The beginning starts out interesting. The heroine's family doesn't treat her well but she's aware of it. The hero's kisses are forceful(?) and take the heroine by surprise, but the reader knows that the hero does that because he loves her so the reader can consent to that. And even if the heroine makes repeated unfound accusations of the hero, they actually communicate to clear them up whether the heroine believes him or not. But towards the end of the book, when the heroine is too afraid to love, and the hero acts so cold towards her, the story falls into old and tired territory.

The heroine's sister is such a caricature. How can a father fail to love his children? ( )