Picture a better-written Twilight in which a) the heroine is a non-practicing witch, b) the hero is a nowhere-near-as-broody-as-Edward vampire, and c) they are both ACADEMICS at OXFORD. That's all my buttons, right there.

Fine but the spice wasn’t my fave, I probably won’t read the sequel.

I'm done with Mary Balogh and I'm writing it here so I will remember that. I checked out the e-book for a quick Christmas romance but there were consent problems. Which reminded me that the last time I read one of her books there was something rape-y. Not my thing.

Even though this is a genre I usually enjoy, this book fell a bit flat for me. The story was interesting but I didn't care for the writing--it felt overly long and flowery.