Nicholas Francis Seaton's father forced him into a marriage he never wanted with sixteen year-old Julia. Nick fled to the Continent almost immediately after the ceremony, swearing he would never have anything to do with his Duchess again. Eight years later, having received no communications from her husband, Julia is almost destitute and decides that if she had a male heir -- a legitimate male heir -- her position would be secure as her husband's cousin would have no choice but to give her money to survive. And Julia takes matters in her own hands to seduce her husband, the Duke of Colton.

At first glance, the premise for THE COURTESAN DUCHESS might seem convoluted, but it is not. Ms. Shupe makes a convincing case for Julia's duplicity, and as we go along we learn why the Duke acted the way he did. Nicholas is known as the Depraved Duke, and that he certainly is, and to entrap him Julia enlists the help of a courtesan to teach her the tricks of the trade, Julia having never committed the deed. She changes her appearance, her name and with the help of a friend, as the alluring widow Mrs. Juliet Leighton, Julia is ready for battle.

I will admit to not liking Nicholas very much; he is charming with everyone but loathes even the idea of his wife, towards whom his bitterness knows no bounds. Even though Julia is innocent of everything, he is mean and nasty to her and I never warmed up to him. Julia only needs help from the man who had vowed to take care of her but has neglected her for years; she is determined to succeed but it's all in good faith, she is not vindictive. It should have come as no surprise to me, given the title, but THE COURTESAN DUCHESS takes its sexiness very seriously; I would venture as far as saying that the first half leans rather heavily towards historical erotica.

THE COURTESAN DUCHESS also features wonderful secondary characters: Julia's aunt Theo, Nicholas' valet Fitz, and most of all Julia's friend Simon Barrett, Earl of Winchester, who is also a friend of Nicholas, and whose story I cannot wait to read. Even with my misgivings regarding the tortured Nick, I highly recommend THE COURTESAN DUCHESS because Julia is a wonderful female character, and also because there are very exciting plot twists.