Review: Great Arthurian story with a few hard-to-take elements
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 7, 2011
As devotee of the legend of King Arthur--especially the Mary Stewart series--I must recommend this one as a prequel to the others, but I guess this period is just not my taste. It seems that in Medieval-era stories, the heroines suffer far more than I can tolerate. Multiple rapes, betrayal, imprisonment--apparently that was just day-to-day life for women in the 13th to 15th century!Elsbeth is a tough, smart, brave heroine, and the hero is a good match for her. The love between them is well written (including steamy sex!), and the author does the best job I've ever seen in portraying the role of a royal mistress and showing how it can be beneficial to all parties. Elsbeth is raped but doesn't blame herself or wallow in shame because of it, although at one point, I wanted to shout at her, "If a wounded man tries to rape you, jab him in the wound!!! That will divert his attention!" Oh, well. We eventually get our happily ever after.It was fun as the story unfolded to get glimpses into how these people fit into the Arthurian saga--I won't give it away here, that would just be mean. But if you love Camelot, and don't mind the grit of Medieval life, I think you'll want to read this one.