I did not enjoy this book. I was looking for something different in historical romances. London and the ton get old and I'd read a few other books of different genres that weren't quite there for me, so I opted for this book.
I don't like action movies with a lot of yelling and gunfire and this was the literary version of that. Page after page of war, guns, cannons, death, statistics that I didn't care about. However, I was amazed at the number of troops that fought all these wars. We're talking the numbers that match the population of major cities. I couldn't imagine where they got all these men and some of their wives and families traveled with them. It had to be utter chaos, but then every war is.
Andre Duras is a general for France and is in charge of fighting the Austrians and the Russians. He's a hedonist and likes his women, but never forms any sort of emotional bond with them. He's a brilliant strategist and has this war under control. The last thing he needs is the Russian general's wife taking a wrong turn and ending up in his camp, then his bed, begging him to give her a baby and proclaiming her undying love for him. I wanted to slap her for being so whiny and needy then I wanted to slap him for giving into her. Her husband is a general for the enemy. Did it never occur to him that she could be a spy? Why would he trust her? She did nothing to earn it. All she did was spread her legs, give him some hot sex, praise the size of his phallus, and tell him she would die without it. Oh my God, it was pathetic.
I didn't like Teo from the very beginning. I thought she was too easy, wanton, needy,, and clingy. She was a noose around his neck. "Oh Andre, take me with you. Please! Please!" I'm being sarcastic there, but she begged him time and again to take her with him. She told him she was in love with him right at the beginning of the book and they'd barely met. I believe in love at first sight, but this wasn't convincing at all. She wasn't happily married. Her husband was a brute. Duras was married, too, and his wife was with him for social gain while she's banging her uncle. It was sick and thankfully, there wasn't a whole lot said about it.
I also didn't like the fact that Duras cheated on Teo. It was mentioned in passing, but I guess it just goes to show that if they will do it with they will do it to you. I felt zero sympathy for her at any time and I thought Duras was a fool for just trusting those who he'd just met, especially her and the doctor.
The story is more of a recounting of a war with romance as a side story, if you can call it that. The romance happened way too fast with no feels, no emotional connections between the characters, and not one iota of any sort of strength or willpower from Teo. She was a horrible heroine and he wasn't much of a hero. He was being led around by the wrong head. They both got on my nerves.
I can't discount the war scenes that were complete with footnotes and an extensive Notes section at the end of the book that I skimmed through. The author knew her stuff and I have to give her credit for that, earning this book three stars.
*This book is part of a series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone novel