Customer Reviews

The Last Arrow

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Filled with swashbuckling adventure, sweeping pageantry and the story of a passionate romance, Marsha Canham outdoes herself with this superb historical novel. "The Last Arrow" is the final book in a trilogy which began with Ms. Canham's "Through A Dark Mist," followed by "In The Shadow Of Midnight." It is not necessary to read the first two books, however, in order to thoroughly enjoy this one. The author gives a wonderful summary of her previous two novels here, and this book certainly stands on its own very well. I have read many series novels and rarely does an author succeed in continuously creating fresh ideas and storylines throughout. One of Ms. Canham's major achievements with this trilogy is that her plots are always original, never repetitious or contrived, and her characters continue to grow and acquire depth as the years, and pages, pass. The backdrop for this adventure-filled romance is medieval England, Wales, Normandy and Brittany during the reign of King John "Lackland."

Lady Brenna Wardieu, daughter of Lord Lucien Wardieu, Baron de Gournay, (called the Black Wolf), is the book's heroine. Lovely, but not ladylike, Brenna has tagged after her warrior brothers since she could crawl. With much tutoring and practice she has become a master of the longbow, rivaling the best archers in the land. Feisty, with the heart of a noble knight in her woman's breast, she meets her match in Griffyn Renaud de Verdel, a mysterious mercenary who unknowingly trespasses on her father's land. Taken aback by her skill with the bow and arrow, Griffyn could have still overpowered Brenna. He allows her, instead, to capture him and bring him to face her family. She discovers that Griffyn and her brother Robin have already met. The two men jousted in the past at a tourney. Griffyn lost - the only loss he had sustained in many years. The consequences were tragic. He is intent on a rematch at the great upcoming tournament in Chateau Gaillard, Normandy.

This wonderful adventure begins long before the treachery at the French tournament. There are fascinating plots and subplots, filled with meticulously researched historical detail and peopled with extraordinary characters. England's troubled times and her evil king are woven into the story with great skill, as is a unique version of the Robin Hood tale. Political intrigue, hatred, revenge and fated love abound. Family sins and throne-rocking secrets are exposed. Royal power is unleashed. Some pretty unsavory, depraved characters murder, maim and threaten. Love and passion sizzle. Armored knights ride to battle and a royal princess is rescued. This novel has it all - from cliff-hanging escapades to steamy sensuality. The action doesn't stop until the last sentence on the last page.

As usual Ms. Canham writes with elegance and flair. Her characters are lifelike, varied and, occasionally, quite humorous. This wonderful book is definitely a keeper!
JANA

When she captures a trespasser on her father's lands, Lady Brenna Wardieu knows that Griffyn Renaud cannot be trusted despite the fact that he turns out to be an acquaintance of her brother, Robin. And she is right. Griffyn has been hired to challenge Robin in an upcoming tournament and kill him. His only obstacle is Brenna who is determined to find out the truth about him. He is also very attracted to the Lady Brenna and it's becoming harder and harder to go about destroying her brother. There is a lot more to this story, but it's too complicated to go into without ruining the story.

The Last Arrow is an engrossing read that keeps you guessing until the end. Not only is there a great romantic conflict, but there is also a lot of action, a truly evil villain and some great secondary characters. While The Last Arrow can stand on it's own, I really recommend that you read it in context with the series: Through A Dark Mist, In The Shadow Of Midnight, and The Last Arrow. If you like Medeival Romance, I can't recommend these stories enough.

I defy anyone to name a writer who does better secondary characters than Ms. Canham and the stories are SO much richer for this.

I was also amazed at the poignancy, the gladness & sadness I felt, to see our hero from Through A Dark Mist some 2+ decades later. She has aged him realistically and Lucien is paying for all the physical trauma he suffered over the years and that just really touched me and made the story seem so real.

As usual, Ms. Canham takes us on a great roller coaster ride full of drama, deceipt, passion, & humor with a strong hero AND heroine. I despair of the day I run out of her books. I tend to space them apart, with 1 or 2 other stories in between, so I always have the anticipation of another Canham on the shelf. And it's an even greater plus that her stories lean towards 500 pages, usually, so there's more of her to love! :-)

What an awesome rolicking romp. Especially once everyone got to England and Nottingham. I really liked the way the author brought the characters with their names into the Robin Hood saga. Things really cooked in the last part of the book when they got to Sherwood and the battle, etc. with the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. Loved the reunion with Robin and Merianne (sp?). All around great read -- I am dying to read the first two books of the series -- back ordered by Amazon and I am patiently waiting.

I really love this book. I have read it five times now, and each time I read it I find something else, some small phrase with a world of meaning that I missed the first four times! This is definitely the number one book on my list of books. It is also the first book I read by Marsha Canham. I have now read the other two books with the Black Wolf and the trials of his family and I agree that it is possibly her best book. After reading it five times, however, I've really gotten interested in the character Griffin and, knowing the way she goes back on a previous book in her plotlines makes me think I am missing one somewhere. If there is a tie-in with Griffin, how his father was tortured for hiding the charter, I would like to read it. However, since it says at the end of The Last Arrow that she found her RobinHood in the third book of this trilogy, I suspect that Griffin is supposed to be a character we never get to explore the past of.

I really loved this book. It was well-plotted, and very realistic (a bit too realistic in some spots!) and really held my attention. Though there were a few errors only someone who had been to Sherwood Forest might know (the Major Oak is a modern name for the tree, and it's not in rocks or a gully but in the middle of woods near a well-traveled medieval road)overall the book was very true to the times. Even apart from accuracy, the love between Brenna and Griffyn held me spellbound. And the love scenes! Very sensual! Bravo! Miss Canham!

I've read hundreds of romances and this one is at the top of my list of absolute bests novels. If there is a negative about this book, it is that Griffyn has ruined me for any other hero, bar none. He is what I read romances for,the apotheosis of the virle drop dead sexy hero.
If you've read any books by Marsha Canham, you know that the history has been thoroughly researched. Not that it really matters to me if the history is accurate. As a budding romance writer myself, the story has to contain a couple of elements to grab and hold my attention.
1. Are the characters believable in their setting? Does the attraction and dislike/distrust of each other make sense?
2. Is the plot interesting and believable?
3. And last, but not least, the real reason I read romances; If I could trade places with the heroine and live her life with this man, would I?
The answer to all those questions is yes.

The last arrow was the first book of Marsha's that I ever read. I must say that when I had finished, I could not wait to buy all the others. Brenna and Gryfin are captivating characters that make a reader instantly empathize with them. This book is full of heart stopping moments that make it impossible to stop at the end of any chapter. The ending is classic and makes me want to know when we'll get to read about these amazing characters again?

This was the first of the Black Wolf series that I read- not realizing that there were two just before, but it is still my favorite!! It helped to read the other two because you have character's that continue in each book. I absolutely love Brenna, and how she is one of the best archers. She is not one of those medival ladies that don't know how to do anything but sow, she has spunk and a great temper to match!! Griffyn is also amazing except that Ms. Canham could have given him one extra flaw, and that is not to be the best in all the weapons that he handles. It would have been great that Brenna was the better archer!! The story flows together very well, with the love scenes, the intrigue, and the secondary charather's (I love Sparrow, he is too funny). This book made me laugh and cry and I learnt a few things about the history of England, even is most of it was embellished. My only regret is that we won't have any more Black Wolf series!! Or will we Ms. Canham??!!! READ THE BOOK it is fabulous!!

This was my first foray into Marsha Canham's writing. She absolutely hit the target on this novel. I havn't read the first two books to this trilogy, and it didn't hamper my understanding. The heroine is not all threats and huffy ineptitude as many historical romance ladies are. When she threatens, she has more than enough pluck to back it up. The cast of characters Ms Canham built and animated was remarkable. Each had a depth, each had a story. The myth of Robin Hood was brought brilliantly to life in a believable and sophisticated way. She has managed to avoid all the legend's stereotypical pitfalls. Definately a worthwhile read..I plan on seeking out the rest of the author's works.