A romance between a black-faced Border morris dancer and a black history teacher was never going to start on the easiest of footings. Martin is offended by the racist appearance of the morris team and although as a historian he understands Billy's desire to replicate the authentic look of the historical dancers, the issue it makes it harder for them to relate to each other.

Just to make things even more complicated, Martin is a Viking re-enactor and it's hard enough being a black Viking, without letting on that you're gay as well. This means that he keeps his relationship with Billy hidden from his friends, claiming that they're just mates. That's hard for Billy to cope with as it makes him feel rejected.

But, in spite of the fact that most people fail to notice Billy, Martin is the one who makes the effort to see the man behind the black face paint and to love him for himself.

This novel works for me on all fronts. It's a well written romance (I've read others by the same author, but this is my favourite so far). I got a little bit annoyed by the standard romance cliche near the end (there has to be something in any romance novel to make the happy ending seem uncertain), but not enough to spoil the book for me.

The biggest plus for me, is that the writer is a morris dancer and has also spend many years re-enacting historical warfare. She knows the cultures she's writing about and it shows. The description of the morris team in their mini-van was full of characters who felt just like people I know (being a morris dancer myself).

There are supporting characters who are women above a certain age. Yeah! And they're not just there to offer make cups of tea. Any writer who can work both a kantele (it's a Finnish lap harp) and tablet-weaving into her novel is always going to find a reader in me.

(I don't reach many romance novels, because all too often they insult my intelligence. Beecroft doesn't do that. I've yet to find a research error in one of her books) ( )