Review: A Masterpiece That Shall Grace My Keeper Shelf Until The Very End of Time
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2013
Marsha Canham is one of my favorite authors and every time I read one of her novels I think to myself "Now THAT is her best one ever."  Each and every one is that wonderful. This one, however, really may BE her best.  Without a doubt, I will carry this book in my heart forever.  Truly THE DRAGON TREE is so beautiful, so poignant, so moving that it stands head and shoulders above the standard historical romance fare..A Crusader fighting at the right hand of King Richard, Ciaran Tamberlane, is a powerful and fearsome knight known as The Dragonslayer.  The beginning of the book finds the noble warrior monk in the midst of a fierce battle between his brothers of the Knights Templar and the Saracens.  Senseless slaughter has become unbearable for Tamberlane, and when he sees two knights thundering down upon an injured woman clutching a small child in her arms, he can no longer turn away.  The cost of his actions was disgrace, full excommunication, and expulsion from the Order.  His family turned from him and only the intervention of the King save him from execution for treason.  Content to live out the rest of his penitent years at a secluded castle far away from the battle fields and court intrigue, he is a man full of sorrow and loneliness.While on a hunting trip, he stumbles across a horrific raid on a small village on his demesne.  He arrives just in time to see a mercenary knight preparing to viciously impale a beautiful woman who was already near death from tortuous injuries.  In a rage over the unprovoked attack, the Dragonslayer kills the villain and carries the woman back to the safety of his castle.Awaking full of pain and fear at the unfamiliar surroundings, Amarantha fears that she has escaped one cruel man only to be caught by another.  She knows that the villagers were all killed for hiding her and the guilt and grief is almost too much to bear.  Fleeing a sadistic husband that she nearly killed the night of the escape, she hoped to find sanctuary at a convent.  Should she trust the Dragonslayer?  Can he truly help her escape her husband?  Amarantha knows her vengeful husband will stop at nothing and kill all who try to hide her.  Could it be true that the brave knight who rescued her could indeed slay dragons?When a plot by Prince John to kill King Richard as he makes his return to England is uncovered, Tamberlane and Amarantha are forced to decide between escaping the hunt and saving England's king.  Unfolding in heart-stopping fashion, the story keeps you mesmerized from the first words of the prologue until the very end.If it were possible to give more than 5 stars to a book, I would.  It's so wonderful that I just may go right back and read it again.