*This is a TBRChallenge review, there will be spoilers, I don't spoil everything but enough, because I treat these reviews as a bookclub discussion.

He asked for death, the deep-set blue of his eyes demanding mercy. And she had not given it.

Wales 1280 with Edward Longshanks in the midst of trying to quell the Welsh sets the stage. Sir Ranulf Ombrier, the King's Butcher, gets lost in the Marches (disputed borderlands of Wales and England) and gets attacked by Gwenllian of Ruardean's cousin, Madog. Once they recognize Ranulf's heraldry, they know him to be the Lord of Morency. Madog wants to leave him for dead, who would care in the Marches but we need Gwenllian to heroine, so she nurses him back to health. The beginning of this was difficult for me to get into. It's slow moving, because newer books I've been reading lately jump into the action and subtlety is more rare than common, I can't say, but I struggled. It's quiet and subtle and we see Ranulf want Gwenllian to kill him, at this point readers aren't quite sure what's going on with him but depression is obviously shadowing him.

Her mother turned back from the window and nodded. “I told him we would escort him to his king in a week’s time. So you will take him, Gwenllian.”

The politics of the time and how our characters are involved get revealed in this beginning, getting to know the characters is much more slowly dribbled out. Not only is Ranulf “The Butcher” but Gwenllian has been suing Ranulf for his Morency lands. At fifteen Gwenllian was betrothed to the Lord of Morency, who was Ranulf's foster father and also the man Ranulf killed in his sleep. !!! A big reason Ranulf is known as the butcher and why people fear and whisper about him. Recently though, there have been rumors that King Edward has been calling for Ranulf to pay a visit and yet, Ranulf was found in the Marches. Gwenllian's mother sees an opportunity to help their suing case and orders Gwenllian to take Ranulf to the King. At 30% this turns into a road romance.

He followed the gleam of firelight up the blade to where a thick-gloved hand grasped the hilt and found the green boy who had guarded his back through the long journey, wearing leather armor and helm.

At the start of the road romance, Ranulf has been kept away from Gwenllian and only vaguely has memories of her tending him at his sick bed. Readers know the importance of Gwenllian, she's called Pennaeth Du, black chief, by the men (her father has been off Crusading for years and her mother is running the joint with positioning Gwenllian to be copy of a Welsh legendary heroine so she can be a rallying cry to get the Welsh to fight Edward). Gwenllian dresses as a man on the journey and Ranulf is none the wiser, until he starts to make rude jokes and Gwenllian challenges him to a fight. Gwenllian has trained as a fighter her whole life and with Ranulf still a little weak from his injury and taken off guard, she wins the fight but reveals she's a woman and the one trying to get claim of Morency.

He was Ranulf of Morency, the king’s loyal and lethal friend. He killed defenseless old men and valiant knights of the realm, and was never shamed by it. That was what men saw. That was the skin he must live in.

You're going to hate Ranulf for a while in this later beginning, the things he says and acts toward Gwenllian, well, let's just say, in modern parlance, he basically tells her she's too ugly to rape. He's a hurt people, hurting people and it really plays against Gwenllian's insecurities of not feeling feminine enough. She's the leader of men and good at it but she knows the danger of being found “not right” at this time and when they get to Edward's court you could feel her character withdrawing into herself and the fear and anxiety of “acting a lady”. There's a moment on the road romance part where Ranulf escapes and Gwenllian catches up to him and then they have to work together to fight off bandits and there was some easing of the tension between them, they also kiss for the first time. Gwenllian gets the feelings but as the reader, these two were still cool and standoffish to me and I didn't feel any heat. Ranulf does reveal how awful of a person her husband-to-be was and starts to have her looking at him different. We also learn that Ranulf was lost in the Marches because he was looking for the White Monks. The brother of the wife of the Lord Morency Ranulf killed is a monk and because Ranulf can't get over how he couldn't help Morency's wife (she ended up killing herself), he's making some amends/looking for forgiveness, redemption.

She had to be a legend, her mother had said. So she was. It had sounded a great and glorious thing, a secret that would one day be sung by the bards. But never had she guessed that it would require this endless proving of herself, always holding on to power with the very tips of her fingers.

They make it to the court and Gwenllian realizes what a strategic player Edward is when he says that her and Ranulf will be married. So at 40% we get our marriage of convenience. There's some fragile bonding as Ranulf picks out a wedding dress that has dragons embroidered on it for Gwenllian and they realize how they need each other in this den of wolves. We get a sex scene but it's fairly short and then you flip the page and it's the next day with them doing something else, this happened a lot after intimate scenes and kept me from bonding with this couple. Because while Ranulf's depression with what he's had to do in his life and Gwenllian's anxiety and pressure of acting the knight and leader is explored, Ranulf's depression actually plays a big part, it's a majority of the time done in isolation. It's Gwenllian thinking about Ranulf and psychoanalyzing him and figuring out why and how he's depressed, it's Ranulf observing the rigidness of Gwenllian's shoulders when she's in a dress and doing the part of Lady. All subtle workings that I love in stories but I needed more directness too. They spend a fair amount in their heads and the pace is all murky languid as these are deep dark emotions to be working through.

I only want to know what she is, he thought. And she had said trust, and honor. She had given him a choice and expected more than villainy from him. She saw through it.

It's when they get to Morency when they start to bond more and some of the outside political importance mutes for awhile. Ranulf sees how Gwenllian leads, love and loyalty are what she wants not fear and blind allegiance, and Ranulf sees a different way to lead life. Around 60% they both internally think they are in love with the other but Gwenllian's mother eventually shows up to crash the party and wants Gwenllian to lead the men against Edward. Gwenllian refuses with a mixture of understanding how the current world is and how they aren't going to win and just get everyone killed and not wanting to go against the husband she has found herself in love with.

She stared at the linen of his shirt, stained with the blood of other men, and knew she had no potion that might heal him.

Ranulf's self-hatred resurfaces and has him saying/acting hurtful towards Gwenllian and Gwenllian can't get over not supporting her mother, so she leaves to join her mother in her rebellion. The last fifteen percent has Ranulf thinking clearing and he goes to retrieve Gwenllian. There's a quick figuring out of a oblivious traitor that has Gwenllian's mother realizing the danger she put her daughter in and that her battle isn't going to happen and Ranulf and her kind of join forces to protect their lands.
Again, I like subtlety but this had character's in their heads a bit too much and I just wasn't in the mood for the languid pace and working through depression. I wanted more direct talking at/with, instead of quietly working out in their minds. The emotions were all written out but I couldn't get myself to feel them. I see why this is a favorite, it's got some Meredith Duran and Cecilia Grant tones to it but I had struggles connecting. ( )

By 1280 Ranulf Ombrier is known as the favourite killer of Edward I. Fearing for his mortal soul he wanders into the Welsh Marshers and is attacked. Tended by Gwenlliam of Ruardean, he is eventually on his way back to Edward's court. But that is only the beginning.
An interesting tale, well-written aand I liked the characters. ( )

Overall, I found this to be kind of dull. I was so worried that Gwenllian would be more loyal to Wales than she would be to Ranulf and cause unnecessary strife and angst, and I was so proud of her for the decision she makes. But then...she backtracks. For her love of the mother who openly trained her to be a tool to accomplish her own desires. While that is a credible and realistic thing, I dreaded it and didn't like going through that whole ordeal. She had already decided to side with Ranulf, so I just didn't understand her reasoning for going back to her mother, especially after she discovers she's pregnant. It felt like a very dumb decision.

Besides that, I did not quite believe Ranulf and Gwenllian as a couple. They kept secrets from each other that should have been revealed by the end, but they weren't. I think those things, be they feelings or past trauma, need to be revealed, or why should it even be a part of the story? Theirs was a lackluster romance, and I felt sorry for Ranulf for having to put up with her needless treachery.

Their individual characterizations also fell flat. Ranulf was set up to be a hero with a very dark past, and, while the events were laid out neatly, they weren't explored enough to make the character truly believable. I can see what the author was trying to do with Gwenllian. She sees herself as strong and unwomanly, but of course she has both masculine and feminine traits. The problem here lies with the fact that she was raised to be a lady until she was 10, which means that she was trained in certain aspects of becoming a chatelaine and how to behave in society. After her husband by proxy is murdered, her mother shifts gears and has her train to be a warrior. Since she's a woman, she must work hard to be the best in order to be respected. Because of that, she is physically strong and feels manly. It doesn't help that early on Ranulf criticizes her appearance several times. My problem isn't that she feels uncomfortable in a dress. It's that she, a woman who is supposed to be strong and confident, drags herself down so far when she wears one and sees herself as weak because of it. She thinks Ranulf makes her weak because he makes her feel emotions. She should have a moment in which she determines to be strong (or Ranulf shows her), no matter her station or dress. That doesn't happen. Ranulf tells her she is strong, and they go home. The end.

Lastly, I wanted more from the rebellion and working against Edward I (or Edward Longshanks). I wanted more from his characterization, as well, aside from just saying that he is fierce and formidable. I can tell that the period and the Welsh wars were researched, but I just think that it could have been put together more sufficiently. These years in Great Britain's history are fascinating, so I was a little disappointed not to get more of it.

All in all, this had a lot of potential, but it lacked several things to make it truly good. ( )

"Wow, sam, that took you forever."

You're telling me. And it KILLED me (in the best way). This book was so so good, wonderfully performed by Nicholas Boulton. It was about identity and love in a way that is somewhat indescribable (at least to me, a lazy reviewer). It had cruelty and betrayal and forgiveness. It had the wonderful something of the hero and heroine needing each other to be just who they are. There were swoony lovely passages. And it was really very sexy. Very. ahem. I'm gonna go read some other people's more adequate reviews now. ( )

Earlier this month this title was free, with audio narration offered at $1.99, and I just couldn't pass it up. Was I ever glad to get it! I have to say that I never got to read it because the narration done by Nicholas Boulton was amazing. He is one of those narrators that can suck you in a story and never let you go.

This is one of those medieval stories that involves two very complex characters and is filled with emotional and intense moments from start to finish.

I loved the heroine and her personality and I liked the way the author handled her dilemma about who she really was and who she wanted to be. As for the hero, if you're a sucker for a strong, alpha male that is torn between his loyalty to his king and redeeming his soul, you'll fall in love with Ranulf.

Elizabeth Kingston is a new to me author but not for long. I'm looking forward to listening to her upcoming stories in this and other series. She created a world very realistic and a romance that will stay with me for a long time.

Melanie for b2b
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