Sword of Darkness by Kinley MacGregor

Whether writing as Sherrilyn Kenyon or Kinley MacGregor, this author knows how to give us amazing characters who are people we love – or love to hate – and worlds unlike any others. Sword of Darkness, the first book in the Lords of Avalon series, is a tale centered on the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and is no exception.

There are so many things to love about this book, but standing out most of all is the hero! Kerrigan was incredibly tortured, scarred, angry and solitary – in short, the perfect hero. I absolutely adored everything about him, but it was his sense of honor, even though he thought he had none, that made me love him!

Seren was a likable, strong, independent heroine. I appreciated that, even at his worse, she accepted Kerrigan for not only who and what he was, but also for who and what he wasn’t. He was the kind of hero who had many things in need of changing, but she asked very little of him in that way.

There was a large supporting cast, a mish-mash of Merlins, gargoyles, dragons and demons. In the beginning I had a little trouble sorting out who was who, but by the halfway mark of the story I had it all pretty much figured out and was able to follow along nicely. And speaking of having trouble following along, I’d suggest that the very first thing you do is turn to the back of the book and read the sections marked ”The Legend," "The Thirteen Sacred Objects," and "Vocabulary." You won’t regret having all of that information under your belt when starting the actual story.

Now, all that said, you’d expect a 5 star rating, right? Well, there was something that really grated on my nerves, so much so that it really affected my enjoyment of the story. This isn’t something I’ve heard others complain about in their reviews, so it was probably just me. But since this is my review, and I can, I’ll mention it. Some of the dialogs between the characters would start out light hearted and funny, but would quickly evolve into a level of silliness that just annoyed me and distracted me from the actual story. However, one thing I did find very funny was the author endorsement on the cover: '“Kinley MacGregor writes fantasy the way I would.” – Sherrilyn Kenyon' That made me laugh out loud because, well, she is Kinley MacGregor!

So, would I recommend this story to my friends? Absolutely! It was an entertaining, exciting and very sexy read that kept me coming back for more. 

4/5 stars