The Courtesan and Mr. Hyde

Mad Scientists Society, Book 1

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Waterstones.com
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 16 Aug 2022 | Archive Date 20 Aug 2022

Talking about this book? Use #TheCourtesanandMrHyde #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

Sometimes the path to true love is a walk on the wicked side.

Dr. Henry Jekyll has—almost—always lived by the rules. Hoping to improve society by separating a person’s good and evil halves, Hal tests an experimental potion on himself. When the drug lowers his usual inhibitions, Hal crashes a high-class party, downs a strong drink, and propositions a sophisticated courtesan. All in the name of science, of course.

Calliope Finch needs only six more months as a glamorous mistress to earn enough to open the library of her dreams. So when Callie meets the awkward, bookish party crasher calling himself Mr. Hyde, she knows nothing can come of it. Not when his curious charm and unfailing honesty come at the expense of his bank account. All she can spare him is a kiss—and maybe one night.

Spurred on by their unwavering attraction, Hal and Callie soon become friends and scientific collaborators. But Callie’s list of potential protectors is dwindling, Hal’s potion might not be the solution he hopes, and a mysterious enemy is making mischief at every turn. With their goals slipping ever further from reach, Hal and Callie must put their minds and hearts to the test. Even if it means freeing sides of themselves they’ve long kept hidden.

Sometimes the path to true love is a walk on the wicked side.

Dr. Henry Jekyll has—almost—always lived by the rules. Hoping to improve society by separating a person’s good and evil halves, Hal tests...


Available Editions

ISBN 9781949862416
PRICE

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (EPUB)
Send to Kindle (EPUB)
Download (EPUB)

Average rating from 9 members


Featured Reviews

This was a really unique take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it was a wonderfully done read and I was invested in what was going on. It was a great beginning to the Mad Scientists Society series, it was a great concept with interesting characters. I really enjoyed the plot of the book and thought it was a great way to use Jekyll and Hyde. I can't wait to read more in this series and more from Catherine Stein.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” his mother said. “I simply wanted to give you that hug and pass along this letter that arrived when I did.” She slipped a piece of paper from her pocket and held it out. “I’m leaving again first thing in the morning, but I do hope we can have dinner together tonight.”

Was this review helpful?

Catherine Stein is a new to me author and after reading this first book in her new series I will be looking at more of her books while waiting for the next book in this series.

Calliope 'Callie' Finch is only a courtesan so she can earn enough to open a lending library for women to read and study whatever they desire. Dr. Henry "Hal' Jekyll is a doctor and experimental scientist who wanted to separate out and control man's baser urges. The first evening Hal decides he is ready to do human testing on his elixir he takes it himself because he can't imaging harming anyone else he meets Callie. A fun romp with a bit of a mystery ensues and leaves us with a nice happily ever after for our couple.

Is this the end? No, I'm pretty sure we can look forward to books starring Hal's friends from The Mad Scientist Club - Victor Franklin who does experiments with electricity, Nemo who wants to revolutionize transportation and exploration, maybe even the enigmatic, trouser wearing, whisky drinking Miss Majhi.

And even though we have Callie and Hal all nice and settled who is the evil mastermind behind the
mysterious events that threatened them. We got a peek and based on who Hal and friends are I have my guess. I don't consider this a cliffhanger just a piece of story arc to tie the series together.


I received this ARC from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Was this review helpful?

I received an ARC from the author via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Catherine Stein has become an author I can count on for fresh, original romances, so when I saw she was due to release a Jekyll and Hyde retelling, I was immediately excited. The concept of the original always freaked me out, but it is one of my favorite underused plotlines from Once Upon a Time, and I couldn’t help but wish for a different ending for those characters. In a way, The Courtesan and Mr. Hyde was that for me.
Stein is a master of compelling, layered characters, and she really masters the theme of duality here. Hal is fairly straitlaced and socially awkward, and his idea is rather idealistic in terms of separating a person’s “good” and “evil” selves. But he, like everyone else, has some baser instincts he keeps hidden, and it’s a fascinating journey to see him discover him through his experiments…even if it does go too far.
Callie is a woman after my own heart. While I’m not sure how I feel about the narrative of a woman engaging in sex work to survive until she gains means to do something else, the plot and main characters don’t go out of its way to treat sexuality and sex work as dirty or lesser, and actually fights back against those who demean it. And I love a woman who is both beautiful and brainy, valuing books and being able to engage with Hal on equal footing in his experiments just as they do in other aspects of their relationship.
It’s also fun to get glimpses of the other members of the Mad Scientists Society throughout the book, with hints as to what their books will be about. I’m looking forward to more fun homages to 19th century literature to come, and curious as to how these mad scientists will receive the “romance hero” treatment.
This might be my favorite Catherine Stein book to date (although the race is quite close), and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical romance with light paranormal elements or romance retellings of classic novels.

Was this review helpful?

With a fun and well written plot Katherine Stein has taken The jackal and hide story added a love interest interesting friends and the mystery arc that will link future books to the first one and essentially started a great mystery romance series. When Dr. Jekyll is given the bravado from his serum he infiltrates a shindig for the wealthy and meets Card is in Calley. She is not just a high paid friend of wealthy men she is a bookworm and interested in the same science that he is and she finds herself overwhelmingly attracted to him. All she needed was one more benefactor so she could save her money to open the library to feed the minds of intellectually starving women, but as the famous saying goes the heart wants what it wants. this was such an interesting and fun book to read. I cannot wait for the next book and can only hope it’s one of the doctors friends from the mad scientist society who falls in love. They have famous scientist that make cameos at the club and one can only hope that may be the main character in future books. I truly and sincerely love this book and wish I could give it more than five stars. Historical fiction is my jam and I am chomping at the bit for the next book! I received this book from Net Galley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Was this review helpful?

I love retellings and this is the first Jekyll and Hyde retelling that I have read and I really enjoyed it. It was a unique premise and a really interesting read. I read it in one sitting

Was this review helpful?

Wow, I was blown away!! Great book!! Loved the author’s writing style. Highly recommend read. Now I just need to purchase the other books in the series.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: