Dark Angels: A Novel

by Karleen Koen

Where do I begin with this one? There was so much going on in this novel, that it's difficult to find a place to begin! I guess I can begin with the fact that this novel is historical fiction. Set in the time of King Charles II and the time of Restoration in England. The story revolved around King Charles's court and the people within.

Our main character is Alice Verney. A young twenty-something maid-of-honor to the Queen, although temporarily on loan to Princess Henriette of France. Alice is a busybody and a meddler, thinking she can match-make to her heart's content, and she is also ambitious, setting her cap for a very old, very wealthy Duke in the hopes of becoming his Duchess. Our novel begins with the arrival of Princess Henriette and her entourage to the court of King Charles. Henriette is the sister to the king, and they have not seen each other for about 10 years. The next few weeks are full of frivolity and excitement. Alice is eager to return to the English court and find out how things have progressed in her absence. There is a lot going on in this time of fun, including the signing of an ultra-secret treaty with King Louis of France.

The parting of Princess Henriette and her entourage is sad at best. No one wants her to leave, including herself. But leave they must, and shortly after returning to France, the princess is poisoned, and Alice finds herself headed back to King Charles's court, searching out the princess's poisoner and the man behind it.

So begins a novel full of intrigue, romance and excitement. Many actual historical events were expertly woven into the fiction, presenting a fantastic idea of what could have been. The details of life at court were very believable and well-done. My problem with this novel is that there were so many loose ends that never got tied up. And some of the ones that were tied up were tied up just a little too neatly. The novel seemed to me to come to a sudden abrupt halt. And while I was satisfied with the conclusion, it still left me wanting more and wondering about all the other bits and pieces. Only after reading this book, did I find out that it is a prequel to two other works by Karleen Koen. I'll be searching those out to continue the story, but I can only hope that there is a sequel for the prequel in the works to fill in the missing pieces.

Overall, this was a great read for me. I read it in just a few days, and at times there were parts that were confusing and fast paced, but eventually I got into the rhythm and really enjoyed the book. Parts of this book may be disturbing to some, as there are some bedroom scenes, not as many and certainly not as detailed as they could be, but they are still there. One of the scenes of disaster in the novel is a homosexual brothel, so that give you an idea of some of the imagery included. However, there was little of it, but be forewarned that it is there a couple of times. Being a time of debauchery in the court of England, there could certainly have been much, much more and I am grateful that there wasn't. I enjoyed this book very much, and I'm looking forward to reading her other books and finding out what happens to Alice Verney much later on in life.