On the plus side this is a sweet romance novel with some memorable and original characters, as well as a strong Christian message and a generally good storyline albeit corny in some places.

The first problem is that the 'Medieval' setting of this novel just seemed superficial, unconvincing and in many places weak.

The author seemed to have little or no real sense of the period and simply selected the setting because she 'liked it', or simply wanted to go along with popular expectations of the fantasy genre, but only bothered to do a minimum of research.

There were a lot of anachronisms and the number of modern Americanisms in the 'Medieval' characters' speech made me cringe.
Then were the totally unrealistic scenes, like one in which the Protaganist Tahn scales a castle wall with a long plank of wood which he somehow managed to carry with him.

The secondary villian, Baron Trent leaves much to be desired. His character (and that of his son who comes along soon after his death) both seem to be modelled on the stereotypical American depiction of 'English' aristocrats as seen in many movies, right down to thier 'posh' accents and langauge crammed full of long high-register words. The author attempts to make them as nasty as possible, but most of the time they are simply ludicrous absurd and downrght useless. Thier actions are often totally baseless and without motive, they just do them because they're bad.

I wasn't overly taken with the heroine, who seemed a little too goody-goody, but she was at least palatable in comparison with her father who was a total hypocrite. He was always preaching about the neccesity of 'forgiving and forgetting' to others, yet was totally unwilling to practice what he preached, and forgive others himself.

Considering what was done to his family by these characters this reluctance is perhaps unsurprising, but his constant expectation of the other characters to do what he cannot just makes him seem like an sanctmonious, self-righteous prig.

By far the most annoying aspect was that, as well as imposing some modern values and standards onto the past, the author and the characters displayed what appeared to be outright contempt for certain traditions, customs, conventions, polite social graces that were common during this period.
I rather got the impression that the author was simply disdainful of some of these because she did not understand them, or 'see the point' of them.

The book is a good light read for fun, but it might not entirely satisfy the tastes of those who prefer thier fantasy more historically 'accurate' and plausible. ( )

Trained as a mercenary in his youth, Tahn Dorn becomes trapped in the middle of a looming conflict between two noble families. He must choose between the orders of his master and his own conscience. Tahn's latest orders are to kidnap Lady Netta of the House of Trillet, He realises that following his conscience won't be easy especially when he has his young students to look after as well. Both than and Lady Netta are surprised by the events that unfold and change both their lives forever. Tahn struggles to understand Netta's God while he is filled with doubts, and Netta can't understand why he is willing to risk his life for a such a motley bunch of little children.
This is an enjoyable Christian Historical Fiction book, although it is not set in a specific place. When I first read it I thought it was going to be a fantasy set in another world so it annoyed me a bit in some places but once I got that it was set in the real world in my head I could accept what was happening more. I would recommend reading this 'gripping tale of courage, faith, forgiveness and unconditional love'. ( )

I loved this book. I read a lot of Christian fiction and this was something very different. You really have to read the whole series to appreciate the big picture, but none of the books are terribly long. I thought Tahn was such an unusual and interesting character that I couldn't wait to read the other two books. ( )