Lionheart

Another solid historical novel from Penman; it's a very pleasant way to learn history but found some of it (mostly love scenes) too inventive for my taste. Bonus points for the thoroughness of the author's note though; she's wonderfully transparent about what's completely made up.

Wow..just finished this book and I am almost at a loss for words. I just happened to stumble on this book by accident. I saw it at Barnes & Noble and it seemed like a book that I would like! Man..I LOVED it.
Recently I have discovered a huge nerdiness for medieval European history. Part of this is a fascination since childhood, but most of it is from read the Game of Thrones books. Those books quickly became the best books I had ever read. I loved all the political intrigue; kings and lords fighting and pressing claims for the crown and what not. Well..I started to learn that most of that stuff happened in history.
Immediately when I began Lionheart I knew this was going to be one of my favorites of all time. It had it all: sieges, epic battles, TONS of political intrigue, and surprisingly a lot of Christian overtones (clearly, because it is about the third crusade haha..). What I loved the most about this book is the accuracy. Penman used contemporary accounts to make her story all the more compelling. It's amazing how she breathed life into these historical figures and made them into lovable and, oftentimes, absolutely vile characters.
One of the best books I've ever read and I CAN'T WAIT to start reading When Christ and His Saints Slept by the same author.