“What I do to you is what I want to do. All that matters is MY desires and MY satisfaction. Therefore, it will be wise for you to remember that what you want does NOT matter. When I ask you what you want—the correct response will be to remember that your thoughts mean nothing. Your answer will be silence. Do you understand?”

Courtesan by Lily White stunned me. It captivated me, rendered my speechless and slave to my Kindle. I could not put this book down, it was so good. WARNING: this is a DARK DARK DARK read. Read at your own risk. There are scenes involving rape, so reader discretion advised. Rebecca met Aiden in an art gallery. Attracted to him, she agrees to coffee with him. That’s the last thing she remembers.

Rebecca wakes up in a dark, cold room, to the punishing hits and words of Aiden. She is now a slave and will be broken down, both body and mind.

“The first thing you need to accept is that you are now owned. For now, I am your Master. I give orders—you follow them. It’s a simple formula that will keep you alive. Any disobedience on your part will result in punishment, as you have just learned. You have one job and one alone—to be a courtesan. You will refer to me as Master and I will refer to you in any way I please. My satisfaction and pleasure are the only two things that will matter to you. You life no longer exists, not does it matter.”

This is now Rebecca’s life. She’s a slave, a courtesan.

I craved his touch because it meant that I was good and it meant that I was still wanted.

Rebecca is due to be sold to a buyer any day now. Desperate to stay with Aiden, the man she has grown so close to, she does anything and everything he asks her to do. Read to find out the extent of her promise to him.

I cannot praise Lily White enough for this novel. Really. I could not put it down. I was reading during class. I was reading before bed. I was reading before class. I was reading in between class. I could not bear to part with this novel until it was finished.

It may be one of the darkest books I’ve ever read. But that’s okay, as this is one of my favorite genres. That may make me messed up, but I love to feel that emotion, the emotion that Lily conveys ten times over. I cried so many times during this. I was frequently shocked at the cruel and grotesque things that were mentioned. But that’s what made it good. She talked about the things no other writer that I know of has ventured to write about. I still have no words.

Five freaking stars. I still have no words other than this is probably the best book I’ve read. I thought about it all day. I will continue to think about it until probably forever. Most books I read I forget about in the couple days following, but I don’t think that will happen with this one. This one will remain with me forever.

I need a hug, still. I am happy with the ending, but I need more. I need more books like this, especially from Lily. She wrote so amazingly, that I just can’t even. That’s it. I can’t even. Lily, please tell me you have more books.

I read this because I saw it was banned on Amazon, therefore, I had to read it. I was in no way disappointed. Let me tell you how it went. I was rereading a book in paperback, but didn’t have it with me, so I opened my kindle and started with this. After the first couple pages, I was hooked. Gone was my attempt at rereading a book, my attention now solely focused on the plight of Rebecca and Aiden.

Really, if I haven’t convinced you, read this book. It may not be available off Amazon, but you can find it on Smashwords.

Now, go on. Get reading!