WILD SAVAGE STARS

Magic, passion, and secrets intertwine in the second installment of a historical fantasy trilogy based upon the legends of Tristan and Isolde.

The kingdom of Kernyv may no longer be an enemy, but Branwen remains torn between love and hate. She will scheme, lie, and even kill to conceal the liaison between her once-beloved Tristan and Eseult, her cousin and best friend, all to preserve the peace contingent on Eseult’s marriage to King Marc. But Kernyv faces greater threats than one treasonous affair…including Branwen’s increasingly ungovernable powers. Branwen remains an unlikable but magnificently charismatic protagonist; this title wisely focuses more on interesting new characters, such as kind, decent Marc and roguish Ruan—Branwen’s partner in bickering and bed—than on her angst-ridden triangle with self-flagellating Tristan and petulant Eseult. Perez (Sweet Black Waves, 2018) brings extensive scholarship to building a richly detailed world, varied in language, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. Personal, political, and economic rivalries lead to graphic violence and gruesome death; even as the patriarchy demands that peace be “made with women’s bodies,” the relentless tension finally explodes in devastating betrayals and bloody carnage. As Branwen’s every sacrifice apparently falls to ruin, readers will feel compelled to follow her to the next volume.

Come for the torrid romance, stay for the dramatic intrigue and fierce feminism.