The classic New York Times bestselling tale of romance and intrigue in Regency England ...Dear Reader, Arielle Leslie is a sixteen-year-old girl forced to wed Paisley Cochrane, a sadistic old man who abuses her. When he dies, she believes herself free. But she's not. Burke Drummond, Earl of Ravensworth-a young man she'd worshipped three years before-is home from the wars, and he wants her. When he catches her, he's in for an appalling surprise. Burke and Arielle are two people who have touched me deeply. Together they faced problems and obstacles never spoken of in Regency time. If you haven't yet read Night Fire, do give it a try. See if you agree with me that Arielle and Burke are two very special people. Catherine Coulter
I have mixed feelings about this. Arielle is horribly abused by her first husband, but frankly, Burke wasn’t much better for much of the book. He decided that he wanted to have Arielle as his wife, and who cares what she thinks about it. Surely, if she’s forced to spend all her time with him, she’ll come around eventually! Burke may have never physically hurt her, but the beginning of their relationship was no less abusive. That being said, I did like Arielle and Burke and I liked them together, in the end. There’s some interesting conflict here, and a recurring theme of how husbands and wives relate to each other. Her groom, Geordie, was also an interesting character — I wish he’d been used more in the story. I’ll read the rest of this trilogy, but I hope the subject matter isn’t so difficult in the others.
