When the hero and heroine meets, it's at the time when she is knocking him off a window ledge and having him fall to the ground below. He is stunned and knocked senseless for a moment but awakens to see the most stunning creature leaning over him. But what goddess like beauty she possesses is match equally by stubbornness and mayhem. Both are sneaking out of the Scottish castle and in possession of stolen goods from the keep. The hero has come on a mission to retrieve important documents for his queen and the heroine has taken items she can sell in her bid to reach London she can become a playwright. After a very amusing argument in the dark woods, they are caught by the laird and brought back to face judgment. The heroine is reprimanded by being thrust into a betrothal with a disgusting neighboring laird and the hero finds himself beaten and imprisoned. Together, they form a plan. The heroine will help the hero escape if he will in turn take her London and sponsor her dreams of being an author. Their plan is horribly foiled however when the hero's normally tight rein on his emotions comes loose and they are found in a compromising position and forced to wed. Now, saddled with a wife whom tempts him to forget everything he learned from his stern father about control and his ability to deny himself the pleasure to be found in her arms, he's fulfilling his vow to take her to London but he informs her that he'll be seeking an annulment as soon as they get there. The heroine is hurt by this, for she's come to feel affection for the stern no nonsense male but her pride makes her put on the front that the annulment is something she desires as well. When he assigns his best friend to distract her, she sees it as an attempt to inspire jealousy within her distant husband. Laughing and joking with another man, pretending to grow attached to him, has the hero seeing red. No matter how he tries to deny it, he's falling under her spell. They finally give in and consummate their marriage only to have the hero's stubbornness resurface. When it comes to light that he's been betrayed by those he works for and that the heroine may be involved with conspiring against him to bind him with marriage, he allows his own cowardice and fears to overrule his heart. He pushes her away. And by the time he realizes his mistake, that he may have lost the one thing he loves, he'll do anything to get her back. I loved this story. I thought it was funny, heartwarming and written beautifully. I enjoyed the heroine. What with her charming innocence, sharp wit and the habit of speaking whatever was on her mind, much to the hero's chagrin, I found her to be a marvelous character. Though she was stubborn, yes, and hell bent on pursuing her dreams, she was far from obnoxious and the manner in which she pressed every single one of the hero's buttons was amusing. The hero in turn was very much a funny character In his own way, though he never means to be. It's the things that happen to him, the curse of dealing with his wife's shenanigans and his friends teasing nature that make you have to laugh at his troubles. He was however a coward in a lot of ways. Mostly when it comes to strong father figures. He's very much rules by the teaching his cold and stern father drilled into him as a boy and his employer has just as much control over him even though he's no longer than young boy. This desire to be what others expect of him made it very easy for him to doubt his own feelings and the heroine's loyalty when it's questioned. Despite this, he was no cold fish. He had such a fire within him and love for the wife he claimed to want to be rid of and I enjoyed watching all those walls come tumbling down. There is a paranormal aspect laced throughout the story, mainly in the form of the Hurst amulet which shows visions of the future and is the cause for the curse of laid on the MacLeans for the other books in the series. ( )

So...this book started out slow; I had to read to about page eighty or ninety until I was riveted to the pages, which was almost to my stopping limit. I am so glad I continued to read on. There are so many things I love about this book I am completely dumbfounded at where to start.

Lets start with characters! I loved the nice mix up of a Scottish lady and an English gentlemen because for some reason in Scottish historical romance it is always the other way around, I found the switch refreshing. I love the spirit and fire in Fia (although I don't love the name) and I love the strength and determination in Thomas (I do love his name...it's my husband's). These two fit perfectly together, steam included. (yes, the pun was intended) I love the secondary characters as well and I found myself starting to wonder about their lives; wondering about Robert and Duncan and their happily ever afters. I find myself quite attached to these heroes.

Next we will go with plot. I was very happy to find out that this is not the predictable highland romance. Of course it is just bursting with sexy Scots *cough* Duncan *cough* but it has a sophisticated and unpredictable side. The plot moves fast once it gets going, and as I said is unpredictable, I had no idea where the book was going until I actually read it, which rarely happens anymore. I also enjoyed the fact that the politics where a major part of the plot but not so forward that I was bored to tears and skipping pages. The final thing I liked was the boat, we had ourselves a nice sea voyage before we hit London town and what a steamy voyage it was.

Ok, finally we are on to writing. I enjoyed Ms. Hawkins' writing style immensely. It is filled with style, grace, and genuine passion for her characters that could tangibly feel while reading the pages. I do have to say I will never ever be able to read the word 'turgid' in a book without giggling because of the movie 'Ten Things I Hate About You', so I guess it was appropriate and a tad bit ironic that I found it in this book. This book is also pretty funny; I found myself laughing out loud a few times.

Anyway, I enjoyed this book immensely and have already added every other book Ms. Hawkins has written to my wishlist for later purchasing. You would be crazy not to read this one....it is great for any historical romance lover.

P.S. I love the cover too...the guy on it looks a bit like Jonathan Rhys Meyers *melt* ( )

I've waited for this book, I can't wait to get started reading it!! ( )

A great book but Karen Hawkins always writes great books I love how these two people meant. Both trying to steal something. Things were going great they had there ups and down but I thought it would all work out. Untill someone started problems and Thomas did not believe anything that Fia had to say when that happened I even started crying it was so sad but than of course it all worked out when Thomas woke up and reliezed what was going on. A happy ending I liked. ( )

Great story, Fia has a fantastic personality, very witty and funny. loved her shananagins . Still very unclear about Duncan though, really wish it has cleared up his story a little more, maybe he story is told in the Hurst Amulet series. we'll see. Also a bit of a time line discrepancy, which I find confusing. Still loved the story though, very well written. ( )