I gave this 1 star because the writing is so terrific. But I'm so disappointed in the characters behavior.
SPOILER CITY coming right up!
The H--like so many heroes in scifi romance, Winter is seriously emotionally damaged. That's not the problem with him, though. It's that he does some truly abusive things to the h, with barely an apology. Twice he physically hurts the h, with angry deliberation. Not in passion, or accidentally. He does this twice while accusing her without basis for things she did not do. This is major, serious red flag behavior. It's not romance, or passion. It's abuse, plain and simple.
The h is quite clearly a victim, and destined to stay one. She has numerous opportunities to leave her situations, but meekly allows herself to be maneuvered with barely an objection.
I put this book down numerous times and finally skipped to the end just to see if the couple resolved their differences. Answer: not really. I didn't get the sense that this was going to be a happy mating. Instead, it sounds like the h will just spend years tolerating an intermittent abuser.
I'm incredibly disappointed that such a terrific writer would put out a story like this. It started strong but spiraled into something dark and tense. It's so unlike the other stories in this series, which a really terrific. I'm damn sorry I read this one.