In Medieval Europe, the name of the game is survival - the stakes are raised when the Black Plague hits in 1349. The worlds of two women collide one fateful day. Merryn, a thieving street rat, and Cara, a simple village girl granted divine power to heal, join forces to increase their chance of survival. Unknown to either was how fate would play out - with love and with loss. Merryn's heart breaks as Cara slips away from her. As time passes, Merryn learns to live without Cara in her life and ends up ruling the greatest empire since the time of the Romans. But who can heal the shattered heart of a ruler?
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good story,
By Sage320 (Newport News, VA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Storm (Paperback)
Merryn and Cara are two women on the run - on the run from the Black Death and from the brutal forces of King Edward III of England. Merryn is used to fighting for survival, whether as an orphan at the mercy of the nuns or as a thief on the road. Cara's existence was happier until the plague arrived. She lived quietly in a village with her mother and sister where her reputation as a healer was beginning to grow. Now, as the disease wipes out significant portions of the population, the women find themselves trying to survive on the road against roaming bandits, soldiers from the king who are scouring the countryside looking for new servants to replace the ones who have died or fled, and the constant threat of becoming ill themselves. Although Merryn is reluctant to take Cara with her at first, they quickly become dependent on each other. Society begins to break apart under the stresses of the time and tragedy separates Merryn from Cara. Merryn goes on to become a great warrior and leader of a mighty empire, but there is always a sadness in her that no one can reach until one day she is wounded in battle and someone comes into her life that may have a chance to heal all of her wounds.
Pritekel's characters are fully developed and believable. By setting the book in this period, Pritekel takes advantage of the dramatic changes caused by the bubonic plague and she shows the evidence of her research in her knowledge of the customs of the time. The social revolution that Merryn leads did in fact try to occur, but it failed, and that is the only true negative of the book. Pritekel alters real history. She sets her story in the reign of an actual king and gives him a fate that never occurred so that she can turn this into a Conqueror story. Events that never happened are manufactured. The inaccuracies in history probably will not bother the average reader however and certainly are not serious enough to keep anyone from reading what is otherwise a very good book.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Entertaining Read,
By labellepersonne (Midwest USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Storm (Paperback)
The book goes along without too much of a plot for quite awhile, although there are certainly incidents and events that occur to hold one's interest. Then we hit the mid-part of the book and it really comes alive.
I liked it all along, however, as the two main characters, Merryn and Cara are very likeable, even though Merryn starts out as a drifter and a thief. The way Merryn meets Cara is by rescueing her from an attempted rape. Cara is a healer, and Merryn goes on to become quite the warrior in a very believable transformation. Ms. Pritekel is an excellent writer and I could feel Merryn and Cara's emotions, although I think I related more to Merryn. The story takes place during the 1600's when Europe was ravaged by the black death. I was initially greatly disappointed when one of the two main characters succumbs to the plague, and I plodded on rather disheartened. I do not want to give anything away, so I will only say how Ms. Pritekel ultimately handles this is beautiful and skillful writing. The story is concluded but I got the impression from the ending of the novel, that perhaps a sequel is in the works.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Knight in Not-so-shining Armor,
By
This review is from: Storm (Paperback)
Merryn is tall, dark, and dangerous. She steals to stay alive and lives in the shadows. She even robs the bodies of the victims of the black plague. Cara is the daughter of a single mother who was taken by the plague, along with Cara's younger sister. One night, Merryn rescues Cara from the clutches of a would-be rapist and finds herself `saddled' with the younger woman's company. Little does she know that she would eventually fall madly in love with Cara. The story takes us through their story as they innocently move past friendship into something much more. That is, until the day Merryn is convinced Cara has died. Rebelling against the evil king, Merryn eventually finds herself ruling the country. By the time she realizes Cara is still alive, will it be too late to regain the love of her life? Bottom line - Great book if you like a medieval setting. Good anyway if you don't.
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