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Belinda Thinks: Aelyn is a legendary K'ymaeli warrior and leader of men, known as the woman who fights with her left hand. A priest foretold, at her birth, that she would save her country and its people by ending the war that ravaged her country. Although she doesn't know exactly how this will happen, Aelyn's mental and physical strength is most certainly capable of succeeding at that task.
Things change, however, when she is captured by Dramarian - enemy - soldiers. What ensues is a tangle of emotions and politics that Aelyn must learn to understand and control, both for her happiness and the safety of their countries. Her status as "enemy" soldier makes her a prisoner. As a warrior-woman in a country which views females as weak and undeserving, she is even more the outsider.
But her experience as a prisoner of war opens her eyes to the kind of people she has been fighting all her life. Myren, the King's sister, looks after her and learns to trusts her. Kristram saves her from a potentially deadly situation. The Dramarian King, Gareth, cares for her when she is injured and tired. As much as she hates them with a power formed by a bloody history and deadly war, she learns to love the Dramarians. Similarly, her presence teaches the Dramarian men that women can be brave, intelligent and well-trained. It is an exchange of ideas that could potentially lead to peace, but Aelyn has to make a choice - her heart or her country. I loved the way this story was not just a romance, or a fantasy, but also a story of women, people and peace. It is well written and well paced, with a very engaging and singular main character/narrator. She's strong, she's capable, and she can save her people. If that's not an independent woman, well, I don't know what is.
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