wolfie0516 reviewed on
I thought this was a great book which included a lot of adventure in the Middle East and an interesting and atypical love story. It begins in London where, after being falsely accused of a sexual liaison with the Earl of Crosshaven, Sabine and her uncle escape to explore new parts of the world, ending up in Turkey. The hero, the Marquess of Foye, crosses paths with them in Turkey where he tries to clear up with Sabine why her reputation was besmirched. He is privy to inside information, as well as having been present when the initial claims were made by a former friend of his (Crosshaven). She assumes any attempts for communication on his part are because he wants to make her his mistress since she is a "fallen" woman and therefore rejects any attempts to befriend her. Both characters are very intelligent, and this causes them to eventually develop respect for one another and a tentative friendship. Since her uncle is no longer freely welcomed as a leading scholar and intellect in London, he decides to take advantage of his travel experiences and write a book about their travels. Due to his age and poor health, he depends completely upon Sabine to aid him in this. Because of this, he agrees to visit a Pasha who shows an unhealthy (i.e., sexual) interest in Sabine and puts her at risk for abduction, etc. Foye tries to warn them, but it goes unheeded. The heart of the story comes in his attempt to rescue her. Their means of escape is clever and dangerous and creates interesting adventures where their relationship develops in a very nontraditional way since he spends more quality time with her disguised as a boy than as a woman. I thought they were an endearing couple, and I became very convinced of the depth of their love for one another, even tho they spend so much of the time questioning whether the other one really loves them or not. They each have past experiences and personal demons to overcome which is what causes them to question the sincerity of the other person's love.
