The Courtesan Duchess

Shupe’s heartfelt debut opens the Wicked Deception series, a Regency trilogy featuring fearless heroines. Julia, the Duchess of Colton, disguises herself as Juliet Leighton, a well-known London courtesan, and travels to Venice to see the husband who abandoned her following their wedding eight years earlier. She believes that the only way to avoid financial ruin is to produce an heir, even if that means duplicitously seducing her own husband. Julia is tenacious and determined, and entirely unprepared to actually like her husband, Nick, whose caring nature seems at odds with his unwillingness to face his responsibilities to her. After learning that “Juliet” is his wife, Nick struggles to reconcile his anger over Julia’s deception with his continued desire for her. Romantic tension heightens the intensity of the sensuous love scenes, as the two struggle to mend their fractured relationship. This original and alluring novel is a very promising beginning to Shupe’s career. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency. (Apr.)