Rating: 
Summary: Maybe more like four stars, BUT
Review: This was my first Claudia Dain book, and definitely won't be my last. Others have summed up the plot here--Nicolaa is ordered to marry her fifth husband, and he's none too excited about marrying her, either. What other reviewers haven't mentioned is the wonderful characterization in this book. Nicolaa had me rooting for her from page one--she's a woman who's been burned badly by her past husbands, yet has used that experience to make herself a stronger woman, ready to withstand anything. She has made her heart impenetrable. Rowland, on the other hand, has allowed grief from his past marriage to tear at him, leaving his heart in tatters, and making him a romantic hero to the entire country. Dain plays these character traits off each other beautifully, and had me turning pages at lightning speed to watch these two people grow and develop.Brava! I'll be picking up more Dain books ASAP!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful heroine + sexy hero!
Review: This was my first Claudia Dain book, and definitely won't be my last. Others have summed up the plot here--Nicolaa is ordered to marry her fifth husband, and he's none too excited about marrying her, either. What other reviewers haven't mentioned is the wonderful characterization in this book. Nicolaa had me rooting for her from page one--she's a woman who's been burned badly by her past husbands, yet has used that experience to make herself a stronger woman, ready to withstand anything. She has made her heart impenetrable. Rowland, on the other hand, has allowed grief from his past marriage to tear at him, leaving his heart in tatters, and making him a romantic hero to the entire country. Dain plays these character traits off each other beautifully, and had me turning pages at lightning speed to watch these two people grow and develop. Brava! I'll be picking up more Dain books ASAP!
Rating: 
Summary: The plot sounded promising, but the story did not deliver
Review: When I read what this story was about, I thought wow this will be an interesting read. The author had created an unique and refreshing premise--too bad she failed to deliver an unique and refreshing story. The novel was slow and boring. I did however, think that the heroine was interesting and likable and deserved a much better hero. Furthermore, I felt uncomfortable and appalled with the hero's method of getting through the heroine's barriers and earning her trust. Forcing someone to have sex is not the best way to gain their trust. Please note that despite what one reviewer stated, the heroine was never a widow, even though she had been married four times.
Rating:
Summary: really...zero
Review: Wow - I have read lots of bad romances, but this really was bad. Right on to the reviewer to pointed out that Nic's incredible coldness was too played up. There was no logical reason for Rowland to fall in love. Her fall in love with him, yes, possible, but not he with her. She was too emotionally and physically unavailable for any man to find attractive. Also, it is impossible to imagine, in that time, that Rowland would actually not have slept with Nic in the marriage bed. So as far as the law was concerned, they were not legally married and if he had died in the battle when he first left, where would that have left everything? He was ordered to marry and in a way, he disobeyed the King. There was no love, no tenderness in this story. Nic inspires no real sympathy in this reader.
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