The Bartered Bride

The second of Putney's Bride trilogy was shocking for me. The Wild Child was enchanting and entertaining. This book was surprisingly dark in subject matter and seemed to have lost some of the magic that was inherent to Wild Child. If you've read Deerskin by Robin McKinley, it's along the same lines.

Even though the hero is essentially forced to rape the heroine in order to win her from her captors, he is disgusted with himself and his action. He does it with her permission, and insists they marry once she is freed from her prison. It was fascinating to watch them get past this awful moment in their relationship, which had started so well due to their conversations. I want to read this book again so I can attempt to figure out how Putney was able to make me believe that the hero/heroine were able to get past the rape and have a healthy intellectual/emotional/sexual relationship.