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Dark Prince (Dark Carpathian #1)

by Christine Feehan (Goodreads Author)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 20,828 ratings · 1,167 reviews

Prince of the Night.

He came to her in the night, a predator -- strength and power chiseled his features. The seduction was deep and elemental; he affected her soul. His need. His darkness. His terrible haunting loneliness. Her senses aroused, she craved the dangerous force of his body. Burned for him. And he had only touched her with his mind.

Lady of the Light

She came to...more

Mass Market Paperback, 447 pages

Published April 5th 2005 by Leisure Books (first published March 8th 1999)

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May 25, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-that-deserve-painful-death, kat-s-book-reviews, kat-s-rants

Once upon a time there was a young woman with a dream. A dream that women the world over could live in freedom as equals. That they would have the right that many women have been denied for hundreds of years, possibly more - to live healthy, happy lives with partners who love and respect them and provide for their needs.

Then that young woman read Dark Prince - and her dreams were shattered.

Actually, this is all a lie because that young woman, the woman writing this review (yes! It is I!) didn't...more

176 likes · like · see review

Jan 26, 2013 BarkLessWagMore rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, paranormal-romance

Narrator: Juanita Parker
Length: 12.5 hours
Published by Books In Motion, December 2005

How to Woo Your Life Mate by Mikhail Dubrinsky Leader of the Carpathians

1. Never call her by her given name. Always call her “Little One”. It makes her feel special.

2. Lurk outside her window in your animal form and admire her bum with your dark, burning eyes. You have super powers for a reason. Use them.

3. Infect her dreams and mind-molest her. If she says “no” do what you want anyway. Women love it when you t...more

34 likes · like · see review

May 15, 2010 Julie (Mom2lnb) rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Only Fans of the Author

Recommended to Julie (Mom2lnb) by: Julie (jjmachshev) Anderson

Shelves: paranormal-romance, read-2010

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"2.5 stars" In all honesty, I had been looking forward to trying Christine Feehan's books for quite some time, so the fact that Dark Prince did not resonate with me, is incredibly disappointing. I freely admit that perhaps my expectations were too high. The positive ratings for Ms. Feehan's books seem to far outweigh the negative, and I've seen many paranormal romance fans rave about her stories and hold them up as being among the best and brightest that the genre has to...more

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Mar 08, 2009 LibraryLass rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

Ok, well um what can I say... This series has been recommended so many times I think I hyped it up in my mind. I was not disappointed but I didn't love it as much as BDB or Immortals after dark series.

MILD SPOILER ALERT!!!
Another reviewer had a couple of negatives which I agree with... 1. The book seemed to start too fast with no real background to the Carpathians OR Raven. It made it harder to connect to them. 2. The fact there was no angst whatsoever about Mikhail changing Raven when so much h...more

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Oct 03, 2008 Beth F. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, vampires, 2008, carpathians, i-reviewed-this-bad-boy

Several years back, I was working for one of the largest banks in the country. My office was about a block away from the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago, right in the middle of the financial district. One morning, I arrived at work to find two preventative maintenance men in the elevator bank. One of them was a Blue Collar God. Not even kidding. He stood out beautifully amidst all the other pasty cube-dwellers with their spare tires and beady little banker eyes. He was rough around the edges in...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Tilly Slaton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-completed

Christine Feehan was bold and daring when she created the Dark series.

Published in 1999, Dark Prince won several awards, including Best New Author for Paranormal Romance and Best Shape-shifter. Christine Feehan brought to life a world of never-ending twists and dramatic and breath-holding moments that will leave you pushing all of those wonderful chores aside until you have finished the book!

The Dark series is centered around an immortal species, the Carpathians. Shapeshifting, magic throbbing,...more

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Sep 06, 2008 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: long-ago-reads

This was the book that started by Carpathian addiction. Christine Feehan's "Dark Prince" was so very different from the normal romance novel back in 1999. Her Alphas could write the book on Alpha behavior and their love for their mates is the stuff of dreams. If you've never read one of her books, then I can't recommend "Dark Prince" highly enough...especially is you are a paranormal romance fan. If heroes who literally NEED their heroines and will do anything to lure, attain, and keep their her...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: oops-i-forgot-to-put-the-plot-in, tstl

Christine Feehan’s first novel, Dark Prince, was first released in 1999 and has now been re-released in a new “Author’s Cut Special Edition.” I recently had the opportunity to read it. I knew it was one of the early paranormal romances that had shaped the subgenre and its tropes. If I’m not mistaken, this may be the first instance of lifemates who not only don’t want to, but physically can’t be unfaithful to each other once they forge their mystical bond. Another example is “sequel bait”: the he...more Christine Feehan’s first novel, Dark Prince, was first released in 1999 and has now been re-released in a new “Author’s Cut Special Edition.” I recently had the opportunity to read it. I knew it was one of the early paranormal romances that had shaped the subgenre and its tropes. If I’m not mistaken, this may be the first instance of lifemates who not only don’t want to, but physically can’t be unfaithful to each other once they forge their mystical bond. Another example is “sequel bait”: the hero of this novel is outfitted with a posse of equally hunky, equally angsty brothers and friends who will serve as the heroes of subsequent books.

The domineering nature of the hero, Mikhail, was a huge sticking point for me in the first few chapters. He stomps around demanding obedience from Raven and overriding her will when she doesn’t obey. The good news is that this aspect improves. Raven starts standing up to Mikhail and even poking fun at some of his macho posturing, Mikhail takes a metaphorical chill pill and starts to enjoy her teasing, and the book becomes more bearable on the gender-roles front (though Mikhail is still overbearing and Raven still disturbingly weak in some scenes). I often dislike alpha jerks, but I do enjoy heroines who can deflate their self-importance.

Unfortunately, the book is marred by other issues, possibly because the original edition of Dark Prince was Feehan’s first novel. The point of view jumps around constantly. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be third person omniscient or if it’s just plain old head-hopping, but it’s distracting. The writing is also thick with melodrama and purple prose, especially during the sex scenes: “velvet,” “silk,” “satin,” “lava,” and “black magic” figure prominently.

Most problematic, though, is the plot’s lack of shape. It moves from sex scene to action scene to sex scene to action scene, and so on, without seeming to build to anything in particular. It just sort of stops, after a final round of violence followed by sex. If the overall plot arc is supposed to be “Raven and Mikhail fall in love, and they’ll probably be facing persecution all their lives,” that was resolved well before the ending. If the plot arc is meant to be “Raven is the hope of the Carpathian race because she can stay sane and bear a female child,” it’s still not resolved after 496 pages. She still teeters on the edge of madness every time something terrible happens, and there’s no baby in sight. (I'm not ordinarily a fan of the Baby Epilogue, but it might have gone a long way toward making the book feel "done.")

I haven’t read the original edition, so I don’t know how much of this meandering quality is due to the re-addition of scenes that were cut the first time around. If that’s the reason, though, maybe Dark Prince was better off at a shorter length. After the first few sex/action cycles, it began to feel like a slog. On the other hand, it may be worth reading if you want to know where some of the conventions of paranormal romance originally came from.(less)

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Aug 27, 2010 TJ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, paranormal, romantic-suspense

After reading this book, first in the Carpathian series, I understand why so many are complaining about the uber-alpha problem the men seem to have. At first I was very uncomfortable with Mikhail, he was scarily intense (can we say stalker, anyone?) but as I continued reading, Feehan explained the behavior well enough that I not only understood but kind of enjoyed reading about this intriguing race of men she has created. The plot fits together nicely with enough suspense to keep one on the edge...more

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Jan 22, 2013 D.G. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, paranormal, snoozefest, waste-of-my-time, reviewed

Finally! I cannot tell you how happy I am to finish this book. Instead of 10 hours, the audiobook felt like it was twice as long and I had it in 2x speed for most of it.

I can imagine that when this book came out in 1999, it was fresh and groundbreaking. If I had read it back there, I would have definitely been intrigued. But as a 2011 PNR reader, I can only tell you that this book bored me beyond tears and I couldn't stand the dumb characters and an overwrought dialogue that would go on and on r...more Finally! I cannot tell you how happy I am to finish this book. Instead of 10 hours, the audiobook felt like it was twice as long and I had it in 2x speed for most of it.

I can imagine that when this book came out in 1999, it was fresh and groundbreaking. If I had read it back there, I would have definitely been intrigued. But as a 2011 PNR reader, I can only tell you that this book bored me beyond tears and I couldn't stand the dumb characters and an overwrought dialogue that would go on and on repeating the same things.

Let's start with the heroine, who has the distinction of being the most TSTL heroine I've ever read about in my life. Why, you may ask? Just select an option from the ones below (contains some spoilers):
A - Left the hero's house when he was disabled to spend the day in the same place as the evil villains
B - After being told that a woman is murdered, she wanders on her own in the forest and falls sleep
C - Decides the hero is not for her even though he's the only man that can touch her (she's telepathic and can read minds just by touching normal people)
D - After almost getting killed, she wanders the forest at night half naked and strikes a conversation with a guy she doesn't know
E - Tries to sacrifice herself several times to save the hero even though everybody and their mother has told her that if she dies, he dies too.
F - All of the above.

Believe it or not, the answer is F: all of the above. This woman doesn't have the brain God gave a mosquito and I just wanted the villain to crack her skull and put us out of our misery.

Then there was the asinine plot. Villains would come out of nowhere and they caught the very powerful Carpathians with their pants down Every.Single.Time. You would think that such a powerful race would be prepared to be hunted and would keep safeguards in place but the villains basically did everything they wanted and the Carpathians couldn't stop them.

The prose is affected and over the top with gems such as "velvet sheath of fire." Over and over, we learned that "Carpathians women were the light to the male's darkness...his other half. Without her, the beast would slowly consume the man until he was complete darkness." If I had been doing a drinking game every time the work 'darkness' showed up, I had been roaring drunk by the end.

Overall, all I can say is that I'm glad that it's over.(less)

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Dec 21, 2008 slayra rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-english, ugh-just-no, uf-and-pnr

Simply awful.

I have nothing against paranormal romances. I've read quite a few, although I generally prefer urban fantasy/mystery books with some romance.

I had heard such good things about Christine Feehan I thought I'd give her books a try. Unfortunately, I couldn't make myself finish this, and I did try. Really. I almost got through it, but ultimately gave up.

The story isn't particularly original... unless you consider the fact that Feehan probably came up with this plotline in the first place...more

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May 29, 2008 Kisholi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, digital-editions, smut

Thanks to a quarter-life crisis that has left me bereft of the simple pleasure of enjoying a good book, I've been relegated to flipping through comics and smut romances in an effort to distract myself from the general tragedy that is my life. While most of them have been reasonably bad, I have not felt compelled to write a review about any of them.

That said, Dark Prince being the first in the Carpathian Series was so very laughable that I find myself rising from the gloom if only to warn others...more Thanks to a quarter-life crisis that has left me bereft of the simple pleasure of enjoying a good book, I've been relegated to flipping through comics and smut romances in an effort to distract myself from the general tragedy that is my life. While most of them have been reasonably bad, I have not felt compelled to write a review about any of them.

That said, Dark Prince being the first in the Carpathian Series was so very laughable that I find myself rising from the gloom if only to warn others who might be expecting this here book to produce some entertaining vampire high-jinks.

The premise is interesting enough. The Carpathians are almost-vampire inasmuch they can shape-shift, heal quickly, drink blood (need to), read your mind etc. But they don't run around raping and killing, mind their own business generally and only mingle/mate with their own kind. The baddies are trying to kill them all, mistakenly believing them to be dangerous when they're not. Really. Besides when these Carpathians find a lifemate, they are faithful to the end and when one dies, so does the other. Cute huh?

The problem lies in the actual telling of the story - our intelligent, strong willed, all American, blue jeans sporting heroine pitted against an arrogant, traditional, "we protect our women" type ape... I mean vampire... should have been an explosive combination. While there was some debate/banter between them it was never developed to a believable depth. The dialogue felt like yet another attempt to show us that these two polar opposites crackle - when they didn't. The tension, if strung out well, could have had readers begging them to do it already. But sadly, the couple have sex by the second chapter and it's horribly predictable from there on.

And seriously, if the heroine was as intelligent as she was supposed to have been she would have noticed all the typical signs of vampirism but no... "I dreamt you made me suck blood from a great big hole in your chest - it must be because I'm in Romania", "it's so cute how the wolves seem to listen you" and "oh did you just leap across the room like a psycho jungle cat? wow"

Seriously.

Of course this book had a lot of sex which is perfectly alright as long as its written reasonably well but this wasn't. A lot repetition - multiple, headache inducing mentions of her "tiny waist" and "silky hair" and his "velvet seduction". And My God. If I had to listen to him call her "my little one" one more time I would barf.

I read the whole thing and it had a few good bits admittedly, but they were so few and far between that I can only give this an overall 2 stars. (less)

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Dec 10, 2009 Jess the Romanceaholic rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: psychic, vampires, alpha-male, serial-killer, paranormal-romance, jnmk, stalkerific-hero, too-stupid-to-live-moment, bought-because-of-bad-reviews

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Now, if you read my reviews, or take a peek at my shelves, you know that it's a rare thing indeed for me to give a one-star review, let alone not finish a book..

But this one? I just. I couldn't finish it.

I tried. I really did. But when I find myself playing Pac-Man online instead of finishing a book, we've got ourselves a problem.

I'm a fan of Feehan's Ghostwalker series. Though even many of them are rather poorly written (and let's face it, they really are), they're typically enjoyable and were...more

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Oct 12, 2010 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Vampire romance fans

Shelves: owned-copy, paranormal-romance, part-of-a-series, favorite-or-autobuy-author, fated-to-be-mated, modern-virgin-heroine, vampire, hero-i-liked, heroine-i-liked, good-secondary-characters, stalkerific-hero, favorites, heroine-drop-dead-gorgeous, sweet-heroine, psychic

When I try to evaluate this book, I close my eyes and picture old-fashioned weighing scales. On the left, is the negative aspect about this novel. On the right, the positives will be measured.

The negative
Truly, there was only one. My only real complaint was this:
I've noticed that Ms. Feehan will use very long sentences, and as many words as possible in most sentences to convey her story. She will write things repetitively, instead of just once (although I think a lot of authors have this tenden...more

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Feb 09, 2008 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of paranormal romance novels

Shelves: paranormal-romance

This is Book One in "The Carpathians" series and tells the story of Mikhail, the Prince and leader of the Carpathians, and how he found his lifemate Raven. There is also a novella at the end of the book ("Dark Descent") about the Carpathian, Traian, and how he found his lifemate Joie.

I found the world of the Carpathians (who are like Dark-Hunters in that they are similar to vampires, but aren't considered vamps) intriguing and will probably read a few more novels in this series to give it a good...more

9 likes · like · see review

May 08, 2011 Jodie Riverina Romantics rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-blog, hard-copy, paranormal

I give this 3.5 stars.

I am a bit undecided with Dark Prince.
It was my first Christine Feehan read - and her style of writing is very different to what I am used to. At times I found it hard trying to determine which character was explaining the scene.

The love scenes were extremely passionate, which I think can swing readers two ways. You are either enthrawled and loving the compolsion of their romance or feeling like the passion is more about possession and obsession - which is how I felt.

Mich...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Carpathian Prince is charismatic, attractive, powerful and a sexy being(or is that me! lol). Intense and descriptive story, Feehan places you in the moment and you feel the intensity and passion with her choice of words. Dark and hypnotic sensuality beware!
There is a need for breeding, he is in need of a life-mate. Can one women Raven be the life-mate The Carpathian has been waiting 100's of years for and the person to preserve the Carpathian's bloodline.

'I claim you as my life-mate!' no not...more

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Nov 15, 2009 Becky rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, feehan-c

(Carpathians,#1) What a disappointment! The story is simple with Mikhail Dubrinsky, Carpathian Prince, desperately trying to make Raven Whitney, telepathic human, understand that she is his lifemate. The Carpathian way-of-life was different and refreshing, but the dialogue was too repetitious and the characters were not developed enough. Unfortunately, Mikhail didn’t do it for me… I was much more entranced by Jacques and especially Gregori.

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Apr 01, 2009 Alaine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-time-favourites, romance

Christine Feehan where have you been all my life? This book was fantastic! It was so good, that I was listening to it on audio but I wanted to read it faster so I went and bought the paperback copy.

"I am a Carpathian male, long in the world of darkness. It is true that I feel very little, that my nature revels in the hunt, in the kill. To overcome the wild beast, we have to find our one half, our other half, the light to our darkness." The Carpathians are not vampires but if they don't find thei...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Lisa Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-romance-paranormal, bom-rlftci, buddy-read, character-über-alpha-hero, reviewed-by-me, authors-f, authors-c, zzcover-purple

★★★★☆ Ms. Feehan’s first book, re-cut by the author to add over 100 pages, was a wonderful read. I loved the heroine, Raven. She had a wonderful, subtle sense of humor that leveled the playing field for our hero, the darkly mysterious Mikhail, putting her in serious contention as my favorite paranormal heroines.

Still, there were a few missteps causing the middle to drag; nevertheless, the beginning and end were fascinating. I spent some time trying to figure out the difference between a vampire...more

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Dec 24, 2007 Kathrynn rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Paranormal Romance Fans

Shelves: romance-paranormal, series-carpathian_feehan, own, 2006, hot, reviewed

Book #1 in Carpathian Series and the book that started it all! Mikhail and Raven were two wonderful characters that kick start this series. They both turn up as supporting characters in several books later in the series. Hot!

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Sep 02, 2010 Kat Hooper rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Mikhail Dubrinsky is the leader of the Carpathians, a powerful race that is dying out due to lack of females. Raven Whitney, a human, is vacationing in the Carpathian Mountains after using her telepathic skills to help catch a serial killer. Raven senses Mikhail’s distress and the two of them realize they have a connection to each other. Raven may be the life mate that Mikhail thought he’d never find and she represents hope for the Carpathians.

Ugh. I reall...more

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Jan 30, 2009 Moderatrix Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-paranormal, read-2009, print-books

I had high hopes for this book since it continually shows up on people's lists of favorite series. I really struggled with it though. I found the writing cheesy and repetitive. How many times can you use the word "velvet" in one book? I didn't care much for the heroine either. I don't like it when women are small and frail and fragile and breakable and all of those other terms used to describe a petite female. Give me Anita Blake or Merry Gentry...small women who can kick ass and aren't treated...more

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Jan 30, 2008 Ana T. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: keeper, paranormal, e-book

I started reading this book with a great expectation, I first read it 5 or 6 years ago and I had never picked it up since. I read most of the other Carpathian novels but after 12 or 13 books I was a bit tired and finally gave up buying them. Since I am now in the process of adding my keepers to my Library Thing account I decided to reread some of them and see if they stand the test of time. I'm happy to say this one did.

He came to her in the night, a predator -- strength and power chiseled his f...more I started reading this book with a great expectation, I first read it 5 or 6 years ago and I had never picked it up since. I read most of the other Carpathian novels but after 12 or 13 books I was a bit tired and finally gave up buying them. Since I am now in the process of adding my keepers to my Library Thing account I decided to reread some of them and see if they stand the test of time. I'm happy to say this one did.

He came to her in the night, a predator -- strength and power chiseled his features. The seduction was deep and elemental; he affected her soul. His need. His darkness. His terrible haunting loneliness. Her senses aroused, she craved the dangerous force of his body. Burned for him. And he had only touched her with his mind.

She came to him at dawn, his bleakest hour. As the beast raged inside him, threatening to consume him, he vented his centuries-old despair in an anguished cry that filled the waning night. And she answered, a ray of light, piercing his darkness. A beautiful angel. Her compassion, courage, and innocence awakened in him an exquisite longing and tenderness. He knew he must possess her, for only she could tame his savage side and lift the dark shadow from his soul. Apart they were desolate, bereft. Intertwined physically and spiritually, they could heal one another and experience an eternity of nights filled with love.

Michail is the learder of the Carpathians, a dying race of people who need blood to survive but are far from being vampires. They loose their emotions and the ability to see colours when they are still young and both can only be restored when they find their true life mate. Raven is a human with telepathic powers who feels his pain one night and contacts him.

I'll start by mentioning what I didn't like, at times the language was a bit on the purple side. Mickhail kept calling Raven little one and I found that a bit annoying. And I doubt that any small woman would like to be called that not to mention the fact that is a bit childish.

Now what I did like, and there was a lot to like!

Feehan's writing style keeps us totally immersed in the story, at least it did me. Being a reread it was still a page turner and once I started I couldn't stop reading.

The characters were also likeable and interesting. They actually try to get to know each other, to understand each other's traditions and beliefs. More Raven than Mickhail because he has been around humans for a long time and knows how they work. But despite his possessivness and aparent arrogance he still respects her beliefs and everytime she fights his commands he explains why he acts the way he does. I felt she won most of the discussions! He avoids telling her about his different race at first but it's also very clear that she is essencial to his well being and that he does it out of fear for her and not to hide her anything bad. The fact that he does hide what he is for a while and drank her blood without her the consequences at first were the only thing I can recall that I felt he did bad. Although to him the Carpathian mating ritual is what binds them together he still wants her to have a marriage because that is the human tradition and he never let's her feel when he takes her to ground because he knows she feels like she is being buried.

Mickhail has an image to protect as the Prince, the overlord, there's something almost medieval in the way his subjects behave towards him. However the distant and cold atitude just disappears when it comes to Raven. He is never less than tender and caring with her. He hardly ever tries to enforce his will on her and certainly not after they have become involved. Although most of his people keep mentioning Raven as their salvation because without her he will choose to die we never feel that he is only interested in her because she can save them, he actually cares for her.

The mystery part about who is trying to kill Carpathians was also interesting. It led Raven to get herself in danger but I couldn't fault her because things seemed just to unbelievable at that point for her to be truly aware of the real danger. She was still trying to understand the Carpathians and their world. Speaking of which I think Feehan did a wonderful job of world building around these characters (or maybe I should call it race building). And has you can see it was the characters that made the book for me.

Well that's my take on it and yes, it's an A for me.(less)

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Feb 10, 2008 Charis rated it 4 of 5 stars

The first in a very long series. I've read them all. The first is not necessarily the best but a good place to start. Each book has verry similar undertones and yet continues the epic of the carpathians. Good characters but I mostly read them because they portray all that I believe a man should be. Thank goodness I have a husband to contend with the characters, read it you'll see what I mean. An especially good thing to have on hand when a husband is away.

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Apr 13, 2008 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Milli, Britta, Melissa

Recommended to Kim by: Milli I think...

This is a good series of books, the setup is the same in each of them... old vamps find their lifemates who are ususally tenacious women who fight the relatioship every step of the way. Some are better than others, but none are terrible. Try and read them in order, it does help set up the background as to who is who bu if you read them out of order, you would be able to follow them becasue they have to explain everything to each woman as they meet her.

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Sep 22, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

4.5 stars

Mikhail Dubrinsky, an ancient Carpathian, prince of his people, is stopped from seeking the dawn when the voice of his natural life mate, Raven Whitney, interrupts his thoughts telepathically. The Carpathians are a race of superior beings who drink blood to survive, have to stay out of the sun, can shape shift, and possess great powers. To avoid turning into the dreaded vampire, a soulless monster who feels nothing but rabid joy when it slaughters and must be destroyed by its own kind,...more 4.5 stars

Mikhail Dubrinsky, an ancient Carpathian, prince of his people, is stopped from seeking the dawn when the voice of his natural life mate, Raven Whitney, interrupts his thoughts telepathically. The Carpathians are a race of superior beings who drink blood to survive, have to stay out of the sun, can shape shift, and possess great powers. To avoid turning into the dreaded vampire, a soulless monster who feels nothing but rabid joy when it slaughters and must be destroyed by its own kind, the male Carpathian must find this other half, their lifetime, before they turn. Mikhail is one of the oldest and wearies of his search, until of course her voice drifts into his thoughts on the second page of this novel.

To make matters worse, their race is dying out and there doesn't seem to be much hope for the males left. Few children are born from the few scattered women, and most that are born as males. To grind it in worse, almost every infant dies within their first year. Eager to find a continuation for his race, Feehan introduces women who are human and have psychic ability.

For a change we'll start with the bad: this first book of the series suffers from melodrama and over description. Feehan overuses the same words and phrases to mildly grating degrees. The sex scenes were erotic but at times a little too drawn out and frequent. However, the story is unique enough and absolutely enthralling; I found myself falling in love almost immediately with both Mikhail and Raven. The beginning is especially erotic and exciting. While not without its flaws in writing and suffering from typical romance overload, it's impossible to put down and works its magic instantly.

There's something about powerful males with authority, confidence, and humor - it never hurts if they have natural sex appeal too right? Mikhail is one of these endearing men, sexy from the get go, addictive, a great guy to read about. Raven's humor and compassion really do add to things. Their telepathic ways of communication are interesting and, the sex scenes, which are many, are genuinely hot and spicy. The sweetness the 'lifemates' show each other, the desperation they feel without another, and the inability for one to live if the other dies, is a truly romantic touch.

So yes, this book suffered from the melodrama most romance does, but it's still fascinating. Besides the love and sex, the interesting race is a good one to read about, and pages upon pages are filled with not only passion but danger and a dash of suspense. When you find characters to fall in love with, all the rest comes afterward.(less)

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Feb 22, 2008 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, paranormal, vampire, own-in-book-format, read-in-2008, to-re-read, romantic-fantasy, shapeshifters, paranormal-romance, do-you-believe-in-magic

I picked up this book because I wanted a little dark romance and I was hooked immediately. I'm now planning to read the whole series. It's my "in the car" book - it sits in the pocket of my door and I read a little everyday while I wait to go in to school. I have ordered the next 3 books in the series and I can't wait to get them.

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 15, 2011 Liv rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: pnr, finished-but-painful

It was truly a torture to read through this book. Admittedly, this was my first Christine Feehan book so it took me sometime to adjust to her style of writing and getting used to the premise/setting etc. However, having finished this book, I can honestly say that it just didn't work for me and in fact bothered me quite a bit.

Normally I love having a hot and sexy guy in the story, and sometimes I wouldn't even mind him being somewhat bossy and arrogant. However, Mikhail, the male protagonist in t...more

7 likes · like · see review

Apr 29, 2009 Sheree rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Sheree by: Alaine

Shelves: paranormals, read-in-2009, reviews

Call me old fashioned, call me a sucker, call me a soft touch, I just loved this paranormal love story and I fell in love (& lust) with the Carpathian males.

Mikhail Dubrinsky, Prince of the Carpathians, impossibly arrogant but tempered with a vulnerability that had me emotionally invested in his story.
Raven Whitney, human, gifted telepath and emotionally & physically depleted from tracking the twisted mental paths of serial killers. Raven has escaped to the Carpathian mountains to heal,...more

6 likes · like · see review

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About Christine Feehan

#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan has over 40 novels published, including four series. Each of her four series has hit #1 on the NY Times. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature for 1999. Since then she has been published by Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7...more

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“The trouble is not really in being alone, it's being lonely. One can be lonely in the midst of a crowd, don't you think?” — 159 people liked it

“Someone needs to drag you kicking and screaming into this century.” — 56 people liked it

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