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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This book was so good, I wound up buying Ms. Crosby's other Medieval romances immediately after finishing it!
I don't know why I had such a hard time understanding it made more sense the second time around
(more like 3.5)
I almost gave up when I realized the main character’s name was Blaec. I still read it as Blech not Black. Other than that, a decent representative of the genre. Zero originality.
I almost gave up when I realized the main character’s name was Blaec. I still read it as Blech not Black. Other than that, a decent representative of the genre. Zero originality.
I really enjoyed this. I'm starting to appreciate Crosby's writing the more I experience it.
The narrator did a really good job with the male voices and an okay job with the female voices. As well as any man could, I suppose. Has to be hard.
This is yet another medieval that takes place in England in the period after the reign of William the Conqueror, when his heirs are screwing up left and right and mostly trying to kill one another and split up the kingdom. In this novel, England is ruled by Stephen, William's grandson.
I can see why those first few post-Conqueror generations are often used in medieval HRs, as the political atmosphere allowed for many nobles to in-fight and basically do their own thing without worrying (much) about what the king would think. Particularly if they were North of London.
Not sure how historically accurate this portrayal of the times was, but I enjoyed it - which is generally my yardstick when reading historical novels about times/places I'm no expert on.
Anyway, as is common in the HR's covering this era - we have two feuding noble families with claims on one another's lands. The heroine, Dominique, is offered up by her brother as a "peace offering" to wed the rival Earl of Drakewood. Her brother, William, is actually a scheming, twisted piece of work who plans to use the marriage as a way of eventually taking over Drakewood and ridding himself of it's Earl and his twin.
Sibling and family ties play a huge part in the novel. The Earl, Graeham and his fraternal twin Blaec are especially close. Blaec was the first born and should have been heir, but his father suspected him of being another man's child since he looked very different from himself and his brother. Fraternal twins were not so well understood, it seemed.
Graeham is eaten up with guilt over the situation, even though it was their father who was at fault. He's an easy-going type of man and has no desire to be the Earl. It's a burden to him and a source of guilt. So, he basically allows Blaec to be the de-facto ruler of the Keep since Blaec is a bad ass alpha warrior-type, known as 'the Dragon'.
However, Blaec is just as devoted to Graeham and therefore does his best to protect Graeham and his interests. It's kind of funny and bittersweet to see them work against one another by always looking out for the other's interest and not their own.
In contrast the heroine's family is just as troubled, but nowhere near as close. I won't spoil much, but basically it's a miracle that Dominique was not twisted from being raised in such a family. I think the only thing that saved her was being mostly ignored/neglected by her brother. This allows her to be ignorant of all of his shady and twisted dealings and maintain a deep-seated belief that he is a good man. Her naivete regarding him is somewhat exasperating at times, but I can forgive someone who can't see family for what they are. That's sometimes very hard to do, especially if you were close as young children. It's hard to separate a beloved childhood playmate from the less than savory adult that person has become. I've been there. Plus, some of William's faults were things the average sister would never imagine about their own brother.
The crux of the story is that when Graeham sees how is brother is immediately taken with the heroine, he decides to put into motion his plan to make things the way they should be and continually pushes the two together. I felt really sorry for Blaec though, because he doesn't know this and hates himself for coveting his twin's betrothed. It may also irritate some that he hates/blames Dominique for "tempting" him. That seemed to fit the mindset of the times though. Women of that time were often painted as another Eve out to tempt a man to ruin. Dominique even internalizes that mindset herself, especially since her own mother was once unfaithful to her father.
Blaec was a very yummy alpha though, IMHO. He was pretty hateful to the heroine at first, but he makes up for it. He's one of the alphas you'd actually want IRL rather than one you just want to read about. Crosby seems to excel at those. At first it bugged me, because I expect a certain thing (*cough* bodice ripper *cough*) from an HR written pre-2K, but I've come to appreciate her heroes more and more. There was one scene that is bodice ripper like in that it appears to begin as a forced seduction, but IMO it doesn't stay that way long enough for me to tag it as such. YMMV, of course.
The narrator did a really good job with the male voices and an okay job with the female voices. As well as any man could, I suppose. Has to be hard.
This is yet another medieval that takes place in England in the period after the reign of William the Conqueror, when his heirs are screwing up left and right and mostly trying to kill one another and split up the kingdom. In this novel, England is ruled by Stephen, William's grandson.
I can see why those first few post-Conqueror generations are often used in medieval HRs, as the political atmosphere allowed for many nobles to in-fight and basically do their own thing without worrying (much) about what the king would think. Particularly if they were North of London.
Not sure how historically accurate this portrayal of the times was, but I enjoyed it - which is generally my yardstick when reading historical novels about times/places I'm no expert on.
Anyway, as is common in the HR's covering this era - we have two feuding noble families with claims on one another's lands. The heroine, Dominique, is offered up by her brother as a "peace offering" to wed the rival Earl of Drakewood. Her brother, William, is actually a scheming, twisted piece of work who plans to use the marriage as a way of eventually taking over Drakewood and ridding himself of it's Earl and his twin.
Sibling and family ties play a huge part in the novel. The Earl, Graeham and his fraternal twin Blaec are especially close. Blaec was the first born and should have been heir, but his father suspected him of being another man's child since he looked very different from himself and his brother. Fraternal twins were not so well understood, it seemed.
Graeham is eaten up with guilt over the situation, even though it was their father who was at fault. He's an easy-going type of man and has no desire to be the Earl. It's a burden to him and a source of guilt. So, he basically allows Blaec to be the de-facto ruler of the Keep since Blaec is a bad ass alpha warrior-type, known as 'the Dragon'.
However, Blaec is just as devoted to Graeham and therefore does his best to protect Graeham and his interests. It's kind of funny and bittersweet to see them work against one another by always looking out for the other's interest and not their own.
In contrast the heroine's family is just as troubled, but nowhere near as close. I won't spoil much, but basically it's a miracle that Dominique was not twisted from being raised in such a family. I think the only thing that saved her was being mostly ignored/neglected by her brother. This allows her to be ignorant of all of his shady and twisted dealings and maintain a deep-seated belief that he is a good man. Her naivete regarding him is somewhat exasperating at times, but I can forgive someone who can't see family for what they are. That's sometimes very hard to do, especially if you were close as young children. It's hard to separate a beloved childhood playmate from the less than savory adult that person has become. I've been there. Plus, some of William's faults were things the average sister would never imagine about their own brother.
The crux of the story is that when Graeham sees how is brother is immediately taken with the heroine, he decides to put into motion his plan to make things the way they should be and continually pushes the two together. I felt really sorry for Blaec though, because he doesn't know this and hates himself for coveting his twin's betrothed. It may also irritate some that he hates/blames Dominique for "tempting" him. That seemed to fit the mindset of the times though. Women of that time were often painted as another Eve out to tempt a man to ruin. Dominique even internalizes that mindset herself, especially since her own mother was once unfaithful to her father.
Blaec was a very yummy alpha though, IMHO. He was pretty hateful to the heroine at first, but he makes up for it. He's one of the alphas you'd actually want IRL rather than one you just want to read about. Crosby seems to excel at those. At first it bugged me, because I expect a certain thing (*cough* bodice ripper *cough*) from an HR written pre-2K, but I've come to appreciate her heroes more and more. There was one scene that is bodice ripper like in that it appears to begin as a forced seduction, but IMO it doesn't stay that way long enough for me to tag it as such. YMMV, of course.