The Conqueror is a medieval romance by debut author, Kris Kennedy. I love medievals, and there are so few published these days, so I was delighted to see a new one on the market. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
It’s 1152 and England is wracked by civil war. King Stephen holds the throne by a thread, and his rival, the future King Henry II, is gaining in strength. Amidst this chaos, Ionnes de l’Ami dies, leaving his daughter, Guinevere, heir to the great estate of Everoot. She soon finds herself besieged by her neighbour, Marcus of Endshire, who seeks to secure the land through marriage to Gwyn. When an attempt to secure the protection of King Stephen goes awry, Gwyn finds herself alone and on the run, pursued by Marcus’s men. When a handsome stranger rescues her from a dire fate, Gwyn’s adventures begin in earnest.
Griffyn Sauvage, son of the disposed Earl of Everoot, is in England to secure support for King Henry’s planned invasion. The last person he expects to meet en route is the daughter of his most despised enemy. Fighting an unwanted attraction, Griffyn and Gwyn must choose between loyalty to their respective sovereigns and love for each other.
There is a lot going on in this book and my summary barely skims the surface. On the plus side, Gwyn and Gryffyn are both sympathetic characters and I found myself rooting for them throughout their various trials and tribulations. It’s refreshing to read a romance set in a time period which is not the Regency or Victorian England. Kris Kennedy’s writing style shows promise and I’m curious to see what she will produce next.
There are several elements which did not work for me. Firstly, the pacing. I find my main criticism of the majority of first novels relates to pacing and The Conqueror is no exception. It gets of to a smashing start, stalls in the second third, and picks up again in the final chapters. There is a temporary parting in the middle of the book which I felt negatively impacted on the momentum of the story. When the couple are reunited after this parting, Gwyn accepts Gryffyn into her home and into her bed far too quickly for my liking. There’s also a lost treasure subplot and such storylines rarely work for me.
Although I found The Conqueror an uneven read, it’s garnered a lot of praise from other reviewers. If you like medievals, and can overlook a sagging middle, The Conqueror might be for you. Grade: C+
{ 9 comments }
Nice review – while I may not read this one, it sounds like this author, if she can solve some pacing problems, may have better luck with the next book.
@Mandi I certainly hope so. We could do with a few more good medievals on the market.
I love the medieval genre, and you’re so right we could use more good books in this genre. I have this one on the shelf I will definitely read it, just to give it a try. Great review, at least I know now what to expect when I decide to give this one a try! Have you read Laird of the Mist by Paula Quinn, I thought that was a great medieval story as well.
Psst… this was a DNF for me.
@Marissa Paula Quinn…the name rings a bell, but I’m not sure I’ve read anything by her. Thanks for the rec.
@katiebabs It was almost a DNF for me but I persevered and it did pick up again towards the end.
I have to admit I’m suspicious of $4 books. I’ve gotten burned by them way too many times.
@heidenkind I’ve been lucky with the Zebra cheap books, actually. Mind you, I haven’t read that many of them.
Sarah, How did I miss this review? I can see you point about the sagging middle. But I seemed to take it as adding more angst to the story. I don’t know, something about her writing really connected with me. One of the things that I really enjoyed was the sideplot of the treasure. I found it quite interesting and unusual. I definitely will be reading more by Kennedy in the future. I am glad you gave it a try even though we didn’t agree!
Everybody’s tastes are different. I remember when I read the book SEALed with a Kiss by Mary Margaret Daughtridge. It was her debut book and I fell in love with her style and the characters and rated the book an ‘A’. When I posted my review I also posted links to other reviews. I had come across a review from AAR (All About Romance) and that reviewer gave the book an ‘F’. I was shocked! I wondered if we had even read the same book. Needless to say, the book seemed to push all her hot buttons, where those things didn’t bother me at all and I even enjoyed them. Go figure. It’s what make things interesting.
@Jill D. You know, my opinion is often the polar opposite of AAR’s. Before I discovered review blogs, I thought my taste in romance books had to be very odd.