Dark Champion

I wished I had read this book before reading Lord of Midnight, however, even though I did read the second book before this one, I found Dark Champion throughly enjoyable. JB captured the views of that time period perfectly and makes one appreciate the freedom women have this day and age. Although I LOVE the medieval period, I would not like being a woman during that age. Tyron could appear at times to be a hard and unforgiving man but he does appreciate Imogen's independent spirit. Imogen herself grows up during the novel...from pampered daughter to strong and independent woman. Or as independent as the time period allows. A very well written book. Read this one BEFORE you read Lord of Midnight though.

I loved the heroine in this novel - she goes from a pampered daughter to a besieged orphan who must become a leader for her people. She develops into such a strong female character, I think this is my favorite historical romance ever. Imogen has to marry a husband strong enough to keep her home and people secure, but she makes sure to retain most of the rights to her wealth. The most memorable incident was when Imogen ends up knocking her temporarily disabled husband unconscious so he can't fight his enemy and she has the enemy killed, even though she knows this will get her into deep trouble with the king later (it's an act of love, as her husband is too injured to fight well). She cleverly talks herself out of trouble with the king, for the most part, and her husband knows it was an act of love so does his best to punish her (as the king demands) as lightly as possible. I've read most of Jo Beverley's work and this is by far my favorite. 'The Shattered Rose' was pretty good, the other two in the same era ('Lord of Midnight' and 'Lord of My Heart') were not as interesting. There is a Regency novel with a decendent of Imogen and FitzRoger, can't recall that title, but it wasn't nearly as good as 'Dark Champion'. Anyway, this is one novel I'll read over and over again.

I don't usually like to read medievals - if they are realistically portrayed they are too dark, and if they are not realistically portrayed - well, I don't like unrealistic books. But I love Jo Beverley, so I tried this one out. As far as being realistically portrayed - that's a big yes! As far as being a dark novel - that's a yes, too. There are some descriptions that are so graphic... well, I don't usually go for that, but like I said, I love Jo Beverley, and this was only a small part of the book... It was worth it. This is a very realistic novel in every way, and Ms. Beverly does not shy away from describing every aspect of medieval life, whether that is something that will offend modern sensibilities or not. In fact, Jo Beverley doesn't shy away from exploring any issue at all, as you can tell from reading some of her other novels. One of the issues touched on in this book is the role that religion played in midieval life, and the mindset of the people who lived in those times. A large part of the plot hinges on the priest and the way his mindset affected the characters in the story, and that was absolutely realistically portrayed, and not only that but I have read many books set in the same era that bypassed this aspect of their lives totally. It's hard to understand how you can write any kind of medieval book, consider yourself an historical writer, and completely ignore the religious aspect, but many other writers do do that. Not Jo Beverley. What I like about Jo Beverley is what I perceive to be her emotional honesty - this is someone who is very comfortable in her skin, and she is therefore able to examine all the human emotions - whether good, or bad - but never with a bias, she is always fair. She doesn't say - this emotion is good, this one is bad - rather, she brings up her characters feelings, their thoughts, and she presents them to the reader - you make your own judgments. I really like that in a writer. I have one minor complaint to make about this book, however. Jo Beverley writes with a certain respect for her audience - she's not one of those writers to rehash what she wrote three pages ago in case the reader missed it - she assumes the reader is intelligent and did not miss it. She also does not spend a lot of time explaining why her characters do or do not do something - she assumes that you will pick that up on your own, as you read the story. That's good, but also it has its drawbacks. In this book, for instance, the whole last episode of the story - where the h/h are separated for a while - I have to admit I was somewhat confused about the whole story - as to why they both acted the way they did. Make no mistake, where Jo Beverley is concerned, there is always a *good* reason for each of her characters actions - it's just that she didn't explain it, and I spent three days racking my brains trying to figure it out. On the other hand, this aspect of Jo Beverley's writing (that she doesn't explain ever

I loved this book as I did so many of Beverly's others. What more can I say beyond what the other reviewer's have? Well, I would like to add that if you haven't read her Malloren series you are missing something amazing. The latest book in the series 'A most unsuitable man' is about the descendant of the hero and heroine in this novel. Marvellous stuff. Can't wait for more . . .

Jo Beverly's Dark Champion is a delightful book. I enjoyed reading it and couldn't wait to reach the end. The story is creative and the characters are exciting and unpredictable. Immogen of Carrisford desperately needs to save her home. After the unexpected death of her father, her castle is seized by a ruthless warlord. To save herself and her people she must find a champion.Tyron FitzRoger of Cleve steps in to save Immogen and her castle. He has his own agenda mainly to marry Immogen. Immogen considers him to be a strong arm who is being paid to save her castle.The relationship between the two moves back and forth with Immogen making desperate attempts to maintain her freedom while Tyron skillfully manuevers her into a marriage agreement. The two face certain peril throughout the story as they try to ellude attempts to drive them apart.Dark Champion is an excellent historical romance. It has all of the drama you would expect during the reign of King Henry of England.