Golden Palaces

The Royal Pavilions #2

by Linda Lee Chaikin

Clothed with the promise of salvation, the knights of the first crusade fight gallantly to reclaim the Holy Land-but only their courage can save them from the infidels.

Helena of the Nobility has long resigned herself to the control of her aunt Lady Irene, a woman for whom betrayal is commonplace. Having banished Helen's mother from Constantinople, Irene stalks the palace courtyard while Helena secretly plots her escape. Determined to dissolve any thoughts of a union between Helena and her son Philip, Irene is now intent on securing Helen's hand in marriage to a Muslim prince.

Helpless to elude the powerful Lysander family, Helena turns to one man she believes loves her enough to prevent her demise. But Philip Lysander is no match for the cunning temptations Irene plants in his path. Betrayed and heartbroken, Helena has no other choice but to turn to the rebel Tancred Redwan, a man in whose heart she fears and in whose honor she finds safety.

When war and treachery threaten to tear them apart, only his sword offers a way of escape . . .

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical, Christian, Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

About the author

Linda Chaikin is a Christian fiction author with a focus on historical fiction. She sometimes publishes using the name L.L. Chaikin.

Linda was the youngest of 10 children and her father died shortly after she was born. She wrote her first full-length novel with pen and paper at the age of 14 - this novel was later rewritten as Wednesday's Child, part of the Day to Remember series.

She met her husband, Steve, in a Bible study, and they were married 6 months later. They both went to Multnomah School for the Bible, now known as Multnomah Bible College and Biblical Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Telisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like the author didn't want to finish the other characters. Phillip, Kalid, Sinan, Bardus - all of them feel half done, half written.
While she tells you that Helena wants to marry Phillip she never shows you anything of what Helena sees in him, or feels for him. Its very cold, stated facts that don't actually connect you to the drama.

That is the reason for the lower stars, I do enjoy the book. Love feeling like I've traveled and know more about the crusades that I did before - which I adore.

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sword and Scimitars was a childhood favorite and even rereading it is still an enjoyable experience. Now that the internet has developed to the point that Golden Palaces can be found and purchased, it does not do justice to the memory of the original. Political twists and turns abound and overwrought emotions play out in the characters but nothing catches the reader as inspired. All of the machination Chaikin puts into play are obvious to all but the characters. Couple that with the classic middle book tragedy of being a setup for book three and mediocrity ensues. It can be said that the wrap up of Golden Palaces wraps up more loose ends than expected and points the third book into a different direction than should be anticipated.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story! I love Linda Chaikin because each of her books and characters are so different. I had no idea where she was taking this story or how she was going to manage to get the guy and girl together. Amazing setting, historically it seems accurate, and the characters are very memorable. I would recommend this to anyone who like adventure and romance. If you don't like romance, don't read this series.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I read this and the first book a long time ago, and I remember liking them a lot. (I read them twice.) I never knew there was a third book, so now I'll have to see if I can find all three of them!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, but it leaves you hanging.