Consumed by Fire by Anne Stuart

Although I realize this author had been popular for a while, this was my first experience with her writing. I admit I was not immediately hooked. Neither James nor Evangeline were soft likable characters. I had a very hard time connecting at first. Since I received an advance copy from Net Galley for review, I felt obligated to keep reading. Suddenly, I found myself drawn into the story. Evangeline drew my sympathy, and the storyline began to make me curious. James was not a nice man. He had a soft spot of sorts for Evangeline, but even this man's soft spot wasn't really soft. As the story develops, the couple focuses on the physical and completely denies any presence of emotions. With killers closing in from a couple of different fronts, James gives Evangeline no choice but to comply with his plans. He doesn't mind threatening her or even getting slightly physical to keep her safe and in his possession. This was definitely not your typical romantic suspense or love story. It was raw, dark, and completely outside the norm. The ending was perfect though. I enjoyed it despite my initial hesitancy.