This is a marriage of convenience story, which is one of my favorite tropes. 
 Richard is described as a tyrant in the blurb, and yes, yes he is a tyrant. Although the story felt like it dragged a little toward the end, it was a really good book. The hero was a complete douche at the beginning who made me laugh to myself--oh, I couldn't wait for love to hit him hard upside the head! 
 He ended up falling in love with Katharine, who btw, was an absolute sweetheart and had suffered greatly in her life. It was interesting to watch their relationship progress as they both grew as characters and fell in love with each other.