You get thrown into things straight away with this novel (abduction! rescue! marriage for protection!), and I think if you didn't have the background on the main characters from the first novel in the Lost Lords series, that you wouldn't be particularly engaged at first. Some of the plot points of this were quite ludicrous, but in a very enjoyable way - I liked Julia's practical skills as a midwife, but also the way she enjoyed returning to the privileges of society.