This book wasn't that great. Show don't tell! The author kept summarizing and glossing over things. It got really boring. I also didn't feel the connection between the H and h. I think the H took the h's condition pretty personally considering how their marriage took place. Had she not been in her current predicament, he would have never been given a second chance and he would have died in prison. Do you really want to look a gift horse in the mouth at this point? The character reactions just didn't make sense to me. The h was kind of silly too and her journey and character arch not very believable to me. I also didn't buy into them falling in love mostly because the author didn't show...she told you. I have read worse is the biggest compliment I can give it. Mostly it was boring and with the plot it really shouldn't have been.

I absolutely love this author and have read several of her books. Although this was not one of my favorite of her books I still really enjoyed it. I felt that there were many interesting twists and turns in the story that made it unique and special. I would highly recommend reading this book along with any of Terri Brisbins other stories. She is a truly gifted story teller.

Summary:

Now a royal command to wed would restore all he had lost--but at what price? For though marriage to landed, beauteous Emalie Montgomerie seemed to present no hardship, his countess harbored a secret dangerous enough to destroy them both!They were bound by decree, but would they ever find happiness?

Though she held her honor unblemished in her heart, Emalie Montgomerie knew coming unchaste to the bridal bed was a sin unforgivable in a noblewoman. Still, the desire flaring in Christian's eyes offered her hope...but would the prideful Dumont ever accept another man's babe as his own?

I love reading historical romance by Terri Brisbin's! She never disappoints. This book is a keeper. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. The hero and heroine both have their secrets. Trust is a major issue especially when the hero finds out the heroine is pregnant with another man's child. But eventually love conquers all. The villain in the story gives a new word to the the word evil. But the love the Hero has for the heroine makes everything happen as it should. Thank you Terri Brisbin's for a great read I will definitely be buying more books by this author.

I really enjoyed this book! I look at several things when reading a romance novel....1) how quickly was I motivated to finish? 2) How much skimming did I do? 3) How often did I roll my eyes? 4) How easy was it for me to picture the characters/scenes/scenery/etc?

On the first item it was a solid 5 stars....I began reading around 9 PM and finished around 2 AM....I could not put it down despite how tired I was, and only stopped reading once or twice because I had a few nighttime chores to accomplish...otherwise I would have read straight through and probably finished it sooner! I was very motivated to find out how the main characters would get themselves out of a terrible predicament, and I could not figure out how it would be accomplished.

On the second item it was 4-4.5 stars....I did do a little skimming in the beginning mostly because descriptions of horrid prison conditions kind of gross me out. I can only recall another one or two times in the book where I felt the descriptions or the dialogue was a little long winded....I don't recall specific examples, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

On item 3 again it was a solid 4-4.5 stars....I rolled my eyes only once during the first love scene....for a "maid" who was taken against her will by a slimy and perverse man (although she can't recall much of the details)and who was now about to bed a man (her husband) she barely knew a week or two, I felt her burning desire and lack of shyness a little unrealistic....BUT it wasn't a huge issue, and I quickly got over it.

Lastly on the 4th item I gave this a solid 4 stars. I liked the characters well enough....I felt a little more time could have been spent describing Emmalie because I honestly can't tell you what color her eyes are and I can only give a good guess as to her hair color (blonde I think) and I read it 12 hours ago. I had a much easier time picturing the hero of the story because it seemed to me like a little more time had been spent describing him....the author did a good job in describing the scenery and some of the historical points of the story....I appreciated the fact that we didn't get long drawn out descriptions of gowns, jewels, hair styles, and decor....I find that stuff gets really tedious really fast...especially if the main character changes her clothes a lot or they visit a lot of homes. :)

One discrepancy I noted while reading the story....an editorial mistake made me confused as to the time frame....at one point the author said they had finished the harvest and was invited to a wedding right before winter....and then when the H&H returned from the wedding the author said something to the effect of "as late summer turned into fall..."....a minor mistake, but one that briefly confused me as to what time of year it really was...an important detail when dating the heroine's pregnancy.

All in all a solid 4 star book....the plot was easy to follow along and interesting enough that I had to finish it "that night"....the characters were likable enough, and the author did a decent job of at least trying to make this historically accurate. I was interested enough in their story that I couldn't put it down, and found it an enjoyable read. I would gladly recommend this book.

i enjoyed this story .. and how it twists with king richard,queen eleanor,and bratty john .. 2 people get pushed together and find love it was a rocky ride but cute story i have read a few of terri brisbin books that i have liked.

Liked the book will read more of her thank you

Oh my was so happy to find out what happened to Tavis and Ciara I did not know this book was out wow what a read love it

I was confused by the other reviews. I bought this novel on the strength of the three 5-star reviews. My opinion is that it's a solid 3.5 stars, but not 5. Everything was right in place; the characters are well-drawn, the plot is good, but somehow... the story and the characters don't come to life.

Let me praise the author by stating that the writing and her research into the period is a cut above the usual Harlequin Historical standard, but this is not a superlative novel. For some reason, these characters and their situation, won't live in my memories (that's the kind of novel I'd give a 5-star review).