Customer Reviews

The Courtesan: A Novel (The Dark Queen)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Susan Carroll is the author of Bride Finder, Night Drifter and Winterbourne. The Courtesan is the second in a trilogy; the first is The Dark Queen. The trilogy is set in France in the late 1500s.

The Courtesan is Gabrielle Cheney's story. Gabrielle is the middle of three sisters with extraordinary abilities. The sisters are "daughters of the earth," with special talents. Ariane, the eldest sister, is a healer. Miri, the youngest, can communicate with animals. Gabrielle's talent is the art of creating beautyâ€"usually with painting.

Gabrielle moved to Paris, in 1575. She has given up painting, feels worthless, and has decided to make a career of being a courtesan; she can make herself beautiful and she is ambitious.

She has set her sights on Henry, the Huguenot King of Navarre who is the son-in-law of Catherine de Medici. However Gabrielle has never gotten over her attraction to the knight, Captain Nicholas Remy. She thought Remy was dead, but he returns to complicate her life and plans since Remy is pledged to serve Henry of Navarre. Remy is determined to get Henry out of the clutches of his evil mother-in-law, and back to Navarre.

Remy is renowned on the battlefield, but is tortured by his memories of battles and all those he has killed. Remy discovers Gabrielle's secret shame, that she was raped by a man she liked and trusted. This event has contributed to her becoming a courtesan.

The story has a great deal of intrigue as we follow Gabrielle and Remy. There are other daughters of the earth, or witches, including the Queen, Catherine de Medici, and Cassandra, a blind necromancer, who are out to destroy Gabrielle and her sisters. Witch hunters manipulated by the Queen, evil plots set in motion by Cassandra, a book filled with ancient dark magic spells loose in France, and suspected betrayals and misunderstandings all complicate the story.

The Courtesan is filled with strong female characters and the magic is just magical enough. The relationship between Gabrielle and Remy is fraught with exactly enough honor and duty and sacrifice to make it really romantic. This is a great love story to read on the beach or in front of a crackling fireplace.

Armchair Interviews says this is a wonderful read that will have you buying the first book and watching for the final installment in the trilogy.

The second story in the Cheney Sisters' trilogy is another wonderful read by the very talented Ms. Carroll. Again we are treated to intrigue, passion, and history that will enthrall the reader.

Gabrielle Cheney is trying to make a life for herself in Paris. Having left her home of Fair Isle and her sister's behind her Gabrielle is determined to secure her place beside Henry of Navarre. Her future has been foretold and she will have a place of great power beside this future King. If only she could forget the one man whose ever sparked her passion and made her wish her life were different. The one man that she thought was lost too her but later finds alive and well, none other than Captain Nicholas Remy. Remy has been haunting her days and nights and when she realizes he's alive she can't but help throw herself into his arms. When she finds he needs her but not in the way she dreamed of she decides to find her own destiny with Henry. Remy is not about to give up the quest of freeing his King and with the help of Gabrielle these two reluctantly work together to bring an end to "The Dark Queen" and hopefully find a love with each other that surpasses personal history and ambition.

This is a story filled with wonderfully vivid historical detail and passion! Ms. Carroll has continued where "The Dark Queen" left off and leads the reader on a journey that will surpass all expectations. Gabrielle is a very strong character and readers may find her a bit much. I suggest though you give her a chance as eventually you will be introduced to the "real" Gabrielle and will understand her motivation. I eagerly look forward to reading the final book in this series, and suggest that if you are a fan of well-written historical romance you pick up this title. You will be well entertained if you do.

No spoilers in this review. Just general comments.

I needed a break from the usual types of romance novels I read, so on a whim, I picked up The Dark Queen. I found that I enjoyed it! Well, on I went to book two. Wow, talk about a page turner! I found this book more enjoyable than the first book in the series. At times I was litterally biting my nails because the suspense could be so intense. Romance, history, court intrigue, betrayal, witchcraft... what's not to love? This book was well worth the money I spent for it. If you are looking for a great historical romance, you've found it! I highly recommend this series, and I anxiously await book 3! Two thumbs way up!!!

Susan Carroll can write, and write well. If you're looking for depth, characters that really live and breathe for eachother and a stpry that twists ans turns until the last page, the Courtesan is for you. If you want a love that lives for more than the moment. For a story that you will carry inside for days after, than the Courtesan is a read not to miss. Though too wordy in some areas ( where are these author's editors??) the pacing is generally in keeping with the time period of the book, i.e. antique and medium paced. But that's a small thing, overlookable to be sure. A good here-comes-winter-and-I-need-an-engrossing-read book.

I love to read historical fiction but this was a real dissapointment. There was no flow to the story. It seemed all the love scenes which were far to many and all alike, were just tied together loosely with extra verbage. I would have liked to see the characters more fully developed. More of a modern romance type book set in another time setting.

I fell completely in love with the second novel by Susan Carrol in the Cheney Sisters Trilogy. Her use of imagery makes the reader feel as though they are experiencing every thing the characters are. She uses strong women as her main characters, and by the end the reader can't help but feel sympathy for even the villians of the story. In her novel Susan stresses that everyone is in control of their own lives and not mindless cratures bound to follow some destiny or path in the stars; that humans aren't meant to sit back and just let things happen, hoping all will play out as they wish. Her Characters take action, decisive or not. They don't fret and do nothing, but act, and live, and love.

Gabrielle Cheney is a Daughter of The Earth, or some would call her a witch. Gabrielle is a haunted soul, thinking her beloved Remy is dead, and she has never asked forgiveness from him. Because of this tugging in her heart, we are taken to a dark setting where our story begins. Creepy!
Seeking her reclusive friend Cassandra Lascelles, who is gifted in calling up the dead; Gabrielle begs her to conjure up her beloved Remy. Just how much of a friend is Cassandra Lascelles; time will tell.

From here the story takes off as Gabriel finds her beloved is not dead and they team up to battle forces of bewitching evil and fierce power, not of this world.
In this read we have historical settings, mystical happenings and romantic elements. It is a quick moving and at times heart pounding adventure as we travel with Gabriel to her destiny. The author does a great job at defining her characters, their personalities and the roles they play in this drama. The ending leads you to await yet another segment of this sister story. A definite suspense thriller and a page turning read.

I got this book by mistake, meaning to get another book by the same title. I decided to give it a try anyway and I'm glad I did. This was my first Susan Carroll book and I liked it so much I immediately went out and got the other three books in the series. Ms. Carroll writes beautifully, her characters are well drawn in these books but Gabrielle is my favorite of the Cheney sisters and thus this is my favorite book of the series. These books are longer on romance, short on history. In fact there's really not much history at all, more like a historical setting for ficitional characters. So if you're looking for true historical fiction, this is not it, but her books are still quite enjoyable if you're looking for something on the lighter side.

In 1575, courtesan Gabrielle Cheney visits reclusive friend Cassandra Lascelles at run down Maison d'esprit where the latter's family were killed as befitting witches. Gabrielle wants to insure her friend is okay and ask Cassandra to communicate with her only love Captain Nicholas Remy who her brother informed her died. The séance conducted by Cassandra brings up the spirit of Nostradamus but fails to find Remy whom Gabrielle wants to apologize to for her behavior towards him on Faire Isle when they met three years ago (see THE DARK QUEEN). Cassandra knows that means he still lives but says nothing.

Just after leaving her friend to return to her sculpturing studio though she no longer uses her talent, Gabrielle is stopped by Remy who followed her. At first believing he is a ghost, she finally realizes her beloved lives. As Gabrielle walks a thin line between being the Courtesan of King Henry of Navarre and her love for Remy, the Dark Queen Catherine de Medici, the most powerful and most connected witch has plans of her own for the upstart.

The second Cheney sister historical tale combines otherworldly and romantic elements into an insightful look at the de Medici impact in Paris. The story line is action-packed starting with the séance and never slowing down until the final climax in which Catherine's bewitching minion and her political power seems too daunting to be overcome by a bewitching courtesan and her beloved soldier. Fans will enjoy this sixteenth century suspense thriller and seek the first tale when sister Ariane battled THE DARK QUEEN while looking forward to the third sibling's story.

Harriet Klausner

But then quickly went down hill from there. I completely sympathize with writing oneself in a corner, but I also feel that the author was all over the place with this story and left a lot of balls in the air that felt more like she forgot about them than teasers for book three. Wolf's personality went from one extreme to another--plus I didn't feel the sexual tension between Gabrielle and Remy like I did in book one. Remy was down right boring and his distress about Gabrielle's profession disappeared too easily for a man with such high standards. Overall, there was so much introduced and each had high potential for angst and drama but in the end just fizzled out. The one she ultimately chose to capitalize on was the weakest of them all--with the blind witch's strange proposal. There's such an obvious remedy to the 'problem', that it just came across insulting that the author never thinks of it. In all, I think I'll skip book three--cut my loses and just move on. It's a shame because the series really had great potential.