Helpful Score: 4
This book was not what I was expecting - while it looks like a typical captured maiden rescued from a harem book, it was actually much more of a devious political historical fiction with some romance thrown in. If I was a heroine or hero in this time period, I'm not sure that I would have attempted even to see each other - lots of risks and dangers that did not appear worth losing the chance for freedom and life. Rich history of Viking warriors as part of the Roman empire, influence of the Greek Orthodox Christianity as it interacted with pagans and muslims, the practices of creating eunuchs including early eunuchs and late-maid eunuchs, political intrigue/assassins/spies, and the importance of the silk trade. Not a very romantic book, gets more so later in the book, but I had to slog through what appeared to be a quagmire of obstacles.
