Retro Reads discussion

"The north-east Trade Winds that brought the monsoon rains, and drove the great dhows down the long coast of Africa as it had driven them for two thousand years, unchanged and unchanging, brought also a steaming enervating heat...."

End of Chapter 27

(view spoiler)[



Emily Ruete (1844–1924) was born in Zanzibar as Sayyida Salme, Princess of Zanzibar and Oman. She married Wilhelm Ruete and left Zanzibar, lived in her husband's native Germany, and had 3 children by him.

"Poor Salme!" said Hero softly. "I hope she will not be too homesick. and that her husband will be good to her and make up to her for all that she has given up for him."
(hide spoiler)]

Thanks Hannah! I'd wondered if there was a real basis for that one . . . I love that there is! And a picture even :)

End of Chapter 28 into chapter 29
(view spoiler)[ ! Not sure how I feel about this . . . very uncomfortable, mostly because he raped her and is still presented as a sort-of likeable guy?! Of course, ambiguity seems to be a hallmark of this book--like Hero's grappling with the issue of slavery, and her realization that her zeal is not only ineffective, but harmful. However, rape and slavery both are such hideous crimes . . . not sure how to process this story, or the people in it. As for the ambiguity, it certainly makes me uncomfortable, but (and maybe this should worry me?) but I can't say I dislike it. I guess it's interesting to see Hero's changing point of view? And to realize that she is as vulnerable as anyone else. "Even now she could not really believe that it had happened--and to her. Things like that might happen to other people: to slaves and concubines. To people in books and women in seralgios. But not to her, in this enlightened and progressive nineteenth century! [I do like the irony here] Not to Hero Hollis, who only a short while ago hod been pitying the subservient occupants of harems, and wondering what it must be like to be forced to submit to the embraces of a man who inspired no affection but only fear and repulsion."

The plight of many Western married women at this time is arguably little better than the women she has pitied. But still . . . (hide spoiler)]. Rory Frost, I'm not sure what to think of you. Even the most heroic redemptive backfilling isn't going to excuse you--and maybe that's the point.

Jaima wrote: "Thanks Hannah! I'd wondered if there was a real basis for that one . . . I love that there is! And a picture even :)"

I was so happy to find photos of some of the real people from this book!

Jaima wrote: "End of Chapter 28 into chapter 29
! Not sure how I feel about this ..."

Oh yes. Ready to slap the author at this point. (view spoiler)[Really if you haven't read this far don't read further (view spoiler)[Under no circumstances should rape be treated lightly, and I feel that it was done so here. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

But I can't stop reading. I have got to know what happens.

Me too! But I'm a little creeped out how I'm compelled to keep reading! Maybe because there's such a feeling of deep currents, that there is more going on than what they express.

Jaima wrote: "Me too! But I'm a little creeped out how I'm compelled to keep reading! Maybe because there's such a feeling of deep currents, that there is more going on than what they express."

You and me both. And the fact that (view spoiler)[I don't quite hate Rory completely. Kaye has written him too sympathetic (hide spoiler)]

I've been mulling Rory over and came across this writing advice by Dwight V. Swain:

Why does your reader judge the focal character?
Because he can't help doing it; can't restrain himself. Convictions, feelings, are part of him--his most inner being. When he bumps into the right stimulus, they come boiling forth, reaffirming their own existence in heightened tension and speeded pulse. If your reader doesn't judge, count on it that the focal character is too bland and innocuous and uncommitted to be worth writing about.

Maybe that's why Rory is so compelling to me--and Hero too. She doesn't start out as a very sympathetic character, but I couldn't stop turning pages.

I'm at the end of Chapter 30. I read (view spoiler)[the kidnapping, the rape scene and Clayton's subsequent uncovering (hide spoiler)]last night. I'm trying very hard to process this. (view spoiler)[Rory's studied decision--not a spur of the moment thing--to kidnap and rape Hero, and now he's really not even sorry for it because he's so attracted to her? I've thought and thought about this, and I'm just not ever going to really be able to get behind him as a romantic partner for Hero. Those two are like oil and water anyway. (hide spoiler)]I just think it's a relationship that in real life would be doomed, and probably sooner rather than later.

It reminds me of a premarital college class at BYU that I heard about, that the professor had jokingly subtitled: "So you're in love. What makes you think you have the right to get married?"

(view spoiler)[Not that Clayton is any better. Man, Hero better not marry him. (hide spoiler)]

At least Hero finally has gained the self-awareness I've been writing for all this time. But at what a price, to herself and others!

Jaima wrote: "I've been mulling Rory over and came across this writing advice by Dwight V. Swain:

Why does your reader judge the focal character?
Because he can't help doing it; can't restrain himself. Convic..."

Excellent point. I can see where Tadiana is coming from and (view spoiler)[ Rory's actions not endearing him as a romantic interest from Hero, but for me I saw him as a man of his time and mindset - particularly with his difficult background. I did like the way his actions were tempered with Batty's complete disapproval, and Rory does show remorse afterwards.

Question - how many hugely popular soap opera super couples have started out with the then bad guy raping the heroine and they fall in true love? Luke and Laura, Jack and Jennifer (Days of our Lives) come to mind. (hide spoiler)]

Per Misfit's comment in the spoiler re soap opera romances: (view spoiler)[not to mention the "dark romances" and rapey romances (e.g., Kristen Ashley books) and dark erotica that is popular with a huge group of women, that I wasn't really aware of until I joined GR. O.o

I was never into soap operas but even I was aware of Luke and Laura back in the day.

It occurred to me that if Kaye hadn't closed the door quite so completely on the bedroom scenes with Rory and Hero, that those scenes could have been written in a way that would make it much easier for me to accept their relationship, especially the second night. (hide spoiler)] But I'm not at all sure that's a good thing. *still processing*

I felt the same way Tadiana. I wouldnt necessarily want to read it, but I like to think that what happened between them wasn't--well, I was going to say horrible, but it is, and I don't know that it could be anything else, at least that first night. Not as bad as it could have been--maybe that's what I'm going for. Certainly, in both Hero and Rory's memory, the event is recalled as a passionate not a violent one. How, exactly I can't begin to say. It's as unsettling as when I first read it, and yet it is impossible not to become involved (like Swain says, I'm judging and simmering with my own take on it). In the end, I think I'm just going with the fact that I coulndnt put the story down and can't forget it now. I like the characters' development and their eventual destination...so I feel I'd be something of a hypocrite to give the book a bad rating overall when I enjoyed the ride. Misfit, I think you are on to something with Batty's POV and viewing Rory as a product of a different world and time.

I have a ton of things to say swirling in my brain. I hope I remember them all when I get to a real keyboard.

Jaima wrote: "In the end, I think I'm just going with the fact that I coulndnt put the story down and can't forget it now. I like the characters' development and their eventual destination...so I feel I'd be something of a hypocrite to give the book a bad rating overall when I enjoyed the ride..."

I agree, Jaima. At first I was pretty certain this was a 3 star book for me, but I think I will have to go 4 stars (with a big huge caveat) b/c very well written + makes me think + isn't letting go of me easily. Grendel did the same thing to me a week or so ago, though for very different reasons, but the 3 factors that eventually pushed my rating up to 4 stars were the same, interestingly enough.

Jaima wrote: "I felt the same way Tadiana. I wouldnt necessarily want to read it, but I like to think that what happened between them wasn't--well, I was going to say horrible, but it is, and I don't know that i..."

(view spoiler)[You have to wonder what went on behind those closed doors. I did see remorse from Rory the next day, and IIRC he also stated that he enjoyed it more than he thought it would. Granted, the act wasn't as violent as some rapes can be, it is still a violent act and wrong. But...looking at Rory's background and his mindset after what Hero's fiancee did to Rory's mistress and he'd been drinking a great deal leading up to it. Still not an excuse, and I am so glad Batty was dead-set against it and made his opinions known. (hide spoiler)]

Sorry if I'm rambling. I like the point Tadiana makes about these new adult Twilight/Fifty Shades and all the knock offs coming out. To me, these 'heros' are stalkers and control freaks and I am appalled that readers are finding them as attractive males. Ye Gods, at the end of the third Fifty Shades book there was a chapter or two sample of what the story would be like if EL James wrote the story from Christian's POV. OMG, that was some scary shite. Yet if she published it, it would sell like crazy to all the adoring fans.

*shrugs*

Reader tastes and and trigger points vary, and one's own background, etc. can have a huge impact on them. If I had been in a situation where I or a close friend had been raped, this book might have been more difficult. I've read a fair amount of the older romances from the 70s and 80s, when the forced seduction/rape trope was quite comment. I see reviews and comments from today's more PC-minded readers (nothing wrong with that), and they're shocked at the heroine falls in love with her rapist trope. YMMV.

Just like some reviews and comments I've seen about books like Gone With The Wind where the 'n' word is used liberally. A word I think we can all agree is offensive, but in the Antebellum south (and likely when Mitchell wrote the book), it was a common word that I doubt was considered offensive at that time. And I believe Kaye wrote this book in the early 60s, where perhaps the scene she wrote wasn't quite so controversial as it is today.

Sorry to ramble.

I found this section really hard to take--but then I never read the types of romances that you're referring to, Misfit, and I never watch the soaps, either so I'm not desensitized in any way. You're undoubtedly correct about the popularity of that trope in the 60s and 70s--and clearly it's still alive and kicking.

Tadiana and Jaima, I agree with you that the 'fade to black' approach actually makes this section harder to accept. I can think of ways one could write this even a little bit more graphically so that the initial struggle becomes something that is naturally converted into surrender and desire, but we never learn that part.

Hana wrote: "Tadiana and Jaima, I agree with you that the 'fade to black' approach actually makes this section harder to accept. I can think of ways one could write this even a little bit more graphically so that the initial struggle becomes something that is naturally converted into surrender and desire, but we never learn that part."

Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to say. I think it's very clear that the second night(view spoiler)[ was a pleasure for both parties--although the fact that Hero was quite drunk makes me feel a little less accepting about that. But in any case it would have helped to see how both of their feelings changed, as it happened, rather than inferring it from what they do and think afterwards. (hide spoiler)]

Jaima, the quote you cite @4 is part of my problem--her initial reaction is (view spoiler)[clearly to see the rape as a violation of her rights. She feels she has been treated as a slave or concubine might be, rather than with the deference a free (upper class) American or European woman would usually command (hide spoiler)] How can that be reconciled with what happens later?

True, Tadiana! And would I (or Hero) feel any better if (view spoiler)[ Rory had gotten her drunk the first night? (hide spoiler)] On the other hand, if this is a novel with a primary theme of moral ambiguity, Kaye is doing a great job here!

And would I (or Hero) feel any better (view spoiler)[ if the first night started as rape but ended up as forced seduction? Well, yes, I would, but I think I'm grasping at straws to think that's what might have happened. Rory said he enjoyed the first night in the end; I'd like to think maybe it wasn't entirely unpleasant for Hero, but I can't think of anything in the story to support that, except that she's not as upset the next day (or later) as you might expect her to be. (hide spoiler)] But that's probably just Hero's personality.

Oh well, I think I'll just have to accept this as one of those great cultural divides I'll never be able to cross :P

Hana wrote: "Oh well, I think I'll just have to accept this as one of those great cultural divides I'll never be able to cross :P"

You and me both.

hi Misfit, I couldn't agree more about your point of stalkers being viewed as romantic in some popular YA. It's absolutely not healthy(I'd say it's quite sick, actually), but I imagine it says something about the audience being really, really lonely. So lonely that they'd rather be stalked than staying alone. I personally think it's very sad.

As for raping, as I said during The Far Pavilion reading sessions, I imagine Kaye probably had read "The Sheik," for the backgrounds of the hero in the book and Ashok were very similar (another clue was Kashmir Love Song, a song mentioned in both her biography and The Sheik). Also, the raping scene in Trade wind reminded me of the raping in The Sheik. The process of both rapes was largely omitted, and the female victims weren't really traumatized as those in real raping cases do. My guess is that authors did this kind of scenes just because they thought it's popular. But without knowing why, they probably couldn't bear to do very detailed depiction, for fear it would feel too unconvincing.

Could it be Stockholm Syndrome? In the case of The Sheik it surely is there, but in Trade Wind it might be arguable, if not doubtful, because Hero was not really alienated and restrained by Rory when she fell in love with him. Another clue that occurs to me is that she resented any physical contact with Clay even after they're engaged, but was strangely calm after being "raped" by Rory. Rory did think about the particular way of revenge he adopted might be because he found Hero attractive and was jealous about her engagement with Clay but couldn't admit it, and I imagine it could be the same with Hero. She might still find him physically attractive despite the fact the he morally disgusts her, so when later on the moral impression was altered (particularly compared with the selfish people around her), she fell in love.

That's an interesting point abut Stockholm Syndrome, but I think your analysis of Rory and Hero's attraction to each other is more correct--she was attracted to him right from the start, and he was probably amused by her and somewhat admiring of her spirit from the beginning as well.

The Sheik sounds like an interesting read--but I think I need to go back to some nice, polite Regency romances after this :D

Just watch out for the bodice-ripper Regencies, Hana! ;)

I think Amy's analysis is spot on. I know I've read The Sheik, but it has been awhile. Memory fades.

Nope, no bodice rippers! I was thinking more of a nice interlude with Georgette Heyer ;)

Good thinking

So, you got me so intrigued with all this rape thing that I'm still awake (2:20 a.m. here in Croatia) devouring the story. I've just finished reading chapter 26 with (view spoiler)[ Zorah's death (hide spoiler)] and I immediately connected the dots to future events. I'm just going to comment further on my innitial hunch. I knew there was something off with him. That bastard! (Sorry for the language, but I'm being nice). (view spoiler)[ Also, I, of course, do not condone rape but Rory's reaction seems quite logical to me. An eye for an eye...quite normal for that time and age. (hide spoiler)]

Read the next few chapters tomorrow and let's talk. :) Nice call on Clay, BTW.

Yes, I'd love to see what we are all thinking here.

I'm at chapter 31 and I decided to finally stop for the night (or morning) :D

Samanta wrote: "I'm at chapter 31 and I decided to finally stop for the night (or morning) :D"

Dang! Go to bed, girl! :D

Kathy wrote: "Yes, I'd love to see what we are all thinking here."

Kathy, you should take a look at the reviews Hana and I posted, if you haven't yet. I think we're on the same wavelength.

Tadiana wrote: "Samanta wrote: "I'm at chapter 31 and I decided to finally stop for the night (or morning) :D"

Dang! Go to bed, girl! :D"

I know! But your way of living on daily basis changes so much when you are no working and this book is soo good....uh, I can't wait to find a job. There is really no use in feeling like a truck hit you the next morning. :D :D

The rape scene

I'm trying to think how I feel about all this and how to put it to words.

I knew what to expect since I read most of your reviews and this discussion. But honestly, when I read that part of the book I felt..well nothing. I know that her raped her because she mentions it at the beginning of the next chapter but if it weren't for that I never would have figured out that something like that happened.

(view spoiler)[ So the night before he enters her room drunk and in rage and starts throwing at her a torrent of half intelligible words and she is shocked (hide spoiler)]...or that is the general idea since we "see" everything thorough her eyes and just when you know something is going to happen we are left in the dark. Honestly, I would have loved to have seen some graphic description, if nothing else, then of their fight...you know, a heated dialogue or something. I just couldn't "get into it" like this. I know it happened, it is horrible, but it just didn't feel like it happened. I kind of ask myself why did Kaye decide to use that line of story if she would only "half-write" it.

Now, Hero's feelings after all that I can understand quite perfectly but not for the same reasons, thank God. She lived through a huge trauma, she feels empty and so different inside but her body is still the same, which disconcerts her. Everything around her seems fake and shallow and she stars to question herself, her beliefs and the people around her. It's a terrible thing to happen to a person which can lead him/her on various paths depending on how strong his/her character is. Luckily, Hero is a very strong person who knows what she wants of life and I know she will get through it (whitout referring to spoilers :D).

I love the "friendship" between Rory and the Sultan. They are so amusing. :D

Samanta wrote: "The rape scene

I'm trying to think how I feel about all this and how to put it to words.

I knew what to expect since I read most of your reviews and this discussion. But honestly, when I read th..."

Samantha, I think you point out something interesting but would be easily ignored: how much of a rape does this scene deserve to be?

First we could compare it with actual rapes. The two are absolutely different, because we don't see shame or humiliation in Hero afterwards. She only recognize herself as being "changed" and "different." Many real rape victims feel shame and resort to denial, and usually fear the rapists greatly. Real rapes are often about dominance based on destroying of victim's will to say no.

Back to Hero. She's obviously not afraid of Rory afterwards, and was even quite calm. With the complete scene of rape omitted and Rory's claim of "enjoying himself" at the end of the sexual intercourse, I doubt if there's any strong resistance.

Also, I remember hearing Hero mentioning something about if Rory's accusation was true, she could only endure what befell on her (I'll need some time to look after the exact text as I listened to an audio book). It's almost like she'd justify her own rape had she known Clay did kidnap and rape Rory's slave girl. Her idea of virginity and body, so unlike that of her contemporaries, reminded me of that in The Girl with Dragon Tattoo, in which the heroine was a lesbian but had sex with the hero as a gesture of trust and friendliness. My impression is that the two heroines have similar idea of full control over their own body which could not be defined by others.

So in a word, I very much doubt if the first intercourse between Rory and Hero could qualify as a real rape, for some crucial elements that lead us to define it as a crime might be missing. But it's only my speculation.

Then we could compare the rape with those in romance novels, and the two feel kind of similar but not exactly the same to me. Some believe in the theory that one crucial element of popularity of close-to-rape sex in romance novels is because female readers could feel more pleasure in the process in reading without having to feel guilty. Some might even go so far as to argue that some readers could only feel pleasure this way. I'm not sure if Kaye had this reason in mind when doing Hero's rape (if I had to guess I'd say no because she omitted the whole scene, but did some in The Far Pavilions), but it is possible that she's aware that rape scene might be something popular. However, the omission of the actual intercourse could indicate that she might not care for it enough to do detailed description. (On the other hand, she certainly cared enough to summarize Rory's childhood while he's lying on the beach! :D)

But there's still something in Hero's rape that prevents me from defining it as a typical romance novel rape. There's not a bit description of the actual sexual intercourse, and the lack of it says something about the focus is never passion of sexual pleasure, both being crucial in typical romance novels. So I imagine that the rape in Trade Wind is only something a little like romance novel rape.

Thank you Amy...I did not read The Girl With Dragon Tattoo and have never really paid attention to the issue of romance novel rape but you understood what I was trying to say. Thank you for further clarification. :)

Thanks Amy. I like your angles on this one, especially what you said earlier about both of them feeling physical attraction but not being able to admit it to themselves.
However, the whole idea of romantic 'rape'. . . yikes. Makes me ill.
(view spoiler)[It could have been written in softer ways (like maybe Rory's aggression subsiding at a key point but Hero then deciding to let him, and giving consent) and it's tempting to think it might have happened that way. But actually, (and I'm laying my head on the chopper here) I'm glad it didn't . . . because at this point, Rory's strangely tuned conscience hasn't gained the upper hand of him yet, and I like the path that eventually takes him there. The reason why I don't think it happened this way is because the next morning Hero considers that she was raped. (hide spoiler)]

Jaima wrote: "Thanks Amy. I like your angles on this one, especially what you said earlier about both of them feeling physical attraction but not being able to admit it to themselves.
However, the whole idea of..."

Well like I said, it's only my speculation. I'm completely open to other interpretations. That's a good thing about the omission of the process. We could have dozens of theories.

But you mentioned something interesting: Rory's strange conscience in the second half of the book. I have to say it intrigued me when I first read the novel in Chinese translation. It did not make sense to me at all then, but this time I feel I could understand more...after having read The Sheik.

In this novella, the hero (an Arabic Sheik who's actually white) did actually rape the heroine and kept her prisoner with cruelty. But later on when he realized he's in love with her, he softened and decided to let her go and even apologized. In both The Sheik and Trade Wind, it's almost like conscience, tolerance, or even decency, serve as a side-effect of falling in love for both heroes. It changed them and make them see the world differently in some ways. I particularly feel so when reading the final remark in Trade Wind about part of both Hero and Rory might never change and it'd be inevitably challenging for them to be together. There's some very similar remark at the end of The Sheik too, stated by the hero (he actually tried to send her away exactly because they're too different, and he did not think she could bear living with him).

Interesting. I'll have to read that one. When you think about it intellectually it is kind of silly that love, in romantic novels, is almost always a redemptive force that transforms the protagonists and enables them to solve all their problems...but usually the principals flaws are visited on proxies it seems (family, parents less frequently children or dependants) I think at least in the last ten years or so, there are fairly delineated lines about what is permissible (excepting The Shades of Grey stripe of books as Misfit apply commented earlier), and rape isn't there (not from the romantic lead anyway). Attitudes have certainly changed. Certainly love changes Hero and Rory. Do you think this ever happens in real life? Romantic love making people 'better'?
I'm thinking that idea might be as much a fairy tale construction as many tenets in the romance genre, and yet Kaye seems to have recognized this, though she plays with these tropes (romantic redemption, the then popular romantic rape) The realization, as you said, that Hero and Rory won't always agree or live amicably...maybe that's why this book is compelling it's twistier than it seems, on many levels.

Jaima wrote: "Interesting. I'll have to read that one. When you think about it intellectually it is kind of silly that love, in romantic novels, is almost always a redemptive force that transforms the protagonis..."

I share your doubt of the idea of "love redemption." It's indeed quite naive to consider that love could conquer all. But I think the idea gives the audience hope, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. People need to be brave to love, and certain encouragement couldn't harm. The tricky thing is when the audience/readers understand this ideal too literally, they might hold delusions and unrealistic expectations about relationships, and that is something I couldn't agree with.

Again, that's exactly why Kaye's final remark impressed me so much. She gave the audience drama, romance and hope while reminding them that things don't always go smoothly as in novels. I find her a very responsible author.

Good point. She uses conventions of fiction but tempers them with more realistic expectations.

I got sucked into The Sheik last night and ended up reading the whole thing. It was fascinating but off-putting--seriously rape fantasy reading, in a 1920s kind of way. The sheik character, Ahmed, kidnaps Diana (a) because he hates the English generally, and (b) just 'cause he wants her and he can.(view spoiler)[ He keeps her 4 (!) months and uses her pretty much non-consensually many, many times before they work everything out and Love Makes Everything Right. Also, turns out he's really not only a white guy, but an English lord, so I guess that made everything better. Lots of casual racism in this one. (hide spoiler)]

I really can't recommend it (for several reasons in addition to the rape part) but it was very interesting reading from a historical point of view. Pretty salacious stuff for almost 100 years ago; I guess it was our grandmothers' and great-grandmothers 50 Shades. I'll have to write a GR review.

Huh. No kidding. Didn't they make a movie of that one? Weren't we saying in an earlier thread that Rory was kind of Rhett Butler-y? This romantic rape thing is bigger than I'd thought.

The romantic rape trope was very common in the 70s and 80s old skool romances. It is interesting to see how what's acceptable in books has changed over the years, but I draw the line at Christian Grey being a hero figure.

Did you know what when Forever Amber was first published it was so daring and scandalous that it was banned in Boston? And yet reading it now it's quite tame compared to what we're used to these days. Amber sleeps around, but it's all behind closed doors.

I need to get around to reading it, but Victoria Vane (AKA Emery Lee) rewrote the story as The Sheik Retold.

Tadiana wrote: "I got sucked into The Sheik last night and ended up reading the whole thing. It was fascinating but off-putting--seriously rape fantasy reading, in a 1920s kind of way. The sheik character, Ahmed, ..."

It was a work of controversy when first published, and I believe it is still now. I'd never have read it had I not grown interested in Kashimir Love Song, the song Kaye mentioned in her autobiography being played in a mansion in China, also the song Ahmed sang twice in The Sheik.

In the case of The Sheik, I think Stockholm syndrome is definitely there. (view spoiler)[The most important element, of course, is the imprisonment, and the re-kidnapping and rescue also fit one of the requirements of Stockholm syndrome: the victim often feel taken care of and helped by the perpetrator and thus feel grateful despite of the harm the perpetrator has done. Furthermore, when I read about Diana learning about Ahmed's background and sympathizing with him, it reminded me of how some hostages in bank robbery had turned to sympathize with robbers and even helped them having heard about their stories. (hide spoiler)]

In a word, the major reason I found this novella interesting was because it could serve as a kind of history of certain human mentality. Certainly not something we'd be proud of or consider decent, but it does exist.

Ok, so maybe I'm not far enough into the book (chapter 32) to follow along with this thread, but I don't see either realize they "love" the other yet. I see no romance. And actually, I feel a bit letdown that I am 80% through the book and the H/h has spent some time at sea (in which he thought she was a child), a handful of small encounters and two days in which he rapes her. I admit, I am a soap opera fan and am able to suspend disbelief in the name of a good story but while I like the character development of both Rory (or did) and Hero, it is very separate of each other. I guess I expected more and I do still have 80ish pages to read so maybe it changes.

I shouldn't be surprised as I didn't feel like the Far Pavilions was much of a romance even though it was billed as one, but the back burb of my TW says "-and the insistent courtship of slave trader Rory Frost sets her afire." Is "insistent courtship" another word for rape?

I AM enjoying this story more than previous Kaye books and am finding it an easier read but so far I can't really see how these two are developing as a couple. Is that the point in this book?