I thought I had read everything that Sherrilyn Kenyon had ever written besides her Manga and Comic series (I have never liked Comics or Manga but I would like to buy them one day just for the pictures) but I guess I was wrong. I’ve been to her website a thousand times…and that isn’t an exaggeration…and I’ve seen the Lords of Avalon books on her website but I just thought she was promoting another author named Kinley MacGregor so I ignored it. Sherrilyn sometimes mentions in her books that someone is reading a Kinley MacGregor novel so I just thought it was one of her favorite authors that she decided to mention. I did not realize that Kinley MacGregor was a pseudonym for Sherrilyn Kenyon until I read the reviews for this book. Hmmm…I learn something new every day.

On SK’s website, it says the original release date was in 2005, long after her Dark-Hunter series was under way, so I had to wonder why she would want to write under a pseudonym. Why do already famous authors do that? I could see her using the name Kinley MacGregor if the book was a Historical Romance about Scotland because the name is definitely Scottish and by using a Scottish surname, it could make her seem more authentic but this is a book about Avalon and Camelot so that does not fit here. I wonder if she wrote the Lords of Avalon, which consists of two books and then spills over into the Dark-Hunter series in Son of No One and Dragonbane which were the last two books released, before she ever wrote the Dark-Hunter Series and then decided to release them later. I only wonder this because these books are so different from her current style of writing which is contemporary and humorous and sort of down to earth. The Lords of Avalon has a fairy tale feel which was okay but not what I am used to with Sherrilyn Kenyon. Let’s just say that I am glad I didn’t read the Lords of Avalon before I read her other works or I might not have been such a slobbering fan like I am now. I feel so bad for saying that like I am betraying my loyalty. I’m not saying these books are bad…in fact, they are pretty good…but they just aren’t the style of writing that I prefer. A note from the author at the beginning of the book did say that she started this idea while she was in college but it didn’t say when she wrote it but I’m guessing it was right around that time or shortly afterwards.

This is about Avalon and Camelot. King Arthur has long since fallen and died at the hands of his nephew Mordred, Morgen’s son. I wasn’t sure on the details but Avalon and Camelot are in a different realm. Morgen, Arthur’s evil sister, has taken over Camelot which is a dark and dreary place while the remaining Knights of the Round Table are in Avalon which is a paradise.

It starts out with a woman named Seren standing before the guild masters waiting for them to examine her work, cloth that she had worked on in her spare time for the last year and she knew it was perfection. If the guild masters approve of her work, she could finally become a journeywoman and be part of the guild and actually be paid for her work instead of working as a servant, weaving cloth for others. The guild masters tell her it is not good enough and give her back her cloth.

Someone tells her as she is leaving that there are just too many people already in the guild and unless someone dies, she’ll never get into the guild. She leaves with her hopes drowned.
Outside, two knights approach her and tell her their names, Gawain and Agravain. She asks, “As in the tales of King Arthur?” They tell her that that is exactly who they are and that she needs to come with them because she is to be the mother of the next Merlin. Of course, she thinks they are crazy because the tales of King Arthur are just a story not real life. Plus, she cannot be seen walking with two unknown men or she will be thrown out of her home. Master Rufus threw out Gilda, one of the other apprentices, just for walking home from Mass with a young man. Now, she worked in a brothel.

They tell her they need to protect her from the MODs, Minions of Death, who will take her to Morgen. Seren thought they had lost their minds so she ran from them. A gorgeous knight in black on a black horse saved her. He held out his hand and pulled her up on the horse. They race towards the woods with the other two knights chasing behind them.

Seren believes she has been saved until the gorgeous knight whispers something in a strange language and the gargoyle decoration on the bridle comes to life to go after the two knights behind them. The black knight tells her to sleep and she instantly falls asleep.

Kerrigan is the black knight. After she falls asleep, he turns around and yells to Gawain and Agravain and tells them, “She is ours.” And then tells them to have Merlin hand over what he wants or the woman will die.

Kerrigan takes her to Camelot which is in another dimension where he is king and champion. He started out life as a poor child whose mother was a prostitute who berated and abused him. He had to steal to eat and when his mother tried to sell his body to some of her clients, he killed her. When the authorities found out, they chased him into the woods where he found a sword embedded into a boulder. No, not Excalibur but Caliburn, a sword created by the fey to channel the darker powers. Kerrigan was able to pull the sword from the boulder. Morgen appeared to him and promised that he could be king of Camelot blah blah blah and he agreed.

As long as Kerrigan hold Caliburn, he is immortal. If he gets the round table from Merlin like he wants, he could be even more powerful than Morgen which isn’t really a good thing because Kerrigan is just as evil as Morgen, or at least, that is what everyone says. Morgen seems a lot more evil. She plays evil games and loves to be cruel. I didn’t see that in Kerrigan. I just saw a man who wanted to keep his power because he never wanted to be poor or helpless again.

This is a story about a peasant woman taming a dark lord. Seren was just too innocent and good for me to really get into her. I liked the idea of the story but it was just okay for me.

I am currently reading the second book of Lords of Avalon but I am so bored with it that I haven’t finished it. I read a few pages and then find other things to do. This has never happened before while reading anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon and I feel bad for saying it but it is true.

www.paranormalromanceslut.com ( )

pb

Sword of Darkness was OK. Seren was wholesomely good, but, thankfully, I didn't find her annoying. I actually really liked her. She had a spine and stood up for what she believed in. Kerrigan was supposed to be the Big Bad, but he wasn't. We were told he did all of these horrible things, had no compassion, blah, blah,blah, but he was a big softy where Seren was concerned and it was a bit disappointing. The plot was decent, but the story dragged in places. I kept me interested enough to want to read the next books though. 3.5 stars ( )

4*5
Opinião em português em: http://pepitamagica.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/livro-sword-of-darkness-de-sherrilyn....

Ever since a friend of mine showed me the Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunters Series I’ve decided that I would not lose sight of this author. I found on Goodreads this "Lord of Avalon" series that took me to Camelot- but this Camelot is not the one you know.

Kerrigan is the male lead and he’s the owner of the Caliburn sword, the “evil twin” of Excalibur – he carries the sword of Darkness. For those of you who may not know, these two swords were created by the Lady of the Lake, so that there would be balance in the world, with a Merlin of Light and a Merlin of Darkness – Kerrigan.

In this book, Merlin isn’t exactly the Merlin we know – that old man with white beard and infinite wisdom? Well…he doesn’t have any beard, he is not old, he does not have infinite wisdom and…he is not a he. One of the things I most liked in this book is that Merlin, a beautiful woman, admitted that in the age that Kerrigan had been proposed to choose between light and darkness, and considering the way the proposal had been made, maybe even she (the current Light Merlin) would have chosen darkness.

The book has a fast pace, it’s interesting and it’s romantic and adventurous at the same time. I’m definitely continuing to read this book series, I love Camelot, I like the author and the stories she creates. This book left me with a smile on my lips and wanting to know more about the other characters. Can’t wait to read the next one. ( )

So, I haven’t decided if I only liked this book a little bit, or if the 17 hours of straight reading…with 8 more to go has hindered my ability to actually enjoy anything I read at this point. Oh well, I am going with it. I think this book was just ok, I finished it, which is more than I can say about the last pseudo-Arthurian legend book I have read lately (see Lucan) , so that is a step up. I liked how strong Seren is in this book, just doing what needed to be done when it needed to be done. I did not like how Kerrigan was all over the “I’m to evil for my shirt” role, it got pretty boring a little ways in. We know he had a crappy life and all…we got that, but he just would not let it go. Anyway, I like how Macgregor kept it closhish to the legends and added her own twist enough so that it didn’t resemble an insane babble of nothingness. As I said, it was just ok. Sorry if this review or my last offends anyone…I apparently get grumpy when tired, lol. Enjoy! ( )