Customer Reviews

The Courtesan's Wager (The Courtesan Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lady Amelia Caversham has never made a secret of her desire to marry a duke and only a duke. After two Seasons and no offers, she decides to enlist the help of the notorious former-courtesan-turned-lady, Sophia Dalby. Sophia's scandalous idea is to make a list of potential suitors and then interview them for the position of Amelia's husband.

But much to Amelia's surprise, the list works - suddenly dukes, and every other eligible titled man in London, are lining up to be interviewed by Amelia. But there is one man who doesn't like her list - Lord Cranleigh. His older brother is next in line to be Duke of Hyde, and Cranleigh has no intention of letting Amelia marry him. There is a history between Cranleigh and Amelia and the shocking event of her list of dukes just might be what makes it all explode.

I enjoyed The Courtesan's Wager, but mostly the second half. The first half was misleading. Once the history between Cranleigh and Amelia was revealed, the book got exponentially better. I had fun reading the various machinations the characters went through for love or marriage (or both). While I didn't care for Claudia Dain's writing style, the story was great and I would probably read the other books in the series.

Niki Lee
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I loved The Courtesan's Wager. It was witty and fast paced. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what Sophia is going to do next.

Sophia is back and is as fascinating as ever! The young romance in this book is fresh and interesting, with several surprising twists. But I especially loved the intriguing glimpses the reader was given into Sophia's past. Sigh. I want more!

While there were parts I enjoyed, there were aspects to the book I disliked. Pretty much, the majority of the action, to use the term very loosely, takes place in only 3 places. Nearly all the story is dialogue with not much happening. Now, I enjoy witty dialogue, but The Courtesan's Wager left me feeling as if a huge chunk of the story was missing.

Part of the reason may be that I have not read any of the previous books in the series. However, I firmly believe that any book, even part of a series, should be able to stand on its own. Relationships were alluded to but not made clear, family members and acquaintances tossed into the story with little explanation, and events were mentioned as if the reader knew what had happened. I found it annoying, as well as confusing. And, there's quite a bit of tangled relationships going on.

Unfortunately, I found the heroine to be rather immature and the hero not very likable, and too much of it just plain silly and boring. But, if you've read the other books and liked them and Ms. Dain's style, you'll probably enjoy this one. If not, and you wish to give the series a try, I would suggest you find the first one and start there. I'll pass, though.

In 1802 London, Lady Amelia Caversham perfectly meets the criteria for a duchess. She has excellent breeding as the daughter of a duke, no whiff of scandal, polite, and most important is that she has a sizable dowry. In spite of her assets, no male seems interested in her.

She decides she needs help from a professional when it comes to the males of the Ton. She asks notorious courtesan turned notorious matchmaker Lady Sophia Dalby to assist her. Dalby agrees feeling this will liven up a slow season. She arranges interviews of men who must meet her eligibility criteria to become Amelia's husband. The Ton explodes with delight and men line up for the job. Alas only Lord Cranleigh refuses to make a fool of himself except wanting to protect his reticent younger brother from doing so. His plan is to seduce the twit only he finds the seduction too enticing to walk away from.

Once again though a secondary player, Dalby steals the show (see THE COURTESAN'S DAUGHTER and THE COURTESAN'S SECRET) in this well written amusing Regency romance. The frolic is fast-paced from the moment a desperate Amelia turns to the notorious one and never slows from that first encounter. Readers will enjoy this terrific jocular caper as Cranleigh's behaves as amusingly shameful as Dalby and Amelia do.

Harriet Klausner

An amazing book filled with adventure, fun and delightful personalities. A must read and a definite keeper.

lucie j. charles

Sophia Dalby is a brilliant character. I can't wait to read more of Claudia's 'Courtesan' books.

I enjoyed reading this book because it had a good story to it and was entertaining. Nice and easy reading.

Lady Dalby's machinations are brilliant, naturally. But our story here quickly lost its allure. Lady Amelia, the perfect daughter of a duke, enlists ex-courtesan Lady Dalby to help her catch a duke before the season is out. Perfection = wallflower, which just won't do, darling. But why is that mere earl, Lord Cranleigh, always scowling at you, Amelia, and kissing you? For the next 2/3rds of the book, Amelia makes Cranleigh jealous, bodice-ripping ensues, Lady Dalby tells the men they are delicious, and it's just too tedious to endure.

Buy it used, cheap, or re-read The Courtesan's Daughter (Berkley Sensation Historical Romance) instead.

Truly awful. I never finished it. Perhaps some people would not have minded dialogue being the predominating element but I could not stomach the cheesy attempts at clever humor.