I was intrigued to learn about a period of European history about which I know almost nothing, and started to read with great enthusiasm. However, my enthusiam quickly flagged: I found the complex politics hard to follow, and wasn't able to get a sense of the timeline of events to give me something to anchor the story to.

Although there were lots of dramatic events in the story - massacres, sieges, battles, bandits and betrayals it all felt curiously flat, written on one emotional level. I felt I should be engaging with the love story between Hara and Tzanis, but they didn't grab me as vivid, life-like characters.