Reviewer: Casee Dark Sentinel (Dark #28) by Christine Feehan
Series: Dark Series #28
Also in this series: Dark Nights (Dark #6.5, #9.5), Dark Wolf (Dark, #25), Dark Promises (Dark, #29), Dark Carousel (Dark, #30), Dark Legacy (Dark, #31), Dark Slayer (Dark, #17)
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 400
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Series Rating:
In an explosive novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan, a human woman ignites the desire of her Carpathian lifemate--and of an ancient vampire with a score to settle.
After the devastating loss of her entire family, Lorraine Peters heads to the woods searching for peace of mind and anything to quell the anger in her soul. Instead, she stumbles upon a scene of horrific violence, as one man lies helpless in the face of three attackers.
Andor Katona's existence has been a harsh one, living for centuries as a monk in the Carpathian Mountains. Unable to find his lifemate, he almost welcomes his release from a colorless and unfeeling world at the hands of the vampire hunters who have mistaken him for their prey. That is, until a whirling ball of fury bursts onto the scene, determined to save him.
In one glimpse, in one breath, Andor recognizes Lorraine as his lifemate, but it will take more than their telepathic connection to convince her of their immortal bond. Lorraine is a lethal combination of cunning and courage. So much so that she captures the attention of a master vampire, one who has already lost what was once irreplaceable to him. One who will strike with deadly precision at Andor and his ancient Carpathian comrades in a war to end all wars. . .
This book was unusual in comparison to the other books in the series. I’m not sure how I feel about it. There were certainly things that bothered me, but for the life of me I can’t remember if anything like it has happened in a previous book. I can’t imagine it hasn’t.
Lorraine Peters is like few of Feehan’s heroines. She literally exploded onto the page with a saucepan and kicked some ass when she found someone trying to murder Andor. She didn’t know who he was, she just knew that she wasn’t going to stand by and allow murder if she could help it. Lorraine had no reason to think that Andor was different, but she finds herself stuffing his mortal wounds with soil instead of cleaning them out like she would on a human. She knows something is different, but all she can focus on is that she can’t let Andor die.
Lorraine is in the mountains trying to come to peace with what her life has become. After her parents, uncle, and aunt were murdered by her beloved brother, he turned the gun on himself. There was no explanation, no reasoning, nothing to think that Teddy was going to do what he did (or so she thought). After the murder-suicide, Lorraine’s friends started dropping out of her life one by one until she has no one. No friends and no family. Going up into the mountains alone is her gift to herself. She knows that she can’t continue on with the anger she has in her heart. She has to find a way to forgive Teddy for what he did and forgive her parents for not telling her that her brother was on steroids.
Andor is one of the few Ancients left of the Carpathian race. He and his fellow Ancients locked themselves up, away from humans and their own people in a monastery with no intention of every leaving. They are Ancients that have too much honor to meet the dawn or turn to become the undead. Now one of their own has found his lifemate, giving the Ancients hope that their own lifemates might be out there in the world, though not too much hope.
There is something afoot with the vampires that are now under the rule of Sergey Malinov. They come after Lorraine like a tsunami, sacrificing themselves for a reason that Andor, nor the other Ancients know. What is strange is the way the vampires have organized themselves. Along with Tariq and Gary, the Ancients are determined to find out why there has been such a sudden interest in Lorraine when she is virtually unknown.
My biggest problem with this book is that Andor tied Lorraine to him with the Carpathian ritual without her permission. I know that has happened before, but this time she was actively trying to stop him. He just ignored her. WTAF is that about?????? After that, all is not well between the two of them. Which I imagine made the whole thing easier to swallow. Honestly, I’m not sure.
The best part of the book was the setup for what I hope is the next book. Of course it’s too soon to tell if I’m right. Which I probably am not.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Dark Series
Consent is a huge deal to me and I don’t think that I could have forgiven Andor’s actions. Hmm, I am curious though. Nah, I’m good. Thanks for the review though!