Review: Unusual and entertaining read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 13, 2013
Sir Gabriel "Gart" Forbes travels to Dunster Castle to meet his liege. Upon his arrival in the castle he is "attacked" by three little boys. Gart is amused about the "attack" but very stunned when he finds out the boys motivation. However, he doesn't have time to think about the event because the boys' mother, the Lady de Moyon, arrives to scold the boys. Gart recognizes in the Lady de Moyon Emberley, the sister of his long-dead best friend. Emberley and Gart try to catch up on old times but Julian, Emberley's husband misunderstands their conversation and soon the events follow in rapid succession, leading to major political developments and dramatic challenges and changes in the lives of all people involved.The book starts with a big bang and the plot never falters, offering many twists and turns, which kept me riveted and entertained.The secondary characters were expertly mastered and supported the plot perfectly. Especially the children.The romance between Emberley and Gart was well thought through. I liked the fact that they deeply loved each other and that their feelings never changed, no matter what they had to deal with. I also liked the fact that both main characters never ever considered the children's destiny secondary and their love paramount.In any case, I would've expected the author to develop and elaborate more detailed on the Emberley's "flirt" with Gart when they were children. Although it was plausibly explained that only she followed Gart and that he felt rather bothered, I wasn't satisfied or persuaded by how and when the h/h fell in love with each other. Did he even take notice of her back then?  Since their love was the pivot point in the plot, there should've been much more details on this - at least according to my opinion.Nice book, good plot, outstanding atmosphere - a very nice read.