Woman of a Thousand Secrets by Barbara Wood

Woman of a Thousand Secrets by Barbara Wood (2008).

I bought this book to take on a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula because it is the story of a young woman sent to the Yucatan to seek her parentage among the Maya and Mexica peoples of the pre-Columbian era.  Wood writes historical fiction, often set in prehistorical times.  This book, however, is not her best work.

Laden with overburdened prose, the story lurches along.  Tonina is sent away by her adoptive grandparents to search for a mysterious red flower that would cure her ill grandfather, if he were ill.  It is a ruse to send her to the mainland to seek out her real parentage.  She was found floating on the sea in a willow basket, and taken home to the island by the fisherman who found her.

Upon reaching the mainland, Tonina travels toward the west, south and east, gathering a group of fellow travelers as they go.  Eventually, they are a great crowd traveling through the jungle.  Included in the group is the ball player Kaan, who is a noble of another tribe (not Maya).  Kaan and Tonina seem destined to be together, but the author frustratingly keeps them apart, mostly due to the typical romantic misunderstanding. 

"He met her eyes with a turbulent expression, his thoughts and emotions in turmoil.  The way she had guided him into the water, the play of a smile about her mouth, the wet cotton tunic clinging to the contours of her breasts, the nipples alluringly hard -- [italics in book]

"But Tonina was not his destiny.  Their paths had been joined only temporarily.  Greater duties demanded his attention--the consortium in Mayapan, then Teotihuacan and Jade Sky's soul." p.228.

If you like this type of overwrought prose, a silly romance with a ridiculous secret, and illogical plot twists, go ahead.  Otherwise, skip it.