while this book starts out with names and titles that are initially difficult to remember, you start to learn and love the characters; their tragedies are your tragedies. The plot of the book is deliciously twisted, and leaves you breathless. The main character, Phedre, is dark yet innocently sexy. The plot of the story is not like the repetitive stuff churned out in mass, it is different in that the hero, or more triumphantly, heroine defeats the bad guy using not strength or magic but the gift of her sexuality and knowlege instilled in her. She is obviously sexy, but thankfully she is intelligent. She is not perfect, in truth her flaws are shining marks that make her human.