Synopsis:
A Yale-educated Korean aristocrat finds herself disinherited and neck-deep in debt. To pay off her creditors, she joins a Russian ogresse's international harem of blue blooded courtesans and sinks into more debt. Irritable bowel syndrome caused her to fall out of favor with her rich lover but more in love with her penniless boyfriend. But soon her boyfriend discovered her secret life as a courtesan and she is forced to return to Korea with the impending death of her cousin. There she discovers a dark family secret that questions her nobility.




What do I think?
This book reminds me of Gossip Girl, though the plot has no similarity at all with the series. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the characters in the book find it so easy to lie and deceive other people to get what they want. Spinoza reminds me so much of Dan Humphrey -- brooding and intelligent.  




As other reviewers have commented, the book's got no lovable characters. But it does have an interesting plot and I learned a few trivial things. Here they are:

1. Never scratch or pick your nose in public.
2. Courtesans do not ask for money. They wait to be given.
3. You're never really an aristocrat if you do not know to play at least one instrument and  do not speak a foreign language other than English.
4. Egyptians like to keep in the family, i.e. sisters and brothers have a go at each other to keep the bloodline pure.

One more comment: Author Y. Euny Hong just can't resist giving our heroine a happy ending.

Other Reviews:

Amazon Customer Reviews

Where did I buy it?

Booksale in Festival Mall for 20 pesos