Two Women, Two Stories

A Courtesan's Guide to Getting Your Man by Celeste Bradley & Susan Donavan
This isn't the type of book I normally read, and in some ways I wasn't I'd be able to get to through it. But by the last third of the book I was really glad I stuck it out, and really enjoyed the overall story that was told.

Piper Chase-Pierpont is a shy almost dowdy museum curator working on an exhibit about the abolitionist Ophelia Harrington. But Piper accidentally stumbles on a diary detailing Ophelia hidden past. Back in London in the early 1800s Ophelia was known as the courtesan the blackbird, and her diary details the seven sins of the courtesan which Piper decides to use to turn her own life around.

My biggest biggest problem with the book how explicit some of the racier scenes were, but that really shouldn't have been a surprise considering the title as well as the cover. I have read one or two romance novels before, but nothing that goes into the depths as this one. I know there are a lot of people who really enjoy this type of steamy novel, but in general I guess this isn't me. There isn't a lot of this in the least third of the book, and not too surprisingly the last third is what really drew me in.

Also changing as I read the book was my feeling towards the two main characters. At the start I enjoyed reading Piper's parts the most, I think partly because they made me less uncomfortable. But by the end Ophelia's chapter were by far the more exciting ones, and I almost couldn't wait to get back to her adventures.

Looking back on the book I can easily say that while parts of the book read a little awkward to me personally, I still enjoyed reading it. I think it does tell a great story and while I didn't necessarily enjoy every last word in it, I think that without some of those steamier scenes it wouldn't really be the same book.

3.5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I was not required to write a positive review. Nor was I even required to write any type of review. All opinions expressed are my own.