Published: November 2016, Head of Zeus Genre: Fiction Themes: history, the orient, romance, travel, horses, revenge My rating: ❤❤❤❤ This is a lump of a book that turns out to be three books joined together once you start reading. There are 699 pages to navigate, and the story takes you through the years 1298 to 1327, moving steadily across half the world as you join the main characters on their epic journey from Cambaluc in the far east, right round to Cornwall in England. It turns out to be quite a history lesson and I felt that Dana Stabenow had done all sorts of research before putting this together. On the flip side of that, I also felt that she wanted to leave no piece of researched knowledge behind, and the story is a bit like Forrest Gump in the way the characters brush up against all the important elements of history as they continue their journey. The heroine is Johanna, who we meet as a child but she quickly grows into a beautiful woman who seems to exc...