Customer Reviews

Through a Dark Mist

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Filled with swashbuckling adventure, sweeping pageantry and the story of a passionate romance, Marsha Canham outdoes herself with this superb historical novel. Set against the dark forests and royal court of King John "Lackland's" England, Ms. Canham brings to life a unique version of the Robin Hood tale with this story of political intrigue, hatred, revenge and fated love.

Recently widowed, 18 year-old Lady Servanne de Briscourt has been bartered into her second marriage. Though she is beautiful and intelligent, her husband-to-be, King John's champion Lord Lucien Wardieu, Baron de Gournay of Bloodmore Keep, is more interested in the lands she will bring to her marriage than in the bride herself. In the large, dense forest known as Lincolnwoods, Lady Servanne and her armed escorts are ambushed on their journey to the up-coming nuptials by a band of outlaws armed with longbows. The outlaw leader, known as the Black Wolf, claims his name is Lucien Wardieu, the true Baron de Gournay - and that Lady Servanne is his hostage. The escorts are sent on their way, minus their weapons, to inform the pretender at Bloodmore Keep that his bride is being held captive.

This is one wild adventure! Family sins and throne-rocking secrets are exposed, royal power is unleashed, some pretty unsavory, depraved characters murder and threaten, love and passion sizzle, armored knights ride to battle and are thwarted by a band of merry and determined men and one woman. 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 extraordinary characters just about leap off the page. This wonderful book is definitely a keeper!
JANA

And I highly recommend it to you!

Like the ever seemingly present "dark mist" throughout the book, the sexual tension and thrill of the mystery permeates throughtout the entire book. I was absorbed from the prologue of the book when we first find Lady Servanne de Briscourt jailed in a cold dank cell then rescued by "Lucien". Although the prologue ends bleakly, the excitement begins and the reader slowly finds out the family secrets and betrayals of the Wardieu family. Lady Servanne is captured by The Black Wolf of Lincolnwoods on her way to her marriage to Baron de Gournay. Although she is kidnapped for the purpose of ransom, it is more than mere money that drives the heart of the The Black Wolf... Along the way of his plans for revenge, his heart is captured by the innocent lure of Lady Servanne. Thus begins the "heaven and the hell" of The Wolf and Servanne. A story you will find totally engrossing and satisfying. You will not find one part of this book boring or slow, because there is a surprise at every twist and turn that puts thoroughly interesting spin on this tale of betrayal, revenge and love. (I could not help myself but peak ahead to see what was going to happen!)

Through A Dark Mist has the most spectacular climatic ending ever! As a matter of fact, it is the most action packed romance novel I've ever read! It's like Mission Impossible 2 meets Robyn Hood! And, TADM also has the most interesting and scene stealing secondary characters ever! Gil Golden with the grotesque scar in the shape of an N, Sparrow, the trip hopping dwarf and Alaric... the bishop, who really isn't. And I can't forget the most evil villain and villainess ever written in a romance novel- Etienne Wardieu the bastard son and Nicolaa de la Haye, who seriously makes me shudder!

I just didn't get enough of the hero and the heroine... their scenes together were so few! Although, the scenes where they were together were hot and passionate enough to make up for the lack of their presence together... Unfortunately, most of their time were spent separately, suffering away for each other... If I could change one thing about this book, I would hope that Lucien and Servanne have read more of them together, either spiting each other or loving each other...

Needless to say, this has been the most enjoyable romance novel I've read in a while and I would highly recommend this book!

Julianne

Marsha Canham has a wonderful writing style and I must admit I had a real problem picking my favorite book from her! This particular series (The Black Wolf series - Through a Dark Mist, In The Shadow of Midnight and The Last Arrow) is simply incredible!

Through a Dark Mist is a dramatic story in the style of Robin Hood. This book has everything - legend, swashbuckling romance, fantasy, adventure, rollicking good humor, wildly exciting escapades, cliffhangers, and most of all, smoldering sensuality! Lady Servanne de Briscourt is on her way to meet her betrothed Lucien (The Dragon) de Gournay, when her party is attacked by brigands led by the notorious Black Wolf.

Lady Servanne de Briscourt. She is beautiful and strong and very independent. Her interaction with the Wolf's band of outlaws is funny, touching and always interesting - but her love for The Wolf is breathtaking. Maid Marian has nothing on this heroine!

The Black Wolf. Oh how I wish this book was made into a movie just to see who they would cast in this part! He would have to be a combination of actors: Douglas Fairbanks with a dash of Mel Gibson, add in some Kevin Costner and maybe just a tad bit of Errol Flynn and I think you would have your perfect Wolf! He is timeless and he is eternity all rolled up into one. Throughout the series (two sequels) there is still the quality that draws you to him throughout his years! If you dare to read about The Wolf, you chance melting into a puddle of sensations!

As always the secondary characters are of the utmost importance to me and fortunately I was not let down. Every character in this book - including the villain (the "Dragon") deserves an honorable mention because they were exceptional.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough! You will just have to read it - there is no other choice in the matter!

This series is billed as "The Robin Hood Trilogy" but if you are looking for a solid read about Robin, Marian, Tuck, Little John and the rest this is NOT the series for you. Instead these three books are really romances that follow the usual "boy meets girl, girl is the feisty, defiant type who fights to prove her independance, girl and boy insult each other and pretend to hate one another, sexual tension rises to the point of no return, boy and girl finally succumb, fall in love and live happily ever after" formula. The women in each of these three books are eerily similiar, the three men they hate/fall in love with are cut from the same mold and there is a definite pattern that each book follows. From the very beginning I kept turning the page waiting for Robin Hood to appear to no avail. By the end of the third book there was still no real Robin Hood, no real Merry Men. The trilogy actually only skirts the very edges of the Hood legend with a nod to some of the characters but each in very different, unfamiliar roles. Marienne (formerly Maid Marian) is a young girl attending Princess Eleanor who has been blinded by Prince John, falls in love with a Robin (not THAT Robin), but stays with her Lady in a convent for many years. Friar Tuck is called The King of Sherwood but is also not Robin Hood. He's not even really a Friar, only called "Tuck" because of all the weapons he has tucked away on his person. Littlejohn is a mercenary soldier who ends up captian of the guard for the Hero from the first book. Alan of the Dale leads a group of foresters, but not very well and is happy to hand over that leadership rather quickly. Will (Scarlet) has become a blushing Knight. There is no "robbing from the rich to secure King Richard's ransom" King Richard isn't even truly mentioned. By the end of the third book, there have actually been a plethora of Robins. One is left wondering which one is which. Additionally, the sex scenes had me skipping page after page trying to just pick the story back up. If you are looking for a standard romance novel set in France and England with some familiar names then this is the series for you. If you are looking for Robin Hood, you might want to keep looking.

I read Through a Dark Mist a while back, and it hooked me from page one. I could not put it down long enough to get anything done, and I finished it in one day. I have read just about all of Marsha Canham's stories, and you can't go wrong with her. She always guarantees a good plot, a steamy romance and good characters.

During the reign of the greedy King John, Lady Servanne de Briscourt is on her way to meet with her betrothed Lucien Wardieu when her party is attacked by the notorious Black Wolf and his gang of thieves. What follows is a wildly exciting story that just sucks you right into it from page one. Canham does an excellent job of balancing the story with the romance so that you don't feel you are being cheated out of either, and she gives good description of what it was like for the lower classes of England during the reign of King John and the injustices that took place.

I really can't recommend this book enough. If you like medeival romance, this is the book for you.

I LOVED this book and ordered the other two mentioned as part of a trilogy. This was my first Marsha Canham novel, but not my last. Her historical research is very good and accurate from accounts I have researched on my own. I had a hard time putting this one down until it was done. I very much like her writing style; she keeps the reader's interest from the very beginning. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to those interested in English history during the 13th Century and for anyone who liked stories of Robin Hood.

As an insatiable reader working on my own historical romance, I am constantly reading everything I can get my hands on, then taking the story and characters apart to see what I think worked well and what didn't. All writers have their good and bad points. One might be great with research or plot, but leave their characters a touch too unemotional, or worse, a touch too emotional. But in attempting to pick a part any of the 4 medieval romances written by Marsha Canham, Through A Dark Mist, The Shadow of Midnight, The Last Arrow (my favorite) and My Forever Love, I always come up against a dilemma; tamping down my hero worship long enough to objectively examine the storiy. It's difficult. I can read any one of these books and pick it up a week later to start my scholarly analysis, only to find myself falling back into the story, reading every word as if I didn't know exactly what was coming. To me, this is one of Marsha's best skills and I've seen it in all her books, not just the medieval ones. She has the ability to put words on paper in such a way that gives the reader a clear look into the characters desires and fears, often with humor and almost always with poignancy. Every part of her stories are extremely well researched (researching my own novel set in 1144, I've come to appreciate all the hard work, dedication and great memory required to write so accurately, especially without bogging the story down). But don't for a moment think that because Master Marsha can spend a fantastic story with an incredible plot while staying faithful to the time period, that her books must lack romance or passion. It seems terribly unfair that a writer who is so good in those areas should also be a master at romance and passion, but alas, she is. If her love scenes don't leave you sweating, then perhaps you should check yourself for a pulse.
I could go on and on, but since I'm in danger of being accused of hyperbole, I'll stop now and simply say; read the books. They're magical and entertaining and will remind you why you read romances.

Great story; rich; 4 1/2 stars really. I am looking forward to reading The Last Arrow, about Lucien and Servanne's daughter. Truthfully, I intend at this point to read about every Canham book I can get my hands on. The woman writes a breathtakingly mature, dramatic, passionate novel, richly textured with great secondary characters who only enhance the experience.

Ms. Canham creates passionate couples without relying on sex to carry the entire story. And, Lordy, can she set a merciless tension level. The only reason I did not give this a 5 is because Ms Canham can write some female characters who truly start out as quite annoying...AND because I could have lived with a bit more romance\relationship development between our h\h. Not a big thing though

A word of warning regarding this story. It is a bit graphic in terms of physical violence\torture methods described (not quite so heavy as the Outlander Jack Randall\Jaime scenes but not light, either). No doubt historically accurate regarding punishments meted out in that time period but, nevertheless, not for the weak of heart...orrr...if it gets to be a bit too graphic, just skim over some of those descriptions. It will still be a great story. It's just not a real gentle story.

Having previously read and thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Canham's scintillating Scottish trilogy ('A Pride Of Lions' etc.) I did not hesitate to pick out 'Through A Dark Mist' from a number of other books offered me by a family member. I was not disappointed! This is an intelligent historical 'Robin Hood-like tale with a number of surprises! Royal & political intrigue abound, a misty forest and a deserted & crumbling abbey provide a great backdrop for the unfolding drama between the kidnapped Lady de Briscourt and the 'outlaw' known only as the 'Black Wolf'. An interesting assortment of brother 'outlaws' provide humour and insight into the man behind the myth; and a lovely golden royal Lady & her super- protective 'Biddy' test his sanity (and his resolve to reject any softer emotions) at every turn. Lucien Wardieu is a sexy hero, unrivalled in the lists and on the tourney circuit; he has experienced a excruciating betrayal at the hands of someone he loved and trusted, which saw him being 'left for dead' on the blistering desert sands of the Holy Land; his arch-enemy is the sexy and handsome but twisted 'Dragon' lord of Bloodmoor Castle. This book has it all! Like other offerings of Ms. Canham's, this is a beautifully-written book full of historical data that does not detract from the main storyline, and in fact does a superb job of painting a more vivid picture of the people and the times of the usurper Prince John 'Lackland', corrupt brother of King Richard the Lionheart. When the Black Wolf and the Dragon finally meet on the jousting field, the reader is immediately swept up in the pageantry and violence that was so typical of the times - colourful flags snap in the high winds, and family crests abound; chain mail and armour flash in the sunlight, Ladies dispense their tokens to favoured knights, all the while delicately fanning away the flies, heat, and dust; dangerous war horses prance and snort, daring anyone but their noble owners and their squires to lay hands on them; while behind the gates, the common rabble throw down their copper pennies in boastful wagers, munching on hot game pies and drinking cheap ale! The characters (primary & secondary) are brilliantly portrayed. Each one of them leaves an indelible mark on your emotions - the cheeky but loyal Sparrow most of all! I ached for the twins and Robert the Welshman, and their brave sacrifice. The goodbye scene in the donjon between Robert, Mutter, and Lucien is so beautifully written, juxtaposed as it was with the horror that was D'Aeth the subjugator's handiwork and 'tools of the trade'. This book offers history, humour, adventure, royal intrigue, steamy (literally, in one instance) love scenes, a surprising female fiend (!!), and a touching ending. I do not hesitate in recommending this book! A glorious read!

Never have I encountered such vile and horrifying villains. I had to put this book down periodically, they were that frightening. Worth the read - such wonderful and lovable characters (not the villains!). Great surprises, wonderful action, very sweet love story. I'll never look at a natural hot spring the same way.