Emily M. (nnaylime) - reviewed on 12/1/2009 + 14 more book reviews

I would actually rate this at about 3.5 stars. It wasn't a bad book, in fact I quite enjoyed it. And while the author did a great deal of research there were still anachronisms--e.g., the protagonist appreciating a masterpiece of medieval architecture (really??)

I did like that she took pains to make John a very learned, generally quite chaste woman--which makes sense in the context of the times for any women who was attempting to get out of the expected role.

However, at the same time, the hard lot given to women of the time was somewhat heavy-handed, and a little more subtlety rather than direct statement in this area would've been appreciated.

Finally, while I appreciated the political machinations and general instability of 'regions' as a necessary background to the broader story (given that the Catholic church was so central all of it and the only authority higher than emperors and kings), given the way the countries don't resemble what they are now maps (where is Frankenland (is it France? Germany? Belgium? Who are the Saracens and where do the come from? etc) would've been very useful and appreciated.

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