A Dark Champion [Mass Market Paperback]

This is Stryder of Blackmoor's story and I must admit I didn't care for this knight in the anthology "Where's My Hero?" where Ms. MacGregor introduced us to not only this series but this character. My fears were totally misplaced and I found that Stryder is a complex character who was easy to care about. His feelings and thoughts are results of his past. Although this is a rather complex story with many characters they are easy to manage if you're paying attention to what your reading. Trust me it dosen't require a map nor brain surgery to keep it all straight.

Rowena is a great character and does not have her head turned by a pretty...okay handsome face. She actually has no use for knights and the things they stand for. That is until she finds herself in the strong arms of Stryder. Now she must keep her wits about her or she may just fall in love with not only a man but a knight who just me leave her to fight the injustices in the world. The fact that Stryder does not help by keeping his distance, and his kisses touch something in her that she thought was never there only adds to her confusion.

Stryder has made a vow and nothing and no one will keep him from it. Add to the fact that he is constantly ambushed by women who are anxious to be his countess he has grown rather allergic to the female race. That is until he saves a lady from a nasty spill. Now he can't keep his mind nor his lips off of her. She is so different from the normal ladies he runs into. She actually sees deeper then the surface and has not run screaming.

Together they face the chanllenges and threats that follow them. Stryder's past is catching up and fellow members of the Brotherhood are being killed. They must find out who the assasin is before he strikes again.

This is a strong story to mark the beginning of another great series. The groundwork has been set by introducing us to several of Stryder's knights that hopefully will be appearing again soon. The romance between Rowena and Stryder is sweet and spicy. There are laughs and tears aplenty in this read. I highly recommend Ms. MacGregor (AKA Sherrilyn Kenyon) for a wonderful read regardless of the time period or genre! I can't wait for the next in this series!

First off, the heroine and hero were written well. Even though we as readers know the book only takes place in the space of a month, I felt that Rowena and Stryder knew each other for longer- they complimented each other so well. You can see the changes and growth in the characters, and though they refuse to be attracted to each other, at the end of the book they accept the love growing between them and work together. A refreshing change.

The secondary characters in the book were also very interesting and although at times there was alot of the book devoted to them, I don't feel it distracted at all from the book. The mystery was well done and my only quibble with the book is that at the end you dont really find out what happens to the villains. But since this is the first book in a series I guess we will find out later.

I also had no problems with believing it was set in Medieval England. The historical figures, background and speech were pretty on the mark to me.

All in all, a great book by McKinley. I look forward to the next one about Christian the Abbot.

If you can overlook the women chasing after Stryder whose looks are exaggerated beyond reason and ignore the idea of a singing contest, you might recognize the second half as KM's book (w/ a little mystery).