Absolutely without equal!  Sharon Kay Penman has captured the beauty, the toughness, and the desperation of 13th century Wales and England.  She’s managed to tell a story about ruthlessness and gory battles, and weave an epic love story trhoughout.

The story is based on actual historical characters…..Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, and Joanna, bastard daughter of King John.  Their love story is like no other I’ve read.  It’s exciting, sorrowful, heartbreaking, and hopeful, all at the same time. 

There’s not a woman alive who wouldn’t want to love and be loved as much as Joanna.  But she suffered because of that love and committed the ulimate betrayal ….adultery.  Ultimately, after almost ten months of Joana being locked away from everyone else, Llewelyn realized his love for Joanna outweighed the sin she committed.  (Even though men were allowed free rein to sleep around, it wasn’t allowed for women.)

Possibly the best historical book you could ever read!