Dark, Sensual, and Engrossing ~Dark Maiden: A Book Review
~What Makes a Pair of Perfect Lovers?~
![Dark Maiden by [Townsend, Lindsay]](https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51RSy8dwj%252BL.jpg?w=1290&ssl=1)
Dark Maiden by Lindsay Townsend is set in the the plague years of the 1300s, when people were terrified by strangers who could be carrying evil spirits and death.
No knights. No damsels in distress. No castles or kings.
For the unusual hero and heroine inhabiting this world, life is always a risk. Finding food and shelter and friendly people is hard enough, but it is even harder for a woman exorcist of Ethiopian descent and her travel companion and potential lover – a bell-bespangled magician and juggler attired in ragged motley.
As the characters face challenges, accusations, and exorcise ghosts, they grow closer together until love wins out. It sounds like the typical romance.
A Unique Pair of Lovers
However, Lindsay Townsend has selected two unlikely people to become lovers. Yolande is strong, self-confident, and self-sufficient and does a man’s work dressed in men’s clothing.
Geraint, is not a burley knight, but a poor dark-skinned Welshman, small and lithe for a man. He has learned to survive on his smarts and his ability to distract and move with agility. When these two people come together, they form a powerful whole.
A Great Read
Lindsay Townsend shows in this work that not all medieval romances have to be about knights and castles and rich men’s daughters fighting to hold on to their land. These two impoverished people find joy in simple things – good food, peaceful nights, and their love for each other. It is enough. You will find joy in this book too, as the lovers find their happy ending.
Do you read medieval romance?
What do you like about this dark, death-filled period of history?
I love medievals that don’t romanticize things too much. It’s the gritty details that make characters in this time period feel real. Sound really interesting. I’ll definitely have to check it out.
This book definitely doesn’t make the period seem romantic. Although the love between the two characters is beautifully expressed.
I’m all for reading something “different.” Great review of an intriguing story.
Glad that the review got you intrigued. It definitely is something different.
Sounds like an intriguing read! Thanks for featuring it, Zara!
Yes, that does sound like a refreshing change. Thank you.