The King's Courtesan

In London of 1651, wide-eyed, innocent fourteen year-old Hope Mathews dreams of being more than her mother, a prostitute and brothel owner. When she is rescued from being trampled underfoot during a procession, Hope believes that her dreams are about to come true. Her rescuer is everything she'd hoped, tall, handsome, gallant, a soldier and a true gentleman. But that same day upon returning home to the brothel her mother announces her own plans for Hope's future. Beautiful, young, and virginal, [...]

I was very excited about this book. I wanted it with a passion!But you know what tends to happen when you have really high hopes?It never is that spectacular in the end.I have not read the first book from these series but I have read another book by this author and it was also about aprostitute. I loved it. When I combined this with the blurb I wanted to be blown away.I was not.Do not get me wrong. It was a fairly good book.It was nicely written.Sure, the whole adventure of falling in love was d [...]

Wow! This review is going to be really tricky to write, because I LOVED this book. Very often (sadly) when I read historical romances, there are one or two niggling little historical inaccuracies. Now, I've learned to tune them out and just enjoy the stories and characters, but every now and then I yearn for a book which has a credible, compelling romance, two interesting, complex characters, set in a period which isn't Regency (nothing wrong with Regency, but it is rather over-populated) and wi [...]

My first JJ's book and was not expecting much, being that it's about the King's mistress. I mean, I was pretty sure that I'll hate the heroine and I was bracing myself for the slutty part. But surprisingly, 30% into the book, I was pulled in and was pretty much blown away.Captain Nichols was ordered by the King to wed Hope, his favorite mistress. The marriage was just a front for his new Queen and also to bound her to him and nobody else. Little did he expect the Captain to sweep Hope off her fe [...]

***This book was provided to me via NetGalley***Hope Matthews has dreamed of being rescued by a knight for as long as she can remember. She fantasizes of a handsome man, galloping in on a horse and taking her away from her tower to live happily ever-after. One day, as she leans out of her mother’s home watching the kings army return from battle in a parade, Hope falls from the window right into the path of the returning soldiers. Certain she has met her death, she curls into a ball only to be [...]

Well, it turns out I really liked this book. I have to say that the ending did a lot to satisfy my need for more romance and add an extra half star to my overall rating.This was an emotional, well-written book with depth and rich background. The characters were very likable, even though Hope was a courtesan and I usually have little love for them, and Robert was a strong, decisive, honorable and tortured hero, the kind I love to read about. Those two got married against their will by the King's [...]

The King's Courtesan was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Harlequin.I’ve never read anything by Judith James so I went in to this not sure what to expect. About halfway through I found out that this is actually a follow-up novel to ‘Libertine’s Kiss’ but ‘The Kings Courtesan’ still held its own as a stand-alone novel. I love a good historical romance novel every now and again; however, this one wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped it would be. It took me FOREVER to read because [...]

Robert Nichols tidak kuasa utk menolak memperistri Hope Matthews, simpanan Raja Charles, karena Robert memiliki misi balas dendam yg terselubung. Hope yg awalnya berang krn merasa "dijual" dan dilempar oleh Charles, lambat laun dia menyadari kualitas-kualitas kebaikan suaminya dan belajar mencintai dan memahami kepribadian suaminya yg sulit dan keras ini. Namun pada saat Charles kembali memanggil Hope ke istana, Robert bimbang antara menuntaskan dendamnya atau mengantar istrinya ke London dan me [...]

You can also read this review at Reflections on Reading Romance Rating: 3.5 out of 5I was excited to receive Judith James’ The King’s Courtesan for review, because I’ve been trying to read more historical romance that isn’t set in Regency England. The King’s Courtesan is set in England during the Restoration of King Charles II, so I was really looking forward to reading it, and Ms. James did not disappoint! I loved the historical setting, which is depicted fairly accurately, as far as [...]

Just read the blurb. I'll wait.Lady libertine, judgmental lord. HER BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND Sensuous, beautiful and determined, Hope Matthews is a favored mistress of the king. Her many charms have helped her rise from the gutter to the king’s bed. But with the new queen’s impending arrival, her nights in the royal chamber— and her hopes for security—will swiftly come to an end. HIS HONOR A DISTANT MEMORY Haunted by his past, hardened by the recent civil war, Captain Robert Nichols lives [...]

So I had a lot of reserves going into this book because I normally don't like my historical heroines to be 'experienced' so I was hesitant about reading a book where the she was a courtesan. So I guess if you're in that boat then I'd say don't bother with this one, but if you're okay with that then you might like this more than I did cuz that was still the biggest problem for me after finishing it.The author tried to make her less prostitute-y by telling us she's only been with 3 men faithfully [...]

As a child, Hope had dreams of love and her very own knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet. Those dreams died the day her mother forced her sell her virginity to the highest bidder. Since then, Hope has done the best she could with her lot in life. She is a mistress to King Charles, but now that he is getting married, her days at court are numbered. Charles isn't willing to give up his lover, so he tricks her into marrying Robert. He offers the country gentleman a title and more l [...]

Nunca había visto un personaje tan egoísta como en este caso Carlos Estuardo. Hope, es una de las amantes de rey, pero con el arribo de Catalina y el próximo matrimonio del monarca, deben buscar una solución. Ella sólo quiere su libertad pero él tiene planes distintos para ella, no está dispuesto a dejarla marchar de su cama. Al menos no definitivamente. Allí es donde entra Robert en escena, un ex-militar con un título de baronet al que él le hace una propuesta, sus tierras y un títul [...]

(This review was originally posted on 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 [...]

While this one didn’t blow me away like her debut book, Broken Wing did, it’s certainly in the upper levels of books I read in 2011. Robert Nichols, a character in the previous book, Libertine’s Kiss was a rather dour, severe kind of character; of course any one would be after the larger than life persona of William.I might have worried, but this is Judith James who writes such wonderful, multidimensional characters. And I just adore the setting and time period.Although it’s England, thi [...]

Warning! Cover rant coming!Let's get this over with, shall we. The cover has some lovely colors, and some sumptuous clothing. Nice layout. However, what's with the Grace Kelly outfit the woman has on? This outfit is so Edith Head. It could have been worn in Rear Window. This outfit is not something any self-respecting restoration woman would wear. Not even to bed! So, then I looked at the guy - ah, a lace shirt. That's sort of restoration. Wait a minute! It's open down the front! Akkk! Didn't me [...]

Hope Matthews has brought herself up from out of the gutter and become the King’s courtesan. She lives lavishly as one of his favored mistresses and enjoys his attentions immensely. However the King is soon to be married and as an unmarried mistress she must be sent away from court to avoid offending the King’s new wife. The King finds Captain Robert Nichols to wed Hope and this begins a sweet love story of a couple who are very much in need of one another.This is a very romantic and sweet n [...]

This was a very pleasant surprise! I normally gravitate to Regency romances when I read HRs, but this one, set in the Restoration period of England's rich history was an absolute breath of fresh air! With rich, descriptive prose and just kissing this side of accuracy in terms of historical reference, not to mention the absolutely romantic rags to riches theme of the heroine, Hope, Judith James' The King's Courtesan pulled me in and kept me intrigued from start to finish. My only regret is that I [...]

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 servitatude that is sure to scar her forever. Will she find a wealthy powerful benefactor? [...]

Due to his impending marriage, Charles II marries off his mistress Hope Matthews to Captain Robert Nichols, unless the Captain would like to lose his home and land. Neither have a choice and are wed the day they meet. Robert is your typical hero haunted by events of his past, while Hope has had not such an easy life before becoming mistress to the king. Both are stuck in this limbo relationship: a farce marriage. Legally bound, but not really belonging to each other. I really like Libertine's Ki [...]

I didn't know The King's Courtesan was a sort of sequel to Libertine's Kiss, otherwise I would have read it first, but I guess it doesn't really matter, since I lliked this one so much I'm sure I'll end up reading it soon anyway.I must admit I wasn't expecting much from The King's Courtesan, I thought it was just a common historical romance, perfect for a summer read. What I didn't anticipate was the deep, charming and unusual cast of characters (I'd never read of a king's courtesan as a heroine [...]

3 1/2*** ~~ The Kings Courtesan by Judith James is loaded with drama and romance with a rich historical background. It's the year of our lord 1662. Hope Matthews (a whore like her mother) is mistress to King Charles Stuart. The reigning Queen is returning to Whitehall. To hide their affair, the King marries Hope off to Captain Robert Nichols in return for the lands he lost in the War. They both are thrust into the deceit and deception of the King. Just when they start to fall in love, King Charl [...]

3 October 2014: $0.00 FREE on Kindle

3.5 stars

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the bookWell, I was disappointed with many things in The King's Courtesan, which is a follow-up of Libertine's Kiss. The biggest trouble for me was, I couldn’t get over the fact that Hope was Charles’s mistress once and she had this starry-eyed infatuation for a fickle womanizer like him. She being a courtesan for such long years, it was so unbelievable (among other things) that I found myself rolling my eyes more ofte [...]

If you enjoy soiled dove heroines perhaps you’ll enjoy Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase.❤❤❤I loved the first book in this series, Libertine's Kiss and though I don’t remember specifics (it was before I started writing reviews) I do recall sobbing my eyes out and my heart breaking and loving every incredible, miserable second. It's one of my favorite books to date so naturally I anticipated enjoying The King's Courtesan. Comparatively, some aspects of this story are similar to the [...]

3.5 stars from me. I enjoyed this book although it felt like the characters were a little underdeveloped. I read the 'old' HQN version so perhaps the author was just too constrained to let the story unfurl more naturally. All in all a great series and I loved seeing more of King Charles as well as Will and Lizzie from The Libertine's Kiss.

I'm so glad I was able to borrow this book for free. The premise of the novel was fascinating but the story itself was very cut & dry. The King wants to make his mistress respectable. He marries her off to a newly titled Lord, so after his wedding to his new Queen he could bring her back to court & sex her. The tone of the novel was not as sexual as I thought it would be considering she's the Kings mistress. Her sexy times with him were just alluded to.When she moves in with her new husb [...]

I reviewed thi on my blog bookworm2bookworm.wordpressI’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 Cap [...]

Lately the majority of historical romances are set in the Regency era so it is always a pleasure to find something different. I have not read anything by Judith James before and the other thing that pulled me to her book was that it promised a heroine who is not pure but a courtesan.Hope Matthews grew up in a brothel and was sold to the highest bidder at age fourteen so her dreams of love, marriage and family was destroyed. She still reached her peak as she become the lover of King Charles II. H [...]