Rating: 
Summary: A Different Kind of Connie Mason Book
Review: While I agree with all the criticism leveled at this book by other readers, I think it deserves a better rating because it is an epic tale, not the simple romance and not the typical Connie Mason formula. In most of her other books Mason stops just short of rape and real cruelty to her heroines. Of the 30+ books I have read so far, this is by far the most sexually graphic and startling in terms of what she puts her through. Usually no other man "touches" the heroine unless she is widowed or he is dead. This book envisions about the worst horrors that could befall a woman in that era, and she seems to experience all of them. It is somewhat difficult to imagine all of those things happening to the same woman, but the factual circumstances of that era are real, therefore giving plausibility to the storyline. It is hard to either like or respect Tony. He is almost always cruel to her, rarely gentle until well into the book. There are characters, Nathan and Francis, both of whom embody a much finer character than Tony's, and I would have preferred her to chose one of them and leave this harsh selfish man. But, her lot was sealed from the first and as an indentured servant, there was little she could do to escape her fate. But, not liking Tony's behavior does not constitute reason enough to give this book a bad rating. It is well written and the storyline is fast paced and gripping. It is as though watching the horrors unfold, the reader cannot believe that yet something more awful is about to happen. I recommend this book to those who have a strong stomach for a woman's survival in this era, and who enjoy Connie Mason as a good author. Do not expect her usual formulic tales where evil mistresses eventually vanish and deprivation usually means hero and heroines being separated with simple misunderstandings to overcome.
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