Tag: Dark Series

Review: Dark Sentinel by Christine Feehan

Posted September 20, 2018 by Casee in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Dark Sentinel by Christine FeehanReviewer: 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
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

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

three-stars


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Sunday Spotlight: Dark Sentinel by Christine Feehan

Posted September 2, 2018 by Holly in Features, Giveaways | 8 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Sunday Spotlight

I (Casee) am a diehard fan of this series. There is not much that could make me stop reading this series. I’m in it until the bitter, bitter end. I’m really excited to see where Feehan takes this series as it is apparent that she has started a new story arc. Her books can get monotonous so it is past time to shake things up. I believe that is what she is trying to do here.

Sunday Spotlight: Dark Sentinel by Christine FeehanDark 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), Dark Sentinel (Dark #28)

Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: three-stars

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. . .

Order the Book:

AMAZON || BARNES AND NOBLE || KOBO

Excerpt

She frowned. His heart clenched hard in his chest. He had never thought in terms of cute or adorable. They were silly words humans came up with to describe children. Lorraine was not a child by any means. Nothing about her suggested a child, yet that frown, to him, was adorable. There was no other word for it.

He was fascinated by every expression that crossed her face. Every thought she had in her head. He wanted to know every single thing about her life before he was with her. More than anything, he wanted to comfort her and take away the pain he felt radiating from her every second she breathed. He was ashamed that he had considered ending his life, even for a moment. Had he done so, had he allowed the humans to succeed in killing him, she would have suffered alone.
“Andor, you don’t give up on life over a broken love affair.”

He could tell she wanted to say a lot more but had carefully chosen her words not to offend him. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and catching the thick strands of chestnut-colored hair between his fingers. It felt as silky as it looked. As soft. “So beautiful.” He murmured the words aloud. He thought them in his head. Tucked them somewhere close. Her hair was beautiful, but so was her soul. That half that she unknowingly held for him, it was beautiful as well. So much light in so small a package.

“Andor? This is important.”

So was feeling the silk of her hair and admiring the color. He hadn’t done such things in centuries. They were simple to her, but to him such things were miracles. “I’m listening, but you got it wrong, mica, I was looking for my woman. I hadn’t found her, and I was giving up. You’re absolutely right, though, I should never have even thought of giving up.” He was passing that advice on to his brethren. They needed to know their women would come to them in their darkest hour, or at the most unexpected time.

Relief softened the glint of temper in her eyes. He liked that fire in her. She would need it, dealing with their life together. She might want to stamp it out, but he knew sometimes the flare of heat, directed in the right way, could win battles.

“Tell me about your life, Andor.”

He had known that question had been coming and didn’t want to lie to her. He didn’t want to scare her off, either. “My people are few and scattered. Most live in the Carpathian Mountains, but a few live here in the United States. I was scouting for any threats when I ran across the ones I . . .” He searched for a benign word, but couldn’t find one. He sighed. “Hunted. I was hunting for the enemy. I didn’t expect so many and that is how I was wounded so severely.”

She was silent for so long he wasn’t certain she was going to speak. Her eyes stayed glued to his. She didn’t look away, nor did she look as if she didn’t believe him. “You don’t believe in the police.” There was no sarcasm in her eventual comment, merely a statement of fact.

He couldn’t stop himself from playing with her hair, running it through his fingers and bringing it occasionally to his face so he could inhale her scent. She was out in the wilderness camping and she still smelled feminine and good enough to devour. He tried to figure out the scents. Grapefruit for certain. Something else. It was faint. Elusive. A little wild.

“No. We have to handle things ourselves.”

Dark Series

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

Sunday Spotlight: September 2018

Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About the Author

Christine Feehan

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | PINTEREST | GOODREADS

Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author multiple times over with her portfolio including over 40 published novels, including five series; Leopard Series, Dark Series, Ghostwalker Series, Drake Sisters Series, & the Sisters of the Heart Series. All five series hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list as well. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature (PEARL) in 1999. Since then she has been published by various publishing houses including Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards since Dark Prince.


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Throwback Thursday Review: Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan

Posted August 16, 2018 by Casee in Reviews | 10 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Dark Slayer by Christine FeehanDark Slayer (Dark, #17) by Christine Feehan
Series: Dark Series #17
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 Sentinel (Dark #28)
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: September 1, 2009
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 416
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

A rumor has persisted in the vampire world of a dark slayer—a woman—who travels with a wolf pack and any among the vampires who meets her is slain. Mysterious, elusive and seemingly impossible to kill, she is the one hunter who strikes terror into the hearts of the vampires.

Ivory Malinov is that woman, betrayed by her own people, by her family, by everyone she held dear and she hunts during the night with only her pack to sustain her sanity. She has not spoken to or been with any other person for a hundred years other than to feed from or slay. She stumbles across a body on her way back to her lair and discovers—her lifemate.

He is Razvan, branded a hated criminal, detested, feared and loathed by all Carpathians—he is also a dragonseeker of one of the greatest lineages of all Carpathians. Held captive nearly his entire life by his grandfather, the Carpathians bitterest enemy, he is seeking the dawn to end his terrible existence.

This is a story of two people, horribly betrayed, wounded in spirit, fighters to the death, who must struggle to unite against a common enemy.

Every Thursday, we’ll be posting throwback reviews of our favorite and not-so-favorite books. Enjoy!

This review was originally posted on August 17, 2009

As I mention anytime I review a book in this series, Dark Prince was the first paranormal I ever read. Even with the monotony over the last few years, I still won’t stop reading this series. I think that Dark Slayer is a big turn for the series. CF finally closed a story arc that has been a long time in coming and has started a new one (which has been briefly touched upon). My hope is that it brings new life into the series.

Ivory Malinov has long been thought dead. Betrayed by the prince’s son (Mikhail’s brother), Ivory was cut up into little pieces and left for the wolves to feed on. Yes, I realize this is disgusting and it made me cringe a little each time Ivory thought/talked about it. Using her Carpathian ability to talk to the wolves, she convinced them to bury the pieces of her with a promise that she would take care of their pack “for all time”. [A little side note: That phrase is WAY overused. It really gets old.] So Ivory has to stay in the soil for centuries so she can put the pieces back together. When she rises, her only mission is to hunt the vampire. She has gotten so good at killing the vampire that they refer to her as the Dark Slayer.

When she is heading back to her lair, she sees a Carpathian lying in the snow. She instantly knows that he is her lifemate and she is compelled to get him to safety. The last thing Razvan wants is to be saved. He has finally escaped the mage, Xavier, and there is nothing more he wants than to die. In earlier books, I would compare Razvan to The Ghost in Nalini‘s Psy/Changeling series. You never quite knew if he was good or bad. Right when you think he was good, he did something bad. It was very confusing. So obviously we now know that Razvan is good. Not only that, but he has been horribly abused and used for centuries.

While Ivory and Razvan silently agree not to complete the ritual that would make them lifemates, they decide that they will bring Xavier down together. Razvan is hesitant at first b/c Xavier has been able to possess him at will and Razvan doesn’t want to hurt Ivory. She convinces him that he is stronger than he has ever been and he can beat Xavier.

So the story arc of Xavier comes to an end in this book, which was nice. The problem with the infant mortality rate is also addressed further. I think that will be prominent in the books to come. What is obvious is that Ivory’s brothers (all vampires) have banded together to bring down Mikhail. Since vampires are usually solitary creatures, it should make for an interesting arc.

This is one of the better books of the series. I went back and re-read some and there are only a select few heroines I like. Ivory is definitely one of them.

4.25 out of 5.

This book is available from Berkley.

Dark Series

four-stars


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Release Day Spotlight: Dark Challenge by Christine Feehan

Posted June 26, 2018 by Rowena in Giveaways, Promotions | 2 Comments

Christine Feehan is re-releasing the fifth book in her Dark series and Dark Challenge is out today! The Dark series is wildly popular and has over 20+ books in the series.

Release Day Spotlight: Dark Challenge by Christine FeehanDark Challenge (Dark Series #5) by Christine Feehan
Series: Dark Series #5
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), Dark Sentinel (Dark #28)
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: three-stars

Julian Savage was golden. Powerful. But tormented. For the brooding hunter walked alone. Always alone, far from his Carpathian kind, alien to even his twin. Like his name, his existence was savage. Until he met the woman he was sworn to protect…. When Julian heard Desari sing, rainbows swamped his starving senses. Emotions bombarded his hardened heart. And a dark hunger to possess her flooded his loins, blinding him to the danger stalking him. And even as Desari enflamed him, she dared to defy him - with mysterious, unparalleled feminine powers. Was Desari more than his perfect mate? Julian had met his match in this woman, but would she drive him to madness…or save his soul?

We have a couple of paperback copies to give away to two lucky readers. Please use the Gleam giveaway widget below to enter.

Good luck!

 

Order the Book:

AMAZON || BARNES AND NOBLE

Dark Series

Giveaway Alert

Re-Release Day Spotlight: Dark Challenge

About the Author

Christine Feehan

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author multiple times over with her portfolio including over 70 published novels, including five series; Dark Series, Ghostwalker Series, Leopard Series, Drake Sisters Series, the Sisters of the Heart Series and Torpedo Ink. All of her series have hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list as well. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature (PEARL) in 1999. Since then she has been published by various publishing houses including Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards since Dark Prince.


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Review: Dark Legacy by Christine Feehan

Posted April 24, 2018 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Dark Legacy by Christine FeehanReviewer: Casee
Dark Legacy (Dark, #31) by Christine Feehan
Series: Dark Series #31
Also in this series: Dark Nights (Dark #6.5, #9.5), Dark Wolf (Dark, #25), Dark Promises (Dark, #29), Dark Carousel (Dark, #30), Dark Slayer (Dark, #17), Dark Sentinel (Dark #28)
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: September 5, 2017
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 416
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

In a thrilling Carpathian novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan, a woman fights to free herself from the grip of the vampire trying to possess her...

In a beautiful compound hidden away from the world, Emeline Sanchez tries to blunt the pain that has wracked her body ever since her terrifying ordeal in the labyrinth beneath the city—when she was forced to exchange blood with an evil master vampire.

Now, it’s his voice that haunts her...that calls to her in the dark...that never lets her rest. And while the children that she helped to free from his clutches struggle to heal, watched over by their Carpathian protectors, Emeline knows one thing: She must sacrifice herself to keep them all from harm...

I’m pretty much on the fence about this one. It wasn’t my favorite book in the Dark series, but it wasn’t my least favorite either. My favorite goes to the first book in the series, Dark Prince. My least favorite most certainly goes to Dark Promises. I despised that book. I was way too generous with my rating for that book. If I recall correctly, Dark Promises was the book that the Ancients were really introduced. The Ancients are a group of male Carpathians that have served the race for so long that no one remembers how long they’ve been around. They don’t even know how long they’ve been around. They do know that if they’re unleashed on the world that they will be come the very thing they spent their existence hunting. The vampire. To stop that from happening, the Ancients have locked themselves up in a monastery.

These books come out a year apart and I will be honest with you. I can’t remember why the Ancients left the monastery. I believe that it was their Ancient friend that found his TSTL lifemate in Dark Promises gave them hope that their own lifemates were out there, so they are all in search of their own. I know if I had a lifemate like that, I’d run screaming in the opposite direction. For real.

In Dark Legacy, we are back in the world of Dark Carousel. We are with Tariq and Charlotte Asenguard, Charlotte’s little sister, and the little kids they are adopting. Also in the compound is Emeline Sanchez, the savior of all the children. In Dark Carousel, she literally went into a vampire den? Nest? Hideout? She went underground where she knew vampires were holding the children and where they would die, to save them. How did she know? Her dreams. Emeline has been able to dream walk since she was a small child. She knew she would save the children. She also knew she would be caught and have something imaginable happen to her. Still, she couldn’t stay away at the expense of the children’s lives. She was a hero.

After she is rescued and on Tariq’s compound, Emeline is far from safe. The master vampire that tortured her, Vadim Malinov, whispers to incessantly. The blood he made her drink is slowly killing her and she’s afraid he will make her hurt anyone on the compound against her will. From her dreams, she knows that one of the Ancients will be killed trying to protect her, so she stays inside her house to keep everyone safe.

When the time comes that Dragomir and Emeline come face-to-face, it is just as powerful as any other novel in this series. I really don’t know how Feehan does it. It’s pretty amazing. That was the only amazing thing about this romance. The rest of it fell flat. They were absolutely perfect for each other. They were both champions. He was a protector of his race. She was a protector of children. Yet something didn’t fit. It was weird. They should be clicked. But it all seemed forced. It was all very uncomfortable. Dragomir was always very sweet and Emeline genuinely seemed to love him, but I wasn’t feeling it. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, it just wasn’t one for me.

3 out of 5.

Dark Series

three-stars


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