Everyone seems to have read this except me, and I unexpectedly really enjoyed it. The worldbuilding reminds me a bit of Guy Gavriel Kay's real-world-but-different analogues. The heroine is an anguissette (professional masochist), a courtesan dedicated to the goddess of whoring and the god of pain. She is schooled in court intrigue by her wealthy patron, but when his plans go awry she becomes variously slave, royal ambassador, spy, and landowner. If you enjoy your fantasy with analogues of gypsy fortune-tellers, ritual prostitution, barbarians of both Celtic- and Gothic-type origin, court intrigue, war, and even something that seems like it was ripped from the Odyssey, you'll like this book. Even though there are some scenes that make me uncomfortable to read (I'm not into S&M), the book is solid and not erotica at all--the sex (and/or torture) is integral to the plot and done tastefully.