Customer Reviews

No Dark Place

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Some previous reviews note the lack of steamy sex or passion, and a hero who is a bit too controlled. I personally found this a big plus in the novel. Wolf actually grounds her characters in the mores of the time (with reasonable deference to modern sensibilities, such as making our heroine an herbalist). That means sex had consequences; marriage was a serious business. So I enjoyed this story where the hero and heroine are in love, yet somehow manage to plan rationally about how to be together. I find it jolting to read a historical romance where the virginal heroine engages in steamy sex two minutes after meeting the hero. Hellloo! What alternate reality was that? Wolf's realism is one reason several reviewers commented they wanted to learn more about the era -- she actually tells us something about this period. NET, if you want an intelligent love story, with people you'd actually like to have a conversation with, in a historic period that actually occurred in this reality's timeline, I highly recommend this book. Also: Kinsale's My Lady's Heart. Kinsale takes it one step further to use time-appropriate language in a way that really transports you into the period.

You really get to know the male protaganist in this story. The romance is sweet, but not over the top/in your face. The real story here is uncovering the past for the male protaganist, and, in doing so, finding out who really murdered his father. Highly recommended. Light weight historical romance. Does make you want to go find out more about the King Stephen / Empress Matilda era of England, and how THAT issue was resolved.

I'm amazed that more people don't like this book! Only three stars overall, were are the literary appreciators in this world, standing behind the door me thinks!

It was a great read from beginning to end, and it reminds me a lot of the Cadfael series of books in that it is set in the same time period but follows the fortunes of the young Hugh Corbaille (de Leon) and his search for his true identity and the murderer of his true Crusader father Roger de Leon.

We are treated to a mystery within a mystery, first there is the mystery of who Hugh actually is and then there is the mystery of who murdered his real father.

Hugh has been raised the as the adopted son of the Sheriff of Lincoln but his early childhood is shrouded in mystery.

The Sheriff took him in after finding him half dead one winter's night and quickly realised the boy was not a Saxon child as he spoke Norman French and for the next thirteen years Hugh lived a happy half life, unable or unwilling remember his past but with the death of his beloved Foster Father, he finds himself travelling down a path that could either free him from his unspoken nightmares or kill him as it had killed his real father so many years before...

Joan Wolf obviously did a lot of research before writing this book and I found it exciting and interesting, even enjoying the romance between Hugh and the 16 year old daughter of the Knight Nigel Haslin along with a cast of other savoury and unsavoury characters such as Hugh's Uncle, now the Earl of Wilshire, a title that in reality belongs to Hugh as his father' heir, and his troubled birth mother, the beautiful Isabel who has many secrets of her own she'd rather keep to herself.

All in all it was a very good book, enjoyable all the way through and well worth reading if you get the chance.

This book is being marketed as an historical mystery. It belongs in the historical romance genre. The research behind it is rudimentary. The mystery itself is pretty silly. The level of writing is very, very low and cliched. And frankly, if Our Dashing Hero developed one more headache and vomited again, I was going to throw the book across the room. Sheesh. If you like this sort of thing, go for it. However if what you want is a medieval mystery with some impressive research and excellent writing, try Candace Robb, Sharan Newman, Margaret Frazer, Edward Marston, P.C. Doherty and Ellis Peters.

This book was hard to categorize... Other reviews have touched on the plot, so I'll skip that and dwell more on content.

As a Historical-Romance, it doesn't have the physical sex of a Susan Johnson (super-hot!) book. Instead it has a more classical romance feel where most of the sex takes place off page. This doesn't mean Hugh & Cristen lack passion. They smoulder very nicely, thank you, and the few love scenes they have are intense. In fact, the biggest problem I have with this book is that the first love scene between Hugh & Cristen is an almost word-for-word copy from one of Joan Wolf's older regency romances "A London Season" (By the way, an excellent book if you can find it)

As a Historical-Mystery, it lacks in the detecting/clue-following department. Candace Robb's "Apothecary Rose" books have a better feel for history & detective work. The conclusion of this book comes all in an expository, less than satisfactory finish to the mystery of Hugh's past.

Despite all this, I found "No Dark Place" to be a very satisfying read. Joan Wolf writes well about the period, and afterwards I found myself going through the encyclopedia looking up King Stephan and Matilda.

I *care* about what happens to Hugh & Cristen, and their romance. I look forward to Joan Wolf's next book.

I am a fan of Joan Wolf's historical romances, so I was interested in seeing her try her luck in the historical mystery market. I must say that she needs to work at it a little more.

Hugh de Leon is bereft at the lost of his foster father, but an unknown knight reveals to him that he may be the long-lost heir to the earldom of Wiltshire, a strategic stronghold in the war between King Stephan and the Empress Matilda. The only problem is, Hugh's father was murdered and he cannot remember his life before he lived with his foster parents. Hugh then journeys all around England trying to find out what really happened on that day thirteen years ago. Along the way he finds friendship and love in an impossible match and the courage to confront his past.

I am sorry, but as I am writing this review, I am realizing how shallow a lot of this story was. Although I liked the character of Hugh, the dialogue was silly and the writing stilted. I felt that each time the characters talked to each other, I was listening to ten year olds. The ending was wrapped up way to quickly and was anticlimatic at best. I never would have thought of the ending simply because it was the most uninteresting option. Definately not something that I expect from Joan Wolf.

Joan Wolf should have stuck to the first-person historical romances that she wrote, they were far more interesting and well-written.

I bought this book for what I thought was going to be an interesting beach read. It was, to a point. There were some good parts to the book, but as it went on, I was irritated to see 20th century pop psychology pasted onto medieval psyches. Also, the writing got a bit repetitive with its imagery. My biggest gripe, however, without giving the ending away, is that the book is written as a cliffhanger. It is no accident that the big on-line book stores show that customers who bought this book also bought A Poisoned Serpent....they had to if they wanted to find out what happened! This is a cheap trick, in my mind, that ought not to be perpetrated on an unsuspecting reading public.

The dust jacket makes this novel sound interesting, I wish I had stopped at the dust jacket.

The book itself was poorly written, the story itself was completely predictable, the dialogue was shallow and dull. There was no character development, the romance portion of the story was passionless, the characters had no chemistry.

All in all the only thing I was please with was the fact that I borrowed this from the library.

If you are looking for a good historical fiction try Sharon Kaye Penman's 'The Sunne In Splendour', for an historical romance try 'Outlander' by Diana Gabaldon.

The setting - immediately following the Battle of the Standard, August 1138. Hugh Corbaille's father dies while fighting for King Stephen. Hugh is heartbroken but his life is about to take an unexpected turn. He will be discovered to be the long lost only son and heir to the Earldom of Wiltshire.

It is an honor that Hugh does not want and it takes a long time to convince him that he is indeed Hugh deLeon. Ralf Corbaille the Sheriff of Lincoln has been the only father he has ever known and loved. His foster mother Adela was also much cherished by Hugh.

His life was much simpler and peaceful before finding out his true identity. With this discovery that he is really the deLeon heir he embarks on a deadly and mysterious quest to find out why his real father was brutally murdered in the family chapel.

The current Earl of Wiltshire, Guy deLeon, younger brother of Hugh's father and Hugh's Uncle is suspected of being behind the murder to gain his brother's lands and title. However, things are not as they would seem to be and Hugh begins to investigate. As he delves deeper into the murder mystery he uncovers additional suspects with motives to murder. The murderer isn't discovered until nearly the end of the novel and it is a shock to Hugh.

This is a very engaging novel and I just couldn't put it down. It's a true edge of your seat mystery! I really didn't like Hugh that much in the beginning but quickly warmed up to him as his character became more developed. His situation was difficult at best so his reactions and attitudes were truly understandable.

This novel is entertaining and the author does a good job of moving the story along while also providing information about the time period. This is especially helpful because a major portion of the story revolves around the allegiance of various land-owning families to claimants in a struggle for the throne of England. The author outlines the basic situation without getting too bogged down in minutiae and without talking down to her readers. As another reviewer noted, the novel also develops the romantic side of its plot within the mores of the time rather than having these medieval characters pursue a modern-style courtship. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series!