First published 2017
Angélique Latham stands in the drawing room of Belgrave Castle as her half-brothers deliver their ultimatum. Her father the Duke of Westerfield has died, and they refuse to acknowledge her existence or her claim to any inheritance. At eighteen, she has managed the grand estate and earned her father's trust, but now she faces exile with only her beauty, her aristocratic education, and an envelope of money her father secretly gave her. Desperate and without references, Angélique flees to Paris where she encounters a young woman escaping a brutal madam. The meeting sparks an audacious plan. Using her upper-class breeding and impeccable style, Angélique establishes Le Boudoir, an elegant house of pleasure that protects its women while serving only the most powerful clients. The establishment becomes a sensation, but Angélique walks a dangerous line between scandal and survival. She must decide whether to accept her new life in the shadows or fight to reclaim her rightful place in society.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, rags-to-riches
Setting: Belgrave Castle, Paris
Period: 19th-Century
352 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press
Content warnings: abuse, sexism