My husband and I have enjoyed reading this second Brides of Alba book out loud together. We read Healer together and plan on reading Rebel together, as well. While my husband didn't have any issues with the pace of the story, I felt that the whole thing was some awesome pivotal scenes strung together with a lot of filler. There were too many times when we found it easy to put the book down and not come back to it for weeks or months. I also felt that the book was entirely too long; there was a lot of fluff that could have been left out. The roster of characters is head-spinning, but I did manage to keep most of them straight. I liked Sorcha very much, especially her gift of music and singing. Caden grows tremendously throughout the book, both in his faith and in his values. If you like histories of the early Christians or Arthurian fiction, you may want to try this series, starting with Healer.
It took a little longer than I expected for me to get in to this book. Although the first book doesn't have to be read to enjoy this one, I'm glad I had read it because it helped me catch on to theses characters quicker. The author does a fantastic job with the historical aspects of this book and thank goodness for the glossary she includes in the back. A story about evilness and deceit, family and honor, love and God's forgiveness, I highly recommend this book.
