This is the story of a child called Silence who is born a daughter to Earl Cador and his lady wife but because of a degree by the King that girl children will never inherit, Silence is raised as a young boy. As Silence gets older and learns the truth about who he is, he dreams of becoming a knight only his father's fear of discovery holds him back until he runs away.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was a fine listen - the story is entertaining and there is an earnestness to the good old fashioned medieval tale of knighthood and virtue that lends a charm to the overall tale.

Silence's story is a unique one and it's hard at times to see him suffer from both the confusion of being in two places at once with a body that does not quite match how he feels about himself, and also the constant fear of what would happen if his truth was found out. But I loved how Silence proved himself, to his own self and to others, again and again whenever there was a doubt about his ability to be a knight and he was kind, talented, strong and brave for the entirety of the tale.

I think there were parts of this book that the pacing suffered a little bit and it feels like some of the things Silence really wants for himself take a long time to come around, and then when they do enter Evil Queen.

I did find the ending slightly depressing though (more so in character reactions rather than anything else) though there were good points made, and I loved Silence's final acceptance of who he was and how he wanted to live in the future.