This book starts out h-o-t-t HOT, languishes at tepid for a while in the middle, and then finishes off nicely. But all the good spicy stuff is front-loaded.

The heroine, Juliana, is magnificent. I really liked her. She has never minded being a dutiful and obedient daughter, and has competently run her father's household since the death of her mother. But now her father wants to marry her to a tyrant, and because she knows marraige to this man would be intolerable she decides to run away. She's like the tree that bends with the wind but doesn't break, pliant but incredibly strong.

That's why she's so well suited to Ulric, an uber-alpha vampire-werewolf king who's primitive even by the standards of the fourteenth century, when the novel takes place. Juliana is submissive enough to get along with a man like Ulric, but not so weak as to be crushed by him. Throughout the novel Ulric absorbs some of Juliana's curiosity and respect for others, while Juliana takes on some of Ulric's natural authority and strength. They really compliment one another.

In the beginning, Juliana blackmails Ulric into taking her away from her home town and guaranteeing her protection until the end of the summer. Ulric does so begrudgingly; he sleeps with Juliana because she's there and she's desirable, not because he cares for her. She worms her way into his heart very slowly, but eventually Ulric realizes that he's fallen in love. That's when things go downhill - Ulric gets it into his head that he needs to be "gentle" with the woman he loves, and "put her needs first" but somehow this translates to having infrequent, tepid sex. Naturally this makes Juliana feel rejected and misunderstandings ensue.

Emma Holly is great and I very much enjoyed HUNTING MIDNIGHT. I'm a bit iffy on this vampire/werewolf hybrid race, but she's talented no matter the subject matter.