First line: Today I will marry a man I have never met.

Summary: Branwen is the only legitimate child of King Vortigen. In the hopes of an alliance as well as protection she is promised in marriage to the Hammer King. With her marriage she moves to a distant part of medieval Wales. Life here is ravaged by the barbarian Saxons. However, this marriage has not protected her. It appears that someone wants to kill her, but who? With every day that passes she is more uncertain of everyone around her except for Artagan, the man who is the mortal enemy of her new husband. Branwen has to decide if she will follow her heart or live the life that has been planned for her.

My Thoughts: Going into this I was a little uncertain. I had put it off for years but after reading the Emma of Normandy books by Patricia Bracewell, I decided to give it a chance. This takes place hundreds of years before Emma and in Wales not England but it had much of the same feel. The medieval Welsh people were divided into different kingdoms with warriors battling for control of their lands as well as invaders. Saxons are constantly ravaging their lands in search of plunder and slaves.

Branwen has to help take care of and defend her people the best she can. I liked her strong character but she was definitely a character that was driven by impulse and her heart. I was unfamiliar with anything Welsh history before but I have a little more of sense after reading this and would love to learn more. There is a second book but the first does not end on a cliff-hanger so I may not read the next one unless I need something to fill a reading gap or to learn more of the time period. But all in all I was happy to read it and enjoyed it much more than I had thought I would.

Medieval Wales - my fav. This book started really strong, but the last half of the book was mostly romance and coincidence. Branwen was all over the place with her decisions. She mostly reacted with emotion rather than thinking things through. I loved reading about the setting, and Noce really portrays Wales and its customs well.

Despite having a strong start, this historical romance didn't work for me. While the Welsh countryside was a nice departure from the usual England that historical romances like to live in, there is not much else that I liked about this book. I felt that it had potential, but found that there were way too many conveniences.

It was almost ludicrous how many things just ended up “working out” despite no forethought or legitimate planning. And while I am not against “neat” endings this books ending was tied up so perfectly that it was practically factory sealed!

I normally love books by St.Martins Press but unfortunately this one didn't work for me. On the plus side, since I usually enjoy 80% of the books I read by this publisher, statistically speaking that means that the next book I read from them should be a five star....right?*fingers crossed*

I love historical romances but everything about this one fell flat for me. There was nothing to keep me reading and so I ended up marking the book as did-not-finish at 53%.