Review: The pace maintains till the very end
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 8, 2014
*What Meghna Sarkar Thought*Set in medieval England, this historical romance novella stars the haughty Reese and the naive Jayce.Jayce is married off to Reese by her father by blackmail. Reese agrees to the marriage to save his kidnapped sister Nicole but never intends to honour it. He believes Jayce is equally guilty of deception and never suspects that his wife may be an innocent victim. He mistreats her at every stage and refuses to defend her honour when his younger brother insults her. Jayce continues to suffer his arrogant ways and though she shows signs of spunk and spirit, she remains more or less subdued and accepts all the ill-treatment as part of the deal. She befriends Reese's high-spirited horse Satan and shows him that more beasts can be tamed by love than by punishment. However, Reese remains adamant in his vow not to be forced into a loveless marriage and chases her away by his rudeness. By the time he comes to his senses and realizes that he had actually come to care for his wife, she has fled into a terrible stormy night. He must not only rescue her but also convince her that she is truly the wife he wanted and has a permanent place in his heart.This novella is written well and the pace maintains till the very end. It tends to get a little melodramatic and sometimes it is hard to explain why Jayce meekly accepts Reese's high-handed behavior. But the reader must keep in mind that the tale is set in medieval England when probably women were not encouraged to speak out against domestic abuse. Reese's character has shades of grey and it makes him all the more real. He has seen his parents' loveless marriage and when his sister and Jayce's father cook up this plot of marrying Jayce to him, his hackles are raised and instinct makes him protest in every possible way. He does not realize that as a woman, she may be his ideal mate. It is quite an entertaining two hour read though I don't agree with the author that the love-scene in the midst of nowhere during a terrible storm is romantic. I also don't understand Morse's actions and behavior.Any story which has a horse and a hero/heroine showing kindness to animals automatically gets a higher rating in my view.Overall, I would recommend this book to readers looking for a fast-paced novella in Historical Romance. You will have issues with the way the characters behave and you may not agree with them, but you would enjoy the book.Plot - 3.5Characters - 3Writing - 3.5Pacing - 4