Border Bride

August 1, 2002
Conwy ap Ifan was the only man Enid versen Blethyn ever loved. Conwy, a fatherless plowboy, and Enid, a lord's daughter, grew up together and fell in love, but after one night of passion, Conwy left Enid to satisfy his thirst for adventure. Years later, after fighting in the Crusades, Conwy returns to Wales traveling the countryside as a bard but really working as an agent for Empress Maud. While searching for border chief Macsen ap Gryffith, Conwy stumbles across Enid, who is preparing for Macsen's arrival herself. The recently widowed Enid plans on accepting Macsen's forthcoming marriage proposal because the border chief will provide her and her children, including a son of Conwy's he doesn't know about, with a safe and secure home, but all of Enid's careful plans for her future fall into disarray once she sees the charming Conwy again. Excellent characterization and a nicely detailed Welsh setting give this medieval an intriguing flavor readers will find hard to resist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)