I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books of the series, so this one was a bit of a let down for me.

Bernard Cornwell is great at battle scenes, and creating memorable characters. However I found this book not up to the same standards as the other two books. There was a lot less action, and while I really felt for the main character Thomas in the last book because his decisions resulted

Spoiler

in the death of his wife-to-be and child

, but this book I just felt annoyed with him. You would think he would learn from that. But nope.

In this book, after again making foolish decisions for the sake of ANOTHER woman, Thomas is described by another character as a prick-for-brains. I don't think it could be said any better.

The new love interest I found flat and uninteresting, and the "romance" was skipped over altogether. Not something I would normally complain about, but it just seemed that because she was pretty she was automatically Thomas' woman. No chemistry needed, just looks. He'd become a fugitive for her. Because she was pretty. He would sacrifice a friend. Because she was pretty. He would do anything for her. Because pretty.

Doesn't hurt that she also likes to take her clothes off and dance naked in a thunderstorm.

Bloody prick-for-brains.