Christian Fiction Review: Dauntless by Dina L. Sleiman

Dina L. Sleiman basically provides a female version of Robin Hood in her charming historic romance, "Dauntless." Lady Merry Ellison continues to hide from King John with her band of children and teenagers. They steal only what they need to live in the forests, eventually becoming known as the local ghosts. But when Merry runs into her old lost flame, Timothy Grey, things change forever. Timothy has moved on with his life, seeking position and power, which will come even faster if he can capture the ghosts.

The story moves slowly, but once Timothy and Merry reunite, things become interesting. Sleiman's writing style is engaging and descriptive, and her characters (the story is told from four different points of view) have deep, interesting life issues to deal with. Merry deals with whether or not God would allows evil in the world. Timothy tries to balance justice with a god-honored king who rules unjustly.

Sleiman easily puts the religious themes in the context of the time without losing accuracy, and when her characters speak, they often use just enough old-fashioned English flair to make them believable. The author's Charismatic background (she attended Oral Roberts University) does come in to play maybe two short and hardly noticeable moments in the book, but they serve the plot of the book and will not make the orthodox conservative too uncomfortable.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.