I am so pleased I've finished my first ever Laura Kinsale romance! It did take me about a million Beth-years to finish reading it, but in my defense I did tackle the original, un-condensed version with ALL the Medieval words and ALL the plot. So much plot.

I am greedy and I wanted so many more pages of Melanthe and Ruck together. Those were my favorite parts, Melanthe being mean or cold, Ruck being in awe of her, Ruck fighting his lustful thoughts. Yes please. I regret that I didn't much care about Allegretto but that's probably because I was just waiting to get back to our main couple.

Melanthe is a queen and I loved her. I loved how much she slept, I loved how she protected herself. More heroines like this please. I also adored the Catholic guilt suffusing the page and the characters, especially Ruck. I feel you Ruck.

The language of this book is also stunning. The writing is superb. Just be prepared to really take your time and to take some breaths/pauses in reading to full enjoy.

I did a buddy read with Leigh Kramer!