The Dark One’s adoptive son, Dane Stoneley, finds his own epic love story in Dark Steel….1512 – Dane Stoneley de Russe is a hardcore knight, bred for battle. His father, Gaston de Russe, is called The Dark One, a knight so deadly and legendary that he is more myth than man. Dane has a lot to live up to.In a nasty battle on the Welsh marches, Dane is forced to make a bargain with the dying Duke of … make a bargain with the dying Duke of Shrewsbury. On his deathbed, he rewards Dane with his only child, his heiress. Now, it is Dane who will inherit the Dukedom of Shrewsbury and become a powerful man in his own right.
It is a gift that any man would be glad to accept, and Dane is no exception. Except for the marriage part. Focused on the dukedom he will inherit, he gives little thought to the means by which he will acquire it and only on his wedding day does he catch a glimpse of his bride, the Lady Grier de Lara, for the first time.
Then, the situation changes markedly.
Grier is a lovely young woman, raised in a Welsh convent when her mother died, and far removed from her father and his English legacy. Thrust into a marriage she didn’t want, she is nonetheless intrigued with her new husband, handsome Dane. As Dane and Grier come to know one another, feelings develop that neither one of them can admit. When rumors of a Welsh uprising against Shrewsbury began to circulate, it is Grier who decides to involve herself where she doesn’t belong – in her husband’s war plans.
Enter a great world of Medieval pageantry and battles, where love crosses lines and battlefields, and where betrayal is inevitable as two countries remain at odds. Can Dane and Grier overcome the prejudices they’ve always been taught in order to love their enemy?
Dark Steel is the romance of a lifetime!
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The de Russe Legacy series are all stand-alone novels, but the chronological order by the date the book is set is:
Lord of War: Black Angel
The Iron Knight
Beast
The White Lord of Wellesbourne
The Dark One: Dark Knight
Dark Moon
Dark Steel
more
As a fan of K. Le Veque, i truly enjoy every book I’ve read thus far and this is no exception. I seriously need to start collecting these in hardback versus ebook…those I add to my hard back collection are books I go to all the time so that says something , and if you are a midieveal historical romance lover as I am these families in these stories are a must read .
Glad Dane got his story. He finally got his own castle, but also a Dukedom from Shrewsbuy when he fell along with his daughter. Being at a nunnery most of her life she was not happy about becoming a wife. There were people trying to keep them apart, danger, lies and turmoil. I love Gaston and hate him being sick, although I know the great ones can’t live forever. A fantstic read.
1500’s Wales An emotional story that held my heart from the first page. Lord Dane and Lady Grier were fated for each other, but they have no idea until a promise is made by to Grier’s dying father on the battlefield to Dane. He asked that Dane marry his daughter and he would inherit the Dukedom of Shrewbury. Grier, his intended, had been raised in a Welsh convent and not treated well. It was shocking that her father had left her there when she suffered so.
The two marry and Grier finds her husband to be a very kind and generous man, I loved this couple and actually felt happiness and laughter but also some sadness.
Kathryn Le Veque excels at creating complex characters and writing about a time in history that comes alive in her descriptions. Her stories always leave me waiting for more!!!
Sir Dane de Russe is forced to make a promise to a dying man. The man was the Duke of Shrewsbury, and he wants Dane to protect his daughter and his Dukedom. There is only one way that is acceptable.
Lady Grier de Lara has spent the last fourteen years shut away in a convent, always believing she will eventually become a nun. The news that she is an heiress and about to be married doesn’t go down well.
Our honourable and battle hardened warrior never dreamt he would reach these dizzy heights. Our neglected and nervous heroine is in for a very steep learning curve.
There is an unstable man that will cause everyone heartache.
I managed to get through this story with only a little cry. A marvellous love story, that you can’t help but get involved in. The characters are as usual fantastic it’s great to meet the families of our heroes from previous books. Our author always manages to bring something fresh to each book.
I have read lots of her books and loved all of them. I am eagerly waiting for the next one.
The Dark Lord, Ajax de Velt’s son Coleby de Velt has grown into quite the executioner knight. He’s definitely taking after his father’s dark side in warfar. The perfect knight for William Marshal to send on a mission marching across Scotland and on the loose. Katheryn le Veque certainly knows how to write a story that grabs your attention and you can’t stop reading until the end. He falls for Lady Corisande “Cori” de Bourges after she’s bewitched him. We see Coleby falling in love, she’s taken captive and a great secret is revealed. Will life ever be the same? Will even a darker side of Coleby come to life? Life in medieval times were brutal time in history especial if you’re a de Velt! I love how we see all of our favorite knights of old rom Christopher de Lohr, Gart Forbes, Sean and Kevin de Lara to name a few of the executioner knights. I voluntarily read and reviewed this excellent book filled with action, betrayal, love and romance.
I love all of her books. Great characters and lots of suspense.
I love books by this author she is amazing
As with all of Kathryns medieval books this is excellent. I enjoyed the story and hope you do too.
Kathryn Le Veque brings it all together in a way that only she can, and keeps the reader glued to the pages until the very end. One of my favorite parts of all of her books is the epilogues. The author pulls many different emotions from the reader, and finally the time to relax and smile and sometimes cry, is always the epilogues, and again, this was no different. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Cyrene
I enjoyed this book a great deal , but felt that the heroine should have found that her father’s chatelaine was responsible for funneling funds meant to support her at the cloister for most of her life. It seemed plausible. The characters were great and the plot was good, but not on par with many of the other books this author has written.
Gives insight into history
This book as well as all in the series are phenomenol.
What can I say? Another great read by a master storyteller. I love the medieval word she creates and larger than life hero. The heroine is smart, witty and a good match for the hero. Always satisfying to read a well-crafted story by someone who’s done her research.
Having to wed a young lady that you didn’t need, Having to wed a man you didn’t want these are the main questions that are bringing two families together, making a family even stronger and help in making a family grow when the Lady is the last of a great family lineage.
Put in a villain who thinks he’s in love with the lady, a sister that loves her brother but knows he’s ruining his life and threatening their family and Kathryn will bring together a great love that was in the making of Medieval lore.
Dane De Russe the adopted son of Gaston,The Dark One. Finally meets his match with the past of his real father threatening to break through, Dane fights to realize his love of Grier learning that the obstacles in their way are tests of how much they have to live for.
In this book, Kathryn brings her magical touch not just in her words but to bring the past of Medieval lore into the readers hearts. And that will keep growing with every word in every book that she can write. She consistently writes her love of the times into her hero and their ladies and the scenery is so life like that as you read each book your body may be in 2018, but your imagination has you living her characters.
I just love Kathryn Le Veques books and just can’t get enough and you will too…
I loved the remarkable chronical; written by Kathryn Le Veque, of the life of Dane Stoneley de Russe and Lady Grier de Lara. On the Welsh Marches, Sir Dane is in battle for his friend the Duke of Shrewsbury against a band of threating Welsh. The Duke receives a death blow and with his last breaths makes Dane promise to marry his only daughter, Lady Grier de Lara. The only problem is Grier has been in a Welsh Abbey since her mothers death when she was 6 years old. When Dane goes to claim her, he finds a strong, beautiful women that knows nothing of the world outside where she grew up and love is but a fleeting memory Kathryn has given us a story that shows how these two adjust and finding feelings and discover that love is within their reach. This is a keeper and one that will be reread many times.
Wonderful story of two people who , against their own wishes and without their knowledge, are placed into an arranged marriage by their parents. Lord Dane and Lady Grier were a warrior and a future nun, total opposites, brought together to continue Grier’s family line by her dying father. The marriage to Lady Grier, along with an accompanying title and lands, is a reward given to Dane by her father. Theirs is a romance that occurs over time as they grow to know each other, but it’s not without conflict.
Another man has an extreme interest in Grier, and this obsession leads to intrigue and danger for everyone around them. An error in judgement leads to miscommunication and nearly destroys all the trust these two people have worked to build between them.
This is an emotional story, and it has moments ranging from extreme sadness, as Lady Grier has a past that involved hardship, to the satisfying hea.
I highly recommend this book to readers of medieval romance as no one writes them like Ms. LeVeque. It’s a page turner from start to finish!
Dane a very serious, thoughtful, analytical Knight whose primary problem was that he tended to be a very trusting soul. However, after he was told that his betrothal to the heiress of Shrewsbury had been decided by their fathers, without any clue that they were to marry and become the new Duke and Duchess of Shrewsbury so their could carry on the de Lara legacy. Neither Dane nor Grier, the de Lara heiress, expected or desired this surprise marriage. Grier had been living in a nunnery since the age of six after her mother’s death and was therefore extremely sheltered and naive to the ways of the world. Her past physical and emotional abuse at the nunnery was very unexpected and a surprise that greatly affected her outlook on life and her responses to Dane and their bidding relationship. Even with the age disparity, they both had a lot to learn about married life and trusting the stranger they found themselves married to. Grier being naive about the ways of the world came to realize that even though in her mind, she was attempting to help or protect her husband, discovered it wasn’t a good idea to try to try to take things on by herself in her efforts to protect him. He on the other hand, being a person use to trusting those around him had to learn to understand and trust the very sheltered, naive girl he’d married. Once you include Kathryn Le Veque’s amazing ability to develop complex, memorable characters by incorporating their emotions and personality characteristics into the character, you never know how your emotional connection will affect your reactions, and have your laughing or crying by the next page. It’s so easy to get attached to her characters as you watch them handle various experiences throughout their lives. can’t help but laugh when they laugh and cry when they become broken hearted. This is a real page turner that keeps you on the edge of your chair until the very last page. I highly recommend this book to Kathryn Le Veque fans and any other readers who may not be familiar with her astonishing repertoire of wonderful and exciting books.
I fell in love with this story. As the Duke of Shrewsbury lays dying he asks Dane Stoneley de Russe for a promise to has promised to marry his daughter Grier and take care of her. Dane has no choice but to agree. Grier has been raised in a convent and doesn’t know to much about life on the outside. Grier has so much to learn and Dane is there to help her. There was so much to this story. There story made me laugh, brought tears to my eyes and sometimes made me want to shake them! I have read many of Kathryn LeVeque’s books and every time I finish one I say that’s my new favorite! I loved Dane and Grier’s story and Dane is my new favorite knight! Definitely swoon worthy and definitely 5 stars!