118
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #234,481 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★☆☆☆
Uneven and without a good payoff
This book could be divided into two parts. The first half of the book involves the time measurement, in which the two lead characters participate in a contract requiring the tenant be at the sexual mercy of the lord for a certain amount of time at each meeting, starting with five seconds and doubling each time they meet again. This is an interesting concept, but I trudged through this part of the book, not finding it as engaging in reality as it looked in the blurb.
The second half of the book begins to get interesting as we get a glimpse of the future and wonder how these characters get to that place and predicament. I do think the author did well in creating suspense. I did not know how everything would be resolved and kept turning pages looking for answers.
The problem with the payoff, as it too often is in this genre, is that *spoiler alert (kinda)* the conflict ends up being one big misunderstanding. Oops, I overheard you incorrectly/misunderstood your motivations, so I acted irrationally, but that's ok, everything is forgiven now. I really hate that plot device. It does a disservice to the reader when you commit time to reading about two people's anguish that could have been avoided has they taken a moment to truly understand their situation.
Lastly, the criticism that drops this book from three stars down to two is that it is completely ludicrous. I'm okay with the suspension of disbelief -- anything from the supernatural to men who are too sensitive and romantic (and rich! and handsome!) to be believed. But I didn't believe for a second that these characters - a poor peasant and a wealthy lord, would make the decisions they do. I found everything implausible in a way that goes far beyond the temporary suspension of disbelief. In the end, it all seemed very contrived.
Lastly, and this is a *SPOILER* I had to put the book down when Maeve agreed to dress as the nanny to accompany her lover and for all intents and purposes her daughter in public. That was so degrading and not at all romantic. Yuck.
