I struggled with how to rate this book. This series is very popular and the writing is lovely. All of this makes me believe that the fact that I couldn't finish the book is a *me* issue rather than a story issue. Add into this - I love the premise. I loved the first quarter of the story. It got off on exactly the right foot and pacing. I like the set up and the situation. I liked the characters. Initially. Then, half way through, I had to put the book down and walk away. The hero had become a seriously bipolar jerk. (And yes, I had a boss who was undiagnosed bipolar - the hero manifested his emotional conflict in very much the same way that my former boss made life hell for everyone around him.) The heroine had, to that point in the story, done one of three things: cry, scream or try to jump the hero's bones. Not much else and I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why she didn't kick the crap out of him when he got all cranky. So, ultimately, it was a character issue for me - either I was missing the motivation behind the roller coaster emotional ride, or my own boundaries regarding someone blowing hot and cold are too narrow to allow me to enjoy this story.