Of Daggers and Deception

14th Century Greece is not a place of peace. Rasheed knows this fact first hand. After being ostracized by his family for sharing an illicit kiss, then disowned and abandoned completely for converting to Christianity, he spent his years as a mercenary earning enough money to purchase a bathhouse with Eudocia and Gil, his two dearest friends, and settles down in hopes of a quieter life. That life comes to a screeching end, however, when Eudocia is kidnapped. Thrown back into the violent world of cutthroats, changing loyalties, and betrayal, will Rasheed ever find the peace he desires? Especially when the woman he must work with may be his most deadly enemy?

Take a dose of danger and excitement combined with twists and turns aplenty, then add a dash of romance and one has a rollicking great read! Set in an era that is rarely explored, Ms. Sowards does a masterful job of weaving history into the narrative so deftly that the reader is greatly enlightened while being immensely entertained. The romantic aspect is really the only downfall in this otherwise pitch-perfect offering. There is no more than a passing “telling” of the growing feelings between Rasheed and Cecilia in the three days they spent together. So little, in fact, that the declaration is suspect throughout the entire book.  One needs much more depth of understanding to believe the premise.  Still, if one can suspend belief just a bit, the journey to forever is a wild ride that satisfies nicely as that last page turns!

Ruth Lynn Ritter