The resounding themes of A 21st Century Courtesan by Eden Bradley are love, faith, and the power of choice. This modern-day romantic drama just oozes exotic and erotic interchanges that the very high-class courtesan lifestyle is known for. But what if such a lifestyle is threatened by the one forbidden doorway that no courtesan should ever cross – love?

Valentine Day is a wealthy modern courtesan who works her trade, and her clients, all over the Santa Monica and Beverly Hills area. Her success has culminated over 10 years of solid dedication to her trade. She is renowned for her superior skills, looks, and the obvious pleasure she takes in all her erotic exchanges and partners. But the sex and money are all a form of escape that she has grown addicted to while attempting to hide from the haunting emotional trauma of her past.

Then one day the unthinkable happens – Valentine meets Joshua, and the world she has built and controlled within and around her shines differently with the dawning of a new day. He triggers a fire within her that she never knew was there. Extreme attraction leads to obsession while she battles her urges and tries desperately to forget him. He becomes the catalyst triggering a series of life-altering choices and faith in what is to begin, and end, within herself and her life.

The depth of Valentine’s emotional and mental traumas eats away at her courage in the face of the new life she is struggling so hard to make for herself. The relationship with Joshua is intense and unlike anything she has ever known, but it stands on the edge of a knife as he learns of her sordid lifestyle. She is buried in her inability to see past her lack of self-worth and take the risk of living on faith in love. If she does succeed in conquering her fears and doubts, then Valentine will find the peace, normalcy, and intimacy that she has never known before.

Eden Bradley makes this very erotic and blushingly descriptive romance novel a success. Her aptitude for expressing the Valentine Day’s emotional rollercoaster and evolving mindset is inspirational. The ranges of thought and emotion are realistically portrayed and add newer depths to the erotic lovemaking that help her to find herself.

For those readers a little prudish in their tastes, beware! From the first page, A 21st Century Courtesan leads the reader quite graphically to a front-row seat overlooking the sexual acts of the courtesan and doesn’t let up==. Language of all sorts is commonly used, and a good portion of the story is pretty equivalent to modern pornography. However, for those who are not faint of heart regarding these approaches, the novel is interesting and a good read.