I read My Forever Love, not the revised. ( )

I read this for my Series Headway pick.

This review is for the original My Forever Love and not the revised Dragon Tree.

"A man can lose his way in this world so easily," he said softly. "He can see horrors that make him question his sense of worth, his sense of well-being, his sense of what is right and wrong. He can be overcome by greed, by lust, by the lure of another man's possessions. He can have everything he owns, even his name and his reputation taken away from him in the blink of an eye. But the one thing, the only thing a man cannot have taken away from him is his honor. That, he has to give away."

Oh how I miss historicals that actually feel like historicals and have research and setting to them. Canham did an excellent job placing me in the times, this is a little brutal and gory with the what the heroine faced in her marriages and the fighting scenes, but medieval times were a bit like that. The first half was a little slow and I started shipping Marak and the heroine for awhile because of much more flushed out their relationship was. While the setting, scene, and secondary characters were vividly painted, the romance fell short. The hero and heroine's relationship felt more like insta-lust and then their bonding felt pretty rushed at the end. Separately, the heroine with her black widow ways and fighting spirit and the hero with his excommunicated warrior monk status, were fascinating but together their romance lacked spark.

The author addressed the romance issues in this and has heavily revised the story, I'd recommend reading the newer version if you have choice. ( )

This a very good Historical Fiction book. ( )

Even though the romance in this story was sadly lacking, I still relished the experience of another medieval adventure from Marsha Canham. The action and historical setting were enough to keep my attention and make reading enjoyable, particularly since Canham provides a more in depth look at the Knights Templar and creates a hero who was one: Ciaran Tambarlane, a former crusader suffering from a crisis of faith. I liked how religion was brought to the fore in the depiction of his character, reflecting the spirit of the times a bit more faithfully. Excommunicated and exiled, Tambarlane lives in almost complete isolation upon his return from the Holy Land. He is really interesting and unique, more human and fallible than most other heroes, a veritable anomaly in certain respects.

Unfortunately, he's paired with Amaranth de Langois, who fell flat as a character. Their interactions were cursory at best, and I didn't know why they were together, or even what they felt about each other. Before their story could really get underway, it was cut short and remained indistinct and underdeveloped. There's still enough excitement and heroism in My Forever Love, with a rousing battle scene at the end, but there's not enough substance behind the events leading to these moments to make the book as a whole all that memorable. Tambarlane stands out amidst the mediocrity, but I wish we could have seen more of him, along with a better story to go along with this unusual and compelling character. I seem to be contradicting my opening opinion here, so my review is a mixed one. Despite its flaws, I still liked My Forever Love. ( )

Ciaran Tambarlane, monk, member of the Knights Templar, and heroic warrior fighting at the side of King Richard, The Lionhearted decides he can no longer kill in the name of God and in the process of trying to save a native women and her child turns against his fellow Crusaders. Defrocked and excommunicated he returns home to Britain and lives almost as a hermit in a small holding owned by a relative. His exile is broken when a village on his property is destroyed and the only survivor is Amaranth de Langois a runaway abused wife.

Ms Canham graphically describes the Knights Templar, the Crusades and tenth century life of both commoners and royalty. The story sent me to other books in my library to check out the relationship between King Richard and his brother John. I think since the story was primarily about the followers’ of Richard, he was written with a more positive slant than perhaps was true. Although the fact that he was gay and had little honor on the field of battle, he seems to have won the loyalty of his followers. The story took place in 1194 when Richard returned for a short period to Britain. I wonder what happened to his followers after his death in 1199. Even with the questions, I enjoyed the book. ( )