Good read. Centres on Princess Alaïs trying to find her captured son to tell him his parentage, using the run up to the cathar crusade as th backdrop. A few other mysteries tangled up in it, who stole the chalice, where is it, who is feeding king John information about the movements of the french and how do it all tie together. Characters were compelling enough. Really got the feel for what an awful man abbot Amaury was. Liked that it centred on women solving most of their own problems. Got a little repetitive at the end when explaining how it all unraveled. ( )

Where to start? This was a very, very, very long read for me. I would start reading it and stop, then repeat the exercise for the next month and a half.

For me, reading this historical fiction which, mind you, was very well written and full of many, many historical events, was pure torture.

It might be (but I doubt it) because I hadn’t read the book before it, THE CANTERBURY PAPERS. Or it might be too much of history and not enough of fiction; but whatever it was, I wasn’t able to connect to it. That doesn’t mean that you’ll fail to connect as well. Your tastes might lead you to love it.

I’ll blame my personal taste, and not the style of writing or the prose, that caused me to disconnect with the protagonists and the story itself.

In all honesty, I can’t recommend it to romance lovers; BUT I can to all you history buffs, and for that reason alone I’m giving this novel Four Roses. I’ll be glad to pass it along to someone that would appreciate it more than I did.

Melanie for RRAH
( )

Princess Alais- sister to King Phillip of France, ex-mistress to the (now dead) King Henry of England and lover of William of Caen-has a secret; a secret that could change the face of Europe in the 13th century. That is if the wrong people don’t find out!

A religious war is brewing when a religious relic coincidentally goes missing, which stirs up an already frenzied political atmosphere. On top of the theft there is a kidnapping, someone near and dear to Alais has been pulled into the fray, she must go against William’s wishes and set out on rescue mission. Who can she trust and will she be able to thwart a holy war?

A fast-paced read, filled with intrigue, tension and a side of romance! Interesting look at the Cathar Crusade, it took me a bit to get into since I had not read the prequel but glad I’m stuck with it. (Will definitely buy The Canterbury Papers) I would recommend to any fan of historical fiction! ( )

Enjoyed this Book ( )