Medieval romance | Susan Baganz

Rachel James hit one out of the ballpark with her debut novel, The Forgotten Princess of Emetia. But she follows up with a unique and wonderful sequel in The La st Princess Meigen.

Princess Alena is a widow with a young son living at the mercy of her tyrannical father-in-law, the King of Meigen. Much to her chagrin she’s been offered as the price of an alliance with another kingdom. She departs, leaving her son behind. Escorted by Ryce the Warrior and Sherwin, a handsome physician, she finds herself developing an affinity for the medical man. As they journey to Elmetia to meet the king and encounter various trials there, Alena finds herself in love with Sherwin even though she’s duty bound to marry the king. Can she obey the order of her father-in-law and risk the dangers of such an action to follow her heart?

Much like J.R.R. Tolkien, James takes the reader to another time and place with a medieval bent except that Ms. James takes us to real-time and place in the early 600’s AD of Britannia. She accomplishes her magic without elves, wizards, dwarves or mystical creatures. With intense research to give her story authenticity she takes what little is known from that time and tells a fictional tale of romance and adventure to please any lover of the genre. Another wonderful story by a fabulous author.

The Forgotten Princess of Elmetia by Rachel James is a Medieval romance with plenty of action. The book takes place in the 600’s AD of Great Britain in the region of Elmetia where Princess Teagan as a girl finds escape from the carnage of her father’s kingdom in taking on the identity of a servant. She is transported to another land where she serves an evil king, all the while believing that not only had her father perished in the battle, but her older brother, Niall, as well.

Teagan comes across information that her brother is still alive and a warrior, Ryce is being commissioned to kill him. She escapes to try to seek out her brother and warn him. Unfortunately a series of misadventures occur when she is rescued by Ryce and his side-kick Sherwin, then captured and rescued and . . . well, I don’t want to give away spoilers!

Teagan is an intrepid young woman and devoted to her family but even finding her home as royalty again, she realizes that she didn’t gain the freedom she thought she had and struggles with her role as Princess in a new land. Learning to trust Ryce, the Saxon warrior who was initially her enemy adds an interesting wrinkle to the story as well as Ryce and Sherwin’s struggle to understand the God of the Bible as being superior to multiple gods.

I was amazed at the amount of research this author put into her story and I believe that women, young and old will enjoy the tale of this Princess and her struggle not only for freedom for her and her people, but also for her own identity and for love, will grip the heart of any princess-tale loving little girl who still lives in many women.

I look forward to reading the sequel when it comes out next year!