.

Además, hubo un dato que me gustó mucho ver, y fue que al inicio de cada capítulo hay como una nota, consejos dados de Pearl Kelly hacia Julia en sus lecciones como cortesana que de alguna u otra manera toman relación con lo que ocurrirá en el capítulo, y fue increíble, como tener a la misma Pearl instruyendo al lector en las sutiles artes de ser una cortesana. Y sobra decir que, a pesar de que en esencia Julia sigue siendo una señora de sociedad, es más desenvuelta, más desinhibida respecto a la seducción y al sexo que otras jovencitas de esa época. Algo que, en cierta manera, la ayudó para mantener la farsa de una experta cortesana frente a Nick.

La química entre Nick y Julia los disfruté, realmente sentí que ambos encajaban bien con el otro, sin importar los sentimientos de traición, ira u resentimiento por el abandono de él y el engaño de ella. Siento que la autora supo interpretar muy bien los problemas propios de cada personaje, la psicología de cada uno, lo que cada uno podía sentir en verdad como personajes individuales y, a su vez, mantener la atracción entre ambos, la compatibilidad. Es algo que me preocupaba pues, en especial con Nick, quien nunca recibió amor paternal, fue incluso reprochado, acusado, por la muerte de su propio hermano, y eso son cosas que afecta emocional y psicológicamente a una persona. El ver su lucha, avanzando el libro, por admitir que siente más que deseo por Julia, fue algo fascinante de ver. Tuvo realismo a mi opinión.

Y lo mejor es que estos dos principales no estuvieron solos en su protagonismo. Los demás personajes que les acompañaron hicieron bien su papel, no quedándose rezagados, pero tampoco opacándolos. Por ejemplo, la tía de Julia, Theodora, hermana de su padre y única familiar. Ejerció un papel casi de madre y consejera, aportando además un toque de humor ya que, constantemente estaba un poco subidita de copas. O Fitz, el ayuda de cámara de Nick, haciendo de la contraparte masculina de Theodora hacia Colton –pero sobrio–; Me enfocaré en este último personaje pues, de estos dos en específico, le tomé más cariño a él. Fitz fue un hombre al que Nick le salvó la vida en uno de sus tantos viajes y, en consecuencia, Fitz le juró lealtad, desde entonces siguiéndole para protegerle como guardián, luego ayudándolo como ayuda de cámara. Fitz es más alto que la media, incluso de Nick con su 1,80, y se le ha descrito como alguien atemorizante, imponente. Pero más allá de su aspecto, Fitz es alguien ingenioso, atento, muy protector, sobre todo con Nick, amable y sarcástico, siempre está tomándole el pelo a Nick y ni siquiera muestra respeto porque él sea un duque, lo trata con tanta familiaridad que por un momento olvidas que antes Fitz era un hombre de la calle. En verdad amé este personaje, si bien no me convenció del todo el romance que, ya a mediados del libro, empieza a tener con la tía Theo –porque sí, Fitz y Theo se enamoran, a pesar de que ella ya es una mujer de 50-60 años. Pero bueno, que dicen que para el amor no hay edad.

Otro personaje que me encantó fue Simon, conde de Winchester. Fue mejor amigo de Simon desde la universidad de Eton, y también se volvió mejor amigo de Julia y un apoyo luego de que Nick la abandonara. Además, Simon es quien acompaña a Julia a Venecia en busca de Nick, confabula con ella en su plan de fingir ser la señora Leighton, y la protege de la ira de su amigo cuando éste se entera de la verdad –granjeándose los celos de Colton en el proceso–. Hubo muchos momentos con Simon en los que me reí a carcajadas, en verdad no saben cuánto disfruté del mismo. Simon es muy protector con Julia, la considera una hermana, como Fitz, le gusta ser irónico con Nick, producto de la amistad de tantos años, y tampoco teme ser quien le lea la cartilla cuando Nick hace una estupidez que afecte a Julia. Hubo algo en el pasado de Simon, un momento donde Julia le ayudó y eso hizo que Simon le debiera mucho a ella, que se menciona pero nunca se llega a explicar en este libro. Dejan al lector con la intriga de saberlo, y estoy planteándome seriamente el leer el próximo libro por ello.

Antes de acabar, quiero darle comentarios extras a los villanos de esta novela, porque sí, el drama del engaño no es el antagonista principal. Sí, el primo de Nick es uno de los villanos, pero para el regreso de Nick muere su madre, y queda una última persona de la cual sospechar. Sobra decir que, en un inicio puede parecer inocente, pero en cuanto Julia sufre un accidente, ya empiezas a sospechar. No ahondaré mucho en estos dos desgraciados pero, sí diré que deseé que las cosas no fueran tan predecibles con ellos. Vas leyendo y te vas dando cuenta de en qué cosas estuvieron sus manos metidas. Deseé que el factor sorpresa se mantuviera con sus villanías. Y si bien en un momento la autora me sacó un susto, fue breve. En resumen: siento que las fechorías de los villanos fueron fáciles de adivinar, y aún con ello, no participaron mucho. Estos dos antagonistas resultaron no ser tan bestias como pensé.

Ahora sí, para finalizar solo añadiré que el libro en verdad me encantó, va directo a ser mi nuevo favorito, de esos que releería una y otra vez. El libro es ágil, sencillo, romántico, sensual, divertido, encantador. Te hará reír, enamorarte, suspirar, frustrar, y soñar despierta todo el tiempo.

[Grecia Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

Me gustó mucho y se me hizo muy diferente a otros libros de histórica que he leído sobre todo por la protagonista que ya estamos acostumbrados a que sean recatadas tímidas inocentes y sobre todo en la intimidad, pero Julia no lo es al menos tuvo que dejar de serlo para poder seducir a su marido que en cuanto se casó con ella la abandonó por 8 años y ella está desesperada y quiere lo único que el puede darle un hijo que garantice su estabilidad económica; lo hace con ayuda de su amigo Simon haciéndose pasar por una Cortesana.
Tuve muchas ganas de pegarle a Nick por todas las bobadas y tonterías que dijo e hizo cuando se enteró que su querida Juliet era nada más y menos que su esposa, se me hizo egoísta que sólo pensaba en el mismo, pero yo tengo esa vena masoquista y a la vez sádica me gusta cuando ellos se portan como unos patanes pero cuando se dan cuenta de su error se tiene que arrastrar por el perdón, me hubiera gustado un poco más de sufrimiento pero bueee…
También tuvo sus parte de misterio y villanos medio psycho como la cuñada que mira que tengo ojo y siempre sospeche de ella.

Espero pronto leer el siguiente libro y que pronto publiquen el libro de Quint y la amiga de Julia.

[Milica's Bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐
I have to admit that it has been a long time since I read a historical romance, but I unexpectedly liked this story.

[Aly is so frigging bored · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*
It was an enjoyable read, I can't say that I was blown away though. I liked both characters, they had flaws and made mistakes and they felt human. That being said, the hero was a complete asshole for at least 50% of the book. Many people know that I liked assholes, but this guy... he couldn't even admit he was mistaken and apologies, that made me rate the book less.

All in all, I enjoyed myself and I'm definitely reading the next one. I'm hoping the author will write the story of the courtesan that Julia studied under, she seemed fascinating.

[Luana ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I dislike the hero's attitude for most of the book I couldn't help but like him. It was the oddest feeling. He was horrible to his wife due to having had a horrible life and everything was so unfair. That being said, I was surprised by how entertaining this read was. He had to work a loooot for her forgiveness, and although I don't like when things drag for too long, I enjoyed this book. It was a super steamy romance, a lot of angst, mistrust, lies, danger, travel. I will be reading more of Joanna Shupe in the future.

[Sammy Loves Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia, the Duchess of Colton



I love it when a couple falls in love after they say "I do"!!

[Obsidian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. Well that's two romance buddy reads that did not end well, LOL. I love reading these books with WhiskeyintheJar Romance but wow. This one actually somehow maybe beat out the last book where we had the virgin kidnapped by the escaped convict who threatened her all the time, but somehow love happened.

"The Courtesan Duchess" had two leads who should have dusted their hands off after meeting and agreeing to go live separate lives. The first few sex scenes I had a hard time with (believable scale didn't quite register) but then I just got bored. Nick and Julia were not engaging and as Whiskey said, besides having sex with each other, there was nothing else there. Very boring romance with a plot you could call a mile away.

"The Courtesan Duchess" has Julia, Duchess of Colton traveling to Venice in order to seduce a husband she has not laid eyes on in 8 years. Julia plans on seducing the Duke of Colton, Nick, in order to become pregnant with his heir in order to call on the money that his cousin, Templeton, is now refusing to give to her. Did you follow all that? I think what kills me the most from this story is that Julia had other options, she had a very good friend who is also friend's with Nick who would have given her funds, could have written to Nick, etc. This scheme was so harebrained I couldn't do a thing but laugh at it.

Julia ends up taking lessons from a London courtesan on seduction and each chapter heading has some pearl of wisdom from her to Julia. I feel like I recall this from some movie about a woman who becomes a courtesan in Italy. I am not going to go looking it up.

Oh in case you are wondering why Nick doesn't recognize Julia, it's because she dies her head flaming red and I guess she grew in 8 years. I don't know. I had a hard time with that. I guess he never looked his wife in the face when he recited his vows and refused to have anything to do with her.

If a romance is going to succeed, you have to want the two characters who are the hero and heroine to get together in the end. You have to want them to get past the issues and fall madly in love. Instead I wanted to shake Julia for being a moron with this plan and Nick for just being about 90 percent awful throughout the book.

When Nick eventually realizes that Julia has done he takes it upon himself to banish her to the country and the time jumps in the story became ridiculous. I think from start to finish this book took place over a year.

The secondary characters are not that interesting. This book also seems intent on positioning one of the characters as the main character in the next series.

The writing was fine, I just did not care for Nick and honestly think he got off too lightly in this.

"The display shocked Julia. Scandalous yet strangely alluring, the performance served as a reminder that her husband’s life was a world away from her own sheltered existence in London."

FYI, she's a virgin at this point. I don't even get what was happening here.

"His black hair a bit long, it fell down around his collar to frame his perfect features: a straight nose, bold cheekbones, and a full mouth. He was truly breathtaking."

FYI, she is thinking this while watching him fondle another woman who is also "pleasuring herself" while everyone watches.

"If Colton’s odious cousin, Lord Templeton, followed through on his recent threat to further reduce her stipend, in a few months she wouldn’t have enough funds to pay the servants or the rent on their small house in Mayfair. Colton’s mother had made it clear Julia was unwelcome at any of the ducal properties. Which meant she and her aunt would be destitute. Julia needed a male child, a legitimate one, to serve as the heir to the Colton estate."

Another thing that kills me about this dumb plan, what if she happened to have a girl? She does get that a baby is not automatically going to be a boy because she wants one right??

"God, it had hurt. But it was done—and he hadn’t noticed. Julia felt a surge of triumph, a roar of feminine power at the success. Now the pain was receding, just as Pearl said it would, and a strange new sensation, one of delicious fullness, dawned."

Of course we get the best first time ever scene. Courtney Milan has been the only who has ever written a first time scene that felt realistic to me in a romance book.

The flow was up and down and that is really because of the time jumps. We go from a month, to maybe two months and all of sudden it's 9 months later.

The book setting moves from Italy (which barely felt real at all) to England. I hope you enjoy Nick saying tesorina and bellissima. In my head he said everything with a terrible accent.

The ending has a reveal that anyone that was paying attention could have guessed at and a happily ever after.

You can read Whiskey's review Hate the Hero

[Crystal's Bookish Life · Rating 3 out of 5]

This whole plot was setup to not work for me, and sadly that is exactly what happened.

[Lady Nilambari Reads HR · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Well, it looks like Joanna Shupe can work wonders with her words if she was able to get me to actually enjoy a second chancer! I was interested, riveted, and emotional as I read through the night sans sleep.

Quick Review
- A great plot. It was complicated, confusing, and angsty without it hitting you on the head. I loved that it evolved constantly, but never left the central thread.
- I hate long separations, as they annoy me to no end, but it somehow worked here, although I still wish it wasn't eight long years. I think five would have sufficed.
- Julia was a wonderful heroine. I like a woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go for it.
- I think I have a love-hate relationship with Nicholas. I would love to hate him, but I hate that I ended up loving him, if that makes sense. Let's whittle it down to - I understood him.
- I wish their romance was a little more fleshed out with more conversations and more time, rather than the little overlap they had. I get the instalust, but I did not quite buy the eternal love. Hot steam, though.
- The ending was a tad too dramatic, considering that the secrets were revealed that late in the story. I was a little annoyed with Nick's spiral and did not quite like that Julia had to be the one to convince him, while it should have been the other way around.
- Which brings me to, where was the grovelling? I wanted to see Nick pull up his socks and fight, not whine like a little girl, no offence to little girls.
- Having said that, I deeply felt Nick's pain, I was awed by his lovely relationship with Olivia, and I greatly enjoyed how a good a friend Simon was.

My Recommendation
It might be a like it or leave it kind of a story for most., but I liked it. And I am looking forward to Simon's story.

[Kiltsandswords · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so steamy! The premise is that Julia will impersonate a famous courtesan, travel to Italy, seduce her wayward husband and return to England carrying his heir. It’s the seduction part that is really well developed. The chase and dance that Nick and Julia (or Juliet as she introduces herself) was just SO MUCH FUN! Julia was a revelation! She taunted and teased Nick and played the seductress to perfection.
If you love a book where there is INSANE foreplay followed by some of the best love scenes written, then this is the book for you! The innuendos and dialogue between Nick and Julia as she is wooing him was amazing. This passage is just one of many:
“I find myself curious about you, Juliet. I’ve never seen Winchester so bewitched by a woman, at least not before I left London. And the stories circulating about you are wildly fantastic, almost as if they’re fabricated. Then I meet you, and there’s an air of innocence about you that is incredibly alluring.”
Julia’s eyes widened, but before she could respond, he continued. “I feel a…pull toward you that I’ve never experienced before with a woman. I’m intrigued.”
Heavens, her husband could be charming. She fought to keep the mood light, despite the fact that her tongue felt thick with desire.
“Intrigued? And here I had hoped for interested. Or better yet, infatuated.”
“Oh, I am all of those things as well.” He brushed his knuckles against her cheek in a tender gesture.
It’s just so rich that he is infatuated with his own wife – a virgin no less! The teasing doesn’t last long as Nick isn’t one to be put off. I was so curious to see how a virgin bride would handle a worldly man like Nick, while pretending to be a famous courtesan. If the flirting was hot, the time between the sheets (and everywhere else) was incendiary. These two have some amazing chemistry.
Of course it doesn’t always go to plan. Julia is in serious danger of falling in love with Nick. She runs back to England where the rest of the story takes place. Her partner in crime, Simon, left Nick a note telling him who Juliet/Julia was. Hell hath no fury like a Duke wronged. The Nick we encounter in London is very different from the lazy, indolent lover in Venice. He storms around London like a rampaging demon. He finds the motivations behind Julia’s impetuous, yet well planned visit to Venice. While he despises what she has done, he solves the problems he left behind for Julia to face.
There is so much more going on with this story that just flirting and sex. Nick is a really complex character. For a Duke, he has despised his position and the reasons why are the kind of things that can haunt a person their whole lives. Nick has crazy demons, but the author doesn’t let him off the hook for being an ass to Julia.
Julia has endured a lot in the past eight years since she married Nick. She has had to deal with banishment, being preyed upon and sexual harassment. Julia is one of the strongest characters I have read in a while. She manages to find a way through things and has incredible determination.
While they are back in London, one thing that hasn’t changed is the attraction they feel for each other. Julia and Nick feel that lurid clawing passion that makes you do crazy things. Such as ignore each other or be cruel because you are hurting. I wanted them to hurry up and reconcile, but what would be the fun in that?
This was a fantastic book. I stayed up until 4 AM reading it. I’m amazed I’m even coherent to write this today. All I know is that I had a wonderful time spending time with these characters. I loved the plot, the sexiness and the twists and turns. This is a great story and I highly recommend reading it!
Reviewed for www.kiltsandswords.com
This book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.