Review: This is a GREAT romance!  I loved it!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 8, 2013
***This review contains a slight spoiler ***I was hesitant to buy this because I was worried that it would be a sex based story rather than a character driven romance AND I read the 2 star review.  That review almost persuaded me against my purchase because of the way the hero was described.  He didn't seem appealing AT ALL - but I decided to read the preview and I liked that so much that I went ahead and took a chance and bought the book. I am so glad that I did.  This was such a great book!  I loved it!! Here's what I loved...1.  The story - wow! The story was so interesting and the world was 100% believable.  I was THERE!  Basically, the H sees h and immediately wants her. She has no choice. Soldiers take her from her family home and she is "prepared" for him. She is not happy about this.  She is cleaned up, pampered and dressed in fine clothes. Then they have dinner together and afterwards he seduces her even though she tells him she doesn't want to sleep with him. She was a virgin. He keeps her in his bed all night, something he has never done before and decides to take her with him back to Seattle-Archer. She is not happy about it. She decides to try to escape but isn't given the opportunity until later in the story...an opportunity she seizes! He of course comes after her, rescues her and brings her back. She lives in luxury and is given whatever she wants EXCEPT her freedom. He gets angry if she even mentions it. He is very possessive of her. Their relationship grows and he dotes on her until an uprising occurs, a bomb goes off that kills some people and she's implicated. He believes she's responsible and has her imprisoned. After he finds out she was innocent, he totally grovels until finally we get a HEA. The groveling didn't take up a lot of pages but the author noted the passage of time within the story.2.  The romance - this is a true classic romance (albeit somewhat dark at times)...i.e. reluctant heroine being held by the gorgeous alpha hero who will give her anything she wants but her freedom. (Loved it!) I read all types of romance but a true character driven romance is my favorite and that is exactly what Ms. Tunstall delivered.  The relationship began based totally on Tiernan's sexual attraction for Madison and then it actually develops and grows. I loved experiencing the growth that this couple went through as they fell in love.  It was romantic, believable and enjoyable to read.3.  The characters - they were well developed and felt so real to me. The pain and anguish that Madison went through when Tiernan did imprison her and refused to believe in her was so intense and well written that I teared up and yes a few even escaped.  It was unbelievably engrossing! When Tiernan finally came to realize Madison was innocent, she made him suffer, and suffer, and suffer! I would've been so disappointed if Madison would've just forgiven him at his first heartfelt apology.  I really appreciated that the author made the hero grovel for so long. It made the story so much more poignant and real.What I disliked about this book....nothing!  However, some might object to the following:1.  There is a near rape scene (she is rescued before it occurs), that might be a trigger for some.2. There is forced seduction in the beginning.3.  The H is very OTT controlling/possessive/jealous. If you don't like that type of H, you won't like this.4.  H imprisons h for a brief time towards the end. (This was emotionally gripping for me. It was very well written. Her sorrow/pain - wow!)5. This is NOT a sweet romance. The H was mean at times. He is non PC. (Politically Correct.)If you are ok with the above mentioned things and are looking for a well-written post-apocalyptic story that has a strong, possessive/jealous non PC alpha male, AND a character driven romance, then I recommend you read this book.