As much as I dislike stories featuring a rival female, this one kept me reading. And I didn't want to scratch out the rival's eyes. 
 The blurb on the back confused me--probably my own failing. 
 I did like the heroine. She's intelligent, strong and caring. 
 The hero did a bit of a weird 180. He starts out being cold and a little cruel. In the end he's warm and loving. There's not a whole lot to explain the change other than his sudden love for the heroine. Usually in these books the hero has some major issue making him a grump and the heroine helps him get over--I don't recall that being the case in this one (but I finished this a few weeks ago and probably have forgotten since then).