Promise of the Rose by Brenda Joyce

A bit more intense than I was expecting, this book had a lot of medieval political intrigue. I really loved the hero for the first half of the book, but he got a bit meaner than I would have liked in the last half. I think he should have been made to suffer a bit for his mistrust and ill-treatment of the heroine. I didn't feel he was properly repentant at the end. The ending was sweet, but I somehow expected more for such an emotional book. Over all it was pretty fast moving and interesting throughout. The author struck a good balance between keeping the reader informed of the goings on without boring with too many details. The romance was hot without being gratuitous. I would have given it 5 stars if the hero had redeemed himself a little more.