Dark Angels

the reign of King Charles II and his wife, his lovers, and their courtiers, on 17th century England and France. Hopefully very based in history, it was a fascinating intrigue that kept me interested until near the end. Sometimes it would be interesting to see the behind-the-scenes machinations at work and be reminded how the role of women was so limited. I actually found the Queen to be the most interesting. She certainly was the only character that had some sense of self-awareness and realization. the main character's pride nearly made me leave the book completely. Still, very fascinating, for those interested in this era.

Before there ever was a Duke or Duchess of Tamworth, there was Alice Verney, daughter of Baron Verney and member of the court of Charles II. Knowing her from her later years, this is a fascinating look at who she started out being and why she became the person we knew as the Dowager Duchess of Tamworth.

This book also shares the same political intrigues and maneuverings as Koen's earlier novels. We meet historical characters; tragic Marie Henriette, the Duchess d' Orleans, aka Madame; the outrageous and obnoxious Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, and her new rival for the affections of Charles II, Louise de Keroualle.

A major player, previously seen only in memories, walks onto the stage in the form of Richard Saylor, the future show more Duke of Tamworth. Previously known to us only as crones, his sisters Elizabeth and Louisa have been transformed into lovely young maidens. Their mother, Jerusalem Saylor, is introduced and has become my favorite new character in this novel. This wonderful woman seems to be a throwback to an earlier time, an old fashioned Celtic pagan in a world obsessed with which form of Christianity to embrace, a 17th century Boudicca treading carefully among the Catholics and Protestants. I could read more about her.

This book wraps up the early phase of the life of the Duchess of Tamworth; it would be wonderful to read a book or two that bridges the gap between this novel and Through A Glass Darkly. I can see either Alice or Richard (or Perryman or Jerusalem Saylor)giving Henri Ange his final comeuppance in a sequel. show less

I read Through a Glass Darkly and Now Face to Face many years ago when they first came out. They were very good historical novels. When I got my ARC I was very excited and started reading it on the way home. Perhaps my expectations were too high. while I liked this book and could see how Alice developed into the strong character that she became in the sequels, this book fell a little flat. It clearly is setting the stage for another book, but that doesn't explain the flatness of this one. Alice and Richard are clearly stand ins for John and Sarah Chruchill and as such they should be simply fascinating. John and Sarah Churchill were one of the great couples of history. They were a love match and equally ambitious. They helped to make show more England the world power it became. The problem with this book is given such rich historical material on which to draw the book remains a little flat. I was left with the question what now? The biggest problem is that the motivations for Alice are not clearly explained and we never really get a sense of her ambition. Richard's motivations are equally obscure in this book. This is disappointing because the real historical characters were so fascinating and lived in such a fascinating time. This book does have its flaws but it is still a wonderful book. I finished reading it and since I know a little about this historical time period I can say that it had no major historical flaws. If you like historical novels or historical romance novels this is going to be a fine book for you to spend your time chewing through. It is filled with characters that you can come to love and care about set in a time and place that is full of intrigue, romance, and historical significance when England is on the cusp of becoming a great power. As a part of a sequence of books about the same family this is a good addition to the series. If you read and like books like the "Outlander" series by Gabeldon you will like this series of books as well. show less

Set in the Restoration court of Charles II, Dark Angels tells the tale of young Alice Verney, a headstrong woman determined to be a duchess. Already betrayed by her first fiance, Alice plots her revenge in a court teaming with poison, passion, and politics. She encounters the handsome young Richard Saylor, a soldier with promise, and while a mutual attraction slowly forms between the two, Alice remains dedicated to becoming a duchess. While I always enjoy historical fiction set during the Restoration period, I did not find the characters of Dark Angels very engaging or well-developed. Alice is nearly unlikable at times, especially in how she treats her friend Barbara and her refusal to mend bridges with Caro. Despite this, Dark Angels show more remains an interesting look at Restoration England and the fascinating cast of characters found during this period. show less

I thought this was a fine piece of historical fiction. It is full of triumph, tragedy, romance, and intrigue. It did take me some time to get comfortable with it. You're almost immediately introduced to this large cast of characters, and it takes a while to remember who is who and how they relate to the story. Alice is quite the complex character. You want to like her, because it's through her eyes that you see most things, but Koen makes her hard to like. Alice is intelligent, devious, and incredibly selfish, and pulls the strings of most that she meets. It is nice to see her grow towards the end of the story, but unfortunate that it takes tragedy for it to happen. There's a lot of loose ends when the book finishes, I'm curious to see show more they are ever resolved. I've already ordered Through a Glass Darkly, the sequel (though it was written first). show less

I was disappointed in this book. I had high expectations for it because I loved Through a Glass Darkly. I didn’t like Now Face to Face Quite as much, but I had high homes for Dark Angels nonetheless.

Dark Angels is the prequel to both those books. It's the story of Barbara's grandmother, Alice, as a young girl in the court of Charles II, "the Merry Monarch." The novel opens upon the day Charles's sister Minette arrives home from the French court for a visit after ten years away. Afterwards, Alice secures for herself a position in the court of Queen Catherine and is a first-hand witness to the events that take place therein. While the author does a remarkable job describing the events of the time, she captures none of the debauchery and show more licentiousness that characterized the court of Charles II; all of the characters seem lifeless and flat. There's a mystery included, I guess to add some excitement, but it was anticlimactic. It’s almost as though the author started out with one idea and quickly moved on to another.

Alice in the 1670s is 16 and mature beyond her years. The problem I had with Alice's character is that she appears to be a completely different person from the woman she becomes in Through a Glass Darkly and Now Face to Face. I found myself completely disliking the Alice who appears here. Another thing I disliked was the relationship between Alice and her future husband, Richard. There was none of the "spark" that I expected. It left me thinking, "now what?" Let's hope there's a sequel planned. As a novel about the Restoration period, I recommend Kathleen Windsor's Forever Amber over this book. show less

This is a good escapist read for lovers of historical fiction. It takes place during the precarious reign of England's Charles II, after the restoration. That makes it more interesting because there is not a lot of historical fiction in this period. The frenzy of writing about the Tudors has not touched this era. The book does a relatively good job of highlighting some of the factors which led to the later English choice of William of Orange. This is a prequel to " Through a Glass Darkly" which tales place later in the life of the main character, Alice Verney.