The story begins in 1346 in Crecy, France where English troops have just taken the city. So begins the Hundred Years’ War, the backdrop against which the family of Wulfriths live and this series is set.
Tamara Leigh is a gifted storyteller, but her often awkward sentence structure and word usage, presumably for medieval effect, make the story difficult to read at times. Often, I had to read a paragraph twice to try and get the meaning. Sometimes I couldn’t tell who was talking. Eventually I just skipped over difficult passages and read on. I liked the characters and how Leigh fit them and the history into the story that kept me turning pages.
The hero, Hector Wulfrith, is the senior member of the family and head of the school that trains England’s knights for the king. He’s been married several times, each time losing the wife. He has come to believe he isn’t supposed to have a wife, that God does not intend him to be married and sire an heir. Severine de Barra is a young Frenchwoman, who sneaks into England after the fall of Crecy with her young charge, a boy of royal lineage who wants to be trained by the Wulfriths. And she means to make that happen even if she has to fight Hector to do it.
Some exciting scenes lead Hector to realize perhaps there is a chance at love for him, and Severine de Barra might be that woman. I enjoyed the book and will read others by this author.
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