The first Catherine Coulter book I read and the one that definitely got me hooked on all of her books. She's an excellent writer, who mixes romance and adventure seamlessly. Her characters are always strong and likable, and the suspenseful plots keep you reading.
The Courtship is a wonderful historical romance about independent widow Helen Mayberry and a confirmed bachelor Spenser Heatherington, and a magical lamp.
Helen is a big girl with a deep interest in a magical lamp. In between searching for the lamp, she is the owner of an inn that pays for her living expenses quite nicely. Spenser is a rake, a confirmed bachelor, and falls head over heels in lust with Helen when he first spies her at a party.
The interaction between the two characters are in turns hiliarious and frustrating, as well as sweet and heart-warming. Helen and Spenser's relationship do not face any of the usual problems featured in historical romances - instant dislike, rivalry, virginity, etc. etc. Instead they acknowledge their mutual interest in each other - and then proceed to drive each other crazy. Helen is hesitant about Spenser's advances if only because her marriage was not so very happy when her husband was alive.
A truly wonderful story, Helen and Spenser's love for each other is true. They do not have to overcome any personality issues to be together. Instead, they are two people in love caught in the problems of everyone else around them.
