ABOUT THE BOOK
This man was shadow and night. He was Darkness.
Homeless Aliette is saved from punishment for stealing by a mysterious knight. To stay alive, she’s informed by this stranger that she must claim his child as her own. She should fear the dark knight’s power, yet it’s clear there’s more good to this man than he’s prepared to show. Can she break down the barriers of the tortured knight she calls Darkness?
MY REVIEW
The year is 1297. The location is Paris, France. A skilled and deadly knight named Warstone is hiding a child and has kidnapped a young woman and thief who is not afraid of the most feared and dangerous man in France.
He never allowed strangers to simply stare at him. Customarily, he hid in corridors or corners and waited to emerge. He liked watching. The waiting made the person he watched reveal more than they wanted to.
Reynold had a hellish childhood. His sadistic and powerful parents scarred him physically and emotionally to bend him to their will like his brothers, and he left home when he overheard his parents plotting to kill him. Now he manipulates, hides, and plays a game to find the legendary Jewel of Kings before his destructive family does. But he has made a mistake. The child…his child, Grace, is with him and he has kidnapped an unusual and moralistic thief to take care of her. This child and woman will be his undoing. He cannot care for anyone or they will be killed along with him. It is too late.
Aliette had been afraid of only one thing her entire life. Darkness. As a child, she knew shadows hid bad people. This man before her was shadow and night. He was Darkness.
As a child, Aliette was abandoned by her parents and left to fend for herself on the streets of Paris from the age of 5. Fifteen years later she has collected her own rag-tag family of thieves consisting of a young boy missing an ear and an old couple passed their prime for stealing. When she risks her own life to save the boy by returning two stolen loaves of bread, she is kidnapped and taught to read by a mysterious and dangerous man who has chosen her to care for a child who is clearly his. Why does he hide in a dark and dreary house surrounded by armed mercenaries? Why are his books more precious than people? “She trusted her instincts, but she didn’t trust this man or anyone. Lies were too easily told.”
I love Ms. Locke’s eloquent and free-flowing writing style. The story is tragic and heartwarming. To see two souls who never knew love or trust come together to protect an innocent child is very romantic. Reynold’s home life and family sound disturbing and so sad and the reader realizes that his arrogance and dark brooding are a foil for his kindness and giving nature which compliments Aliette’s selfless and generous nature.
This is my first Nicole Locke book and it is charming and full of complex characters and an enjoyable and enigmatic plot. Though it is book 8 in the Legends and Lovers series it reads as a standalone. Recommend highly!
Thank you to Ms. Locke for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.
Lovers and Legends Series
1. The Knight’s Broken Promise (2015)
2. Her Enemy Highlander (2015)
3. The Highland Laird’s Bride (2016)
4. In Debt To The Enemy Lord (2016)
5. The Knight’s Scarred Maiden (2017)
6. Her Christmas Knight (2017)
7. Reclaimed by the Knight (2018)
8. Her Dark Knight’s Redemption (2019)
9. Captured By Her Enemy Knight (2020) – My review
10. The Maiden And The Mercenary (2020)
11. The Knight’s Runaway Maiden (2021) – My review
12. Her Honorable Mercenary (2021) – My review
13. Her Legendary Highlander (2021) – My review
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicole is the author of Harlequin’s Lovers and Legends and The Lochmore Legacy series. If she isn’t working on the next book, she can be reached at NicoleLocke.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
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