The Centurion and the Queen

Author: Minnette Meador

Publisher: Resplendence Publishing

Genre: Historical fantasy/romance

Release Date: Out now

OK I admit, being a guy I’m not a big fan of romance novels. When I read the blurb for this book, however, I was very much intrigued and just had to review it. Now I’m glad I did.

         It’s 6.0. AD in England - the era of the English warrior queen, Boadiga (or Boadicea as scholars call her) – and a very shaky truce exists between the various Breton tribes and the Romans. The truce ends when the Romans brutally flog and rape Boadiga and her daughters and the queen seeks revenge. Delia, a niece of the queen and who is due to be a queen of her own tribe, is captured by the Romans but while in captivity, she falls in love with a strict Centurion named Marius. He too falls for Delia and will do anything to protect her but there’s a couple of obstacles in the way of their relationship. Delia is a Breton and soon to be queen and Marius is a Roman and by loving him, she betrays her people. Torn between his sense of duty and his feelings for Delia, Marius is a Roman and to him, it’s unthinkable to love her. There’s also division in Marius’ ranks and with the threat of Boadiga marching towards him with thousands of warriors at her command hell-bent on death and destruction, will this be the final nail in Delia and Marius’ relationship or will they survive?  

              I must say, I really, really enjoyed this on a number of levels. First and foremost, it was because of the writing. Minnette has an intriguing way of setting the scene and getting inside the character’s heads and letting us experience their emotions. One could almost feel Marius’ inner torment because he’s divided between his sense of duty and his love for Delia and knows that treachery lurks around every corner. Delia is also handled very well and we can empathise with her as she is in the hands of the barbaric Romans and her love for Marius, but she too has a sense of duty to her people and knows the hatred it will bring to be in love with a Roman centurion.