Long and Short Reviews

The Dark Knight by Tori Phillips
Harlequin
Historical Romance
Full length, Sensual
Review by Dandelion

“Come, Lord Death, and grant me life in your arms!”

Such invocations sprang to Lady Tonia’s lips when she beheld Sandor Matskella, the sworn agent of her eternal rest. Yet his raw masculine power instead roused her slumbering womanhood to the dawn of eternal joy!

Sandor Matskella looked upon Tonia Cavendish and saw many things: a woman not of his people; a woman promised to God; a woman condemned to die. But when he removed the executioner’s mask from his face - and his soul - he knew that she was the fated bride of his heart!

♥ ♥ ♥

The Dark Knight is another winner in the Cavendish Chronicles historical romance series by Tori Phillips (though you don’t need to have read the others; this novel can stand on its own.).

It’s late sixteenth century, and young Tonia Cavendish has promised herself to God, since she’s never met a man who stirs her heart. She’s left her childhood home and established a nunnery in northern England - but it’s only a matter of time before the Protestant King’s men have Tonia arrested and sentenced to death for practicing Catholicism. Separated from her noble family, and imprisoned in Hawksnest, a rundown stone fortress, she waits for her executioner to arrive.

Sandor Matskella, a Gypsy, or Rom, is the unlucky man ordered by his family to complete the execution. But when he arrives at Hawksnest, he finds he does not have the heart or the stomach to kill the beautiful and penitent Tonia. What follows is a tense but heartwarming story of how prisoner and executioner fall in love with each other, in the face of tremendous odds and against all reason. Trapped in the lonely prison, in the bitter of winter, Tonia and Sandor discover that love transcends background and any rules of society.

I loved this romance. The character development is painfully well paced, and readers will ache with Sandor and Tonia as they struggle to survive first the elements and then their own attraction, which they know will put them at odds with their families. The Dark Knight is truly a tale of romance triumphing over all else. The setting, a desolate English countryside that is also tormented by political unrest in London, is the perfect backdrop for the lovers’ journey. Complete with steamy love-making scenes, life-and-death scenarios, and family tension that will leave you wondering whether Sandor and Tonia will truly end up together, The Dark Knight is the perfect blend of history, danger, and love. Don’t miss it!