Review: One of My Favorites
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2013
First of all, yes the hero does rape the heroine in this (more than once). If that is a trigger for you, then this is not the book for you.Some may prefer to call it a "forced seduction" because the heroine always ultimately succumbs and finds pleasure in it.  THIS IS A KINK. If you enjoy this sort of story it does not mean you wish to be raped in real life. Rape fantasy is a common thing and romance novels are just that - fantasy. Let's not shame one another for our kinks.Anyway, if the captor/captive genre is your thing, this is a book you should read.  Rolfe is an alpha, but unlike many in the genre, he feels remorse/self-hatred for the position he has put Angeline in, and does not get angry at Angeline for not initiating sex.  It makes me angry when these guys have the nerve to pout and storm around because the respectable virgin they captured and raped is not falling all over them.  He is also not unreasonably distrusting of her.  He doesn't trust her not to escape at first (duh), but he doesn't blame her for an attempt and act like the wronged party and doesn't suspect her of constantly trying to have sex with every man that walks by.  THAT infuriates me too and is all too common in the genre.Angeline is a practical, sensible girl.  She does not pitch ridiculous fits or act "feisty" just for the sake of it (another pet peeve).  She is no shrinking violet, however.  The story is told strictly from Angeline's point of view, which for some may be an issue.  It is nice to know the hero's thoughts.  Yet, in this case, I think the reader gets a pretty good view of them through her eyes.  Ironically her interpretation of his words/actions is often different than what the reader will get. She honestly thinks he only wants her physically and that whatever feelings he may have for her are not relevant.  He is a prince, she is an American commoner - she sees no hope for a marriage proposal.The only "big misunderstanding" in the book is the depth of his feelings for her and the fact that he very much wishes to marry her.  He does not make that clear to her because he feels she'd be a target for assassins who are after him and is waiting until that issue is cleared up.  Yeah, he could have told her this, but then there would have been little to hold the second half of the book together and the HEA wouldn't have been as satisfying.