I'm glad this wasn't the first Tessa Dare book I read, because I was a little underwhelmed. It was ok, but not as great as her Castles Ever After series.

You have the historical romance tropes you would expect. Dominate man, woman determined to be independent and strong but secretly wants to be saved. He is a marshmallow inside as well, and just wants to be held in her loving arms. Barf. But it was very modernist in its view of "women are people too" and "equal rights" and "battle of the sexes". I didn't hate it, and I will probably continue on with the series, but Castles Ever After is better in my opinion.

Decent twists and ok characters, but I wanted more depth. 3 stars.