A Kiss at Midnight by Shana Abe

It's 999 and it's believed that the world is about to end. But Rafael Leonhart doesn't believe the doomsday talk. All he knows is that ancient prophesy has dictated that at the turn of the millennium the land of Alderich will belong to him. But the current lord doesn't want to relinquish it, so Rafe kidnaps his granddaughter, Serath Rune, from the convent where she has lived for 11 years, in hopes that his hostage will help convince the elder Rune to give the land over to him. But neither Rune nor Sareth are what he expects. Rune cares not at all about his granddaughter, and Sareth is viewed with fear by the people of her childhood home and thought to be a witch. And now he is finding himself falling in love with his hostage.

A little darker than I was expecting, but a good book. The theme of the "end of the world" was highly unusual, and I can't say I loved that part since it cast a slightly dreary feel over the book, even knowing that it wouldn't be the end of the world. I felt like Rafe and Serath weren't quite as well rounded of characters as they could have been, but I still thoroughly enjoyed their love story. If there is one thing you can count on Abe to do, it's to pull you in and give you a story with a different twist than you have ever read before. I'll give it a 4.