The School for Brides by Cheryl Ann Smith

Miss Eva Black has worked hard to conceal her mothers past life as a courtesan and it has led her to open a school for courtesans who want to give up that lifestyle and settle down and be married. Eva keeps her life, personal and professional, very quiet and is quite surprised one stormy night to have an angry duke appear on her doorstep. Nicholas, Duke of Stanfield, is furious with this plain looking spinster for "stealing" his mistress and he wants her back, after all....he "owns" her. Needless to say, that gets Evas back even straighter than it already is and she tells Nicholas she is gone and married and happy. He is not happy with this turn of events, after all it took weeks to even locate Eva, and plans to get revenge on Eva by either having one of her current courtesans replace his lost one or Eva herself. As he finds the key to getting her to accept his proposal, he learns all of Evas secrets she has worked so hard to protect and she is forced to agree as she refuses to send one of her girls to him.

I really don't want to say much more about the story because it has quite a few surprises that I think are best read for yourself and enjoying in the moment. I will say though, that I really enjoyed this story. I liked the premise of it and I enjoyed Evas feisty and somewhat bold nature and Nicholas' deep desire for her and to protect her and their hot love scenes. I liked that both Eva and Nicholas had good relationships with their mothers. I liked all the little twists that popped up throughout, I just wished the ending would not have had so many within a short period of time. Overall, is this book going to wow you? Probably not. Is it something that will help pass away the time and help you forget a stressful day? It certainly could. I thought the characters were written well and the author did a good job with the storyline, even if the ending had a bit too much happening at the end. I know I will be picking up her next book, The Accidental Courtesan when it releases in October and I look forward to more from this author! 3 1/2 stars