Branwen is the daughter of a royal house on the edge of Saxon territory. When her brother is killed, she vows to get revenge on the evil Saxons who raided their lands. But her father sends her to the South to be married and strengthen their alliances with neighboring lords. On the way south, Branwen  is delayed at the grand castle of a much richer prince, and his sophisticated wife and daughters think Branwen is wild and uncouth. She wanders the forest around the castle and meets a mysterious woman with magical powers who promises to make Branwen into a formidable warrior. Branwen also stumbles across a boy who might or might not be a Saxon spy.

I liked this book pretty well. The story is interesting, and I liked Branwen's character. She is really fierce and courageous, but she has a soft heart as well. I thought it was a little silly how she could suddenly/magically fight really well after only a few days of training with a sword. But I guess that's the magic of her destiny and all that. 

The story is really really violent. Lots of descriptions of battle and blood and gore and corpses and severed heads and severed limbs and gouged eyes. Pretty gruesome. I probably would have given it three stars if the violence hadn't been quite so nasty. I'm sure it's historically accurate, but I didn't need quite so much description. 

To see exactly what violent content is in this book, check out the book on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/warrior-princess-warrior-princess-1-1060986

The best part of the plot was the intrigue between Branwen and the boy who might be a spy. The suspense was really good, because we can't quite figure out whether or not to trust this boy. Is he lying? Is he innocent? It was a really interesting story line!

I also liked Branwen's character development as she learns to deal with the snide remarks of the elegant princesses and their mother. Branwen thinks their prim court manners are silly, but they think Branwen is rude and uncivilized. Gradually Branwen begins to realize that they aren't really that different; they just have different expectations of what is normal.

I was content to read this book as a standalone and not continue with the rest of the series. It ends with Branwen riding off into the sunset to go on new magical adventures. There are still some unanswered questions, and the Saxons are still a threat, but it was a good enough resolution to the immediate crisis that I don't feel the need to keep reading.