I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, especially as I might not be the target audience (the Guardian described it as: 'the thinking woman's summer reading, chick lit with A levels for those with only a passing interest in getting a boyfriend')[1]. For a 'search for the Holy Grail' story, it's not deep into conspiracy theories, unlike The Da Vinci Code (which I've never managed to get more than a few chapters into). The parallel lives aspect is interesting and well done - there's enough linkage to keep the strands together without flicking back and forth so often that it gets confusing. The use of Occitan is a nice touch to make it clear when we're back in the past, but it's not overdone to the point where it gets annoying - just the occasional snippet here and there. It's refreshing to read a book where both the main protagonists and antagonists are women, and none of them spend much of their time simpering over men.

Overall, an enjoyable read, even at double the length of most novels (700 pages vs 350).

[1] www.theguardian.com/books/2005/aug/13/featuresreviews.guardianreview18