This was a bit more of a slog for me, alot of it was politics and battles. I had trouble following the geography of England and Wales that I don't know very well and I did stop keeping track of which noble family was on which side. However, it is still a compelling story with interesting, slightly larger-than-life, characters and I look forward to what happens in the next two books. And I am keeping myself from doing a spot read on the history of independent Wales!

In the second volume of the Brothers of Gwynedd quartet, Llywelyn is much closer to achieving his goal of a united Wales. Meanwhile, Henry III's rule in England is falling apart somewhat, and Englishmen are divided along generational lines: old supporters support the old king and the status quo, while the younger supporters side with Lord Edward and desire reform in how the kingdom is ruled. Any strife in England will have a knock-on effect on Wales, but Llywelyn will defend only what is his own. And on top of this, Llywelyn's supporters think it's high time he get married and start having sons to continue his princely line.

I found this installment harder to get into than the first one, but it ended up shaking out fairly well. Seeing everything through the eyes of Samson, Llywelyn's trusted right-hand man, continues to be a useful device, and Pargeter manages to get him where he needs to be in a narratively convincing manner. I did feel that I would have liked to brush up on Henry III a bit, just to remind myself who the major players on the English side were (he's a monarch about whom I know relatively little). ( )