I have seen many bad reviews on this book and because of it I didn't want to buy the book until I finally broke down and bought it.  This book is tied to The Secret and Ransom and because I loved the characters in those books I was curious to see just how the three books were connected and just how bad it was.  To my surprise...I really enjoyed the book.  Yes, the main characters don't really "get" together until very late in the book but the story was beautiful.  I for one don't read Julie Garwood books solely for the romance but for the historical content as well.  It all becomes magical to be able to be transported into that period of time. It was entertaining, it had substance, it was a nice love story.  I think that people should definitely give the book a chance.  To each his own...everyone has their own opinion...for example I didn't like Rebellious Desire or the Prize for that matter but I still gave it a chance and those books weren't terribly bad I just didn't care for it.