I strongly suspect there's an editing or file transfer error in this book, because there are two sections that only make sense if you reverse them. First we see Drakon realizing that he had been wrong to believe his new wife would be okay on her own and that he had been pushing her away, just as she accused him of; next we see him asking her yet again why she couldn't have just gone shopping and amused herself with the house when they were married.Unfortunately, even making that mental reversal, the story is kind of a mess. The beginning, in which Drakon and Morgan are reunited after five years apart, is strong: he had fought hard to get her back, and his anguish when he realizes that she's only returned because she needs money is palpable. I was touched by his repeated comment, when Morgan wonders why he'd help her since she'd left him -- "But I hadn't left you."But then the emotional power got lost in too many weird subplots. There's Morgan's jealousy about Drakon's female assistant (and I really disliked how that played out. She gets fired -- essentially shafted -- for no real fault of her own, and after saving his company. .) There's some implausible stuff about Morgan's mental health. There's Morgan being all freaked out and conflicted about Drakon's dominance in bed. (Oh E.L. James, what have you wrought?) And because Morgan's father has been kidnapped, there's a lot of info-dumping about maritime piracy. The story can't seem to decide what it's about. I liked Drakon for his sincere feelings and faithfulness, and I enjoyed the parts about Morgan's jewelry making, which was inspired by the exotic places they'd been together and their turbulent relationship. But it felt like the story was trying to break out of the usual category formula while still being forced to follow it, so we wound up with everything but the kitchen sink.
