Campbell, Anna - Claiming the Courtesan (partial)

[oyceter]

Verity Ashton has been Soraya, famed courtesan, for twelve years. After she finally has enough to support herself, she breaks free and disappears. Unfortunately, her keeper, the Duke of Kylemore, isn't ready to let her go. He ends up kidnapping her by threatening her brother, and he's determined to make her his again.

oracne's description of the first chapter had me intrigued enough to check this out, despite the kidnapping plot: it's your standard prologue of the rake with his mistress, only in this case, the mistress is the heroine as well.

Unfortunately, the courtesan button wasn't enough to overcome pretty much every romance trope I hate ever. All right, I'll be fair. Campbell doesn't talk about yonis or the Kama Sutra, there is no skanky villain sex or evil homosexuals.

I got about two-thirds of the way through this because I adored Verity. I was hoping that the kidnapping plot and Verity's very real distress and fear would end up in a dark and disturbing relationship -- and it does. Unfortunately, the narrative doesn't seem to think so quite as much as I do. I did like how Campbell doesn't underplay Verity's situation, nor does she attempt to whitewash the duke. As such, I was rooting for Verity to brain him with a poker and run away with a nice guy.

But then, there were those stupid romance tropes, in which the duke starts feeling RLY RLY SORRY about kidnapping Verity and basically molesting her... not because kidnapping and molesting are bad things to do, but because Verity has been so brave through it that she didn't deserve it. Gag me. Then, he basically rapes her three times (so far), and of course she's still aroused despite her attempts not to be. At least she doesn't melt in his arms afterward. Somehow, the duke is still convinced that this is the best way to get her back, and once again, sex is portrayed as a woman's greatest weakness, even if said woman is a notorious courtesan.

Then, after rape #3, the duke goes off, and Verity wakes up, hearing a tortured cry in the night! Oh yes! Since they are in the house of his tortured childhood, he is having nightmares! Despite Verity basically having been kidnapped and raped, she goes to comfort him.

That was when I threw the book against a wall with great vehemence. I am guessing that the duke ends up repenting his wicked ways, but only because Verity is so wonderful, not because he was wrong. Also, he is an entitled jerk who goes around saying that she owes him -- not because she ran off with his money, not because she broke the contract, neither of which she did, but because she tricked him into supporting her!

I just... ARGH. And it would be better if there were some realization about the relative privileges of a rich white male duke in Regency England, when compared to a poor white woman who whores herself out for twelve years to eat, or some sort of realization that maybe her being nice to him because he was paying her wasn't some sort of fiendish womanly trick, or that possibly that affection was, oh, not earned? That him showering her with giant jewels does not necessitate that she return his feelings? ARGH! ARGH! ARGH!

I have no words for how much I hated Kylemore and wanted him to die, preferably, as aforementioned, with Verity beating him over the head with a poker. I will be nice and let him repent and grovel, but then, ideally, he would crawl off into a miserable corner and snivel while she runs off to another country and starts her own business.

Note to authors: possibly the best way to win a courtesan's heart is not to force sex on her, especially if she became one out of some financial or societal pressure. Just maybe.

Comments

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

*impressed* Here, have some sporks. Although I have a feeling three ain't enough. (Six if you add them all up!)

[oyceter]

I knooow! And the horrible thing is, there were just enough interesting bits to keep me reading past the halfway point!

BLERGH. I am not sorry at all for chucking at a wall, even if it is the library's.

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

I feel for the wall, but not for the book! Man oh man.

You could challenge me to write you a courtesan story-let. Do you have a list of Cool Bits/Story Kinks somewhere?--I will check your tags.

[oyceter]

*makes large blinky eyes*

Cool bits! More! Even more!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

"maybe her being nice to him because he was paying her wasn't some sort of fiendish womanly trick, or that possibly that affection was, oh, not earned?"

*twitch*

Did it really go the "you were my mistress and I happily paid you, but now that you no longer shower me with affection because I was paying you to, obviously you are an evil manipulative money grabbing witch" route? (And I may just be bitter at 19 out of 20 mistresses in romance novels automatically being eeevvviiillll here...)

But you know...I think I mentally ran away at the title.

You know, the actual CONCEPT sounds interesting: Courtesan saves up money to set herself up, says "later" to the guy, and goes off to live her own life. Guy realizes(I assume) he actually loves her, and sets out to win her for real. Hijinks ensue. And yet...it sounds like the execution is straight out of 80s romance novels. (Of course, what do I know? Before I watched Gundam Wing, I read about the actual Heero/Relena and thought the actual elements sounded like an interesting take on the pairing type...and then I actually watched it.)

But you know...it sounds like the author went the "they had consentual sex before, so it doesn't count as rape" route(which, you know, is the excuse for a lot of date rape...)

[oyceter]

Yeah... I like the concept a lot, and I wish more romances would a) stop demonizing the mistress and b) star the mistress, but this one so fails on execution on so many levels.

[tippytoes33.livejournal.com]

Have you read the Amazon reviews on this book? One of the reviewers is particularly scathing. (Might be spoilery.)

Also, Despite Verity basically having been kidnapped and raped, she goes to comfort him.

Whut, you didn't know that all women are nurturers?

[issen4.livejournal.com]

Uhh. That was me.

[oyceter]

I haven't! I will have to check them out.

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't realize you were reading this. I would have warned you if I had.

I think the ladies at Dear Author reviewed this book last year. Let me do a search.... Okay! Here we go:
http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2007/03/30/claiming-the-courtesan-by-anna-campbell/
http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2007/05/09/claiming-the-courtesan-by-anna-campbell-2/

[oyceter]

Ooh, thanks for the links! I... yeah. I am glad I did not finish, because the ending sounds like it would drive me insane.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

...yuck.

[oyceter]

YES.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

The first chapter was good....

I confess, I didn't like this one as much as her other one.

Apaprently, it hits many buttons of those who like kidnap fantasies (i.e., stolen by wicked pirate, etc.).

[oyceter]

I do like the premise, and I really adore Verity, which is why I stuck with it for so long. But, OMG Kylemore! I want him dead!

[oracne.livejournal.com]

I wonder what their life was like after the book ended. And when she finally had him "abducted by highwaymen" and had her way with him.

[sarahtales.livejournal.com]

I had heard good things! And now I really wonder why. How did she trick him into supporting her, exactly? Did she not offer a service for money which she then provided for the agreed amount of time? Augh!

[oyceter]

I know, seriously! I liked how Campbell portrayed Verity, and how she was very clear that everything Kylemore did to her was _against her will_, but ... argh. Too much sympathy for Kylemore! I hated him so much!

[deepad]

Um, also... Soraya?

So of course the exotic Oriental trope helped her earn so much more, even though her whiteness meant that she could marry him in the end in a way a real Soraya wouldn't have been able to do, right?

(I should perhaps mention I've friended you recently because I found myself sneaking over to read your book reviews of things I had read so often. Hi. :))

[oyceter]

Yes, very much the exotic Oriental trope! Though I didn't mind it quite as much as I normally would have -- there's a bit about Soraya's threatening, mute, eunuch servant, and I rolled my eyes, until it was revealed that it was her very English brother. So... a little commentary on cultural appropriation, although, naturally, not enough to include actual brown people @@.

(And hi! Welcome!)

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

So. Much. Ew! *shudder*

[oyceter]

Yeeeees!