The spunky characterizations and sprightly pacing of Dain's previous novel, To Burn
, are absent here, but Dain delivers on other fronts, offering protagonists who will pique readers' imaginations and an unconventional story line that plays out in 12th-century England. The first half of the novel moves like molasses as pious Elsbeth of Sunnandune, who longs for a quiet convent life, comes to terms with the fact that her calculating father has sold her in marriage to gorgeous and glib Hugh of Jerusalem. For his own purposes, Hugh is determined to make the marriage work, but Elsbeth is just as determined to prove that she's an unfit wife. Their battle of wills and words makes up the bulk of the novel and quickly grows tedious, but an element of intrigue spices up the final half, as do some tantalizing near-love scenes. The book's religious overtones may put off some readers and others will find themselves gnashing their teeth over Hugh's arrogance ("He had not yet met steel that he could not best, and so it was with the steely heart of his wife. Or would be"). However, Dain succeeds in capturing the atmosphere of the period and in creating protagonists whose fears, dreams and temperaments reflect the era. (Dec.)
