Good book. Rafiq is dealing with a lot of guilt over his wife's death. He ends up going to see Maysa, the woman he gave up because of his duty to marry another. She had been forced to marry another man who abused her until she escaped and fulfilled her dream of becoming a doctor. She is back in Bajul, but looked down own by many because of that divorce. They are still attracted to each other but still must hide their relationship. Rafiq really irritated me through most of the book. He shouldn't have felt guilty over his wife's death because it was caused by her own choices. There were other things also that would come out later. He also was far more worried about appearances than he should have been. As the king he should be able to influence attitudes and he didn't even seem interested in trying. I did like the respect he had for Maysa and all that she had accomplished. By the end his attitude seemed to have changed enough that he was worried about how a revelation would affect her rather than himself. I loved his final solution and the way he went about it. It was definitely worth doing.

I liked Maysa much better. I loved her explanation of her life after her marriage, how she escaped and the way she made her dream come true. I loved her strength in coming back to Bajul and devoting her time to caring for the poor. Her insistence on Rafiq going with her so he could see what was happening was her way of forcing him to look outside the box. She was still attracted to Rafiq but had issues from her marriage that made things more difficult for her. I appreciated the way that he had the patience to help her through those issues. As much as she loved him she knew he wasn't going to risk the backlash of a public relationship. I really liked the way that she had the backbone to stand up to him and let him know she wanted it all or nothing and then to stick to her guns. Her surprise at the end was fantastic and I loved her reaction. ( )