Dark Destroyer

De Wolfe Pack/Reign of the House of de Winter

By: Kathryn Le Veque

Narrated by: Gethyn Edwards

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

AD 1380. The great-grandson of the legendary William de Wolfe is not as his family had hoped; although a man of legendary skill and strength like his great-grandfather, Gates de Wolfe is something of a legendary rake as well. A man with an eye for women, he has left a string of broken hearts all across England and rumors of at least two bastards, possibly more.

But Gates is also a man of humor, charm, and great charisma, making it difficult for women to resist him and making it even more difficult for men to despise him, because he is such a likable character. Moreover, in battle he is a destroyer - a knight without equal. He is a man to be feared.

Lady Kathalin de Lara is part of the mighty House of de Lara, great marcher lords. A young lady who has been educated in a convent, she is rather naive in the ways of men. When Gates meets Kathalin, he treats her with surprising respect. She is different from other women he has known, and because he greatly respects the woman's uncle, a close friend, Gates makes no attempt at another conquest. He treats her with great regard. But in that regard, and in declaring she is out of bounds for his usual conquering ways, a seed of attraction for her sprouts.

Gates unexpectedly begins to have real feelings for the lovely Lady Kathalin. But his reputation as a rake works against him. No decent family, including the House of de Lara, will permit him to seriously court one of their daughters, and Kathalin's family denies his suit. For a spoiled, cavalier man who has always gotten what he wanted, Gates must face the reality that he must actually fight for what he wants and for a love he never knew he could feel. Join Kathalin and Gates on an impossible adventure of life, love, discovery, and devotion that only angels dare to dream of.

©2015 Kathryn Le Veque (P)2016 Kathryn Le Veque

Great narrative

With any of KLV’s books you can not go wrong. Gethyn Edwards did an outstanding job narrating this lovely story.

He is no Hero...

Though I enjoyed the book for the most part, the way he treated his past women, mother of his bastard child and his children was utterly disgusting. Minor spoiler....He took her virginity, got her pregnant, then threatened to lie about what a slut she was with 12 men when she wanted him to marry her??!! He is a freaking terrible person who definitely doesn't deserve a happy ending with an innocent new bride... I can't root for characters that awful. Alexander would have been my choice..

Sure!

This was not my favorite book in this series, but I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoy her writing, and I like these families overall from the other books she has written for the De Wolfes. I'll definitely keep going!

Can't stop listening

Couldn't stop listening to the story. Gee you learn to love some characters but then you learn to hate some as well

Great!

Kathryn never disappoints! This one was a little different and I was hoping he would take the baby he had out of wedlock and raise it, but it was still a great story.
Gethyn was a good narrator. He did well with the characters.

Love it!

I love that Kathy wasn't a weak lady, even though she spent her life preparing to be a nun. She was spirited enough to stand up for herself.

The strong friendship between Gate and Alex, it was refreshing to see.

Note: if you're looking for a R-rated historical romance, this is not for you.

Different, more romance less adventure...

A solid addition in the De Wolfe family saga. However Le Veque only partially redeemed Gates de Wolfe, I still think he‘s a cad. He didn‘t deserve the HEA he got .. he needed to be held more accountable for some of his past misdeeds. I‘m still mad at him! Narration was stellar!

Can leopards change their spots?

A knight that was known for his prowess on the battlefield as Well as in the bedroom, is brought to his knees, by love. Yes, the bedroom conquests were perhaps his way of trying to find that one and only. It was in a convent kitchen that the woman who was cause him to rethink his moral standards.
An interesting and intriguing tale, which makes one think about their own morals.

Great, emotional story BUT...!

Great story...one of the more emotional ones in this series...with, as usual, characters and dialogue you love, BUT ... [spoiler alert]...I found it very difficult to agree with the author’s take that the dad had been mean to the mom when he stayed away from her after she contracted leprosy. She has an incurable, incredibly disfiguring, and ultimately fatal disease that is contracted through close contact (skin or now possibly respiratory, according to WHO) and he’s at fault for staying away from her? And he’s mean for keeping her at home in a luxurious chamber b/c sending her away to some sanitarium will besmirch the family name? How is this cruel? She had an incredibly good situation for those times. He paid for every top physician available to try their best cures on her, with no success. // It’s quite reasonable that he would not be interested in bedding her anymore—of course he would not do that! And to discretely bed a maid is not unreasonable at all, given the circumstances. And he’s mean for falling out of love with her? Seriously, why is that so harsh in his part? Yes, nice to think he’d continue loving her wholeheartedly, but not unrealistic—nor inhuman—that his feelings would change. // In the 1300’s, there were not the medicines we have now and no one knew how to cure this terrible disease. The only thing they knew was safe for them was to stay away from these people...that’s why there were leper colonies. The colonies existed b/c no one but other lepers could be around lepers without risk of contracting this terrible disease. It wasn’t to be cruel. It was how they contained the disease and kept it from spreading. Yes, some people did work with lepers, but it was a very risky business. Even charitable assistance was generally food left near the colony and picked up by the lepers after the healthy people had left. // Additionally, it seemed very very inconsistent with the times that mom’s friend would hug her (basically at the risk of her life), her daughter would stand side by side with her at the wedding, and that the bridegroom would also be in close proximity. And that the mom herself would begin roaming around the household in the he story’s happy ending. Who would do that to her family? Who would risk the health of those she supposedly loves —and any unborn grandchildren—by spreading around an incurable disease? I love HEA’s, but this part went too far. // if, for some reason, the author has other information about leprosy that makes her scenario realistic, it would have been enormously helpful for her to have added that information at the end of the novel. Otherwise, so many people are aware of the basics of the disease that I think she does her readers a huge disservice by asking them to believe/accept this part of the story. Other than that, it was KLV’s usual excellent work.

Was just okay

This story didn't add much to the series. Felt like a filler book since there was not really much of a story line. Still entertaining, but not nearly as compelling as previous books in this series. Narration was good.