That one has exactly the same plot of an elf-human alliance sealed by a marriage that neither participant wants, and has pretty much the same resolution. I am thinking particularly of 'No Man Can Tame' by Miranda Honfleur,, which I happened to read a day later. This marriage, even in their own eyes, is not about them it is about everyone else.īeginning with a willing attitude at the start gives the book a rather different tone from other very similar stories. In fact, it's the protagonist's own idea to make herself the seal of the necessary alliance. The marriage creates a critical alliance between the two peoples, and they decide to marry because of that, despite personal distaste. The two here were not forced: they both chose for the benefit of their respective peoples. This one is more like those, but still, not quite the same. There is also a large class of stories where two people who do not like each other are forced to be together for some reason and subsequently grow to love each other. This one starts out with a marriage for selfless reasons, where the two have no personal reasons to want to be together, and many reasons for not wanting to be together. Two people feel a strong attraction for each other and it is because of their own feelings, and the pleasure that gives them, that they want to be together. Most modern romance stories are basically selfish and inward focused. The thing I liked about this story is that it's about a love that's not selfish and appetitive, and (more uniquely) not even focused on the two participants.

Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce