Helpful Score: 1
This is a very sweet romance set in Medieval England. Anya is a really wonderful strong heroine and Christian is both warrior strong and lover sweet - exactly the right blend!
The plots around the love story are interesting but not too complex that they detract from the romance. Supporting characters are mostly fleshed out well, and the main lovers have good motivations and pretty real emotions.
The one flaw I saw with this is that Christian spends the first third of the book arguing with himself "I shouldn't bed her because it would be dishonorable of me" but then the next paragraph seducing and kissing Anya. It gets a little annoying how flighty he is. Guys have some willpower, come on!
All in all, a very satisfying romance. They have a great introduction, the bigger world is interesting and well established, and the whole thing ends well. Highly recommended for any medieval romance lover.
The plots around the love story are interesting but not too complex that they detract from the romance. Supporting characters are mostly fleshed out well, and the main lovers have good motivations and pretty real emotions.
The one flaw I saw with this is that Christian spends the first third of the book arguing with himself "I shouldn't bed her because it would be dishonorable of me" but then the next paragraph seducing and kissing Anya. It gets a little annoying how flighty he is. Guys have some willpower, come on!
All in all, a very satisfying romance. They have a great introduction, the bigger world is interesting and well established, and the whole thing ends well. Highly recommended for any medieval romance lover.
This is the first book by Barbara Samuel that I've read and I was not disappointed. The plot and characters were good. I enjoyed Anya's strength and courage to stand up to her brother and the Catholic church. I thought Anya and Christian's relationship was wonderful. It grew slowly and had humor and passion.
I especially liked the setting of the story. The corruption of the church and power some men had was depicted very nicely. The author wove in many topics including violence to women, hunger, poverty. I didn't agree with how Anya handled her situation (don't want to reveal too much). She accepted blame for what happened to her but I realize that was the way things were during this period of time.
I especially liked the setting of the story. The corruption of the church and power some men had was depicted very nicely. The author wove in many topics including violence to women, hunger, poverty. I didn't agree with how Anya handled her situation (don't want to reveal too much). She accepted blame for what happened to her but I realize that was the way things were during this period of time.
