A Journey of the Heart by Catherine M. Wilson

The Murder After: Maara woke up in Elen's bed holding a knife and covered in blood, next to the body of her husband.

Love Hurts: Merin and Tamnet, long before the story even begins.

Loners Are Freaks: What most of the other warriors think of outsider Maara.

Averted with Vintel, who, despite being the war leader of Merin's house, is about one step short of Ax-Crazy, according to Maara.

I Have Your Wife: A weird, non-villainous, voluntary example as Tamras offers herself up as collateral if Maara should betray the House as some of the other warriors suspect she will.The Hero's Journey: The overreaching arc of the three books.Guile Hero: Tamras, especially by the third book.Friends with Benefits: Tamras and Sparrow, by the end of the first book.Feminist Fantasy: Low Fantasy at most, but the elements are still there.The child survives and is raised by the father with the aid of another recent mother to wet nurse.

Death by Childbirth: Happens to a very minor character to tie into the themes of motherhood, loss, and love.

Dark Is Not Evil: People who are dark-haired or skin are revered by people who 'hold the old ways' but distrusted by others.

Non-warriors seem to be a bit more equal-oppurtunity. The main couple is Tamras and Maara, and of the warriors who do end up with men, only Namet is portrayed as having been deeply in love rather than having an heir.

Cast Full of Gay: The female warriors all seem to tend this way, perhaps because pregnancy would require them to retire from the job as motherhood is sacred.

Maara also counts, when her backstory is revealed.

Broken Bird: Sparrow, who's quite friendly but sometimes comes across as a bit of a Stepford Smiler thanks to all the abuse she's taken.

The author calls it 'epic, not fantasy', but it takes many elements of mythology into account. Set during the Bronze Age, it's an adventure story wound up with honor, love, and following one's heart.

Beginning with the words 'all the women of my family had gone to war', narrator Tamras tells the tale of how she is fostered in the house of a neighboring Lady and comes to understand the path of a warrior. Wilson that includes The Warrior's Path, A Journey of the Heart, and A Hero's Tale.

A Journey of the Heart by Catherine M. Wilson