Geoffrey de Burgh, from the earlier novel in the series, was my favorite brother and my heart went out to him when he was the one chosen to be the de Burgh to marry the FITZHUGH!

The rumours of Elene FitzHugh were rife with what a hellion she was - murdress of her husband on their wedding night, etc. so upon meeting her the brothers deBurgh were not disappointed. She was most foul in appearance, manner and mouth! But Geoffrey, following the edict from the king and the request of his father, would wed her and somehow - live through the night?

This was not your run of the mill historical romance with the hero and the heroine quickly falling in love...this was gut wrenching and painful for no matter how hard Geoffrey (God you have to love him) tried you thought he would never pull down the barriers that Elene had put up around her. She would trust no man - never! I was even beginning to doubt that there would any kind of compromise here. I think that is why the tears were brought to my eyes with the outcome.

This was a MOST enjoyable and poignant love story! Definitely a must read for the Deborah Simmons fan!

This book was one I definately had a hard time putting down. The characters were fresh and orginal and I could have easily fallen in love with Geoffrey had I been in Elene's position. Elene has some different problems than you usually see in the typical heroine and acted quite differently, but this was all a part of the uniqueness of this book. I was intrigued with the whole de Burgh family and can't wait to read the other books in the series. The only problem I had with this one, was that I was getting impatient for Elene to start comming around and falling in love with Geoffrey. I was almost to the point where I was going to start skipping pages when Elene finally started giving in to him...Whew! Hope this helps you...