Wow, I totally know why I stopped reading older historical romances. First of all, the first page is just sophomoric -- like that bad dentist joke that middle school kids liked to tell thinking they were titillating and worldly. Second, the story is just...simple. Admittedly, most romance is simplified; but this is just plug A into B now C needs to do D. Third, even though there seems to be a lot of emotion on the page...it's a lot of telling not showing. ( )