maddbookish - reviewed on 8/12/2010

A *Spoiler* and a Warning! Some people have told me that it is not uncommon for Catherine Coulter's books, but this is the only one I ever read and it didn't sit well with me at all. None of the other reviews has mentioned the wedding night rape scene, which pretty well ruined any chance that I might enjoy this book. I'm not talking about the consummation. This wasn't a case of a reluctant new bride forcefully seduced or taken by her husband. Sinjun was willing to consummate the marriage, she having fallen in love with her husband at first sight, wanted nothing more than to please him and have him love her in return. I'm talking about the part shortly after Colin deflowers Sinjun. Colin seemed to be hit with a sudden lust for Sinjun and was in such a rush that he didn't employ any foreplay. Sinjun was physically unprepared for intercourse and so suffered much pain and did not enjoy the consummation in the least. She told Colin that she never wanted to do it again. Colin, feeling angry at himself for his lack of control their first time, angry with her for saying she didn't want him again and generally emasculated by Sinjun's frank take charge attitude, decides that he wants to punish her and show her he's all man, so he rapes her. He states clearly in that moment that he is doing it to punish her and basically show her who's boss. She defends him from her brothers, who heard her pain-filled cries and busted in to the bedroom to help her, and she rails at them and runs them off, never letting them know that Colin raped her. I'd have had let my brothers have at him and then helped them hide the body.

Sinjun continues trying to make the marriage work despite Colin's general air of indifference towards her, the possibility that he killed his first wife, the daughter she didn't know he had trying to make her life hell so she'd go away, and all the other craziness going on at his home. I just couldn't understand why she would put herself through all that to be with Colin when his interactions with her through most of the story are either cool or angry. I didn't feel like I got any real development of feelings from Colin and then boom, there they are, all at once. It made it hard for me to buy it. I also didn't feel he did much to atone for his earlier behavior towards Sinjun. I ended up feeling like he didn't deserve her love or a happily ever after.

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