Customer Reviews

Dark Angels: A Novel

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Of late there seems to be quite a few books being released about Charles II of England and Restoration England. This I don't mind at all, since I'm always on the look-out for a good read, fiction or otherwise. And author Karleen Koen certainly knows how to craft a good story, filled with plenty of details, dark deeds, and romance. Having written two previous novels, Through a Mirror Darkly and Now Face to Face, she takes one of the major characters from the previous works, and gives new depth and understandstanding to Alice Verney in Dark Angels.

Alice Verney is a tough young survivor, serving the King of England's sister, Henriette-Anne, as one of her maids-of-honour. Married at a young age to Louis XIV's brother, Monsieur, Madame is coming to England to visit her beloved brother, Charles II, and Alice is coming with her. Of course, for stubborn Alice, it's also going to be a chance to see her machinating father, Sir Thomas, and the man who jilted her for one of her best friends. It's a rare chance to serve up a dish of cold revenge, and Alice is more than ready to do so with a plan that will not only catapult her into the heights of the king's court, but also enable her to snap her fingers at any future trouble as well.

But that is going to take some patience and skill, as Alice's target is rather unaware of her scheme. The Duke of Balmoral is elderly, and the uncle of Lord Colefax, the man who spurned Alice years earlier. Cole, married to the stuttering Caro, is still hot for Alice, so she is not only dodging her former suitor, but others who are interested in her as well. Finally, there are Alice's fellow maids-of-honour, her friend Barbara, shy and loving a man who has little to recommend him and Renee, a beautiful French girl of good birth and little money.

But Madame, as Princess Henriette is known, isn't just on a homey visit with family, for she is on a mission to bring England and France closer together, forging an alliance between the two kings, and an even bolder plan underneath. But when the princess returns to France, she is taken ill and dies suddenly, quite possibly at the hands of her own husband, the jealous Monsieur. And Alice suddenly finds herself returned to England, up against a poisoner, and a young soldier who is more than she thinks, and the prize of the Duke of Balmoral is hovering just beyond her grasp.

It's quite a tale, moving beyond the typical historical romance, and spinning a tale that blends plenty of plotting and actual history. It's that last touch that made the book very enjoyable for me, with the author able to keep the balance between what really happened and the author's own creations. The characters of the Verneys, Balmoral, and Richard Saylor are all fictional, but they would have easily lived in Restoration England. It may be interesting to other readers that Queen Catherine, Charles II's wife, was pretty much as she is portrayed here, struggling to be Catholic in a very protestant England, and always living under the threat of being divorced and sent away. She was also able to openly tolerate her husband's many mistresses, and the open distrust that the courtiers had for her. So too are the varied mistresses, from actress Nell Gwynn, the greedy Barbara Villiers, and his chase of other women.

But there are a few drawbacks as well. Some might find the use of homosexuality and sex to be a bit disturbing -- Monsieur was well-known for his fondness for handsome young men, and the character of Mistress Neddie is far from an oddity of the times. As for the sinister Henry Angel/Henri Ange, history has always been arguing over what caused Madame's sudden and painful death that so horrified people at the time, and there is the famous 'Affair of the Poisons' that shook the French court a few years after her death. Both Balmoral and Alice are a touch more ruthless than what we usually see in historical novels, but I found them to be a refreshing change. One other aspect that I found a bit tiresome was the character of Jerusalem Saylor, Richard's mother, who is the 'white witch' of the novel -- despite the fondness of modern authors who keep thrusting such folk into their novels, the idea of the modern 'good' witch who uses her powers for healing and magick is a fairly recent idea, and although folk rememdies were certainly well-documented from the time, there is very little to actually be seen in the surviving histories. But it makes for a clever touch, and at least Koen doesn't go overboard with it as say, Philippa Gregory does in her work. So it's a forgiveable sin.

For those who like their novels full of details, and what might have been, this is an enjoyable read. It was enough to make me want to reread both of Koen's previous novels, and rediscover Alice Verney and her family.

Welcome to the court of Charles II, hotbed of corruption, both political and moral. Enter Alice Verney, who aspires to a command a position of power within the court and seeks to attain her goal by marrying the aging Duke of Balmoral. Longstanding friendships are threatened by Alice's quest as well as her unequivocal need to control not only her own life but also the lives of those around her.

Alice is an unconventional heroine in the respect that she has always had money and been accustomed to the finer things. Unlike the "up from the gutter and into the glitter" characters that usually make their appearance in these historical sagas, Alice is initially not a very likable character. She is manipulative and deceitful, but does manage to present the reader with a colorful portrait of a woman of her era.

The author manages to evoke the flavor of the 17th century and capture of the Restoration-era mindset with its brazen women and conspiratorial men. Most of the characters in this narrative quagmire subscribe to the theory that their machinations and schemes are a necessary by-product of success and that "life isn't filled with easy choices and we all get our hands dirty from time to time". Personally, there is only one character in this entire novel that I would be inclined to trust with my life.

Finally, let me say that the book ends on a somewhat unfulfilling note. Two of the characters, Henri Ange the poison-maker, and Walter the young stable hand disappear from the pages without a resolution to their stories. Guess I am one of those readers who wants all loose ends neatly tied up with a big red bow. 2 1/2 STARS.

Is there a more fascinating time or place than the court of King Charles II? I cannot think of one, and Karleen Koen lends her pen to bring it alive in "Dark Angels".

Koen has a knack for hooking the reader early on with hints and promises, and interesting characters. She writes romantic heroes, heroines and villains extremely well, as readers of "Through a Glass Darkly" know. I flew through the pages and loved the characters, costumes and themes centering on the struggles between love and greed or jealousy, forgiveness and revenge, and strategic scheming and surprise. Koen transports you to the decadent Courts of the Sun King (Louis XIV of France & creator of Versailles) and Charles II of England, and drapes you in damask, jewels and lace, and on the next page sends you to seedy brothels and privy court chambers for some debauchery, drunkeness and gambling. Regicide, religious wars, royal gossip and exploits, romance and gold digging rule the day. It is delicious fun!

The real story of "Dark Angles" introduces us to Alice Verney who is first a young Maid of Honor to Princess Henrietta Anne of France (sister to Charles II of England) and then a not-so-young Maid of Honor to the shunned Queen Catherine in England. She's had her heart broken in love and loyalty through the betrayals of a friend and lover, and the murder of Madame, Princess Henrietta. Alice puts up a condescending, stand-offish front in an attempt to protect herself and others, and finds that such a barrier isolates us from those we love, rather than keep them close. She is sassy, spoiled, scheming and sophisticated, and yet disillusioned by life at court. We see an early glimpse of the life lessons that shaped the loving, accepting and wise grandmother we met in "Through a Glass Darkly".

Koen brings alive the sexual charge of the time through accurate presentations of its rogues from the well documented exploits of Kings Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France to the English Earl of Rochester and Sir John Sedely who drunkenly bumble and grope their way through the background of this book. It was a drunken, decadent time of debauchery and hedonism, and great fun to re-live through books such as this, "The King's Touch", "The Perfect Royal Mistress", "Duchess: A novel of Sarah Churchill" or even "Forever Amber" (I am not a huge fan, but many others are).

I gave this book a "4 star" rating because it is just simply an intriguing, fast, fun escape read, but it does have its flaws. The main draw back is that Koen seems confused as to whether she wanted to write a "whodunnit?", a romance or a fantastic period novel. She delivers pieces of all three, and that leaves fans with genre preferences feeling disappointed. The good news is that this novel seems ripe for a sequel (or two!) to fill the time between its end and the beginning of her stellar debut, Through A Glass Darkly. I love the promise of more to come... I only hope the wait is short!

It is hard to believe that Dark Angels and Through a Glass Darkly were written by the same person. With the exception of some of the names of the charecters there were few similarities between the books. Through A Glass Darkly offers genuine emotion, clever dialogue and believable relationships, not to mention the sharply drawn portraits of Barbara, Roger, Diana, the Duchess and the rest. I will admit that Dark Angel's Alice was many-faceted, but everyone else in the book was one-dimensional. The story itself was fast-paced for the most part, but didn't really make me care about any of the protagonists. However, the biggest disappointment was that Dark Angels never fleshed out the intriging parts of the Duchess's story that had only been hinted at in Through A Glass Darkly; e.g. Alice and Richard's early relationship with Roger, the births and deaths of their children, Diana's marriage, Richard's military successes. Even Richard's proposal to Alice was different from the way it had been portrayed in TAGD. This book is supposed to be a "prequil" to Through a Glass Darkly but as far as I am concerned that prequil has yet to be written.

This prequel to Through a Glass Darkly does not disappoint. If you like Charles II and the period of The Restoration, you'll love this book. The character of Alice Verney is intelligent, charming, controlling, manipulative and sympathetic. She is fiercely loyal to those she loves and unforgiving to many. Through her story the reader learns a great deal about the personal and political history of King Charles - the tragedy, the whimsy and the fascinating people that orbit his sphere. Great book. Highly recommended.

If you enjoyed "Through a Glass Darkly" I think you will like "Dark Angels." This prequel tells the story of Barbara's grandmother Alice and her grandfather Richard. Koen gives us a story rich with detail and does a wonderful job of bringing the period to life. The Restoration period in it's grandeur and degradation is fully presented. She doesn't spare her characters the warts and all approach either. Alice particularly, is a three-dimensional character capable of kindness, generosity, and terrible, hurtful pride. A real person, not a cardboard character.

I enjoyed the book enormously, but please, Ms. Koen, we need another volume taking us from Alice's time to Barbara's! And don't skimp on Diana's story, either. Thank you!

It is true that Dark Angels is different from Koen's first and very successful novel, Through A Glass Darkly (as well as different from the sequel Now Face to Face), however, this is truly Koen's finest work to date.

Barbara of TAGD and NFTF was the conventional romance heroine: beautiful, plucky, encounters misfortune but ultimately prevails. Alice, the grandmother of TAGD, is a more complex, more realistic, more human character. I found myself rooting more for Alice than I ever did for Barbara, who had too much going for her too young.

People who have never read Karleen Koen, and who would scoff at the typical romance novel, should read this book. It is full of carefully-researched details about the late 17th century (an extremely interesting time that truly lays the groundwork for the modern era in which we live). Koen brings this century to life. I felt transported to that time, which I have found very rarely in books and movies that attempt to portray times other than our own.

Whether you're a TAGD fan, looking for a good story, or a European history buff, I recommend this book. It has enough of the "old" to remain interesting to Koen fans, with plenty of the "new" style to attract first-time Koen readers. Don't miss it.

I had to force myself to finish this book in order to feel qualified to review it. Koen's other book, "Through a Glass Darkly" is one of my favorite historical novels, and I probably read it once a year. This one, however, is just not enjoyable. After I had read 1/3 of it, I still felt no connection to Alice, the main character. The writing was very disjointed, and it was very hard to tell who was talking or being talked about a lot of the time. I loved the character of Alice as the grandmother in "Through a Glass Darkly", and I was really looking forward to reading about her younger life. The Alice in "Dark Angels" did not mesh with the character as I knew her in the other book, and I wish I had never read this one. Very very disappointing.

Unlike a lot of other reviewers below, I had never read any of Koen's previous books, so I was able to judge DARK ANGELS on its own merits and not how it stacked up to my expectations. And I loved it. It started a bit slow while I sorted out the enormous cast and the author built up the historical backdrop, but the characters are so strongly drawn and the details of court life are so fascinating that I found myself staying up all night to keep reading. I think I'd call it a mystery first and foremost, not specifically a love story--I'm not sure which loose ends should have been tied up because the author answered all questions about who did what to whom. The missing boy was DEAD (this won't be a spoiler), and I didn't need Koen to spell it out to make it more obvious. Give DARK ANGELS a chance on its own merits and you won't be sorry. Alice springs to life almost instantly and even though she's not universally admirable, she's always fascinating. The book is complex, brilliantly plotted, engrossing, engaging, and even--dare I say it?--educational with all the intimate, intricate details of life in Charles II's court. I was afraid that she wouldn't wrap up the love story to my personal expectations but, relief, she did. (BTW, did the rest of you notice that Ned, a minor character here, is the subject of the movie STAGE BEAUTY?)

I was disappointed in this book. I had high expectations for it because I loved Through a Glass Darkly and its sequel Now Face to Face.

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 an historical event: 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. While the author does a remarkable job describing the events of the time, she captures none of the debauchery and 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.

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 TAGD and NFTF! 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; they don't end up together until the very end. It left me thinking, "now what?" Let's hope there's a sequel planned.

As a novel of the Restoration period, I recommend Kathleen Windsor's Forever Amber over this book.