REVIEW: The Balkan Legends: Beyond the Crescent Sky by A. L. Sowards

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JayneB Reviews / Book Reviews14th century / Balkans / European-Historical / Greece / Historical / inspirational / midwife / Serbia / War / MilitaryNo Comments

Helena is a healer. Ivan is her prisoner. Caught in the crossfire of war, they must choose: loyalty or love.

The Balkans, 1383

A sudden conflict between Serbs and Greeks has forced Ivan to join his brother and fight with the Serbian army. On the battlefield, Ivan is wounded and captured by the hostile Greeks, becoming a hostage in a deadly bid for power.

Helena, a Greek midwife, is tasked to care for Ivan, a request that will test not only her healing abilities but also her loyalty. Though war has made her reluctant patient an enemy, she can’t help but forge a connection with him, yet falling in love with him could turn her world upside down and brand her a traitor.

As the Ottoman Empire extends its grip into the Balkans, events beyond their control force Ivan and Helena to choose between loyalty to their families and people or following the longings of their hearts.

CW/TW – death of mother and child during childbirth, mistreatment of a prisoner, mildly graphic battle scenes, injuries and treatment of such described, miscarriage.

Dear Ms. Sowards,

“Beneath the Crescent Sky” has one of my favorite of your heroes – young Ivan now grown to (nearly) manhood. When I read the blurb, I got Old Skool vibes from it, what with the healer heroine and these vibes carried all the way through this story of love, loss, and destiny. I was telling someone about your books and warning that you don’t shy away from putting characters through the wringer. I’m definitely going to need to read something light after this one.

Ivan Miroslavevic’s older brother has inherited the lands of their father – who was slain in battle years ago – while Ivan is to get the lands of their maternal grandfather. Knowing his time is growing short with his brother, Ivan rides out with his cousin to meet the Serbs as they return from their yearly time fighting for their Ottoman overlords. Fate takes a hand and Ivan ends up captured by Greeks who were tricked into fighting those they felt had attacked them.

Now stuck with his enemies, Ivan, who was badly wounded in battle and only saved due to the efforts of an apprentice midwife, longs for home and tries to escape. Each time he tries and fails it puts him in worse circumstances but he won’t give up. That is until Kyria Helena asks him to give her his word of honor not to. When danger arrives, Ivan – as a vassal of the Turks – could stand aside but he’s not going to let anyone else fall to the Turks if he can stop it.

Ivan finally realizes that perhaps God intended him to stay with Helena and as they love each other and the match would met dynastic expectations, life’s good, right? With a happy future together planned and everyone in agreement, their plans are thwarted – several ways actually. Can they finally be together as they long to be?

So years long separations and Something Else plus an oil wrestling bout later, Ivan and Helena do eventually get their HEA but wow, do we get put through all the many things that stand between this along with them.

Let’s start with how often poor Ivan gets injured. The guy becomes a pin cushion for swords and arrows as well as the target of the fists and boots of the guards who keep hauling him back from his escapes or getting angry that in his infection delirium, he won’t respond to their commands. Oh, and then there are the dank dungeons. Wounds and bruises and infections galore. Yikes. Ivan’s tough though and he’s not going to give up fighting. He will finally agree to give Helena his word of honor to quit. Helena has impressed him with her skills, her humanity, and her efforts on his behalf.

Helena’s social position has changed a lot, as she tells Ivan. With so many deaths of the rulers from battles, Helena’s sister’s husband is now the man who will be in charge of their Pronoia which gives Helena a bit of standing and importance. She admires the indomitable Serb Ivan even if he drives her to distraction with all his wounds and injuries. But he’s not just handsome. He tells her of his plans to improve the grad he is to inherit and she yearns to help him with his bold vision. Unfortunately, someone else sticks his oar into this. It’s all very, very Old Skool and and I mentally raged at it as I read it.

Helena and Ivan are separated because Ivan honorably does something to spare someone else that he loves. Actually a lot of people are very grateful to him for this. Yes, he did a great thing in suggesting and doing this but – gah! And then the Something Else happens and – double gah! I haven’t been tested like this by a book in ages and it took me straight back to the 80s/90s style of torturing your reader. Still Ivan and Helena are so darn heroic, so selfless and willing to sacrifice themselves for their people I couldn’t help but admire them even as I “GAH’d” and gnashed my teeth each time the HEA got pushed a bit further back. And then the Serbian priest said they had to wait a year longer.

The main inspirational aspect of the book comes from Ivan’s personal crisis of faith when he’s a prisoner. But religion is important to all of them even beyond not giving into the hated Turk – so important that it’s one of the Reasons for why Ivan agrees to the Last Thing. Still there was a point where I was yelling at Helena “Girl, grab your happiness! You’ve been selfless enough!”

Okay so yes, I’m so glad I read it. Yay that two such admirable people have found their way to each other. Also yay that the Serbian grads are – maybe for a while –

. And I hope that Danilo’s book will be a piece of cake, walk in the park compared to this although I know it won’t. I can hope. As another reviewer states, this one is a rollercoaster of emotions. The research is wonderful – especially the cesarean section stuff, the glossary is appreciated, and I’m looking forward to the last installment. B

~Jayne

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Jayne

Another long time reader who read romance novels in her teens, then took a long break before started back again about 25 years ago. She enjoys historical romance/fiction best, likes contemporaries, action- adventure and mysteries, will read suspense if there’s no TSTL characters and is currently reading more fantasy and SciFi.

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