After reading and rejecting Bertrice Small's earlier works because I felt like I was reading hardcore porn, which is not my cup of tea, some time later I borrowed this book from a friend who recommended it and was pleased to find a refreshing change: a heroine that actually stays faithful to her husband, who believes in love over lust and would rather be a lady than a tramp. Either Bertrice mellowed with time, or was influenced by the wave of political correctness; either way, I heartily approved. ( )

Yeah, so, Bertrice Small books are not for me. What I saw as misogynistic themes, non-consensual sex, and messily done BDSM dominated this story. Oddly enough, the hero was a babe in the woods but we didn't get much of his and the heroine's relationship because the evil sister-in-law and her quest against the heroine dominated the story. Some Stephen, Matilda, and Duke Henry history with the hero having to walk a fine line of being loyal to Stephen but pledging to honor Duke Henry after his death. I'm glad, for the most part, the romance genre has grown and gotten better from the days when this was acceptable to publish. ( )