She spit him & was promptly rewarded w/ a brutal backhand slap that bloodied her nose.

The hero showed his true colors by breaking men’s code of honor 1st meeting between H/H after she’s kidnapped 16 y/o.

Some dishonorable mentions of what Kit – damsel in perennial distress - went thru’, dramatic twists, outrageous turns & interminable conflicts between H/H : H/H had the most volatile, dysfunctional relationship in romancelandia, bar none. I’d never read a heroine in peril, whose dignity was stripped in an awful manner like this. I didn’t lose sleep over it, but I see now what the fuzz is all about. I finished it last weekend, couldn’t look away, like a horrific train wreck that mesmerized me, but I felt like it’s imperative to overdose on cotton candy romances to shake off the aftershocks & as a reminder of why I read ‘romance’ in the 1st place =)~ Lotsa repetitive patterns of cringe-worthy abuse & cruelties to warrant a lifetime restraining order against the hater. So much hate & heartaches going on that’ll make even a seasoned reader flinch & squirm. well written story, despite the hardcore demoralizing things inflicted on both H/H (esp the heroine) & the distasteful series of cheating.

The 2 stars were for the fact that I read the epic saga from cover to cover & it’s a v.

I didn’t think this shoulda been categorized as ‘romance’, it reads more like a historical fiction & an antidote to ‘romance’. H/H ended up w/ a dubious HEA, but I just wasn’t sure if the vicious cycle wouldn’t continue off screen (the string of atrocities the hero committed & endless dire circumstances befallen Kit made me wonder). How in holy hell Kit’s sanity & physical being could survive intact w/ 1 paralyzing terror after another, was a miracle indeed. Just when I thought things could not have gotten worse for the heroine, they did. Of all forbidden-luv theme I’ve read the last 16 yrs, this was probably the most memorable 1, not in a good way tho’, thanx to the slew of appalling, shudders-inducing, stomach-churning experiences heroine suffered thru’.

Stormfire monson