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Courtesan's Kiss (2010)

by Mary Blayney(Favorite Author)

3.39 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0553593137 (ISBN13: 9780553593136)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Bantam

series

Pennistan

review 1: I reviewed this for Romance Reader At Heart website. RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS: COURTESAN'S KISS is a fourth installment of the Pennistan Family series. TRAITOR'S KISS/LOVER'S KISS and STRANGER'S KISS are the previous ones that I highly recommend you read first. As much as this book stands on its own, I was glad to have read the other stories first. We meet Mia Castellano, our heroine in STRANGER'S KISS, and we just know that this beautiful and headstrong young lady will be more than a handful for our hero, David Pennistan. From the first paragraph of this book, we know we're in for an entertaining ride: "'No is the most valuable word in the English language.' Mia Castellano raised two fingers to her mouth and tried to think of someplace, anyplace on earth, where wome... moren were as powerful as men. `Indeed, no is the most valuable word in any language.'" Naturally, those words come back to bite her. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the antics of this girl. Ms. Blayney has written the character of Mia so well that she jumped off the pages. I loved her enthusiasm, her quirky personality. From the beginning, we knew that her fiancée was no match for her, that she needed someone who would accept her as she is and not subdue her lively personality. I was relieved when she broke of her engagement and thrown in with David Pennistan. As the two embark on a journey to his family's home, where her guardian and his sister-in-law Elena resides, we're treated to an adventure our protagonists will never forget. En route an illness strikes, and our hero is quarantined with Mia. Time spent together in closed quarters gives these two a closer look at each other and an opportunity to get much closer than either thought possible. However, the reality hits them both that without a chaperone, Mia's reputation is in tatters unless David marries her. Her fascination with David doesn't stop her for thinking him too domineering and too serious for her. Mia's worries aren't so much for her reputation, but for her freedom. This naïve girl thinks the life of a courtesan might suit her better than a wife to David. Lord David Pennistan is not a happy man now that he's basically ordered to escort this naïve, spoiled, and impetuous girl. He has a lot on his mind, and he doesn't need any distractions. He's mind and his heart is on how to present his newest venture (a steam powered mill) to his brother, so that he can get the financing for it. It's quite rare to read of a character in romance novels of Lord David Pennistan's caliber. He had big dreams for himself, and he wasn't going to let those dreams get away. This was the beginning of the industrial revolution, and David needed to be a part of it. Our hero was a serious individual who had serious things on his mind. Building a cotton factory, steam engines, offering jobs and housing to veterans and their families, are just a few of the ambitions that drove this man. He didn't need this slip of a girl and her antics. Ms. Blayney however, thought he did, so she gave him Mia, a vibrant and charming young woman that brought out the best in him. It was highly entertaining to watch Mia and David slowly warm up to each other and realize what we all knew from the beginning of their adventure. With this unlikely pair and a well-rounded supporting cast, COURTESAN'S KISS is best described as an entertaining, witty, and heartwarming adventure. I highly recommend it. Melanie
review 2: This book was enjoyable and I really like to write my reviews right after reading as my brain is quite adept at moving on to the next best thing —oo shiny!!!— yes like that, I need to write it for the third time. I wrote it, but my iPad didn't update it, and (yes stupidly) rewrote it and once again, well here we are. So let's see if I can remember what I wanted to say. This book is a solid 3...3.54978265I really liked these characters. I loved that she managed to get his character across primarily from her thoughts on his actions as opposed to his internal maundering which can be SO popular with romance novels. It was refreshing not to hear from him for a good part of the beginning of the novel except very briefly. I quite enjoyed this story. The thing that dropped the rating to a three, for me, was what seemed like an uncomfortable...coupling. Yes. The sex, after all of the sex talk in this book, what with the courtesan obsession and the house they stayed in, etcetera, I expected MORE from the sex scene. I'm not saying length or breadth I'm saying depth and scope. (let the giggles commence) Now back to it. With all the emotion roiling through these two their coupling ended up being a bit of a disappointment, There was so much riding on it that when all was said and done, it felt more like a yadda yadda yadda. Now, I did not through my book across the room, after all I was reading on my iPad, but I wouldn't have anyway. What I DID however was drop the book to the bed with a loud "What the french TOAST!!" Yeah, I did. One other thing that bothered me was the confusing beginning, I understand (NOW) that this is part of a series and others will I know the multitude of names thrown around, but I did not and it made for some very confusing moments after which I simply moved on and hoped it didn't matter. Ultimately it didn't, which was nice, but then why bother to begin with. Anywhoo. Liked it, a lot. Didn't want to throw it across the room, no eye rolls and only one french toast. Recommended. less

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