I wasn't expecting to like this book as I have a certain resistance to romances where the main man is a brooding dark guy with a secret past. Seems like it's been done a few times before. Here and there. But this book pulled me in and I've quite enjoyed reading it. The characters are well-drawn, though I did get tired of the female protagonist going on about being weak all the time as she rode for miles and wrangled with would-be rapists and so forth. The sex scenes that seem to have offended some are well-written - not an easy task - and involving, although like many writers, occasionally repetitive (how many times can you write the same thing, really? Sex is sex...). In any case, this author has a good grip on how to make a book interesting and creates tension well. Well worth the read, even if this sort of thing really isn't your bag. ( )