Prince of Dreams aka Your Cheating Heart vol 1

Prince of Dreams by Lisa-who really needs to update her site-Kleypas has been sitting on the tbr pile for a while. I think I was waiting to buy Midnight Angel but every time I find it, I end up putting it down. Hook for hand... yeah I will read it some day but well... hook for hand! So when this came up as a cheater heroes aka ratbastard, I read it. I mean really when have I ever read books in order? **summary, rambling and setback behind the cut** Summary: A wealthy and bitter exile, the most dangerous and desirable man in all England, he burns to possess a proud, headstrong beauty who is promised to another. But winning Emma Stokehurst's exquisite hand through threats and determination does nothing to fill the empty spaces in Nikolas's heart -- until passion's magic carries the handsome, tormented prince back to a bygone era of splendor and romantic dreams. For there his destiny awaits him in a distant life. And in one remarkable woman's tender touch -- achingly familiar but gloriously new -- he must seek the elusive promise of ecstasy...and learn, at last, to love. The first part of this is really what annoys me. The omg I will do anything to get this woman - ok got her - omg I can't fall in LURVE with her plot. Really I feel almost dirty to admit it but the everything Nikolas does to get her, I liked. Maybe I am just too into Kleypas bad guy heroes. But I hate the 'must have her' then the switch to 'must keep her at arms length' yes he has a tortured past and his daddy never lurved him. Whatever... you should have thought of that before asshat! So really the coming home from some random (offscreen) slut's bed, I could have lived with if it had gotten some good grovel and made the light go off that 'hey you won and got the girl'. But it didn't. It took that whole flashback/tt thing and really what the hell was that? Time Travel doesn't do much for me in general - some times it works but most often I just don't care for it. And the middle here is some what interesting but just seems so out of left field and I didn't feel like we were still with 'Emma' even though she is suppose to be 'pre-Emma'. And I wanted to slap Emilia a few times, much more than Emma annoyed me. And you can't think to hard about it. Why was he so drawn to Emilia if this was the past - his lurve for Emma hadn't happened yet and he didn't' know Emilia. He was drawn to her because of Emma but so drawn to Emma because of this past great love that was really theirs. What? And then there is the fact that isn't it saying Nikolas is fucking his great grandmother? So yeah... no deep thought because it doesn't seem to really make sense. Anyway... but when he gets back from his 'lil trip' be it a dream, recalling what really happened, his reincarnated soul connecting with whatever... it seems to cheapen the whole relationship between Nikolas and Emma. I get the idea of - this is one great true love and will find itself over again no matter space or time. But who the hell was Nikolas in love with, other than himself? It was more like he was in love with the idea of being loved. Was he chasing after Emma or Emilia? I felt bad for Emma and just didn't buy the changed man or the time travel thing. I was more annoyed with him screwing Emilia than the random slutty chick we never see. Go figure... not a horrid book but not one I see ever reading again. Hee and look... the set backs really haven't changed at all have they. This was first published in August 1995.