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Chieftain’s daughter Aeschine of Scotland runs away from her betrothed only to find herself in the clutches of Geoffrey de Sage, the man who wants to punish Aeschine’s betrothed for the death of his wife. Stripping Aeschine of her clothing, innocence, and dignity, the fierce warrior punishes his captive and teaches her what it means to succumb to an existence where his pleasure is foremost. Aeschine becomes his leman and fights her captor with the only tool she has left – her love.
Based on the plot summary, I had high hopes for this story. Those hopes were quickly dashed before I got to Chapter Two. This book was too long, too boring, and the language was too difficult to comfortably read. The author enjoys using archaic language for her dialogue, which would be tolerable if she kept it consistent and logical. Unfortunately, she throws in the occasional modern phrase like “piece of tail,” and uses other words awkwardly. Her constant use of “donjon” started to grate on my nerves. I assume she meant a dungeon, but a quick Google search told me “donjon” is actually the French word for a keep (a.k.a. a tower that is one of the main living areas of a castle). There was no romance and little sensuality in this story at all. Geoffrey was a bastard to Aeschine throughout the whole book; he even raped her at one point. Normally for a BDSM story meanness would be a good thing, but Aeschine didn’t seem to take any pleasure in Geoffrey’s actions. She reminded me of an abused wife with a “lie there and take it, and maybe he’ll love me” attitude. This book didn’t satisfy in anyway at all, and I was glad when I finally got to the last page.
Reviewed by S. Khaw
for The Road to Romance
January 13, 2007
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