Dark Magic

Christine Feehan
358 pages

Gregori has been waiting almost 1000 years to get a lifemate.  He has suffered through centuries of a bleak existence without emotions or color.  However, hope is in sight.  Gregori has found a lifemate.  Savannah is very young, only 23, and scared to be joined with somebody as old and powerful as Gregori.  Gregori has given Savannah five years of freedom, but he can wait no longer.  If he doesn't join with Savannah soon he will turn vampire.  However, he doesn't want to force her.  Savannah struggles but eventually comes to accept Gregori as her lifemate.  In the meantime, Savannah has attracted the attention of several vampires and a secret society of human vampire hunters, and it is up to Gregori to put an end to the threat.

I like the relationship dynamics at play here, and I'm a big fan of Gregori.  However, the plots of these novels are very predictable, and Feehan's use of language is getting VERY repetitive.  I think I'm going to have to take a break from the Dark series for awhile...

Dark Desire

by Christine Feehan
315 pages

Jacques is a Carpathian male (a superhuman being that feeds on blood but is not evil), but he has no real memory of who he is because he has been severely tortured.  He has been locked in a box underground for several years, and his only connection to the outside world is a mental link with a female surgeon.  Shea is inexplicably drawn to him, but she has no idea why--she thinks she is just having bad dreams.

Shea is also special because she is half-Carpathian, but she thinks she only suffers from a rare blood disorder.  However, there are people out there who know what Shea is and are hunting her down, as they are hunting all of those of Carpathian descent.

Shea rescues Jacques, but she has no idea what she is getting herself into.  Jacques is barely holding on to his sanity, and at times has no real grasp on reality.  Shea is the only thing keeping him sane--his life mate and his anchor to the real world.  However, Shea and Jacques are going to need help if they are going to survive the forces that are seeking their destruction.

In ways I thought this book was better than Dark Prince, but the "steamy scenes" are getting a bit repetitive.  I like Shea and respected her as a strong female character.

Dark Prince

Christine Feehan
447 pages

This is the first book in Feehan's "Dark Series."  The Carpathians are a species/race of people that possess supernatural powers.  They are nocturnal and feed on human blood, but they are not evil.  However, all Carpathian males have the potential to turn into ruthless vampires if they do not find their true life mate.  This is becoming increasingly difficult because no female Carpathians have been born in hundreds of years.  The Carpathians are dying out, and the single males are struggling to maintain control of themselves.

Mikhail is the prince of his people, and he is on the verge of making the decision to "meet the sun" in order to prevent becoming a vampire.  His agony and loneliness are so great that a human telepath, Raven, is able to sense his distress from several miles away.  Raven and Mikhail begin a relationship from this encounter.  From this relationship, a new hope for the Carpathian survival emerges.  However, a threat arises that might doom them all.

Overall, I liked this book.  I found Raven and Mikhail's relationship intriguing and I liked the idea of finding a true "life mate."  However, there are several steamy romance scenes in this novel, so this is not for every reader.