Her Ladyship's Companion

by Evangeline Collins

A debut novel of erotic intensity set in the Regency era.

In the Scottish countryside of Selkirk, Lady Isabella Stirling resides at Bowhill Park, serving penance for a sin that nearly ruined her family. For five years she has been condemned to a loveless marriage and confined to the estate where she does little more than tend her rose garden. With her husband absent for months at a time and few visitors, Bella lives a lonely existence, denying the passions that burn within her very soul.

Then her cousin comes for a visit and makes an outrageous what Bella needs is a lover. A hired lover. Despite her need, Bella says no. But soon Mr. Gideon Rosedale arrives-and he is at her service for two weeks. Indulging in what she intends to be a harmless flirtation, Bella is overcome by Gideon's intoxicating presence. And when she at last permits him to satisfy her desires, she discovers she's done the unthinkable-she's fallen in love.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Erotic Romance, Regency Romance, Erotica

330 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Evangeline Collins is an award winning author of sensual historical romance. An avid reader, it wasn't until she exhausted her local library's supply of historical romance novels that she decided to try her hand at writing her own. Much to her delight, she discovered a new passion. And she has been hard at work crafting her romances ever since.

Her titles include Her Ladyship’s Companion and Seven Nights to Forever , which was the RT Book Reviews 2010 Reviewers’ Choice Best Book winner for Most Innovative Historical Romance.

For more information, please visit Evangeline at www.EvangelineCollins.com

Reviews

[Pepa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reseña completa: https://masromance.blogspot.com/2020/...
Pues es la segunda vez que lo leo y no sé si es por el tiempo que ha pasado que creo que me ha gustado menos que la primera vez, ahora estaría en las 3 estrellas en vez de las 4, pero dejaré mi puntuación anterior
Una historia muy bonita pero demasiado basada en el sexo, y creo que en referencia a mi comentario anterior, Robin Schone trabaja mucho más sus personajes
Aquí poco sabemos tanto de él como de ella y es más una sucesión de escenas de sexo que un desarrollo de la historia de amor


Histórica erótica, me ha recordado bastante a Robin Schone aunque con un lenguaje mucho menos brusco.
Me ha gustado mucho porque me ha enganchado desde el principio...

[Tammy Walton Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars (both times I read it)

Her Ladyship's Companion was the second courtesan-themed book I read in February. The irony of reading about buying love with money right around Valentine's Day does not escape me, but perhaps the real irony is that these two books have been the most romantic I have read in months.

I LOVED this book. I loved the premise, so unusual in a historical - a reverse Pretty Woman, if you will and it was done well so that I believed it. I believed the characters: Isabella, lonely and isolated, estranged from her family, alone in her home in Scotland. Gideon, in his own way just as lonely as Isabella. No family to speak of, living a lifestyle that precludes friendships, saving every penny to someday escape the life and have a family of his own.

The sun hung low on the horizon, streaking magenta across a sky that faded to deepest midnight. One could see nothing but open acres framed in the distance by thick woods. It was pleasing to the eye but felt secluded from the world. Now he knew why he was here.

Lady Stirling was lonely.

Well, at least we have something in common, he thought sardonically. But he had long ago realized physical acts could not fill the void where a family should reside. If anything, it made the emptiness reverberate with a painful echo that drove home just how alone he was in the world.

Isabella's loneliness comes right off the page right from the beginning of the book. She blames herself for her arranged marriage, for her family's precarious financial situation and even for the fact that she is ostracized by her brothers. She believes herself to be unworthy and wicked, although the latter is completely unwarranted.

Gideon's history was so believable, his goals so realistic and his vulnerability so appealing I fell in love with him just as Bella did. The author does a beautiful job of showing how Gideon 'works' , how attentive he is to his 'client', and how he keeps his mind separate from what he does with his body. He knows almost instinctively what she needs, and most importantly when to enforce the boundaries of their relationship. Gideon has rules. No sex without contraception. He never spends the night. He never loses control. Ever.

Oh, to watch these two meet, feel their initial attraction to one another, to get to know one another, then have lots of really, really hot sex everywhere!!!!! and finally fall in love is really well done. The obstacles to their relationship, the misunderstandings, the heartbreak, the desperation, are all SO real. How do you give your body but not your heart? How do you keep him coming back? How do you ask him to stay? How do you quit the life? What will your family say? How would you make a life together? How do you go on when you have given up everything just for a chance to see her? How do you live when you think you will never see him again?

Of course, there is much more to the story than I have even mentioned here. Gideon and Bella are just the main part. How they got to where they are when we meet them, the person that brings them together, the people and circumstances that tear them apart, and how they manage to find each other and stay together made for a engrossing, compelling read that had me staying up way too late to finish, and made me want to sigh once I was done.

I read this twice while I had it out from the library. While I loved the book, I don't want to say it was perfect, either. There were some things that didn't hold up completely for me. The ending was maybe a little bit convenient, and on second read I thought Bella was a little bit over-the-top . I believe the term we used back in high-school was a "fuckmonster". She's a 3 orgasm girl once she gets going, and it got to be a bit much after a while.

There were other things I liked even more about the book the second time, though, and that outweighed any little things I noticed. I loved the writing. Evangeline Collins has a style I like very much. It was moody, a bit angsty, very compelling. I loved her characterizations: nuanced, with great depth and they seem very real. She lets you get to know them a bit at a time, so that you can see what each sees in the other.

I loved the book. Now that I've had to give it back to the library, I'm off to hunt down my own copy for my keeper shelf. And to buy Evangeline Collin's next book.

And while I'm on the subject, I need to say this about the cover: It is the prettiest I've seen in a long time. The couple on the cover resemble the couple in the book, and the pose evokes the story within in a subtle way that doesn't become really clear until you've finished the book. (I'll just say this - when Gideon first comes to Bowhill Park, it is Bella that pursues. It is she who falls first, and after I read the book, I saw that in the cover. Maybe it's just me, or maybe the person in charge of the cover actually read the book.)

[Eastofoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out quite well but just over halfway the plot starts to fizzle and it meanders until the end which is a shame because it’s an original story line with a vivid writing style.

The story is about a woman who was married off young to a horrible man because she was caught in a compromising situation with the stable boy. The crazed husband visits her infrequently throughout the year and leaves her at their country home. She’s bored out of her tree and relishes the sporadic visits from her cousin from France who lives the life of the Merry Widow. Her cousin suggests that she hire a “male companion” (ie prostitute) for a short time so she can live a little and escape her misery. And so she embarks on this very daring adventure with Gideon the companion.

The beginning of the novel is a breezy, languid, country-side read with a smattering of heat here and there. Collins’ writing reminded me of something along the lines of Shana Abé (unfortunately there are a few grammar/typo errors that detract from writing). You can see the pretty gardens, the roses, the soft carefree days and feel that general lightness that pervades the first half of the book. It’s the second half that gets out of control and too many new elements are introduced leaving the book without any real direction.

The hero is a good guy. Charming, sensual, sexy at the beginning but he’s sort of wimpy towards the end which I thought was such a mistake because he was raised à la Oliver Twist practically and then he suddenly got wishy washy so it didn’t match with how his character was set up. He’s a man who gives pleasure whether it’s sexual or just by being a friend, however he doesn’t invest himself emotionally in his jobs, so you think he has a handle on things. Towards the end he was plagued by doubts and almost cowardice that just came out of nowhere. Now maybe in “real life” that’s understandable given what he was suddenly faced with but it’s a romance novel and the alpha hero is supposed to stay the alpha hero ;) As for Lady Isabelle, she’s a woman who’s full of spirit but she’s been beaten down by her brothers and her husband throughout her young life so she doesn’t really know who she is until Gideon shows her that it’s ok to be as she is. Her character remains consistent throughout the story as do the characters of her annoying brothers and her sob husband. The French cousin, Esmé, is an excellent character with her under the table dealings, her snooty attitude and her worldliness but she only pops in briefly. As the h/h go through their various trials and tribulations you feel that they’re emotionally invested in each other but you sort of want the story to be over with because it’s gotten too long and the author is just wobbling too much. There are some “hottish” sex scenes but not as much as you’d think for a Berkley Sensation novel or for the theme itself.

In all honesty the brightly coloured cover was what convinced me to pick up this book and for the first while it matched the story. Too bad the author couldn’t keep that up right to the end. 3.5 stars when all is said and done.

[Wollstonecrafthomegirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gosh, this was an effort for me. I've ploughed and pushed through it. A bit like reading a text for A-level that I didn't enjoy, but, being a swot, I had to finish [looking at you, Dickens].

There were moments of nice writing and characterisation - glimmers of hope. They were enough to keep me reading on the off chance this became something that would make all my effort in reading it worthwhile.

Alas, it was not to be.

I feel as though I've run a marathon but without that post-run high [which is something I have read about, never having run more than 1500m].

The basic premise here is A Lot. Hero is a male prostitute hired by a friend of the heroine (wife of an earl) to see to her needs for a couple of weeks. That idea throws up a whole barrage of issues to my mind. Insecurities in respect of affection (how do you know when he prostitute really feels something for you and vice versa), the spectre of past lovers, the consent, class and societal differences, what happens at the end of the arrangement, the difficulty of ever entering a long-term relationship to name but a few.

The premise militates against the chances of success because one roadblock to the romance is enough, here we have multiple roadblocks and it'd be one hell of a novel if it managed to deal with them all.

Collins hasn't done it. She skirts the issues. Pokes them with a stick and then rapidly backs away. Our heroine's realisation that the hero is sleeping with her for money and the consequent possibility that he might feel nothing for her, indeed he might entirely loathe her, that the whole thing is quite possibly, even probably, an act - is brushed under the carpet within about five pages of it cropping up. Literally, Collins deals with it thus: “And like that, everything went back to the way it once had been.” As if the thought had never occurred to heroine at all! All the issues the H/h might face in getting married are simply ignored and the eeeevil husband is disposed of in short order. All the opportunities to give this book some bite, are missed.

The overwhelming focus of this novel is on the one thing that must be true about a male prostitute romance: the sex is going to be great, right? He's a pro! Even more of a pro than the usual romance heroes, all of whom are fantastic in bed. And so it proves. There's a lot of sex in this book. There are many, many orgasms, including during the loss of virginity. Of course, it helps that our virginal heroine is a deeply responsive, sensuous woman, like no other the hero has been with. The cliches abound and the writing doesn't help:

“ And that kiss. The first kiss revealed a woman’s true nature.
And that kiss…
One glimpse. All it had taken was one glimpse of the passion hidden beneath the cool, contained exterior, and he had momentarily forgotten where he was and whom he was with. ”

“ "Perhaps it's too sheltered in here. The little rose may yearn for the full force of the sun, not merely that which comes through the windows.” Like you, he was tempted to add.”

“Each controlled slam [side note: what the f is this word choice? You slam a door, for goodness sake] of his hips brought her closer, closer, and in no time at all she came again.”

The sex is burning passion and heat and volcanoes. All those familiar phrases you’ve read before.

The characterisation of the heroine is ropey. She’s sort of a fallen woman trying to keep a lid on her passion and yet, the hero arrives and she really gives it up without a fight. She’s weak in respect of her husband (which I can understand given the situation), but then also towards her brothers who have treated her so awfully (and appear to be utter dickheads during their brief appearance). She’s needy and weepy and a damsel in distress in the worst way.

The hero started out pretty well. Disaffected male prostitute with an obviously sad background. The initial character sketch of him was very good, but ultimately, it goes nowhere. He’s perfect. Far too perfect:

“In addition to being a perfect gentleman and a highly skilled and attentive lover, he was also an intelligent man.”

See what I mean? Even when the heroine acts questionably towards him, he shows none of the grit one might expect of a man raised in difficult circumstances and living a tough life. When he returns to London, he can’t do the day job any more, because the heroine has ruined him for all other woman. Of course.

Perhaps I could forgive all of this if the romance was good and well-developed. But it isn’t. I don’t know why these two like one another, aside from massive [heh] sexual compatibility. The heroine grows roses and the hero reads the Times and plays chess and this, along with the sex, is seemingly enough. I didn’t buy it.

And, I rather wish I hadn’t bought it.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars.

While the premise of the story really appealed to me, unfortunately this just didn't fulfill my expectations. And just when I thought that I possibly might DNF it (not something I usually take lightly but have been feeling the urge to more and more lately), it started to pick up.

The reasoning behind my lack of enthusiasm had to do with the slowness of the first quarter of the book and the heroine.

Isabella (Bella) was exhausting. In and out of the bedroom - she suffered an extreme case of multiple orgasm syndrome (sigh) and her childish personality and immaturity exasperated me at times. I do have sympathy for her though - shipped off to Scotland to live an isolated existence after being forced to marry by her eldest brother. This was so frustrating to me for a number of reasons:

1) If the family has fallen on such hard times, why can't Phillip simply marry an heiress? It seems he's a fairly hot ticket - an Earl, attractive, all of his teeth are intact. Why is he so distraught over his siblings having to marry well and force responsibility onto them for bringing income into the earldom? It makes no sense.
2) Bella's pain and suffering from loneliness and being married to a monster (although you don't find out how bad he is until most of the way into the book), all could have been AVOIDED. Seriously people, it's called communication.

Deep breaths.

Meanwhile, Gideon was a dream. Polite, attentive, strong, gorgeous, delicious. I loved him and wanted to keep him and bake cupcakes for him.

I just can't spend anymore time writing this review. Sorry Tammy - I wish I could have loved it.

EDIT: Since having time to reflect on this book and my review, I've changed my initial rating of 3 stars to 2. I would classify a DNF as 0-1 star depending on the story and if it grabbed me at all. A 2 (for me) reflects that I struggled with the book but was invested in the hero and ultimately his HEA. Apart from that it held no other attraction for me.

[Océano de libros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bueno, tengo que decir que esta novela también me ha gustado, sigue en la línea de la segunda (que fue la primera que me leí), me agrada la forma de narrar de la autora, no encontré momento aburrido, quizás al principio le costó arrancar, eso sí pero el resto es bastante fluido. Tengo que romper una lanza a favor por esta autora porque es “innovadora” en el sentido de presentarnos a unos personajes tan atípicos de este tipo de novelas y que creo que esa manera de arriesgarse, de no seguir la misma estela de las novelas románticas es de agradecer, porque una que lee tanto de este género al final se acaba cansando de siempre los mismos estereotipos de los personajes principales.
En esta novela tenemos a Isabella- Lady Stirling una mujer que se ve atrapada en un matrimonio sin amor. Me gusta que la autora refleje esa época, donde los matrimonios de ese tipo eran bastante frecuentes, todo por intereses de títulos, dotes y demás. Y es ahí donde aparece nuestro personaje más novedoso, y es que Gideon Rosedale se presenta como un “acompañante”, un hombre con un gran atractivo y sensualidad pero que no posee fortuna ni título.
La historia me ha gustado no solo por esa novedad por así decirlo que he comentado antes, por tener esos personajes tan variopintos sino porque ha sabido desarrollarla y ha despertado mis sentimientos, más por Gideon pero también por Isabella. Su historia de amor no es sencilla, además han tenido buena química y momentos muy intensos. Además tenemos personajes secundarios que nos sacarán de nuestras casillas, algunos más que otros, y también algunos a los que perdonar a otros no por supuesto, me refiero a los hermanos de Isabella, a Lord Stirling, a la señora del burdel (cuyo nombre no recuerdo ahora y mejor así, menuda arpía jeje).
En resumen, voy a darle las cinco estrellas porque Gideon me ha conquistado totalmente, ha sido un personaje con una gran evolución y que me ha hecho suspirar y llorar por él.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It has a relatively unusual theme, but it worked for me. It has a great cast of characters, no one is perfect and it doesn't neatly tie up all the loose ends.

The story effectively handles two sides of life of this era which HRs generally either ignore, or paint with a rosy tint: prostitution and marital abuse. Usually prostitutes are women visited by happy, fun-loving aristocrats. Sometimes they are part of the HEA, but more often they are part of the hero's past before the virtuous heroine sweeps him off his feet. Likewise, I can't actually remember hearing about marital abuse in an HR. These are two themes which I've always assumed played a huge part of life in this era, and always found it a bit strange that more books don't at least touch of them, to give them a dash of reality. Prostitution was a HUGE industry in England - Dan Cruickshank's , estimates that prostitution rivaled brewing, construction and the London docks in terms of importance to the economy, and that was only 30 years before this was set. It was everywhere, and this explains why a lady's virtue was so carefully guarded. She had something which very few probably did. Also, women were chattel - first their fathers, or brothers "owned" them, and then their husbands. They had no rights of their own, and any property they had became their husbands on marriage. A husband could do dreadful things to his wife, and she had no recourse to the law (her husband may have been the law). So, I really like how this book looks at these two issues a bit more objectively than most HRs. But don't get me wrong, this is a wonderful story, and a great, great romance.

The hero and heroine are flawed, but in a credible way. The heroine isn't spoilt, she has made a life for herself, as much as she can, but there is no escape from her life, and she doesn't have the strength to try, nor the strength to confront her horrible husband. Likewise, the hero shows occasional pettiness and, at least to start with, doesn't have the ability to be able to respond sensitively to the heroine, beyond the tricks he's learned over the years whilst servicing the legends of paying customers. He appears a little bit weak, but also caring, thoughtful and patient, and also a bit reckless when he realises what he wants is in front of him.

I also actually liked the secondary characters too. Well, not exactly liked, but enjoyed them. The heroine's brothers never do redeem themselves in my eyes, and her oldest brother probably never will manage to revive his fortunes. He lacks imagination, is arrogant and full of himself, and doesn't change. Her younger brother just sounds horrible, and you get the feeling he'll meet an unpleasant end. Her cousin, Esme, appears like she might fall into that irritating model of the perfect woman, but the true nature of her relationship with her "bodyguard" is never revealed, and at the end she is clearly much more of a dangerous, mysterious woman than I guessed.

It's so hard to write a good review of this one. It's always the way with the books I really enjoy. But it was well-written, steamy, emotional but also grounded, and I loved it right from the descriptions of the roses to the honesty over the hero's life as a male prostitute.

5 stars, all-time-favorites, and I can pretty much guarantee I'll be re-reading it.

[Auj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this marks the book where I give up trying to read as many books as there are days in 2022. Before, I was reading about a book a day. Now that school has started again, it's too hard to do that.

I felt really badly for Isabella. She was caught just kissing a stable hand at 17 by her brother and then forced to marry this older man. First off, she wasn't ruined and even if she was, no one would have known because surprise, only the brother saw! She seemed so bored there. Besides her roses, there was nothing to do at Bowhill Park. The estate was kind of a virtual prison for her because it seemed like she couldn't leave it.

Luckily, her French cousin comes visiting and is like Bella, you need a man. Despite Isabella's protests (because of propriety), her cousin sends a male prostitute from England. Isabella falls in love with him pretty quickly, but he resists his feelings for her for a while. He didn't seem to fall in love with her until the second fortnight. I don't know if he was trying to resist feelings things for her because it was a job for him, or he hadn't fallen in love with her yet, but I didn't like how she loved him first & the whole thing.

I was really wondering how these two will be together. It seems they'll just spend their days at Bowhill Park, neither of them working. But surely they would get bored in that house? I was hoping maybe Gideon would become an artist.

Also, the number of orgasms Bella had...it was almost unbelievable. Once she got started, damn.

[D.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

**2.5 stars**

Her Ladyship’s Companion could have been a really good book, if only the serious aspects of the story weren’t underdeveloped to pander to the salacious ones.

In all my time reading historical romance, I haven’t come across an abused wife as the heroine. I really wish this would have been a bigger component of the plot because it would have created lots of opportunity for angsty conflict. As it was, the bad husband was merely the excuse for the heroine to get a gigolo on retainer.

It was difficult to feel very sorry for Bella because the husband was never around and allowed her to live on her own, surrounded by comforts. She was also the martyr type, refusing to ask for help or even figuring out a way to manage the husband. I know she was in a terrible situation with very few avenues of escape but she never considered anything, besides sighing about her solitude, tending roses and waiting around until the husband showed up. She did absolutely nothing to make her life more bearable, it fell to other people to solve her problems for her, which is a treat I deplore. I want characters to consider their own problems and try to find a solution, even if all they can do is ask others for help. Wilting in a corner waiting for bad things to go away is not the hallmark of a strong character.

I didn’t understand why the hero fell in love with the heroine. Although she wanted to pretend their flirtation was mutual, she treated him like a servant at her beck and call, letting him stew on his own when he wasn’t servicing her. I don’t know how different she could have been from the other women who had hired him, when she was only concerned for her own pleasure and couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

The way the conflict with the husband was resolved was pretty unbelievable, especially considering he was a peer of the realm. There were so many holes in the story that any investigator with two brain cells would have had them both in jail before the heroine could say ‘orgasm’.

Overall, a book with tons of potential that fell flat on the execution.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book! Thank you so much to all my friends, mainly Alycia, for recommending it! It is a wonderful book and not to be missed. Add it to your collection and put it at the top of your to-read list!

I loved both the hero and heroine so very much. Lady Isabella was very sweet but had a very passionate side to her, and she was being punished by her older brother and husband. Her husband was very cruel and I was very excited about what happened to him in the end.

The hero, Gideon, is a Lady's Companion or male prostitute. But he was also very gentleman-like and honorable and I just loved him with Isabella.

This book has it all- steam, romance, humor, more steam and a very sweet love story to round it all out! 5 big stars and a definite reread in the future!

[ᑭᑌᑎƳᗩ [Punya Reviews...] · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

Her Ladyship's Companion deals with two themes, one I lurrve, another I HATE- gigolos and infidelity respectively. Well, kinda ironic since they both go side-by-side. But this book made me think a little differently on both sides. I still love gigolos (For those who don’t know, Derek Craven from Dreaming of You is the love of my life and those who already heard it many times, sorry about that *giggles*. And for those who want to grab at my meat, back off! :p) but I’ve learned to open my eyes a bit about spousal abuse and why a woman would turn to another man, a hired one at that. Gideon stole my heart completely, I don’t even know if I’d be able to express that adequately, the things he did for Bella; all his sacrifices. Bella, on the other hand, I didn’t mind her clinginess to Gideon (can’t AT ALL blame her for those popping orgasms she had, those some reviewers seem to poke fun at, since Gideon was that good) because I got where she stood, her insecurities were not at all unfounded. I really felt for her. It was in the end that I took a little issue with some of her behaviors. Other than that, it was a great book. My first Evangeline Collins book was a hit for sure. Apart from Gideon and the really good writing, I appreciated the very unique plotting this book had. Time to time, I didn't know what will happen next but that didn’t hamper anything for me.

Isabella suffered since the age of 17, when she made a mistake of kissing a groom and caught red-handed by her older brother, Phillip. Since the death of their parent, a young Phillip, who’s very stern about his duties, was trying hard to deal with their father’s enormous debt. Being immediate younger to Phillip and very beautiful, Bella was supposed to bring a Lord with good money to help him with it. So, when Bella was caught doing something so rash, Phillip decided to marry her off to the next guy who asked for her hand. Yes, everything got out and she was ruined so it’s not like he had many choices. He didn’t even make sure about this Scottish Lord Stirling, only that he looks like a nice guy and had loads of money. Phillip never did care for Bella in the past 5 years; about how she lived , how her life was spent in that remote Scottish castle on the farthest side of Scotland where her husband dumped her immediately after marriage and would ignore her as much as possible, he staying in London most of the times. Phillip thought Bella might be pregnant (which proved false of course) so this was just the solution. Way to go big brother! Her youngest, whoremonger brother Julien isn’t any better. Now that he’s grown, he never wanted to know what happened to his sister beyond the surface. He’s working with his own ship, helping with the monetary situation, fine but I didn’t like him at all. I don’t wanna talk about her sisters since they really don’t have any power. But they did corresponded with her whenever they could. Then, there’s her husband who is impotent and punished her for this. Seriously! The guy was that nasty! He married her for being beautiful and it’s supposed to cure him of impotency. The wedding night was a disaster, as far as I could understand, and any of the few other efforts he made. As she couldn’t cure him (oh, I’m so surprised!) he hates her and abuses her, both physically and verbally. When he isn’t abusing her, he’s ignores her by leaving her in that less important estate. This is the summery of the last 6 years of Bella’s life. The only solace Bella got from this marriage is her roses she loves to grow. When Stirling dies, she’d own the manor house as the marriage settlement. She was a passionate young woman who paid the price for something she didn’t even do by living like this, a virgin even after 6 yrs of her marriage. So, I had to tell you first where Bella stood when it all started.

Bella’s French cousin, Esme is the only one who cares deeply for her. Esme is a young widow, living her life as she pleases. Porter, an ex-soldier is her bodyguard, her jack-of-all-trades, who’s also very possessive towards her. I didn’t know, at first, if to like her or not. She seemed like one of those worldly, spoiled widows (a French one at that) I don’t much care for. But, as I learned more about her, I saw she’s got more into her than she let’s on. And, there might be something going on between her and Porter (as Bella suspects). I liked that she’d come to visit Bella whenever she could and be her only confidante, at least as far as Bella would tell her. No, Bella never said anything to anyone about her husband’s behavior, only the servants of Bowhill Park knew. It was Esme who finally asked her to have a little flirtation in her life, hire a man and be done with her penance. Bella was confused about what to do; you can guess, all sorts of conflicting thoughts came flooding, with a lot of guilt because she, of course didn’t want her husband or Phillip to find out, ever. I don’t blame her because she had no other choice. Ultimately she said ‘no’ even though she wanted to have a man, even if a hired one. I totally got her conflicts. What she didn’t know that Esme doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and a few days later, Gideon was on his way to Bowhill for a fortnight.

Now, to talk about Gideon, there wasn’t anything that surprising but there were plenty to make me awestruck; no, it’s not only his love making but as a man beautiful, inside out. His mother was a whore, he never knew his father. Madame Rubicon does run a fashionable brothel so he was quite privileged or so he thought. As a kid he lived with an aunt since his mother never wanted anything to do with him. As a teenager, he finally came to live in the brothel. Spend those early years of manhood having a very good time ‘learning’ the pleasures of bed from various girls there, not knowing it was all a plan of Madame Rubicon because she knew Gideon would someday be the star of her brothel, a beautiful man and the ultimate instrument of pleasure which in return, would bring her huge bundles of money. Gideon knew nothing of this so he worked some odd jobs there, then sometimes later, stepped into what Rubicon has already planned for him. It was kinda expected; the way he grew up and the only kinda life he knew from an early age and then knowing he’s got no other better option. The only mistake he made was in thinking he chose to be this, a male prostitute and that someday he’ll have enough money to resign and buy himself a life that includes a home, a wife, even kids. Oh, that man broke my heart. But not in the beginning. I didn’t know any of this then. He was hired by Esme, who took a good look at him and thought he’d suit (he did suit just fine for Bella lolz). Gideon thought this is the woman who wants to hire him but soon, he realizes he has travel to Scotland. Then, we get a glimpse inside of Madame Rubicon’s brothel and how things go in there, a few insights and so on, including Gideon’s musing and his growing (though late) dislike for this profession. He’s been saving but there isn’t ever enough money even to buy a decent house, so he has to stick around. Then, the ever efficient Porter narrates thoroughly what’s expected of him, with a threat on behalf of Bella. I thought he’d be an excellent hero, if EC ever deems to give him and Esme their book; the one I’m sure I’ll read!

Gideon was pretty sure the lady he’s supposed to service would be at least older than him, maybe an elderly matron bored with her life. But what he found was a treasure, at least with her beauty and quiet grace. She’s much younger and aristocracy is written in everything she does. Not that she’s a vain, spoiled, haughty thing; quite an improvement since Gideon has experienced all sorts of disdainful behavior from people, even from the servants of his clients. He’s quite immune after 10 yrs into this. But, Bella took his breath away. On the other hand, Bella was kinda mad at Esme for not listening to her but one look at Gideon and she was breathless. She never, in her wildest dreams, imagined Esme would hire someone so perfect, in looks and in bearing. Gideon was ever the polite gentleman with her and didn’t rush things. Their relationship grew steadily, with talks and walks and few stolen kisses here and there. What marred my fun was- though I knew that Bella was already weak (both physically and emotionally) towards Gideon, not knowing much about him at that point I thought he was kinda distant, his every move calculated. But that wasn’t Gideon’s fault, even as a prostitute, he has to abide by rules of intimacy. He performs the most of intimate acts with unknown/little known women but without those rules, his life would be very complicated. One of those rules was, of course, use French letters unfailingly which Gideon did and I think, he’d never ever had sex without one. Another was, to talk calculatingly, wholly bound on seduction or whatever the lady wants. Then, no staying the entire night, also unfailingly. Some of these came out as musings from Gideon’s part, while he would think about his reaction to Bella. They were having a great time together but so far, no sex. But the time’s running out and he wants her. Bella even shows him her treasured rose garden, a hobby no one cared about, which made him feel special. Then those kisses show Gideon what a passionate woman she is, which only whets his appetite. I didn’t like it that he’d think about his other clients and kinda compare this situation with the others time to time but guess it couldn’t avoided, seeing his profession. This so far has defied all his years of experience.

But soon Bella gives into this. And, Lord they had some hot hot sex. Not all of those are explicitly narrated but sometimes in the middle of it or from Bella’s own musings of how something that Gideon did to her. It was just so good to read. I loved them and disliked them at the same time. Yah, because all the while I knew it wasn’t a real relationship which made me uncomfortable. But that’s just me. I should’ve expected that. Gideon was totally, utterly surprised to find Bella a virgin and then the shock of why she would give it to a man like him made him think about all this in a new way. He was glad that any other man wasn’t sent to do this job because now, he was feeling protective of her. And, then Bella would pop orgasms and keep on going... I mean it makes girl jealous and makes her want to find a man like Gideon. He KNEW very well what he’s doing. He’d never let it happen without a French letter, even when Bella repeatedly wanted to do without one. I know it’s totally logical but it kinda glaringly showed me that this is casual sex, however mind blowing this may be; that there is nothing substantial in this relationship. Or was there? Soon it begins to bug Bella more and more. She knew, like me, she shouldn’t but sadly, she wasn’t a sophisticated society hussy, so she had trouble separating the physical with the emotional. She fell, quite hard, for Gideon. One day, in the middle of sex, it begins to bug her so much that she makes him stop and starts asking questions like if he felt anything for her. The whole discussion didn’t end well of course but it was Bella who felt bad for making it in the first place and smooths thing over. Then again, the night before he was supposed to leave, she asks Gideon to stay but he wouldn’t. This leads to a bad fight and in a rage, Gideon leaves for London. Bella is now totally lost, misses him terribly. Gideon does too but was sure she’ll never ask for him again. Bella was so desperate that she takes money from her husband’s safe and sends it directly to Rubicon for Gideon; to send him ASAP for another fortnight. Gideon is angry at her for doing this because, 1st of all, he conducts his own affairs and not through Rubicon anymore. Then the money was waaay more than what was required. No matter what he thought, he also didn’t want to be reminded of the reality of their relationship. So he’s again in Scotland, angry, with every intention to leave ASAP. He behaves like a jerk with Bella and God, knowing her plight in life, my heart was breaking for her. She honestly had NO IDEA how things are conducted in matters like this. I would’ve slapped Gideon but he soon realizes it wasn’t her fault and makes it up to her. She asks for it again without a French letter but he says ‘no’, again. I wished, for once, he’d lose control because I could see he was trying hard not to. Anyway, this time their affair went very well, much more intimate but Gideon still followed his rules while Bella abided by them. And when they part, he leaves his address but somehow Gideon knew she won’t call for him anymore.

Then Bella’s husband comes for a visit with his debauched bunch. I don’t feel like narrating the way that man treated Bella but it was horrible, abominable and utterly humiliating; he just hated her and treated her as dirt. There were incidents including one of the a$$holes and the skunk aka her husband made her apologies to the SOB! Then, one day, he finds out about the money and in a fit of rebellion, Bella tells him the truth. Lord, after that, he foul mouths her (nothing new) and beats her with a candle stick (nothing new again). My hands were positively itching to cut the man’s balls off... oh wait, he doesn’t even have balls that work! This showed me the kind of ‘relationship’ she had with her husband and why she was so scared when he was in residence. Bella is sick afterwards while the skunk leaves with his lot to parrrthayy! Meanwhile, in London, Gideon can’t think of anything but Bella and he’s been celibate since the first moment he’s laid his eyes on her, not taking any more clients. It was so unexpected and sweet, since I thought he’d go on with it. But he knew this can’t go on. There are several who wants the ‘pleasure’ of his company. He’s very upset, despite himself, that Bella hadn’t contacted again. So he goes to meet a client. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable at the moment but the man didn’t disappoint me. He cried off with some excuse. Now he has to see Bella again and wants to resign. First, he tries to convince Rubicon but the nasty b*tch thoroughly reminded him of his station, profession and how worthless he is to every woman because he’s “nothing but a means to an orgasm” for them all. Oh I felt so so so sad for him. I cringed and wanted to kill the harpy! She also informs him how she planned it all from the beginning but Gideon says nothing. Because there’s nothing to be done about it anymore. I remember a quote where he thought that everything is about ‘them’, not him. Nobody cares about what he wants. Oh the poor honey! :(

After the client debacle (as he just couldn’t get it up AT ALL, something he’s NEVER experienced in his life), he goes to Rubicon again and makes the ultimate sacrifice. He gives away almost all the money he saved, a small fortune, to buy his freedom. God, I just wanted to hold him tight to my ample bosom. I did! Seeing his bleak future and his musings (since he knew what he was doing was totally insane because he and Bella have no future whatsoever)... ah, can’t explain how sad I felt. In Scotland, he finds out Bella is sick. No one would call for a doctor because everyone is scared of Stirling. He takes care of Bella, she gets well and this time their relationship grew much more intimate (by then he knew he loves her but haven’t told her thinking it’s no use); he slept with her, calling her not only Bella-Bella (something I adored) but also other endearments and finally, in one omigawd-someone-hold-me steamy scene, he finally gives in without French letters. As I mentioned this bugged me so far but when it happened, it took my breath away. Gideon never felt anything like this and I could positively feel his emotions out of the book. It was so hot yet there was this awe there in him... I mean wow!

In the meantime, when Bella was sick, the housekeeper sent for her brothers and also for Gideon, if her brothers won’t come. The groom makes a mistake and Phillip learns about Gideon. Julien was also in town and now, after 5 years of ignoring her like she never existed, both brothers flew into indignation knowing she hired a prostitute. MY ARSE! I wanted to kick them both, seeing the way they berated, made snide comments (mostly from Julien the a$$) manhandled Bella and Gideon. They ask Gideon to go away. Before that Gideon leaves all the money that was used to hire him to Phillip, for Bella. And now, he has nothing left in this world. My heart was breaking like hell. Anyway, soon Phillip gets hold of the real situation between Bella and Stirling and feels very guilty. He tries to make things right by asking Julien to bring Gideon back. Bella was having hysterical fits learning she’d lost Gideon again, for her brothers making her give up the one thing that mattered in her life. This scene, where she kept saying no, no, no, no... can’t explain how it tore at my heart. Then Gideon was back and Phillip gives him the permission to take care of Bella while he takes care of Stirling. Gideon helps Phillip with information about Bella’s relationship with Stirling as Bella won’t reveal anything. Then the brother and the sister had a talk too. Gideon and Bella had another couple of weeks together to sort out their mutual feelings. I loved all the love scenes but it was the last love scene as Bella did something special for him that had me there, it was SO WOW! I could see in my mind’s eyes how he looked, I was simply blown away by him and his reactions. He was so happy with Bella that I could almost sigh... almost, if I wasn’t jealous myself. *sighs hard*

There is a slight misunderstanding about Stirling’s whereabouts so Julien, who took up the job to hunt him down, misses him. The man is back in Bowhill Park, ending Bella and Gideon’s idyllic existence. But they were expecting this. The climax of the story was awesome, so unexpected for me. Then again, I wasn’t sure how their situation would have a HEA in the first place. Esme comes back to help Bella out and I admired the woman all the more for it. Now, what bugged me about Bella was: First, she asked Gideon very callously about his financial situation, where he confesses what he did for her. Then, she knew what Gideon did and while proposing, Gideon asked her to be prepared that sometimes she might meet some women or the other he used to know. So, why was she so mad and jealous when a former client (who BTW has been a good friend and very nice to him over the few years of their relationship), a genuine well-wisher writes him to congratulate? I mean SHE KNEW the terms and she was supposed to love the man with flaws and all; a man who sacrificed so many things for her, fought almost to death and she was mad? Really?! It’s Gideon who tries to mollify her by using soothing words and apologies. WHY? HE DESERVES YOUR ABSOLUTE TRUST twit! This alone made me take away half a star. And then I felt, why would he have to mollify her? WHY? I thought Bella should’ve apologized instead for doubting him. Lord, don’t know. This made me angry, it really did. So, in the end, I give it a 4.5 star.

Lovely work and looking forward to more EC books in the future.

[Neus Gutiérrez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Por una parte esta historia me parece super cuqui... diferente y que trata de un tema importante, pero por otra tiene algunos puntos que es que no he podido ponerle más nota.

Tenemos a una mujer casada con un maltratador e impotente, que es escoria. Y que vive sola, abandonada por su familia, alejada de todo. Entonces la prima le manda a un prostituto pues para tener un poco de coqueteo y felicidad... pero de ahí pues lógicamente acaba surgiendo el amor.

Mi problema con este libro es: que hay comportamientos bastante jodidos por parte de ella al inicio del libro con él. Prácticamente tratándolo como un objeto o posesión, más que como persona. Y luego que creo que no se aborda en profundidad sobre los sentimientos de él y sobre el bagaje que tiene que llevar por lo que ha tenido que hacer. Además de que su romance es como muy de golpe, y la forma en que termina todo.. está bien, pero creo que le habría hecho falta un poco más de trama y páginas.

Me espraba mucho más de una obra que empezó muy bien pero que creo que no se ha desarrollado todo lo bien que debería.

[Charlotte Featherstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot hero. Hot love scenes. Lots of angst and emotion. My kind of romance read. Can't wait for Evangeline's next release!

[Mary Rayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was so invested but then idk what happened and it got kinda boring to me.
Didn't stop me from loving Mr Rosedale tho!
He was so sweet😭💖

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prostitute meets Virgin=???? You'll have to read it to find out!

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evangeline Collins' Her Ladyship's Companion is a really satisfying read if you're in the right mood for it. Lots of feels and "aw" moments. This is a twist on the lady of the night with the gentleman trope. Bella is a very lonely married woman whose French cousin, Esme, decides to order a male prostitute to her door in order to cheer her up. As you do. Jokes aside, without Esme, literally nothing would have happened.

After being caught with a stable groom, Bella is married to the first nobleman that would take her and is abandoned by her husband in the backwaters of Scotland somewhere. She hates her life but feels guilty about her youthful transgression and its financial impact on her family (beyond the morality, her marriage would have helped right the debts to the family estate) and takes her current lot in life as a form of atonement.

Bella's cousin Esme comes in like a wrecking ball and decides she's done her penance.

Enter Gideon Rosedale. He is a unique male courtesan in that he only meets with female clients. His aim in life is to have enough money to buy land and start a family.

Bella and Gideon have simmering chemistry and they get each other. Gideon cares for Bella as a person, as a client and as a romantic interest. I loved their first fortnight together. Gideon's pretty sharp and intuits a lot about Bella from the design of the home to the professional care she places in botany and roses, in particular. I loved it when Bella wants him back and sends like all of the money in the family vault, and I loved learning more about the source of Bella's loneliness. Bella's family is also very interesting, what with the worried eldest brother, the younger brother and Kitty and the viscount all on a ship - I don't see anything else published by Collins except for this and another book about courtesans but I'd be down for the family series.

I liked the simplicity of Her Ladyship's Companion, and I particularly connected to the pure and sweet leads that are no longer lonely because they find each other.

If I was in the mood to read a story with stronger characters, I may have felt impatient reading this. Because the characters could have been a bit more three-dimensional. Both Bella and Gideon are not ambitious or worldly. Bella is a fragile nymphomaniac and Gideon wants a family. Aside from late-night shenanigans, pruning roses and reading the Times, it all felt routine. I wanted something more and I felt that lack, which is why it's not a 5-star.

[Bri The Shameless Romance Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The romance between the two leads in this book was okay. To be honest this book drags a little to get started and drags a bit to end. The FMC finds herself in an abusive marriage tucked away from all of her family, after her brother marries her off after catching her kissing a stable boy. The only family member who still visits her (her cousin) sends her a male prostitute to brighten her days as she feels that she has become a little too depressed (the cousin is unaware of the abuse). The MMC has meager goals for his life. After being groomed to become a prostitute from a young age, his only goal is to one day have enough to retire, get a property and have a family. Obviously they met and fall in love during the visit.

To be honest although these two were likable and I felt sympathy for both characters, the romance was just okay to me. I found myself continuing to read because I wanted justice for the FMC. Her situation truly enraged me. I found it incredibly frustrating that her brother married her off over a kiss that nobody knew about. Not to mention the FMC feels an incredible amount of guilt about this as she was suppose to marry well that season to save the family. At times it almost reads like she felt like she deserved this situation for being a disappointment.

Not to spoil too much but you don’t get much vindication on the FMC behalf from her family. Her brother is a piece of work who offers a weak apology at best after learning the truth. He does feel guilt, but it’s not enough in my opinion. I blame him for her whole situation. I also have to be honest and say it bugged me that he didn’t attempt to marry an heiress to fix the family’s finances years ago or even in the present. He left his siblings with the brunt of fixing things.

All in all this isn’t a terrible read, but not really remarkable. If you’re looking for a gender flipped pretty woman book with sad back stories this will be right up your alley.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lady Isabella Stirling resides at Bowhill Park in the Scottish countryside. Other than her servants, she is alone. Left by her husband. For months at a time. For five years she has been in a loveless marriage and is basically imprisoned at the estate where she does little more than tend her rose garden. Her betrothal was orchestrated by her brother, Philip, after he had caught her with a lover in the stable on their estate.

One day her cousin, Esme, comes for a visit and makes an outrageous suggestion that Bella needs a lover. A hired lover. Bella does not want this and even though she says no, Esme goes forward and purchases one talented male prostitute, Gideon Rosedale, for her. Bella is a prim and proper English lady and Gideon is this hunky, intelligent guy who just happens to be able to drive her to, um, distraction. Frequently. It's rather amusing to watch Bella go from behaving like an aristocrat to a full fledged seductress. And, Gideon, by the way doesn't run around naked non-stop. He dresses quite well and is seductive and quite imaginative in other regards as well. Swoon.

Although complete opposites, their love blooms. He finds her incredibly beautiful and she finds him fascinating. As their time together comes to a conclusion, Gideon goes back to his life in London. Neither of them can forget each other and at this point in the tale, Isabella, in my opinion, becomes a tad bit too needy for my taste. However, this tale of forbidden love truly kept me held and I stayed up way too late reading it.

I can't say that I was "wowed" by this read. It takes a lot to wow me anyway. However, it was quite good, the sex was hot and I would recommend it.

[Natalija · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. It was emotionally poignant, heart-wrenching and the main characters were well elaborated and memorable. The relationship development between Isabella and Gideon was believable and trustworthy. They never pretended to be something that they weren't and frankly expressed their desires. Ms. Collins definitely has her own unique voice & I can't wait for her next book to come out (she has only 2 published books at the moment). I highly recommend "Her Ladyship's Companion" to any fan of deeply emotional & sensual historical romance.

[belisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

hikaye ilginçti de o çeviri neydi öyle
yayınevlerinin bu durumdan utanmamasını çok aşağılayıcı buluyorum
adam yerine konmuyoruz resmen
lise seviyesinde çeviri, edit��r yok
ancak okur verilmeyen hizmetler için para ödemeyi sürdürüyor...

[Rach~The Highlander luverrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book ... it was really entertaining . i loved the HEA the hero was great and not to overpowering .. and the heroine was also very likable ..

[Anna (Bobs Her Hair)]

Lost the will to finish. Did not like heroine. Borrowed from the library so no harm done.

[Ceren Ünlü · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

kurgu çok güzeldi, çevirisi sıkıntılıydı..
yorum blog da

[BRNTerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story takes place in England and Scotland in 1816 and spans about ten months. The heroine is Isabella ‘Bella’ Stirling. She’s 24 and has been married to Lord Stirling, 34, for almost five years. He’s impotent and they have no relationship of any kind with each other and he’s rarely at home. He’s both physically and verbally abusive toward her. Bella is 5’8″ and has pale blond and violet eyes. She’s terribly unhappy. Her parents are dead and she’s got two brothers and two sisters who have never come to visit her.

The hero is Gideon Rosedale. He’s twenty-seven, 6’1″ and has dark brown hair and brown eyes. He’s a prostitute and has been for ten years. His mother was one and he doesn’t know who his father is. He was raised up in a brothel. Bella’s cousin, Esmé, hires him to ‘service’ Bella for two weeks. That’s how the hero and heroine meet.

Bella is so lonely and isolated. I think she became a bit obsessed with Gideon, especially after their original two week stay was over. She was so starved or affection that once she warmed up to him, she was not emotionally prepared to let him go. To me, she showed signs of being mentally unbalanced and seemed a bit immature. She also seems hypersexual. That combined with her overall emotional state made me wonder if she was bipolar. I feel she was a bit of a weak character, pretty passive with things that had nothing to do with Gideon.
Gideon seemed a little bland to me. I’d have liked to have known a bit more about his upbringing. I don’t think his character was developed quite enough. Bella’s surely wasn’t. We weren’t told a thing about her past; childhood, upbringing, nothing. I want to know why her siblings never came to visit her.

The sex scenes were very explict but ordinary and there were plenty of them. I was a bit surprised by one scene near the end involving something the hero did to the heroine. I’d give the sex an A-.

Overall, there wasn’t much going on in this story but sex. No real plot at all except toward the end when Bella’s husband pays her a visit. Though the heroine is married to another, she and Gideon have their happily-ever-after. How? You’ll have to read the book to find out! I grade this book 3.5 stars/B-. I absolutely love the cover with the exception of the heroes hairy leg.

[Çisem · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Çeviri o kadar kötüydü ki yani o kadar hani üstüne laf söylenemez :D resmen ilk 150 sayfa konuya giremedim o yüzden :D Kitabın birçok yerinde ne oluyor, kim ne demiş, burası ne alaka diye anlayamamaktan bir hal oldum. Kitabın konusu falan çok güzeldi adam gibi çevrilmiş olsa beşlik kitapta işte rezil etmişler resmen kitabı.

Gideon, yıllardır para karşılığında kadınlarla birlikte olan bir adam, kendini ilişkiye girdiği kadınlardan hep bir uzak tutmuş duygusal duruma girenler oldukça uzaklaşmış. Bella, zamanında yaptığı bir hata yüzünden abisinin kendisine seçtiği bir adamla evlenmiş yalnız, mutsuz bir kız.

Bella'nın kuzeni Esme, Bella için bir adam kiralamak istiyor ve Gideon'u buluyor. Gideon'u Bella'nın evine gönderiyor, Gideon ve Bella ilk karşılaştıkları anda birbirlerinden etkileniyorlar. Bella başta sadece flört edeceklerini belirtse de sonrasında aralarında farklı şeyler gelişiyor ve devamı geldikçe geliyor.

Bella'nın kocasının Bella'ya yaptıklarını okurken resmen burnumun direği sızladı, abilerini de öldüresim geldi. Resmen kızı evlendirip hayatından çıkmışlar ne arama ne sorma , bu kız öldü mü kaldı mı hiç bakmamışlar bile. Üstelik de Philip sonradan gelip "Bana niye anlatmadın?" demedi mi yemin ediyorum odunla kovala yani.

Gideon'un aşkı çok güzeldi bence, başta her ne kadar Bella'dan olabildiğince uzak dursa da sonrasında kızın üstüne titremesi falan çok tatlıydı. Bella zaten baştan beri Gideon'u çok sevdi, garibim başta o kadar yalnızdı ki içim acıdı. Kimseye derdinden bahsetmemiş, ancak Esme'ye göndermemek üzere mektuplar yazmış derdini onlara dökmüş. Kocası olacak adamın zulmüne de böyle katlanmış.

Kitabın konusu çok güzeldi, ama tekrar ediyorum çevirisi felaketti. Ona göre okuyun hatta bence imkanınız varsa orjinalini okuyun. Daha fazla puan kırmaya içim el vermedi. Kırılan puan da çeviriden gitti :((

Kısacası ben kitabı sevdim, karakterleri sevdim. Size de tavsiye ederim ama yazarın diğer kitabı Yedi Gün Yedi Gece'yi daha çok tavsiye ederim, onu daha çok beğenmiştim.

http://karamelasepetiii.blogspot.com....

[Megan]

After an interrupted dalliance with a stableboy, Bella is shoved into a lonely, loveless, abusive marriage and lives an isolated life in Scotland away from her family. Bella's very French cousin hires a high-end prostitute to spend two weeks with Bella. Gideon has been a part of this business for his entire life, but the time he spends with Bella is an awakening for him as well.

Her Ladyship's Companion suffered in comparison to Seven Nights to Forever, which I read first a year ago and thought was fantabulous. This book just felt like a trial run of a lot of the ideas and concepts Collins developed further in that later book.

Collins does unexpected things and goes to "Oh hey, romance doesn't do that! Didn't you get the memo? Did you miss that seminar titled How To Write Alpha Men Who Have Power And Are Never Ever Emasculated?" places with her heroes, which is awesome and jolting, and few writers write experiences of loneliness (and the lifting of said loneliness) as acutely and as well as she does. BUT the structure and pacing of this book confounded me--we got her brother's POV for long stretches suddenly near the end of the book and I'd have rather just focused on the meat of the romance--and the character of Bella was slim to start with and kind of fell apart for me by the end. (I tried not to judge that she was a complete, sobbing, often childlish mess after what happened to her, but um, I failed on that.) She was a poor match for me, not the kind of heroine I typically want to read. I wasn't fond of the eeeeevil BDSM scene either.

[Mary Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminded me of Pretty Woman just the man is the prostitute not the woman. I had a hard time getting into this book not sure why maybe because I felt like it was overly descriptive at times or maybe because I did have a little trouble getting over the fact that Gideon was a prostitute. But after I got over that and used to the writing I really enjoyed this one. I felt so bad for Isabella. First of all her brother was a jerk and then he marries her off to a even bigger jerk. She did get on my nerves with how she felt like she deserved everything but I was glad that she did get over that.

[Elaine Golden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very unusual hero for this romance. Gideon is a professional prostitute (or modern-day equivalent gigolo) who is hired to be a companion for the heroine. He is the real-deal too --having plied his trade for ten years or more. The heroine, Bella, is also married for most of this romance, so if that squicks you out, stay away.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this romance for it's refreshing & unique relationship and obstacles. Will read more from this author.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book on my friend Kat's list...so I sampled it, then downloaded it, then read it.

It was a good book!! I enjoyed the perspective of a male prostitute in Regency England in the early 1800's....I don't think I've ever read a book from that point of view before.

I recommend this book for a fresh look at the standard 'hooker with a heart of gold' , hot lovin' and a well-set pace.

[Allure Van Sanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because I know the author personally. So you would expect a good review from me. But in all honesty, the awesome review is heartfelt. I have a hard time completing novels these days and I whipped through this in a day. Sexy! Fun! An historical spin on a reverse Pretty Woman.