C. P. Lesley

This complex work is set in 16th-century Russia with a Muslim Tartar heroine. Nasan/Irina becomes a peace offering, Christianized and married into a Russian family to put an end to a blood feud when her brother is murdered by her husband's family. This uneasily straddles the line between historical fiction and romance, with the addition of a plot in which Nasan sneaks out in disguise at night and, as "The Golden Lynx", rights wrongs AND seeks to discover who really killed her brother. First in a series.… (mehr)

Received free from LibraryThing for my review. The beginning preface made me why on earth I had requested this book. However, once I got past all the scholarly historical information and lengthy cast of characters, the story itself got interesting. The reader did not need all that information up front--better to put it at end. As to the review of the story: another example of how history keeps repeating itself throughout the ages, particularly before women's rights became an issue and changed so that women could choose their own husbands and own property. Meeting a spouse-for-life at the wedding, provides angst, suspense, drama in this well written story.… (mehr)