To Have and to Hold
Patricia Gaffney · 1995
The most controversial romance novel of its decade and, for many readers, the most emotionally devastating. A story about power, abuse, and whether redemption is possible for a man who has done terrible things. Gaffney doesn't flinch and doesn't make it easy; the love that emerges is hard-won and complicated, which is exactly what makes it feel real.
The case against
Sebastian spends the first third coercing a woman who is legally his dependent, and the novel then asks you to watch him become worthy of her. Whether Gaffney earns that turn is the entire wager; lose it, and what remains is rationalized cruelty followed by an apology, with the romance label doing the forgiving.
Romance · the Pro canon
The case for it and the rest of the canon open with Pro.
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