Review: The School for Brides

The School for Brides by Cheryl Ann Smith

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I bought this book largely because the author was in the store doing a signing while I was there. I thought the premise sounded fun, and I decided to give the book a shot. The fact that it had won a RITA for best debut novel helped, too.



Overall, this was a fun, light read. It took a while for me to get into it, as the male lead was extremely irritating as the book opened.



The story is this: Eva, the daughter of a courtesan, runs a school teaching courtesans how to properly behave so that they can be matched with husbands. The women come to her willingly, having realized that their time as a courtesan is coming to an end (basically, they've "aged out") or their experiences have been unpleasant. None of her students know her true name or her mother's history. One day, a duke shows up, furious that his Arabella had left him. He tracked her to Eva's school, and talks of the woman as if she were a possession. Eva is pleased to tell him that Arabella is out of his reach--she's married and an expectant mother. (It had taken some time for our duke to find Eva.)



Irrationally irritated, the duke decides to research Eva and punish her. He does this by buying her debt and explaining that the debts could be waived if she supplies him with another courtesan. Unwilling to pimp her students, Eva finally decides to take on the role herself.



The consent issues in the book are murky. Smith would like to play with the idea of forced consent, but she also works very hard to explain that Eva desires the duke and makes the choice of her own free will.



The setting is murky as well. There are no clear recognitions of time; the cover would indicate that the book takes place in the Regency period, but the social work with Fallen Women movement is a later Victorian attitude. In Smith's London, every well born man seems to keep a mistress--or courtesan, I should say--in addition to his wife. Few people object to the practice, and our duke is even able to talk with his mother about his missing courtesan, Arabella. Obviously, many of the wives hate the practice, and Eva's father's widow is especially vitriolic. However, it's an accepted social practice, and no men are shunned for keeping a courtesan. Women actually seem to compete for the role, which also complicates the issue.



This book is the first in a trilogy, and I'm not sure that I'll continue with it. While the sex was fun, the ahistorical nature of this historical romance bugs me. I also don't like the idea that Smith is trying to invoke the old fashioned rape fantasy without addressing its baggage. Overall, this is a fun read but not one that you'll want to think about deeply.



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