The King’s Courtesan
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Captain Robert Nichols used to believe a thing was right, or it was wrong, but his failure to save his sister from a tragic death at the hands of a group of drunken cavaliers changed everything. Haunted by the past and hardened after years of fighting, all he wants now is a little peace, something he hopes to find on his estate, Cressly. When King Charles II decides to confiscate it to reward one of his backers it seems that all is lost, but a friend the captain aided in the past intervenes with the king, who makes him an offer. Marry his mistress, a beautiful courtesan with humble beginnings and provide a respectable cover for an illicit affair and he will keep his lands and be richly rewarded.The woman’s name is Hope, and in more ways than he can possibly imagine, she may be the only hope he has left. |
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Romantic Times Top Pick
James’ fully realized version of naughty, bawdy Restoration England is the ideal setting for her marvelous characters to play out their sensual and romantic love story. Through the pages readers come to believe in hope, true love, trust and the great gift of passion lovers share. The quick pace, strong dialogue and high degree of sensuality added to the lush backdrop will have readers enthralled.
A bawd’s daughter, Hope Matthews, has had two protectors before King Charles chooses her as his favorite mistress. With Charles’ queen arriving at court, Hope realizes her days are numbered. The recent Civil War and Charles’ return to the throne have altered Captain Robert Nichol’s fortunes for the worse. He has lost his lands. But a dear friend and fate intervene with the king presenting Robert with a new dilemma; all he need do to reclaim his land is wed the king’s mistress; providing a cover for Hope and Charles’ affair to continue. Robert has no desire to be the cuckold, but he does want his home. Each agrees to the king’s scheme, but neither expects passion to flare between them. Both Hope and Robert desire independence and their clash of wills can be heard from the countryside to London. Eventually they realize only the other can heal their past. But what will happen when Charles calls Hope back to court? (HQN, Sep., 372 pp., $7.99)
— Reviewed By: Kathe Robin
Yankee Romance Reviewers
This is one really hot delicious book that you won’t be able to put down. Two characters aching for something they can’t have and they both carry enough baggage of hurt and sorrow that your heart can’t help but open up for them.
Hope Matthews comes from a poor background but as if that isn’t bad enough her mother sells poor Hope to the highest bidder at the tender age of fourteen to live in a life of sexual servitude that is sure to scar her forever. Will she find a wealthy powerful benefactor?
Hope’s chances at marriage are slim to none and she knows the best she can hope for is a bit of kindness here and there if she’s extremely lucky.
Robert Nichols is a man of war and that is what has ruled his life since the tender age of fifteen. Having lost his family this is his only chance at becoming a man of means. His need to hunt down certain characters for their dastardly murderous behavior sets him in places at the right time to take his revenge. But what Robert doesn’t know is that a whispered word to the King will cause him enormous confusion and will upset his life and vengeful vow to the point that he may just loose his quarry.
Our couple is deviously thrown together at an innocent May Day party that starts out so enjoyable but turns out so traitorous. Locked together for life will they be able to sort through their hurts, fears and memories and possibly be able to trust each other when the getting gets rough? Hmm….this is a tale you won’t want to miss just for this last sentence alone.
~Terra
Book Lovers INC.
Judith James won me over last year with a fantastic Libertine’s Kiss. I loved it so much that I’ve been counting the days ’till the release of
The King’s Courtesan. To be honest I think this book is responsible for my Netgalley addiction. Why? Because I’ve been checking the website everyday for the last 5 months in hope of seeing The King’s Courtesan up for request. As you can imagine I might have stumbled on a few other books in the process 
(<== bad excuse I know!!)
But back to the book! Captain Robert Nichols was first introduced in Libertine’s Kiss. I felt pretty bad for him and I wanted him to get his HEA
after all. He’s a reasonable man (well most of the time), a no-nonsense kind of man. He’s also driven by revenge. His only goal in life is to finally be able to get his revenge. Robert is haunted by the past and he can’t let go.
One thing I love about this book is that it’s set in a time period that is not often depicted in books. We get to be completely immersed in the
Civil War and Charles II’s reign. I learned a lot about this historical period while reading Judith James’ books. Robert was on the wrong side of the war now he has to deal with the consequences. And in this case the consequences are pretty bittersweet. He is ordered to marry the King’s Courtesan, Hope.
Hope Matthews is a courtesan. She could have ended up a street-whore but she has wits and she’s very courageous. She turned her situation into something very positive. Right now she’s the king’s mistress…well one of them. I absolutely adored the scenes between Hope and Charles. Their relationship is based on friendship and honesty. Well to be completely honest, I just loved Charles, he’s a fascinating king. I loved how he could change from a very nice and easy person to his ruthless King’s persona in a second. He already fascinated me in Libertine’s Kiss and I’m glad we got to see him a bit more.
Charles is soon to be married, he can’t have an unmarried mistress at Court. He doesn’t want to part with Hope so he engineers a way to have her at Court…married! Charles really is a wicked man, he’s very manipulative and won’t stop at anything to get what he wants.
Hope and Robert’s relationship starts off. They were both manipulated in to a wedding they didn’t want. Robert has to accept that his
‘wife’ will be the King’s mistress. He’ll be officially cuckolded in front of the whole Court. Hope on the other end feels like she’s been cast off. All she wanted was to be free…to be her own master. Judith James made me root for them, I wanted them to fall for each other. I wanted them to fight their demons and finally be happy. I was scared I wouldn’t like the whole ‘courtesan’ thing but it turn out very well. *g* . I loved how they fought and how passionate they were.
An added bonus is that we get to see the main characters from Libertine’s Kiss once again. It was a very good surprise. *g*
The King’s Courtesan is a beautiful love story set in a rich historical period. Court Intrigues, War, Revenge those are a few of the things our
heroes will have to overcome to finally get their HEA. Judith James gives us a story about how love can heal the scars from the past. If you love Historical romances with a bit of Court intrigues then this is for you. One of the mainappeals of this book is how it makes you learn so much about this historical period. I will be impatiently awaiting Judith James’ next book!
~Caroline
climb the ladder rather than just allow her clients to climb on her. She has had a pair of protectors, but by 1662 she has become mistress to recently returned to the throne King Charles Stuart as her lover. However with the Queen coming to Whitehall, King Charles must decide what to do with his favorite lover as she understands she is the sacrifice to the monarch’s wife.The Civil War resulting in Charles being back on the throne has left Captain Robert Nichol landless as he fought on the losing side. He is angry at his misfortune. However, his friend recently married Elizabeth de Veres and her husband Will (see Libertine’s Kiss) get Charles to agree to give Robert back his land if he marries his mistress as a front to the royal affair. He accepts the term though he loathes the concept of his wife sleeping with anyone; made even more unbearable when he falls in love with his spouse.This is an entertaining Restoration romance that if loaded with a rich historical background interwoven with an endearing romance. The lead couple is an engaging pairing of independent flawed souls who fall in love while fearing the day the King demands his favorite lover serendipitously rendezvous with him. Historical romance readers will relish this exciting late seventeenth century tale.
bookworm2bookworm
REVIEW: I’ve now come to look forward to Ms. James’ books with a sort of nervous anticipation like a child looking forward to digging into its Christmas or Birthday gift. And what a gift it was!
Through her (dare I dub it Restoration Trilogy?!) she has introduced me to a period that before “Libertine’s Kiss” I knew very little, and thanks to her wonderful writing, I now am eager to learn more about.
The hero of this tale is none other than Captain Sir Robert Nichols, who we’ve met in the previous book. In that story, I’ve thought him cool, subdued, calm and a bit opinionated. Oh, how I loved getting to know him better in this story. The author has allowed our heroine Hope Mathews to slowly peel off our heroes layers and as the last layer fell away, I found myself enchanted with the Captain.
This story opens in 1651 London as young but not so innocent to the world, Hope Mathews is rescued by a young soldier from being trampled by other soldiers who were in a parade. She feels that maybe, just maybe her dreams might come true and her knight in shining armor could rescue her from the life she’s known all her life. Alas, it wouldn’t be this man and until that day comes, she’s destined to go back to the brothel and her mother who owns it. Little does she know of her mother’s plan to auction her off.
It is now 1662 and Captain Sir Robert Nichols hasn’t had a decent nights sleep in years. The reason behind this man’s nightmares goes way back to his childhood and after years of seeking revenge for the wrong done to his family he is on the verge of finally getting the last man responsible for all his heartache.
Charles Stuart is about to marry his Portuguese bride, and our heroine Hope who against all odds has risen to the rank of Mistress to the King, knows that she needs to move on and that the time has come for her to leave the court. She knows the world is ruled by men, so she feels the pressing need to approach the King in regards to her future.
While Robert is baffled by King’s decree to give up all of his wealth and properties one day, the summons to appear in court the next stuns him even more.
As she enjoys her May Day celebration, which Charles asked her to host with him, Hope is full of happiness and pride at her accomplishment. In her wildest dreams, or nightmares for that matter, she would have never imagined herself betrayed and married all at the same time.
Robert is given no choice by the King. In order for him to keep his home from his mortal enemy, who requested it from the King, he must marry the King’s whore.
The relationship between these two was electrifying from the get-go. Both exuded sexuality and the attraction they felt for each other even when arguing, was palpable.
In Hope, Ms. James has created a character that’s a mix of innocence, sexuality and charm. I was touched by this woman-child who managed to keep her identity and use her own perception of the world to her advantage.
Her life was not an easy one, yet she never lost her humanity. She stayed true to herself, and that is what our hero needed. He couldn’t help but be drawn to her sweet and idealistic nature. His tormented soul craved her light and not even a King could stand in the way of these two lovers. The road to their happily ever after is paved with lust, arguments, intrigue, some more arguments, danger and then some more arguments…You get the picture!
Judith James can paint with her words the picture of Restoration period and bring to life King Charlie and his court for me any time! Reading her novels is the closest I can come to living them.
The Literary Nymph
This is the first Judith James book
I’ve read. I picked it from Net Galley because I was interested in reading a
historical romance set during the Restoration. I love this period in history
and have never read a romance set during this time. I wasn’t expecting to like
this book very much. I had a terrible judgmental moment – The King’s Courtesan?
Surely the heroine would be a little slutty?
How wrong can someone be? I was
hooked almost immediately. When Hope falls from the window into the path of a
horse and is scooped up by a warrior, I couldn’t stop reading. Every spare
moment I wanted to switch on my e-reader and delve into the bawd, naughty and
fairytale world created by Judith James.
My heart wrenched for Hope. Her
virginity sold by her own mother, she makes her way in life by using her beauty
and charm. I wanted to dislike her but I couldn’t. Her innocent joy and
enthusiasm for life, and the simple things made me adore her. Her interactions
with Robert made me smile and swoon. He is a gruff warrior, yet underneath the
exterior he is an honorable man. Watching them adjust to married life made me
laugh.
Their relationship is not an easy
one. Hope could be recalled to Court at any time and Robert is set of a path of
vengeance. But they overcome their differences, form a deep friendship and
eventually fall in love. There are some intensely sensual scenes that set my
heart racing; steamy rather than graphic. Robert proves although he is a rough
warrior, he is a giving lover.
It’s refreshing to see Charles II in
historical fiction. Despite my reservations, he is an immensely likeable
character. Seventeenth century England is the perfect setting for this novel
and Ms. James does it justice. She describes a rich, evocative world that I
can’t wait to sink back into.
The
King’s Courtesan is an excellent, sumptuous treat.
This reviewer will certainly be picking up more of Judith James’ books. I
cannot wait for the next one, Hers at Midnight.
