My Romance of the Year

By Jennie Lucas


My husband and I went to Cancun for Valentine’s Day. It was an amazing, romantic trip. We flew first class and stayed at the Ritz-Carlton (we never would have splurged like that on ourselves, but the trip was a gift—long story).

The turquoise water and white-sugar beaches were like nothing I’d ever seen before. We ate deliciously expensive meals and drank margaritas like they were going out of style. We saw Chichen Itza. It was so romantic and impossibly sexy. This whole trip was an exotic dream. And yet….

The whole time I was there, all I wanted to do was read this book.

This book. It was gripping. Breathtaking. I couldn’t put it down.

Not at the pool. Not at the beach. Not at the poolside bar.

Baking on the beach in my bikini, I shivered in the Scottish mists and moors and seductive bedrooms of Regency London. I hated the hero. I wept for the heroine. Their fighting and lovemaking and kidnapping, their sheer hatred and desire for revenge, kept me breathless. This book broke my heart. In the best way.

Claiming the Courtesan, Anna Campbell's debut novel, is the best book I have read in a year.

But be warned.

The heroine is a courtesan. For real. She has actually slept with men for money. Not the immediate quality that makes you think, “Wow, she’s just like me and my friends!”

And her hero is dark. Look, I write for Harlequin Presents, so I love alpha heroes. Revenge, kidnappings and seduction are my favorite things in the world. But this book is crazy. Her hero does something that’s absolutely unforgivable. But somehow, Campbell’s brilliant writing makes me forgive him. She makes me love him and hope that somehow he can win the heroine against the odds.

A few days ago, Claiming the Courtesan was named a finalist for Romance Writers of America’s RITA award (competing with, among other very good books, Campbell’s second book, Untouched). It’s an honor that’s well deserved.

Thank you, Anna Campbell, for the most thrilling and romantic vacation I've had in a long, long time.

In Jennie's third book for Harlequin Presents/ M&B Modern, Caretti's Forced Bride, an impoverished princess hides a devastating secret from an Italian tycoon who's determined to possess her in every way. It's a current release in the U.K. and will be out in the U.S. this August.

To learn more about Jennie or her books, or read about how she lost 70 post-baby pounds last year without dieting, please visit www.jennielucas.com.