This is another older book that was rewritten. It starts off pretty well; her brother-in-law almost rapes Sabrina and escapes into a snowstorm only to be rescued by Phillip, who takes care of her and returns her to a neighbor. In the nature of this time, she's compromised by being alone with him but turns down his honorable offer of marriage. Phillip seems more interested in his mistress anyway, so he doesn't much care until Sabrina decides she needs to marry him after all.
It wasn't a great story. There's a lot of drama but most of it fizzles. ( )

4.5**** This book was Bram-tastic ;) quote's from book- I think sometimes when you love something too much, youƒ??re that much more aware of how much you have to lose

( )

Good not great. Fairly typical historical romance. ( )

I had a bad feeling about this book when I saw the premise (young woman must escape from the brother-in-law intent on raping her) and the year it was originally written (1981, during the "forcible seduction" era of romances, when men were men and women did what they were told and learned to love it). However, the introduction to my copy made a big deal about how it had been re-written in the late 90's so I figured I'd give it a shot.

BIG MISTAKE. I am not sure what was re-written here, but this book is extremely not good. The dialog is stilted and doesn't always make sense. Seriously, I don't care if the language was more formal 200 years ago, people don't talk this way. There are no surprises in this book, for all that there are plenty of plot twists.

The heroine is very young, and while she's not quite "too stupid to live" she definitely has her moments.

The villain is a rapist who enjoys inflicting painful sex on women whose circumstances leave them subordinate to him. He is also described as an effeminate "lisping fop" who is dismissed as unpleasant but harmless by the other men in the story, leaving him free to terrorize any women in his surroundings. By the end of the book this information is not a secret by any means, but no one cares once the heroine is rescued from his clutches. In fact, another character mentions that the villain's been raping the household maids, and that his wife looks miserable, but shrugs it off. OH WELL.

The hero, by contrast, is merely an over-possessive bully who is looking forward to a lifetime of bossing his wife around and sparking fights that involve thrown objects. It'll keep him on his toes, is his reasoning. Marital bliss! At least he's "all man" and not an effeminate fop! I was amazed by his inability to foresee the consequences of any of his actions at any time.

I guess this book is proof that there is someone out there for everyone. ( )

18 year old Sabrina was almost raped by her new brother-in-law. Her sister Elizabeth knew it, but the power of heading the household kept her from protecting her sister. Sabrina ran into the woods in a snow storm and was found by Philip. Being with her that week compromised her and he had to marry her. His dealings with a wife were far different from his tender caring of her when she was ill. ( )