⭐⭐ : It was ok

° Third person perspective (switches between male and female lead)
° Trigger warnings: attempted rape
° Other warnings: sexually explicit
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Thompson writes a very detailed historical romance. Of that this book gives no doubt.

But I found there to be too many needless details, like how Sara's slippers are almost always referred to as "Moroccan leather slippers" instead of just slippers. Every time. The same goes for Nicolas's boots, or his pantaloons.

Then there's the plot. It could easily have been done in half the amount of pages as it was fairly simple.

Sara's personality also left much to be desired. She goes against every warning, to disastrous results. She's referred to as being intelligent, but I personally saw no higher intelligence within her.

Overall, this book left me wanting. I couldn't quite like the two leads, despite their peculiar circumstances and potential. ( )

Not a very good writer. Kind of historical, kind of paranormal. ( )

Stuck in a debtors prison after the death of her father, the heroine is stunned when she receives the most unlikely of offers. The son of a friend of her father has offered her marriage and she jumps at the opportunity. Making the trek to Cornwall with a less than pleasant friend of her new husband, the heroine is happy to be rid of the man's company. In the castle by the sea, the heroine meets her husband. He is broad shouldered, hair dark as a raven and pleasant enough if a little dark and moody and secretive. He makes it plain to her that their marriage will be in name only and though she feels a pain to know she'll never experience the pleasures of man and wife, she's content with her new home. It's miles above the prison she's spent her last years in. But it's a lonely existence and without the companionship of her absent husband, the heroine takes to embracing the company of the dog that haunts the keep. She comes to realize that the animal is generally hated by servants and the hero informs her not be become attached to the beast but despite this she leaves her door ajar every night in hopes of a visit. Then the unseedy gentleman who escorted her to her new home returns and after a night deep in his cups, takes her open door as an invitation. She's attacked and very nearly raped but she's saved by the animal named Nero who bites the fiend, horrified when the animal is shot in the process. From then on however, the heroine notices changes in the normally docile animal she calls friend. He's possessive and aggressive and she even becomes slightly uncomfortable around him. But that doesn't stop her from doing everything in her power to save him when he's being hunted. Little does she knew the truth. The hero's father was bitten by a werewolf in India and passed the gene onto his son. The heroine lives as a recluse in his home, knowing he can never leave else he be caught out when the change happens spontaneously. But he's soon to be told that he's a shifter rather than a werewolf and need only to learn to control it. This gives his hope where there was scarcely none before that he could find happiness in the arms of his wife. But his secret is great and horrible and he hides it from her for most of book, afraid to lose her if she should realize the truth. Especially now that her attacker has been affected with the werewolf genre and is stalking the halls of his home. But what really hurts the heroine is the lack of trust he has for her, not his affliction. She takes some time to come to terms that her husband has lied to her from the start. I thought the heroine to be very wishy washy. At first I considered her level headed and smart. Though she disagrees with the hero's decisions to keep her under guard for her own safety and voices said disagreement, she actually listens to her husband. But as time went on she became more and more stupid and reckless. How many damn times does the man have to tell you not to wonder the halls of a creepy and dangerous castle at night before you listen to him?? I ask you. She was so frustrating I could have slapped her. The only thing I could think to salvage her complete ignorance was the fact that she was lonely and she only really ventured out in search of her friend Nero. I loved the hero. He was tortured without being melodramatic and he put up with a lot of flack from his stubborn wife but you could so tell he only yelled at her or lost his temper out of fear for her safety. Overall I enjoyed the gothic tone of the book and the story was very interesting and well written. ( )

I loved the story, but the book could have been written with 100 less pages. About page 200, I started skimming to the end. ( )