What a great story! I laughed and cried many times! Such wonderful writing and really engaging characters!! I love this authors work!!

I am currently on a Regency kick and this one was terrific!! ( )

First I want to note that this story is much darker than any of the previous books. There is a lot of suffering of the people of this country and there is the ongoing torture of prisoners. We learn what happened to Jude’s brother in Morcadia. I also want to point out that there are things that are done in this book that are going to offend some people. I think that we tend to forget that these books are written in a different era and therefore the rules of today’s society don’t necessarily apply to the story. With all that out of the way, this is Michael Durant’s story.

Michael has endured two years of torture and humiliation at the hands of his captors. He is now under house arrest. While is allowed to attend parties and wonder the grounds of the estate he is being held on he can’t go home. Michael is very much a product of his upbringing. He is arrogant, honorable, and very intelligent. While his time in prison his tempered his wildness it hasn't rid him of his need to help the people of Morcadia. To help in this endeavor he takes up the role of the Reaper. He rides the roads scaring the wealthy individuals that give Prince Sandre his power and money. He is also set on getting revenge for the things that he and so many others have suffered.

Emma Chegwidden is a paid companion that loses her job in a foreign country. She is very smart and has an alarming habit of getting lost. One of the most surprising things about her is she is a healer. She is very talented healing the sick and injured. This is one of the reasons that she is working as a companion to a woman that is the very definition of bitch. Emma is also brave and compassionate, which are essential for a good nurse or doctor. Her innocence is what gets her in the most trouble though. She so wants to help the Reaper that she doesn't think about what can happen in attracting the attention of the Prince.

While the story does have some unbelievable plot hooks the overall story is well written and very enjoyable. It moves along well and reads quickly. The characters are well thought out and for the most part lovable. The villains are the worst of humanity and don’t get half of what they deserve. I enjoyed the story and recommend it to those that like a darker story line with hero that have lived through hell and triumphant over evil. ( )

(Maybe 2 1/2, if I were feeling more generous...)

Eh. It was okay. Parts I really liked, but throughout a lot of it Emma acted like such a ninny I just wanted to smack her upside the head. The ending was amusing, but not terribly believable. Altogether it was okay, but so far I like Dodd's contemporary stories better than her historicals. This was my first, though, so I'll give another one or two a try before saying for sure. ( )

In this book Dodd seemed to merge her Governess series with her creation of new European kingdoms (like in the books about Sereminia). Overall it just felt really dated. Maybe if I had read this book 10 years ago, it would have worked but just not now.

A lot of situations the hero and heroine found themselves they were able to overcome too easily and some situations seemed simple but were never fully explained why they were stuck. Why did the hero never ask his family for help and how did they not know he was safe earlier? If all these English travelers are visiting, someone had to know...

Overall, overly simplistic at times, confusing at others and just disappointing. ( )