I read 50% of this book and read several later scenes, including the ending. There was nothing compelling enough to make me finish the book. Simply put, the main male character is a jerk who continually humiliates his spirited wife and forces her subservience. She comes from a bad home life and falls for him simply because he's good in bed and treats her gently a couple of times. That doesn't outweigh the many weeks he forces her to walk around in shackles and the terrible way he speaks to her. Perhaps that is an accurate depiction of some relationships at the time, but it did not make for an enjoyable read. ( )

This is 14th Century The Wolf and the Dove (Kathleen Woodiwiss) fanfic—without the rape. It's also trying to be feminist and enlightened.But that's not my main problem. My main problem is how badly it's edited. I wouldn't have cared about the fanfic or enlightenment aspect because, hey, I think the idea of a feisty redheaded heroine painting naughty pictures in the 14th Century is kinda fun. And I have no doubt there was probably a woman or two who did just that way back in the day. It's the editing that pulled me out of it enough times to make me start noticing all the similarities.This is supposed to be a professionally edited book. After all, that's what separates traditionally published books from self-published crap. And the thing that's bothersome about this is not that this particular book is badly edited. It's that it's the latest in a long line of recent traditionally published books I've read that are just as bad or even worse.The characterizations aren't consistent. The plot logic is flawed and has holes you can drive a truck through. The heroine is semi-TSTL. The hero is supposedly a skilled and successful warrior, but his internal dialogue is rife with a childish lack of control. It's after that he gets TSTL. But then there were these:"He'd showed more concern...""...her large mastiff, flanked her, panting his retched breath into the chamber.""cinnibar""...a noblewoman down on her luck.""If she could think of a way to crugal him on the head..." [x2]"Cobalt-blue eyes gazed down at her...""Dunderhead" [numerous times]"...knife against her queynt." [misspelled and jarringly out of place with the relatively modern prose, but also anachronistic and usually attested as the forebear of "quaint"]"...too wrapped up in her own issues..." [used in this manner numerous times]"'Fabulous.'" He flashed another of his devastating smiles." [Probably appropriate usage, but when mixed with "queynt" and "issues," it sounds terribly modern.]"bedlamite" [~200 years before usage]At one point, she feels herself with child and acknowledges it, and two pages later she notes that she had ignored all the signs and was shocked at the realization.There are more, some of which I didn't mark because I couldn't be arsed to tap the button.In short, I'm pointing my finger at the editors of this book and the others I've read with similar (if not worse) issues. If this is what PROFESSIONAL editing is, that I'm paying for, I'd rather sort through the "slush pile that is self-publishing." If I'm going to get crap, I might as well get cheap crap. ( )