Okay I guess I am ready to write my review for this book. Reading it was definitely a labor of love for me. I feel as though now that I've read my first Woodiwiss novel I can officially label myself a fan of the bodice-ripper genre. That said, never in all my years of reading have I encountered a heroine I wanted to slap more than Alaina "Al" MacGaren. Admittedly, one of my biggest pet peeves in a story is the whole "girl-in-pants" deal. I can't wrap my head around the idea of a woman passing off as a man for any long period of time. I didn't buy it in the movie Just One of The Guys, and I didn't buy it in Ashes in the Wind. The book starts off with Alaina fleeing her home dressed as Al because she is being accused of being a rebel spy. She journeys to her Uncle's home and along the way has an encounter with Cole Lattimer, the heroe of the story. He believes her guise as Al and gives her a job at the hospital he works at in New Orleans. She is able to keep up this sham for a good portion of the book. Being that as I stated earlier girls-in-pants don't do it for me, it made for a VERY long first half of the book. In the 2nd half of the book Cole & Alaina eventually come together, but in true bodice-ripper fashion she makes every stupid cliche mistake a heroine could make. She's stubborn, runs away a lot, puts herself in danger and finally realizes almost too late how much she loves our hero Cole. Really she treated him like a piece of garbage for 75% of the book. It was like a really bad 80's horror flick, only bodice-ripper style. I kept waiting for Freddy Crueger to jump out from around the corner. And the hero Cole... sigh. I had very little respect for this man. He was bullied into a marriage he didn't really want in the beginning, and was very much the tortured "big-baby" hero for most of the 2nd half of the book. I just can't believe he was so blind and stupid he didn't figure out that Al was a actually a girl. And I hated the way Alaina treated him. He doesn't really pony up for me until the end, where it seems too little too late. Part I and Part II of this book really felt disconnected to me. They felt as though they were almost two completely different stories. Although I was completely bored with Part I, Part II really picked up the pace and was a much more enjoyable read. It was however, so completely over the top that it left me breathless at the end... I felt like I had just run the mile in highschool (that seems to take forever) and then just like that its done and time for a cold shower in the locker room with no cool-down time before its time for my next class. In the end I don't think this book was a complete waste of time for me. It did leave me with some enjoyable moments. It will not however, be a book that I will be re-reading any time soon. Rating: 2.5 stars. I'll rate it 3 stars here for the fact that the last 200 or so pages were VERY entertaining and true to the art form of bodice-ripper writing. Warning: Rape scene My Ratings: 5*****I loved this book, consider it an all time favorite 4**** Thoroughly enjoyed the book and will recommend it 3*** I liked it well enough, 2** Brain Candy - It was okay. Writing mediocre, will keep/re-read if part of a series 1* didn't like/possibly not finished. (less)