"Love as thou wilt," is the one rule of Terre d'Ange, a land of grace and beauty. "Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission... and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one." Trained in the courtly arts, Phedre is also trained in the ability to observe, remember and analyze and become a potential spy for Delaunay. As an anguisette, and as the only anguisette in several generations, Phredre has access to patrons that the usual courtesans would never serve. However, her ability to listen, observe, remember and analyze puts her in great danger when she learns of a plot to threaten Terre d'Ange.
And from here, the story unfolds. This is the first in a trilogy, so there is a lot of worldbuilding that is happening, along with laying the different plotlines, all of the characters, all of the politics, etc etc. The one villain (actually, a villainess) at the heart of the plot to endanger Terre d'Ange is very much a Machiavellian, so there are plenty of twists and turns in this story. I guess this would technically be classified as epic fantasy. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, as far as the political machinations go.
I have read this book a few times, as well as the other two in this trilogy. I have also read the second trilogy by Carey, but I found that the story was a lot weaker and the books could have used some editing (as they are also lengthy). I like parts of this book, although I also feel like it could have benefitted from editing. There's a big deal that's made over Phrede's whole "pain is pleasure" way of experiencing things, and that gets a little old ---- and it also gets a little wearing that Phredre seems to have a bottomless well of talents. She's a courtesan, she has an incredible memory, she can speak multiple languages, she can sing, she can get involved in political machinations, and of course, she's beautiful. And, something else that bothers me more each time I read this book is how it's obviously based on real geography. Terre d'Ange would appear to be France. The Skaldi are Nordic. There are Celtic people, complete with gold and blue woad tattoos. The Tsingani are obviously Romany. I guess I would have liked some more originality ---- but, then again, if I see this as most fantasy/alternate world kind of worldbuilding, it bothers me less.
summary in quotes is from Goodreads
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