Willingham never ceases to amaze me how she can conjure these complex characters while having them all be different from one another. The heroine of this book is suffering from an illness that modern day readers will pick up on as a disorder, without giving too much away (though I kind of already did). Willingham specializes in writing forlorn women, and Carice is no exception, but she has her unique twist that makes her stand out, and I like her for it.

On the other hand, Willingham's heroes tend to be a bit cookie cutter. There's usually someone they loved whom they couldn't protect, and they feel responsible for letting them down. Raine was still fun to read about, but he felt a bit bland to me.

This book was a bit frustrating in that the couple rehashed the reasons why they couldn't be together over and over and over again until I wanted to scream, and it slowed down a bit in the middle. Beyond the pacing and rehashing, this was an enjoyable, light read with a surprisingly high stakes ending; although, it wasn't as high stakes as it was set up to be. Still fun. Still recommend for people who love medieval romances with a little action and politics mixed in (just a little). ( )

Excellent book. This is the second book in the series, but takes place at the same time as the first book. Carice has been promised in marriage to the High King of Ireland, a marriage that she does not want. On top of the stress of her impending marriage, she has been suffering from a debilitating illness for several years, one that is getting worse. Convinced that she is dying, she wants to live out her last days in peace, so she finds a way to escape. Cold and weak, she stumbles across a deserted abbey where she takes refuge. She awakens from a pain filled sleep to find a strange man in the room with her.

Raine is a Norman soldier who came to the abbey to bury the monks who died in a fire there. He felt responsible for their deaths, the guilt added to that which he already carries. He is a nobleman's son who has been forced into the English king's service. His father died at the king's hand, trying to protect his wife from the king's unwanted attentions. His mother killed herself, and his sisters were taken hostage by the king to force Raine to follow his orders. Raine is required to find a way to assassinate the Irish High King. When Raine discovers Carice hiding in the abbey, he knows the smart thing to do would be to return her to her father. Carice begs for his help, and something has him wanting to protect her the way he hasn't been able to protect his sisters.

Raine is conflicted because she brings out a part of him that he thought was lost forever. With her he is kind, protective, and feels that he is doing something good. But he also knows that he could use her to get close enough to the High King to do what is necessary to save his sisters. Never far away is his commander, who takes every opportunity to remind Raine of just what is at stake if he should fail. The more time they spend together, the more Raine wants to be the man she believes he is. He is falling hard for her, but knows that she will hate him when she realizes what he has done.

Carice knows she is falling for this hardened warrior who takes such good care of her. Though she is often weak and sick, she has an amazing amount of inner strength, and calls on that when she feels most like giving up. She believes that she will not live much longer and wants to experience as much of life as she can in the meantime. The things that Raine makes her feel spark more life in her than she has felt in a long time. Though he tries to resist, Carice eventually breaks through his control. But just as she is beginning to feel hopeful about the future, the extent of his deception becomes apparent.

There were so many ways for things to go wrong that I wondered how Carice and Raine were ever going to get their happy ending. Both Carice and Raine were determined to protect the other, even at the risk of their own lives. From poison to trial by combat, it looked like fate would succeed at keeping them apart. Help came as a repayment of a good deed done, and the redemption of a previously unlikeable character. There was a lovely twist to the ending as Carice tried to find the perfect wedding present for Raine. The epilogue was a sweet wrapup to the story. ( )

I have often speculated on what people would do with food allergies in the past, this one tries for an answer.

Historical fails occasionally, the Norman invasion of Ireland happened in 1169, this is set in 1172, with the Norman invasion came their castle technology, so there would be no baileys or donjons in Irish possession until well after that time. The names also don't resonate well, in fact the heroine Carice Faoilin's name stuck a bit. The description of the High King as having a brutal reputation with few women who wanted to marry him (not really spoiler stuff here, this is all on the first page) belies history where he had 6 co-wives, which the annals condemn.

She would have been considered to have entered a form of marriage with Raine de Garenne under early Irish Law as well. see here http://nicoleevelina.com/2013/03/11/marriage-in-the-celtic-world and forced marriage was frowned on, although it probably happened. This is the society and assumptions she would have lived with, not modern law (again let's reference the fact that this was 3 years post-norman invasion and it wasn't until Elizabethan times that Brehon Law was properly enforced.)

The allergy stuff was interesting but missed a point, barley.

Carice is running away from a marriage arranged with the Art-Rí by her father, food is making her ill and she's wasting away, the physicians are not helping either. She is determined to avoid the marriage even if it means teaming up with a Norman to do so, Raine de Garenne has a mission and she might be his way of executing it, but he will have to betray her, even if he's falling for her.

The occasional historical glitches broke my suspension of disbelief. ( )