REVIEW ~ Her Master's Courtesan by Lily White

Book title: Her Master's Courtesan by Lily White

Genre: Dark Erotica

Release date: February 21, 2014

I am a Master. 

You must know this fact to understand my story.

I capture women. 

I break them down. 

And I rebuild them. 

If they are lucky, they are sold into the professional hands of another Master. If they are less fortunate, they are buried beneath the ground, never to be thought of again.

I lust for the control, I demand absolute submission and my body yearns to warp the minds of those I train.

Power is the only thing I’ll ever need and I am addicted to the feeling of ultimate control.

I am wealthy, good-looking, educated and charming. 

And I am - in no way - a good man. 

I do not want love. 
I do not want kindness.

She thought she could change me by giving me the two things I knew I never wanted.

She was wrong.

6 ‘SET A NEW STANDARD’ STARS

When you’re a voracious dark reader and you’ve tried out so many books within the genre, stories start to sound the same and the original appeal of dark romance/erotica fades away. However, it is so not the case with this book as it has exceeded every expectation I have for dark reads and delivers a chilling mindfuck between the pages. To have this book stand out in such a way is nothing short of extraordinary and completely deserves the 6 stars.

But first, here are the book stats to address the “dark” aspect:

Dark scale (1-10): 10

Mindfuck scale (1-10): 10+

This is not a love story in any way nor is it Stockholm syndrome taking an effect. Instead, it is a very unconventional tale of how one woman is stripped of her known identity and reformed into the perfect slave, the perfect Master’s courtesan.

I would classify this book as dark erotica and psychological thriller. I think this is also a very thought-provoking read as it made me question what I would’ve done in Rebecca’s situation. Even from behind my iPad screen I caught myself nodding a couple of times to what Aiden was saying and agreeing with his logic...this book defies society’s constrains and rules of propriety and acceptability, and I love that the author was able to make me, someone who has never experienced what Rebecca went though, feel like I was the one in her place and slowly acquiescing to her Master.

So what's this story about?

Rebecca is in an exhibit admiring some very risque artwork when she meets Aiden, a total stranger who somehow manages to captivate her with his wit and charm. Since this story is told from dual POVs, the reader immediately knows Aiden's plans for Rebecca: she's taken captive and is to be trained as a courtesan.

I really admire Rebecca's resiliency and quiet inner strength. She is brutalized, tortured (physically & emotionally), tossed around like nothing more than an inanimate object, but she still fights back. She still retains this inner core of strength that no amount of breaking or physical damage can shatter, and based off the proclivities and tastes of the Masters in the secret society, this irrepressible quality she has is truly admirable.

"There was a duality in her: a woman with a submissive body, but a dominant mind."

What she doesn't know yet is that Aiden's got all of her chess pieces. It saddened me to see that fire inside her slowly die out as he was always one step ahead of her, and used her budding feelings for him against her so cruelly. Around the 75% mark I was crying because of how bleak and hopeless her situation was. However, the author did give me a ray of hope towards the end but I should've known better. After all, it is emphasized repeatedly that Aiden is not a good man.

THE Master and now a favorite anti-hero of mine. These are some of my feelings when it comes to this dark Adonis: disgusted, terrified, turned on, hatred, and maybe.....love? He's level-headed, cool, calm, and collected about his business as a Master but something about Rebecca gets to him and he acknowledges that fact.

"I respected her for having touched me - for having accomplished something no woman had done before."

Mind you, this is NOT a love story; the one thing I learned after I finished reading was that no matter the degree or depth of his feelings for Rebecca, it never amounted to love. Maybe the closest would be affection: admiration and pride that he is in possession of a woman who was able to spark some kind of emotion within him. And for the little romantic living inside me, I suppose that kind of feeling he has for Rebecca is enough for me, because it's really the best and most Aiden has to offer her.

Notice I didn't really go into plot details. I think the buildup of events and Aiden's brilliant tap and breakdown into Rebecca's psyche needs to be experienced first hand. Everything about the book (especially the ending) left me with so many trailing thoughts and me questioning my sanity....

ARC kindly provided by author in exchange for an honest review.

~Review by Feifei

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