First book of Phèdre's trilogy, a fantasy series that takes place in a kind of parallel Renaissance Europe. Phèdre is a courtesan, who a/ has been chosen by the gods/angel to take pleasure in pain b/ is consequently adopted by her mentor, Anafiel Delaunay, who teaches her how to be a kick-ass spy. Obviously, the whole thing degenerates quite quickly, political intrigue being what it is. Phèdre's nature makes the story sometimes disturbing (some scenes are pretty graphic), but generally speaking it's a great book. I don't read that much fantasy, but if Jacqueline Carey continues to write some, then I'll probably continue to read it (I have some backlog :) ).