4 stars (At last a story about a strong woman with an acutal strong woman) - Many romance storys thrive on the play between the hero and the heroine. Between the strong minded blue-stocking and the yet to be reformed rake... But most fail in actually giving the reader a strong female heroine. Oh she might give the hero a little trouble in the beginning but then she goes all mullen headed and falls in love and loses her brains. Not so in the tale... I felt the author did a much better job at having two strong characters and yet having them fall in love without their brains oozing out their ears. The author also presents the reader with a interesting story and mystery along with the romance. This is why Stephanie Laurens continues to be one of my favored romance writers. 4 stars (Overdone on the Strong Female...) - Although overall I like this book, just like most, I found it to be a little wordy and long-winded. The thing that bothered me the most, though I like women with a backbone, is that she had to be in charge ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I wanted to say, "For goodness sake, let HIM be a man!". Also, the word "haughty" was used over and over again. Personally, I don't want to be around a person - male or female - who is constantly referred to as haughty. Also, it seemed like every time Jack said something, her response was "hummph". What does that mean? Although I liked her somewhat, I definitely liked his character much more. She seemed to me to be one of the two extremes - either incredibly prickly or incredibly passionate; there was no happy medium. I know this all sounds like I hated the book, which I didn't. I just think it drug on a little too long - perhaps like my review! 4 stars (Enjoyable read) - I enjoyed the main characters, Jack and Clarice, of this story. She is a woman raised to be a prominent member of society, and has inherited the forceful personality of her father. That personality is at odds with the society of which she is part, ... PerfectBound :: Fiction-Romance - Historical :: Computer Bks - Languages & Programming :: Stephanie Laurens :: :: A Fine Passion