Dark Champion

Medieval Lords/Dark Champion #2

by Jo Beverley

A Damsel’s Plight

Orphaned and desperate, Imogen of Carrisford flees when a brutal lord invades and takes possession of her castle. There is only one man she can turn to for help.

A Knight's Rescue

He is FitzRoger of Cleeve, rumored to be a ruthless champion in battle and a tyrannical master. Imogen is stunned at the very sight of his powerful body, yet it is his cool green eyes that penetrate her very soul, making her tremble with both fear and desire. Sheltered all her life, she needs such a man to defend and protect her…yet she dares not trust him to put her desires before his own. But even as she vows independence, boldly standing beside him against treacherous enemies, her defenses crumble…falling helplessly to the gentle fury of her warrior’s love.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Medieval, Historical, Medieval Romance, Historical Fiction, British Literature

376 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Mary Josephine Dunn was born 22 September 1947 in Lancashire, England, UK. At the age of eleven she went to an all-girls boarding school, Layton Hill Convent, Blackpool. At sixteen, she wrote her first romance, with a medieval setting, completed in installments in an exercise book. From 1966 to 1970, she obtained a degree in English history from Keele University in Staffordshire, where she met her future husband, Ken Beverley. After graduation, they married on June 24, 1971. She quickly attained a position as a youth employment officer until 1976, working first in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, and then in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire.

In 1976, her scientist husband was invited to do post-doctoral research at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. When her professional qualifications proved not to be usable in the Canadian labour market, she raised their two sons and started to write her first romances.

Moved to Ottawa, in 1985 she became a founding member of the Ottawa Romance Writers’ Association, that her “nurturing community” for the next twelve years. The same year, she completed a regency romance, but it was promptly rejected by a number of publishers, and she settled more earnestly to learning the craft. In 1988, it sold to Walker, and was published as "Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed". She regularly appears on bestseller lists including the USA Today overall bestseller list, the New York Times, and and the Publishers Weekly list. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Golden Leaf, the Award of Excellence, the National Readers Choice, and a two Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. She is also a five time winner of the RITA, the top award of the Romance Writers Of America, and a member of their Hall of Fame and Honor Roll.

Jo Beverley passed away on May 23, 2016 after a long battle with cancer.

Reviews

[Anna Bowling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo Beverley only wrote four medieval romance novels, and I need to take a minute to be sad about that, because Dark Champion had everything I want in a medieval romance, and reminded me why I love the subgenre as much as I do. This isn't a nice book. This isn't a pretty book. This is not a gentle book. There's war, and Ms. Beverley pulled no punches in showing us what that entails, not only the heat of battle, but the collateral damage, which is what our heroine, Imogen, has to handle after the death of her father puts her, his heiress, in a precarious position. What's best for her people, marriage to an older, respected nobleman, or to a battle scarred bastard, FitzRoger (yep, the Fitz stamps "bastard" right there on his name) a warrior whose fire matches Imogen's own.

If you're thinking you can tell where the rest of the book is going to go from here, wrong-o. Not. Even. Close. Imogen can more than hold her own. She's a smart one, she's brave, and she's also got some rather, ah, we shall say interesting, views on exactly what the marriage entails, which makes the whole consummation part of it a challenge for FitzRoger. This couple has issues, which stem naturally from who they are and the times in which they live, and it's how they sort out these issues that binds them together as an unstoppable team even a truly dastardly bad guy can't beat. Not for the faint of heart, or for those who prefer characters, in whatever era, to think and behave like 21st century people, because these don't, and that's part of what makes the story as compelling as it is. Highly recommended.

[Myself · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me lo tenía que terminar. 🤦‍♀️
Ni tiempo en hacer reseña le dedico...

[HR-ML · Rating 1 out of 5]

*** SPOILER on rape scene***


This medieval story was 1st published in 1993.

In this story England's king was King Henry #1 & the
Duke of Normandy wanted to usurp him. The hero Tyrone
sided w/ the King. The 2 bad guys sided w/ the Duke.

Beautiful Imogen, sheltered and spoiled, grieved for the
recent death of her father, Lord Bernard. One of the bad
men stormed her castle and subjected her maid to rape.
The h's loyal steward helped her escape and sought help
from a powerful man, Tyrone FitzRoger of Cleeve (the H).
Imogen was 16 and Ty 10 years her senior. I believe girls
of that era wed around age 12?

Ty helped Imogen re-take her castle. These two acted liked
oil and water together. It dawned on Imo that the King
would not allow her to keep/ defend her castle w/o having a
spouse. By process of elimination, she chose Ty.

The author made clear her preoccupation with:
1) alliances, holdings and preventing war
2) Imogen dreading the consummation of her marriage
based on witnessing the horrid rape. I'd rather not read
about rape, even though men exerted their power that
way in that era.

Jo Beverly wrote superior books to this one. I'd gladly
list some of her better books.

[JennyG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Heroine ruined it for me.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is 2nd in the series it can be read as a stand alone. Copyright 1993. This was a favorite reread back in the day. I still enjoy it & this is the best romance set in the Dark Ages I've read. JB does an excellent job immersing us into an age of knights & swords & fair maidens. Both H/h are intelligent & good people.

Imogen is only 16. She's a spoiled & pampered heiress. But when the way gets rough, she puts on her big girl panties & tries to get the job done. She's not without faults, but I can excuse her youth & inexperience. Her father also sheltered her from a lot of life's ugliness. She's a likeable heroine.

Ty is known as a bastard, but was actually born legitimately. He's a hard man, but not without sympathy for Imogen. He's a likeable hero. JB also doesn't resort to the standard at the time of the heroine getting raped by the "hero". Ty is very noble & gives as much time as he can.

Much can be made of Ty whipping Imogen. However, if he didn't give her one lash it wouldn't have gone well for her. He was well within his rights to beat her to death for what she did ( she knocked him out with a rock so he couldn't fight the bad guy (he was injured) & then had the bad guy killed by her archers). He lashed her back with her clothes on. He would only give her one lash. There was a jury of his peers that wanted him to do more. Imogen didn't hold it against him & she wasn't injured.
I didn't hold it against him either & there's a satisfying HEA.

[* kyrat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've enjoyed some of her regency novels, so I picked this up. I did not realize it was going to be a medieval "romance" set in 1100s.

I completely understand that life was hard/brutal for everyone in those times. Killing, domination through rape, forced marriages, marriage solely for land/wealth, women as chattels, women's viriginity as a bargaining tool, droit de seigneur, etc. etc.

That does not mean I want that era romanticized or read a romance set in those times.
I don't care how retroactivley plucky you make her character or how anachronisticly you give her power and make them equals. (I'm admitting that accepting feminist revisionism in Regency novels but not in this one is a bit hypocrtical.)

Also, I can accept a rape as an act of violence & war included at the beginning, but then to have her discuss w/ Fitzroger that he may need to forcibly rape her to consummate the marriage was the last straw for me.

And yes, women were beaten by their husbands. But her placid acceptance of it was disturbing to read.

The whipping scene also was hard to read.

It simply doesn't add to my enjoyment to remember the brutality women suffered through in this time. I don't find an ameloration of that "well at least he only whipped me" to be romantic.

Do NOT recommend unless you like the medieval era type romances.

[Literary Lusts · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked Dark Champion's interesting hero and, up until around halfway through the book, the writing was also really good as well. However the heroine drove me up the wall. I understand that the author was trying to be period correct and wanted to add some kind of conflict with the crazy priest and his ridiculous advice to the heroine. However I had no desire to read about it. It was absolute nonsense what he told her and even worse that she believed him, even though I do know this is a situation that did occur during the middle ages. Regardless it just made me want to throw the heroine into a lake and I couldn't continue with the book.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Within the first 50 pages or so, I was fully prepared to chalk this one up as an indulgent, cheesy romance novel. In some ways, it DID fit the bill. However, I was thoroughly surprised to find myself falling in love with the character of FitzRoger - his gift for logic and sarcasm is incredibly appealing. This book does drag a bit in places, but it's definitely a fantastically fun, escapist kind of read.

[Amarilli 73 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Questo è stato decisamente un romanzo che ho portato a termine a forza, colpendomi con una frusta invisibile per fare penitenza.
Ci sono molte probabilità che sia proprio l'epoca storica a farmi sbadigliare: i soliti sassoni contro i vecchi normanni, il re contro i baroni, scaramucce, castelli in fiamme, contadini e pecore sullo sfondo, eccetera, eccetera.
La protagonista è odiosa e l'intero libro mi è parsa una carnevalata piena di contraddizioni.
Ne cito solo alcune: lei arriva dal Bastardo sporca di fango, puzzolente e con i pidocchi, e dopo mezz'ora di tinozza (avete presente i famosi bagni con il sapone e il bruschetto dell'anno mille?) ritorna una dea con una chioma pura e fluente sino alla vita. Ora, dopo varie esperienze genitoriali con i pidocchi, ditemi come si può credere che basti un po' d'acqua calda su un metro di capelli per eliminare il problema?
Secondo esempio: nella scena precedente lei si strugge per la sorte della povera zia, che era tanto buona e tutta dedita al giardinaggio; nella scena seguente, apprende della di lei dipartita e reagisce accigliandosi perchè l'hanno già sepolta senza aspettarla...
Questo lo spessore dell'eroina.
Sino al 40% del libro, poi, è tutto una tiritera su chi sposare: partendo dal presupposto che tutti i signorotti confinati sono, per stessa ammissione della ragazzina, vecchi bavosi alla terza moglie, mentre l'eventuale nemico ha una panza che esce dalla cintura come se fosse incinto, come può la tizia dilungarsi per dieci pagine a tentennare sul Bastardo, che è appunto l'unico Uomo degno di questa parola (muscoloso + occhi verdi) all'orizzonte??? Ma cosa ti sei fumata?
Dei personaggi, salvo solo il Bastardo e il suo fratello del cuore. Ma sono semplicemente bellissimi, indomiti, fieri, cortesi, guerrieri, eccetera, eccetera.
Mi sembra evidente che a quest'autrice piace vincere facile.

[Morena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A note to the readers:
Do yourself a favour and don't treat "historical" romance books like they are primary sources or windows into the past. The silliness that happens in the modern HF romances does not reflect the reality of middle ages. Women were not chattels. And the reason why virginity mattered was to assure the woman wasn't carrying another man's child because there was no contraception.

I cannot believe I am giving Dark Champ four stars because about 70% of the book was unbearable, repetitive and ridiculous thanks to the heroine. But here lies the crux. The heroine, while insufferable, wasn't the usual chin-thrusting Mary Sue. Quite the opposite. She was chin-thrusting Eric Cartman. At first it was a welcome change to read about such a spoiled, egotistical, conniving, mean-spirited, greedy heroine, but after 200 pages of her whining and criticizing every good thing the hero did for her, (she bitched that her jewels were stolen. So the hero, who isn't as rich as she, procures some for her. Instead of thanking him, she complains that they don't match and were likely stolen. And this is just one example out of hundreds) I started to skim and thought about quitting, but I persevered only because the hero was great, and I knew that Beverley planned some sort of transformation for Eric Cartman. And yes she did deliver on that, and it was in parts ridiculous, but Erica Cartman managed to redeem herself.

[Korynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now this is more like it. A nice traditional romance novel with the familiar theme of a powerless woman who is forced to seek assistance to right an injustice against herself and her people. The lady Imogen is by turns spoiled, petulant and irrational - a magnificent hypocrite and a teenager. Her foil, FitzRoger is stalwart and controlling with words like hard to describe his demeanor and physique. Forced together by circumstances they find themselves married and working out a new relationship in the face of growing threats. Imogen redeems herself to some degree by having a knack for planning and rationality when it serves. But the best part of the book is when FitzRoger, terribly wounded, goes to fight the villain of the book and Imogen knocks him out and gets the soldiers to kill the villain like an animal. Obviously this is a tremendous slight to her husband's honor and she is behaving quite unwomanly - but it is wonderfully appropriate, who hasn't wanted to sock one of these romance heroes one when they insist on going to battle under terrible circumstances?

[Oana · Rating 3 out of 5]

5% romance, 95% courage :)

[Ann Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong hero who wasn't a dick. Heroine was hard to like in the beginning but she soon showed what she was made of.

[Susy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Medieval romance in which the heroine, a sheltered 16 yo heiress turns in desperation to the nearest strong lord to protect her from the sacking of her castle and attempted marriage by her other strong neighbor, who is a brute.

Her rescuer is Bastard FitzRoger, a formidable warrior and friend of the new king, Henry Beauclerc (Henry I). After he takes back her castle for her and she assesses her prospects, the heroine Imogene decides to marry him with the stipulation that she remain in charge of her property of Carrisford.

Things are not straightforward and there is some manufactured angst that is drawn out. Not sure I liked Imogene but she did have a natural intelligence that the author Jo Beverly was able to show us instead of telling us. I also liked that the author made her honest so we avoided "the big misunderstanding" that drives many lazily written Rom novels. Beverly also finally sold the whole "sheltered so much that it explains why the heroine is kinda dumb" excuse when the Heroine is dumb, or at least I bought it.

The hero was great. FitzRoger was practical, and honest if he could be, and his actions were period appropriate. I liked that he was calculating and intelligent in a believable way.

This novel also introduces Renald de Lisle whose story I had read previously in Lord of Midnight for TGRRP2013.

This medieval tale involves rape themes, disenfranchisement and the husband's total authority over the wife so if you avoid if that is offensive to you.

I thought Dark Champion an enjoyable read. There is a lot of action. Some of the light-hearted moments the couple shared were under great duress, and I thought the addition of humor at these moments was odd and off-putting.

The ending with the trial of the Barons and King Henry kinda made the novel for me, tbh.

I didn't love it but was good, enjoyable romance read.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book that I ever read by Jo Beverly. I was looking for a new author who combined romance with good usage of historical fact. I was not disappointed when I read the book through very quickly. The attention to many details of this time in history made it fascinating. I think it is important not to lose sight of the fact that this is dominantly a romance with the steamy love scenes and large powerful male bodies.
The plot started out fairly straight forward with the heroine, Lady Imogene, having to watch her precious castle home and people being raped and pillaged. She sought help from a powerful neighbor whom she mistrusted, but needed as an ally to get her castle and lands back. She has mixed feelings for Lord Fitzroger which plays with her trust issues. They bicker and argue while trying to seek the upperhand as both are very strong, proud people. Fitzroger comes to her aid, but then she discovers what he has been holding back. At this point she becomes aware that there was a traitor in her own castle who let the raiders in. Her father and betrothed's deaths may have not been what they seem. Everyone seems to be plotting to get ahold of her, her land, and her treasure. It is all set in the time of King Henry the First not long after the Norman Invasion of England by Henry's father.

[Antoinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. So good! Jo Beverley's medieval romances are extremely well done. In this novel, the writing is effortless, the heroine is a wonderful mixture of naive and audacious, the hero is so "dark" (as the title says) and hard to read for the heroine that when his facade gives way just a little it's heartwarming, and the plot, which begins and ends with fierce action, is full of suspense the whole way through. Having witnessed a rape in the opening pages and been raised to be strongly religious, the heroine is terrified of the sexual act -- an act which, to secure her marriage contract, her lands, the security of the territory, and therefore the security of the whole of England during the beginning of Beauclerk's reign -- is necessary. This is therefore the BEST example I've come across of a heroine's sexual awakening being absolutely intrinsic to the plot, with the highest possible personal and universal stakes. And, the sexual awakening is made even more complex by it being predicated on two opposing lessons she needs to learn: how to trust a man again and to have her body, her lands, and her treasure be vulnerable; and how to fight for herself and assert her own strong will as a woman in a patriarchal society. This book works on all levels.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imogen of Carrisford also known as the Treasure of Carrisford though there is also The Treasure as in gold and gems... and after her father's mysterious death, the castle has fallen from the inside so that evil men can take possession of said Treasures ~ girl and gold. But for the castle's seneschal (Siward), Imogen escaped to ask for the Lord of Cleeve's assistance. This event happened during a time of unrest when King Henry has not yet firmly established his monarchy and ambitious border barons need Carrisford and its treasures as fortress and to finance an uprising against Henry... thus, putting Imogen in the middle of a Machiavellian~like politics. Imogen is a combination of a clueless naive girl, sheltered from worldly reality, men's lusts for flesh and power... has surprising exhibited strength of character and fortitude in the face of uncommon and unexpected adversity.

[Susan (the other Susan) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this author's medieval romances almost as much as Madeleine Hunter's, and on a par with early Claudia Dane. All three authors take advantage of the historically supported power imbalance that lends itself to un-PC plot lines and sexual tension; but they don't typically subject their medieval heroines to cringe-making brutality at the hands of so-called heroes. This story crossed the line, but I liked it anyway. I probably need therapy.

[Annabel Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. I am waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars. The hero was awesome and sexy but the heroine annoyed me after a while, and was not a very sympathetic character, which kept this book off my keeper shelf. BUT the plotting was good and there was a lot of nail-biting action. The end really got me nervous and it was pretty intense. So I will go with four stars.

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read. The 'heroine' is truly wretched thru 80% of it - a pouty four year old stamping her foot yelling 'you're not the boss of me' - she's appalling really - but manages, during the last 20, to do a 180.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad! This book had such potential but the hr ruined it. She was an immature, spoiled brat. She picked stupid fights with the h, even though he saves her many times over. I just couldn't stand her and she doesn't improve till the last 50pgs. I gave 2 stars bc the ending was good.

[MsMari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately an adolescent TSTL heroine with bratty behaviour from the start. Directly to the DId not finish shelf.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it a long time ago, and it was actually a translation into Spanish. So I decided to I reread it again, this time in English and I remembered why I liked the book: we have plot and brains (the female main character has quite the character XD) in a historical medieval romance! I'm not saying there aren't books like this one, but I appreciated the fact that Imogen wasn't too stupid and actually grew through the story. I really liked all the characters and the fact that the main ones can reflect and admit when they are wrong or not rightful.
I knew there was something about the story that rubbed me wrong and when I finished rereading it I realised that it wasn't the book itself but the general custom in those times to see women as a mere wallflower/incubator/rape/likewise. However, I was ok with how it was portrait (I will be forever against inequality or rape, but we do know our history) and especially how the main characters are actually against all that. I had to remind myself of the historical setting and its meaning to calm down though.
All in all, a great medieval romance I highly recommend but only if you're ok with medieval thinking/acting: whipping, husbands rule over wifes, rape and so on.

[Sharyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am in Mexico and I was at a marina and caught a glimpse of a small library in the laundry room. Being the book crazy person I am I had to go and see if there was a book I hadn't read and I found this one. When I got back to the room I looked up to see if I had read it and apparently I hadn't. This book was written in 1993, but holds up today.It is a medieval which isn't as popular as Regency's and Georgians today but I did enjoy it. Also, as I was reading I had to stop and look up Henry the 1st, thanks Wikipedia. The history in the book was well-researched and our hero was a knight who supported Henry. Our heroine had just seen her father and many of the people of her Court murdered and was saved by Fitz Robert. Of course since this is a romance there is a happy ending.But it is fun getting there.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars

I'm really liking these medieval stories, and some of these "older" historical romances.

Thoughts:
*The author seems to have done her research, and I learned some news things about the clothing, food, and customs of the time period
*A great deal of the back and forth between our leads was highly amusing
**Especially Imogen's insistence than she would never ever marry him only to realize that it was the only option that made sense in the next chapter
*There was some kind of almost magical power introduced? There's no other mythical elements to the story. I'm curious if the whole virago thing has any historical basis or if it belongs only to this book.
*The characters definitely act less modern than a lot of historicals like to portray. I think I like it
*Such a detestable villain. Good job
*That poor maid

[Joycee · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was irritated by Imogen’s petulance.

Then I recall that she is only 16 and was sheltered by her now-deceased father.

She acquits herself later when she firmly takes charge of Carrisford.

I like how Imogen and FitzRoger’s story unfolded. His nobility, her eventual trust in him ... their united effort to restore a ruined and ransacked Carrisford as well as the action in the denouement ... kept me turning pages! (I suppose it helped that I was traveling and could actually devote generous chunks of time to reading.) I must say, though, I objected to the few times Renald missed Imogen “for good luck”. 🤔

I enjoyed the entire series, and appreciated the inclusion of faith by the various characters to guide their actions and reactions.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

SPOILERS!!



I couldn’t stand the heroine. I wanted to reach through the book and slap her as she liked to slap the hero. I kept hoping that her self-admittances of being “pampered, sheltered and indulged by all”would be result in character growth. Spoiled, ridiculously immature, and haughty.

And the hero was patient, kind(to her), honest, but hard/fair. Damn, he deserved someone so much better than her. He was gentle with her. She came to him for help, he gave it. He didn’t rape her, bully or domineer her. He kept his patience so that the idea of her marriage to him would grow on her. Almost like he was showing her to be an adult. How to grow up. I stopped at page 127 or thereabouts. Her childish tantrums and outbursts just… omg 😳.

This isn’t a bad book. As far as BR’s go, and as far as I got, it wasn’t that bad. Yes, there is brutality, but I didn’t feel it was over-the -top or out of context. I just couldn’t hang in there for another 200 pages to see if the heroine became likeable.

[Stalowooka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imogena jako młodziutka, niewinna, religijna panna naprawdę oddaje klimat bohaterki naiwnej i nieopierzonej. To mi się podobało. Z drugiej strony średniowieczny świat przedstawiony nie do końca mnie przekonał. Z jednej strony zamki, królewskie nadania i religijne zakazy, a z drugiej rozluźnienie obyczajów i całowanie bohaterki w usta przez nie-męża. Brakowało mi spójności i jasno określonych zasad, które tak dobrze działają w romansach regencyjnych. Historia wciągająca, ale miałam poczucie pewnej niekonsekwencji.

[Martina Nix Govoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molto molto bello, non banale e ben strutturato. Imogen ad un primo impatto può risultare un po' sciocca, ma è un personaggio dalla crescita credibile e costante e alla fine è adorabile. FitzRoger molto affascinante, senza essere banale. I dialoghi sono stupendi, battibecchi incessanti e quel filo di crudeltà dovuto al periodo storico non disturba.
Molto meglio del primo.

[Camila Dariela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es que lo ameeeee, la historia de la niña mimada que tiene que madurar a la fuerza en una sociedad donde la mujer no era más que un adorno. Escrito magistralmente te transporta a la época y te hace vivir todo como en primera persona. Me lo he leído en nada, solo no tiene las 5 estrellas porque sentí el final muy abrupto, pero de que recomiendo leerlo lo recomiendo!