The possibility of an early female Pope is fascinating and well-supported in this well-researched novel. Unfortunately, while Cross provides richly-detailed insight into 9th century European life and Catholic politics, she is very weak in characterization and story.

I kept rolling my eyes at the cliches. Rather than showing characters through their actions, Cross would describe them for us using broad generalizations. One page had seven exclamation points in the dialogue from various church authorities. And how lame was it to have fortune-teller predict the fates of Joan and Gisla?

I felt like I was reading a second-rate romance novel interlaced with a rich historical nonfiction work. I would rather Cross had written a long magazine article about what her research had taught her about the possiblity of a female Pope.