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By arrangement
416 pages
A slow-burn medieval romance where quiet competence and hidden devotion dismantle aristocratic pride.
What it feels like
Reading this medieval romance feels like watching a slow, deliberate seduction of both heart and mind. The narrative moves at a steady, character-driven pace, wrapping the reader in an atmosphere of quiet tension and intimate discovery. Hunter's prose is elegant and historically grounded, focusing deeply on the internal emotional landscapes of two people forced together by royal decree. The mood is earnest and swoony, anchored by a hero whose quiet competence and unwavering strength slowly dismantle the heroine's aristocratic prejudices. It is a deeply satisfying exploration of class disparity and hidden depths. This book will delight readers who crave marriage-of-convenience tropes where mutual respect must be painstakingly earned before giving way to all-consuming passion.
- Mood
- intimate
- quietly tense
- swoony
- atmospheric
- Tone
- earnest
- romantic
- emotionally intense
- thoughtful
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- marriage of convenience · class disparity · hidden depths · earning trust · duty versus desire
- The writing
- Elegant and historically grounded, with a focus on internal emotional landscapes and sensual tension.
- The arc
- Moves from resentful obligation and guarded secrets to profound mutual respect and all-consuming love.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love slow-burn medieval romances where quiet competence and unwavering strength win over aristocratic prejudice.
Content notes
- forced marriage
- classism
- mild historical sexism
About the book
The lady and the commoner...Lady Christiana Fitzwaryn was not opposed to marriage. But she demanded to be married on her own terms, not as punishment for a romantic indiscretion, and especially not to a common merchant. Yet she was in for a shock when she met David de Abyndon. For she was confronted by no ordinary merchant but a man of extraordinary poise and virility. He was unaffected by their difference in social status. And even less affected by her well-thought-out arguments against their upcoming betrothal. Instead, it was Christiana who felt uneasy in the presence of this naturally lordly man behind whose cool blue eyes she sensed the most uncompromising of passions.David de Abyndon understood Christiana's dilemma, for he too harbored a secret pain. How could he tell her that there was more to this arrangement than met the eye? How could he tell her about his deal with the king--a deal that meant he had all but bought Christiana sight unseen?What's more, now that he had seen this beautiful, spirited woman, how could he convince her that the love she sought was not in the callow knight she had romanticized but in the flesh-and-blood arms of the man who may have bought her body--but in the bargain lost both his heart and soul?From the Paperback edition.
Description from Open Library.
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