I'm torn about this book. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the writer's prose, flow, and story structure. The drama was minimal; the push-pull tug of the relationship was strictly between the hero and heroine, without any outside melodrama stacked on Just Because. I found the lack of Ameripicking (the author is Australian and the book was published in the UK) rather endearing, most likely because only a small portion of the novel is actually set in America. I also really liked the fact that the author portrayed the darkside of the seeming fairytale, where your handsome prince sweeps you off your feet and carries you off to his kingdom. Its not all its cracked up to be: the royal life can ultimately be very isolating and lonely.

On the other hand...ugh, I didn't really like either of the main characters. Mattias, our hero, was a cold-hearted alpha asshole; our heroine, Frankie, was too soft for her own good and unwilling to confront Mattias about his attitude towards her. She definitely played mama bear in defense of their son, Leo, but in spite of telling Mattias he would not ride roughshod over her, she allowed him to do exactly that. He insulted her for wanting to marry for love (what a concept!), for wanting to marry a man who desired more than just her body. He was proud/possessive of the fact that she'd given her virginity to him and that she'd never had another lover, even though he basically slept with her and then left her without a word or the better part of 3 years. She had no say in the decision to marry. He went behind her back and gave their son a DNA test to confirm paternity. He made her beg for his attention, and though she rightfully called him out on it, she ended up succumbing to the ol' body-betraying-her business and begging for her orgasm.

That made me so, so angry, as did her constant self-chastising for being childish and juvenile for wanting to rebel against him. Honey, no; what you wanted was no less than what you deserved: some goddamned respect as a woman and an independent, intelligent human being. Eventually it made Frankie angry, too, and she did confront him in full, raging temper after the DNA test fiasco, which was incredibly cathartic to read. It was as if she finally realized that she deserved some consideration, too, and not just for being willing to sacrifice her own happiness to insure her son's security.

Mattias was a typical alpha male, (literally) king of his kingdom and used to getting his own way and not taking "no" for an answer. He had some past trauma that explained his present coldness and reluctance to attach himself to his wife or his child, and of course the whole royal-security thing, but he never really had to grovel for his actions or even go through the tough work of processing his trauma and reaching the place where he can open his heart and love. He basically mentioned it once and Frankie forgave him. Why, I don't know, when she'd already proven that pushing him was the only way to get a response from him instead of coddling him.

This story had so much promise, and the author is talented enough that I wish she had chosen the other route - instead of basically forcing Frankie into this marriage and a whole new way of life, abandoning everyone she's ever known (her parents didn't even come to the wedding!), Mattias should've wooed her and won her back after his prolonged absence from her life. His jealous possessiveness did nobody any favors, and if that was supposed to pass for caring, well - it didn't.

I like this author, and am more than willing to give her another chance, even in HP land where alpha males rule the roost. The fact that I disliked the characters so much is a compliment to her ability to weave a story. ( )