This is one of those weird so-called romances that were produced in the '80's, which combine violence with the romance (and where the romance is not, um, well, very romantic as a consequence of all the violence). Francesca is on her way to an arranged marriage in Hungary or Rumania (never quite clear which one it was) and ends up being kidnapped by a brigand/nobleman with a grudge against her unknown fiance. There's a lot of love-hate going on and Francesca eventually loses her virginity in a rape. I have to admit, that was pretty much IT for me, and my interest in the story, never high to being, shrank to next-to-nothingness. Oh, yes, Alexis tries to make up for it later, but love between a hero and heroine which masquerades for two-thirds of the book as jealousy, distrust and pretend dislike never did much for me as a reader.

Frankly, for all its speed (it's one of the shortest historical romances I've ever read) the story begins to drag pretty quickly and all the love-hate gets old fast.

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