Defy the Eagle by Lynn Bartlett

Title: Defy the Eagle
Author: Lynn Bartlett
ISBN: 0373288077
Publisher: Worldwide Romance
First Published: July1986
Pages: 635

Rome/Celtic Historical Romance

Enemies by birth. Lovers by destiny. Jilana had come to Caddaric in a dream, with a whisper of ethereal beauty that vanished when he awoke. Even as the bold warrior battled to save his beloved land from the Roman invaders, he looked for the woman who haunted his every waking moment. Until the morning, he finally saw his violet-eyed angel -- and recognized that his torment had just begun. For Jilana was one of the hated enemies Caddaric had vowed to destroy.
This book is multi layered, with many different locations and situations, which the two main characters go through. One does identify with both of them, see things from both their sides and indeed understand why they are both so intractable.

This is the story of Jilana, a young Roman woman who lives an unremarkable life with her family in Venta Icenorum, until she meets a young Centurion -Caddaric, whilst riding in the woods near her home. The Centurion is in reality an Iceni warrior who is scouting for his Queen - Boadicea and Jilana is swept up in events well documented by history.

Jilana intervenes in the public flogging of the Iceni Ruler and brings herself to the attention of early Briton's Governor as well as the Iceni community. As the uprising begins, whilst Jilana's life is spared due to the mercy she showed Boadicea, she is enslaved and given to Caddaric as a reward for his part in taking the City. Her family murdered, Jilana tries to find a way to survive, adapt and resist her growing attraction to her hated "enemy" Caddaric.

This is a long novel but nowhere is it boring. Jilana is a strong and likeable girl who is present at all the historical milestones of this uprising right up the final defeat of the Iceni and one can feel all the emotions along with some surprising twists.

One reasons I loved this book is because of its setting - the Roman Empire. The romance in this book is awesome, poignant and very beautiful.