I read romances compulsively, but there are very few I would reread. This is one of the rare ones that I would. Melanthe and Ruck, despite the fantasy of their situations, are both believable characters. Melanthe especially manages to be both a strong female character and to be believable within her time period, and unlike so many heroines in this genere, isn't some implausibly virtuous, virginal miss, but a real woman. The love that develops between Ruck and Melanthe truly transcends the barriers of class and circumstance. Whether or not the middle english is entirely authentic, it does add to the dark, poetic atmosphere of the novel. Romance doesn't get much better than this.