Review: 4.5, A Knight finds his destiny
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 17, 2012
Passion's Exile is an engrossing midievel tale brimming with adventure.  There are noble knights, a beautiful maiden and a hawk that is as loyal as his mistress.  Rose is on the run with her somewhat battered hawk, Wink.  She is escaping an arranged marriage to a man who is beyond hateful to amoral.  She would rather enter a nunnery than marry her intended so she joins a band of travelers near her home in disguise and hopes to blend in with other pilgrims.Also on the same journey is Blade, a Knight who feels shame and loss, however he is not on the pilgrimage for penitence, instead he overhears what could be a plot to kill a young nobleman also on this journey.  Being a kind hearted upright man he feels compelled to ferret out the would be assassins.  To blend in with his fellow penitents,  he wears chains around his wrist, signifying his shackled soul, which in reality is just the outward bonds that keep Blade from forgiving himself for his past misdeeds.Rose and Blade form a fast friendship and they are attracted to each other but both have their secrets.  Blade is confused by Rose, who says she is convent bound but he can tell she longs to be with him.  Rose also is intuitive and she wonders why Blade feels so unworthy and distrustful.  Neither shares their secrets willingly but they do share their present feelings and their conversations flow smoothly.  Blade cannot help but be protective of Rose who wants to be independent yet is very grateful for Blade's thoughtfulness and strong arm.The leads are haunted by their pasts and in some ways their present circumstances too.  Their inner tension is felt with every mile they travel toward the nunnery.  Rose is completely torn between confessing her identity to Blade and continuing with her journey to take her vows.  She feels she must protect him and he feels the same way about her, he is landless and burdened with his past mistakes.This is an emotional story with very good secondary characters that add a dash of humor now and again and also some intrigue too.  If there is a flaw in this story it is the ending which almost felt a little anti-climactic, still a great adventure.