Dark Slayer (Dark, #20)

Sep 07, 2009 Kaleigha rated it 5 of 5 stars

I should say that I don't hand out five star ratings lightly, but this one was worth it.

I have been on a bit of a Dark series marathon for the last few weeks...I believe I have read the last 12 in the series one after the other. And for some reason, I have been looking forward to the story of Skylar and Dimitri. Or Dominic. Or Zacharias. But...Razvan and Ivory Malinov? Not so much. Didn't really seem like a must-read to me, even though the tortured Razvan seemed to have potential. But man did th...more

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Sep 06, 2009 Karyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-n-before, paranormal, will-read-again

I think I've said this for the past 3 Carpathian books I reviewed, but this really is the best Carpathian book so far. Or close to it atleast. Dark Slayer is about Ivory Manilov and Razvan.

Ivory is the sister of the 5 Manilov brothers who purposely turned Vampire because they thought they could rule the world that way. Ivory was tortured and hacked and left for dead by Mikhail's brother Draven and the vampires under Xavier's direction. However mother earth and the wolves saved her and now she sl...more I think I've said this for the past 3 Carpathian books I reviewed, but this really is the best Carpathian book so far. Or close to it atleast. Dark Slayer is about Ivory Manilov and Razvan.

Ivory is the sister of the 5 Manilov brothers who purposely turned Vampire because they thought they could rule the world that way. Ivory was tortured and hacked and left for dead by Mikhail's brother Draven and the vampires under Xavier's direction. However mother earth and the wolves saved her and now she slays the undead along with her wolf pack - with no allegiances to the undead, Xavier or the Carpathian race that left her for dead.

The grandson of the evil mage Xavier, Razvan has been in his grandfather's clutches since he was fourteen and has had his body and mind used for crimes against Xavier's enemies. He's lived only with his honour and endured to save those he loves, but now he's giving up.

Many things are thankfully different in this book. The two meet and don't want to be tied to each other because they're both being hunted, but cant abandon the other nonetheless. Ivory is the warrior in this book, while Razvan is more the calming influence with tremendous inner strength (that just sounds corny now, but you know what I mean)
He had learned long ago that he couldn’t control others or events, only his own reaction to what happened...“I do not control others, Ivory, only myself. I do what I must, no matter the cost.”

I can honestly say these are the strongest characters I've come across in anything I've read so far - both mentally and physically these two have endured and have been honed in the fires of hell. They have a single minded determination to accomplish whatever they set their sights on - be it Xavier or ravishing each other. Despite their strengths, they both have vulnerabilities - and it is lovely how they are there for the other at their times of need. At time I thought there was too much of the inner dialogue - with how they didn't deserve each other and how they had found joy and happiness. But considering both their tortured pasts, the gratitude and joy they found in each other did make sense, and it wasn’t so bad to read.

Razvan's lack of ego is refreshing after all the previous Carpathian men and their i'm-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-you attitude. He's happy following Ivory's lead in areas that are her forte, and they support each other as partners. The part where Razvan uses his skill at strategy along with Ivory's abilities and tricks the ancient Carpathians had me laughing for quite a while.

A lot of the old characters are back in this book along with some new ones. We catch up with whats been happening in the other lives and how they're fighting the undead, Xavier and their own extinction with the inability to keep their babies alive. There's also sad re-unions with Razvan meeting his sister Natalya (who I wanted to slap in this book a lot of times) and his daughter Lara and coming to terms with the new knowledge of what Xavier had been using his body for.

Lovely story this. I wondered how the two would meet, how they would reconcile with the Carpathians and whether they would defeat Xavier and where the series will go from this book onwards. Feehan does a almost perfect job on all counts. A lot of things are wrapped up in this book, with enough to keep you waiting for the next book.

Really, this isn't an adequate review. It'll make you laugh, it might make you cry. It'll keep you invested in the lives of these two. So go read the book. (But read some of the previous books first so it makes a lot more sense)(less)

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Nov 12, 2009 Melindeeloo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

Dark Slayer twists the series' formula into Something different but something good

Deviating a bit from the normal formula of her other 'Dark' Carpathian books, Feehan's Dark Slayer was a unique entry into the popular long running series and ended up being one of my favorites of Feehan's more recent offerings. Though fans who live for Feehan's uber alpha males may be disappointed, I really liked long time series villain Razvan as he takes a turn in the spotlight. Razvan is no less powerful for...more Dark Slayer twists the series' formula into Something different but something good

Deviating a bit from the normal formula of her other 'Dark' Carpathian books, Feehan's Dark Slayer was a unique entry into the popular long running series and ended up being one of my favorites of Feehan's more recent offerings. Though fans who live for Feehan's uber alpha males may be disappointed, I really liked long time series villain Razvan as he takes a turn in the spotlight. Razvan is no less powerful for being an atypical Capathian, and he is a good fit with his vampire Slaying mate, Ivory Malinov, whose independant streak would be a challenge to even the most domineering and arrogant of the Carpathian males. Both of the starring pair have had enough pain and suffering in their interesting backstories, and in their experiences with family members turning to the darkside, to make them empathetic to the other's struggles and to make them both cherish the gift of a Lifemate.

Other things I really liked: Lots of cameos of old starring pairs are worked in thoughout the story and there are some really cool aspects to Ivory's wolf pack and her magical connection to the wolves. I also liked that Feehan waited longer to consumate the physical part of Razvan and Ivory's pairing, allowing Razvan and Ivory to work through some issues instead of forcing it - and, after a gazillion other books in this series, I had been starting to feel I feel like I had read all of the love scenes many times before, so having less of them here than normal worked better for me and in them Feehan uses a lighter touch with Razvan which made them feel fresher too.

My nits: Yet another chauvinistic stubborn effort to `protect' a `helpless' woman by Gregori. I found his attempt to force Ivory's acceptance of the Carpathians' aid when she had no reason to trust them frustrating - though once Gregori comes to understand Ivory's power, he does give her the respect she deserves and he even gets a few chuckles when other Hunters make the same mistake of underestimating her. I realise that some readers enjoy them, but there are way too many spell-poems for me (I mostly skipped over these and the Carpathian dialog too, I just had to find out what happened next). It also bothered me that Ivory seems a bit diminished when she discovers her feminity - she starts out as a really strong independant character, a true survivor and she is more than competent at slaying ancient vampires and unraveling the evil mega-villain Xavier's spells - and I didn't like that she ends up doubting herself with Razvan. But even with that nit, she is still a great heroine.

So is anyone besides me wondering how long is Feehan going to be able keep this series going? There still several stories I've been waiting for, in this book even more potential leading men hunters are introduced, and I really don't see the overall story arc building up to a big finish. But hey, I'm not the only one still willing to shell out the big bucks and preorder the hardbacks, so who knows - if we're lucky maybe this series will be as immortal as Feehan's Carpathians themselves.
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Dec 15, 2009 Mojca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christine-feehan, series-carpathians, paranormal-romance-fantasy, part-of-a-series, shape-shifters, vampires, own, favorites, monthly-challenge-read-december, women-we-love-challenge

Centuries ago, a young girl was cut to pieces on a meadow, her remains left to the wolves. The animals, instead of consuming the remains, buried them, and Ivory Malinov was reborn. Now, she’s a slayer of vampires, an ancient warrior with only one goal in life – find and destroy the man who ordered her execution, Xavier, the dark mage. Then she discovers the fickleness of Fate, when she stumbles upon a man lying in the snow and recognizes him as her lifemate…And Xavier’s grandson.

Centuries ago, a...more Centuries ago, a young girl was cut to pieces on a meadow, her remains left to the wolves. The animals, instead of consuming the remains, buried them, and Ivory Malinov was reborn. Now, she’s a slayer of vampires, an ancient warrior with only one goal in life – find and destroy the man who ordered her execution, Xavier, the dark mage. Then she discovers the fickleness of Fate, when she stumbles upon a man lying in the snow and recognizes him as her lifemate…And Xavier’s grandson.

Centuries ago, a young boy gave up his body to save his twin sister. A few decades ago, the same boy, now grown, tortured almost beyond endurance, gave up his soul to protect his daughter. Branded a criminal and the vilest traitor of the Carpathian race, Razvan, wishes for Death to claim him. His escape from his grandfather’s clutches almost accomplishes that feat, he lies in the snow, waiting for the sun to cleanse his soul, when he hears the voice of his lifemate.

Now, these two tortured souls will embark on a journey of soul-searching, forgiveness, and redemption, united in their goal of destroying their enemy, braving suspicion and rumors from the very race they’re trying to save.

This has officially become my favorite book in the Dark/Carpathian series. It was so utterly different from all the other 19 books that I was simply rendered speechless (in a very good way). So what was so different from the other books in this series? The dynamic between the two leads and (almost) complete reversal of roles.
In this one, the female took the lead. Ivory was the experienced, ancient hunter, skilled, resilient, deadly, not needing anyone to stand by her, and Razvan was the one who had to learn from her, without any ego involved. Though he was a fast learned and great at strategy, he saw nothing wrong in learning from a woman, taking his lead from her. He still protected her, but didn’t intrude or order her about. There was no chest-thumping, no He-Man antics, not litanies about women having to stay at home barefoot and pregnant. Razvan was completely accepting of the fact Ivory was better at something than he was and there was absolutely no rancor in him.

That’s what I loved most about Razvan. The fact he was so Zen about everything. He accepted his fate, he was a rock and a fountain of peace despite everything he’s been through, and he was full of acceptance when it came to others’ feelings of animosity around him. He felt he deserved it, so he simply accepted anything that was thrown at him.
And he was Ivory’s rock and haven as well. She just needed his touch (physical or psychic) and she was centered and at peace…She especially needed that peace whenever they came in contact with the aforementioned animosity toward her lifemate. For someone not used to company, preferring to run with her wolves, this chick was always ready to defend her mate.
I absolutely adored these two together, so similar in some traits, and their romance was both sweet and heart-breaking at the same time. And the fact Razvan was the one most open with his feelings was just so super cute.

The Carpathians (with the exception of Gregori and Mikhail) disappointed me in this book. There was absolutely no trace of their fabled "hospitality", and they blatantly went against their own prince when it came to Razvan. I know they were led to believe he was a traitor, but to distrust the word of their own leader and greatest healer was pushing it a bit in my book.

Despite this last fact, and the reversal of roles between Ivory and Razvan, this was yet another classic Feehan with gripping descriptions of the atmosphere and Carpathian environment, wonderful action sequences, creepy villains, and a love-story beyond compare. With his one, I think Christine Feehan surpassed herself for this series.

5 stars. A keeper. Utterly enjoyed it, totally loved it.

P.S. Though the series progresses, I love the fact previous characters always come to visit, and we get tantalizing glimpses into what might (and soon will, I hope) happen next. The prince and his lifemate are expecting again, Gregori and Savannah have had great news (that will stay great thanks to Ivory), the imminent threat of Carpathian extinction is defeated for now (again, thanks to Ivory), and what’s most important for me, Skyler is growing (she was seventeen in this book), which is good news for those, like me, who are looking forward to her and Dimitri’s book.(less)

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Sep 03, 2009 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: do-you-believe-in-magic, family-relationships, fiction, friendship, own-in-book-format, paranormal, paranormal-romance, read-in-2009, remarkable-reads, romantic-fantasy, romantic-suspense, shapeshifters, to-re-read, vampire

Oh my goodness! I know I say this (almost) after reading every book in this series, but here I go again - Dark Slayer it the BEST of the series so far! It is different from most of the other books, in that we finally get a hero who is powerful and confident, but COMPLETELY without ego! Due to the horrors endured in his life as a prisoner of Xavier, Razvan has a quiet strength, and is definitely the only man who could possibly be a match for Ivory. A former long-time villain and enemy of the Carp...more Oh my goodness! I know I say this (almost) after reading every book in this series, but here I go again - Dark Slayer it the BEST of the series so far! It is different from most of the other books, in that we finally get a hero who is powerful and confident, but COMPLETELY without ego! Due to the horrors endured in his life as a prisoner of Xavier, Razvan has a quiet strength, and is definitely the only man who could possibly be a match for Ivory. A former long-time villain and enemy of the Carpathian people (before they understood the truth behind Xavier's treachery,) Razvan is supportive of Ivory and greatly admires her vampire slaying skills. He is easily the least domineering of all Carpathian males so far, and is more than willing to let Ivory take the lead and to learn from her when it comes to fighting the undead.

Ivory, a female Carpahtian and warrior, has also experienced unspeakable barbarity at the hands of Xavier and the brothers who betrayed her. Her nature would never have allow her to cope with Feehan's typical alpha male hero - Razvan is the perfect lifemate for her. If any Carpathian ever had reason to turn to the "darkside" as it were, it would be Razvan and Ivory. They have both endured much pain and suffering, molding them into the strong willed individuals they have now become. Their separate ordeals in life make them that much more grateful to have found each other, and to appreciate the true meaning of being lifemates.

As always, we get a glimpse into the lives of the Carpathians we have come to know and love in the series: the dialogue between Mikhail, leader of the Carpathian people, and his Gregori, "The Dark One", protector of the prince, it truly hilarious at times - especially when Gregori is (unpleasantly) surprised by Razvan. We also see some of our favorites girls: Savannah, who is getting ready to deliver her twins; Syndil, working hard to heal the earth; Natalya, twin sister of Razvan, distraught with the knowledge of what her brother has endured to keep her safe; Lara, daughter of Razvan, who trying to keep Xavier's microbes from killing the Carpathian babies.

Dark Slayer also introduces us to some new ancients, hopefully giving hints as to where the series will go in the future. Andre and Tariq, along with brothers Mataias, Lojos and Tomas, have returned to the Carpathian Mountains at this critical time for the people, to help protect the prince and hopefully hold out against the gathering darkness they all feel without lifemates. As a side note, there is a particularly good scene in Dark Slayer in which Ivory and Razvan teach the ancients a lesson in underestimating their opponents. I don't want to give too much away, but that scene (which also contains powerful Carpathian hunters Nicolae, Vikirnoff and Gregori) is well-written and simply hilarious!

I am enjoying the way Feehan is solving the big issue of the Carpathian people - few children are born, even fewer survive childhood, and fewer yet are female. The creativity she is using in finding a solution to this problem is really interesting. I also loved the creation of Mother Earth as a real character - thinking, feeling, and speaking to her children.

Dark Slayer is the best of the best so far! However, this is not a series you can just jump into at book 20 - you really need to go back and read the rest of the series first. There is a lot of character development and Carpathian history that you really need in order to enjoy this latest book. On the whole, this really is a good series, definitely worth a look if you enjoy paranormal romance. (less)

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Jan 08, 2010 Carolyn F. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

Okay, if she were a real person, I'd strangle Ivory. The scene that really did it for me was the approx. 5 pages of her arguing with everyone about saving some dying babies. "You must save the babies!". Ivory, "Do you really want me to save the babies?" "Yes, save the babies." Ivory, "Really?" UGH!!!!

And then the dirt, how many ways can you describe the deliciously nutritious dirt. About 100 pages it seems. And then when I start liking the main characters, here comes some more dirt!

I usually l...more

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Sep 04, 2009 Loralee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-books, september-2009

I loved it! I laughed, I cried both in sadness and in happiness. I think this is possibly my favorite in the series now. Ivory and Razvan's story was wonderful, they were perfect for each other. They really were each others soul mate. I loved the quiet strength of Razvan, yet we see such heartache and vulnerability in him at times, because of his past. And Ivory, what a great heroine, she was so strong, and yet really has such vulnerabilities too. It was great how the two of them were each other...more

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May 21, 2010 Jacqueline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-work-borders, paranormal-romance

This is one of those series which may have gone on too long. The author is beginning to add more and more magical elements/character types. I like the series and have read all of them and don't suppose I'll quit but I hope there doesn't start being elves and demons and Greek gods and stuff.

Okay this book. I liked it pretty well. It has a strong heroine and Razvan is a great tortured hero. I really enjoyed seeing him get a story as I had suspected in earlier books that he wasn't as evil as portra...more

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Oct 05, 2010 Camille-Dhark Nytmhare rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-reviewed, vampire, paranormal, read-in-2010

I loved this story. I cried at least 3 different times during this book….(okay so it was more like 7 or 8 times). I am no cry baby sissy wuss. It really takes a lot to get me going. But Feehan has managed to tug on my heart strings in what I believe is her best story yet. Razvan turns out to have such moral fortitude. The love that is portrayed between Razvan and Ivory is so deep that it brings tears to the eyes of the secondary characters in the story. The fact that Gregori and Prince Mikhail c...more I loved this story. I cried at least 3 different times during this book….(okay so it was more like 7 or 8 times). I am no cry baby sissy wuss. It really takes a lot to get me going. But Feehan has managed to tug on my heart strings in what I believe is her best story yet. Razvan turns out to have such moral fortitude. The love that is portrayed between Razvan and Ivory is so deep that it brings tears to the eyes of the secondary characters in the story. The fact that Gregori and Prince Mikhail cried for Razvan and Ivory was a tender moment in the story and made their love believable

Razvan is so playful and mild mannered. He is the epitome of a loveable person. He does not come off as some smoking hot guy, but a pillar of strength to Ivory’s strong characterization. Ivory is the best kick-ass heroine I have come across in a long while. She is smart, loyal, and fierce. The shift in roles between the Hero/heroine was so refreshing. Razvan did not portray the typical Carpathian male and Ivory definitely was not the typical Carpathian female.

I love how the author personifies Mother Earth using language that gives her human-like qualities. The way the author describes how Mother Earth heals is breathtaking. The poems and prayers to Mother Earth are very beautiful and I intend to keep them in my collection of poetry. Feehan draws a vivid picture that makes you want to live in this world. That is until the characters start to fight vampires.

I love the role the Carpathian’s play in the action scenes. The fight scenes kept you on the edge of your seat because the characters did not always have an easy win. Lots of times they got their asses kicked.,which also made for a lot of tension within the novel. The enemy seemed undefeatable. The story moves forward at a very nice pace without too much detail about one scene. There are lots of bloody action sequences. Tension is built constantly and the conflicts in the story are very worrisome. There is a such nice balance of magic, evil, goodness, revelations, devastation, and sex scenes that you are satisfied when the story comes to a great end. Razvan and Ivory get a great and well deserved happily ever after.

Repetition within the story is a little disappointing. Many times the word lifemate was used. It was also redundant to keep talking about how important it was to defeat Xavier. 'You are my life mate' gets a little old after the hundredth time but this is easily overlooked in a great story. At least no one 'shattered into a million pieces', which is also a favorite line of Feehan’s.

This story of redemption is a real tear jerker.
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May 22, 2010 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: PNR fans, Christine Feehan fans

Shelves: reviewed-books

Let's see if I can manage to write a review about this book without spoiling the previous sixteen installments for anyone. Seriously, the best compliment I can give this book is that I'm thankful there are sixteen other books plus three novellas, so maybe it won't be so painful and hard to wait for the new one to come out next year!

For any newcomers to the series, and if you are indeed a newcomer I suggest you get to the library ASAP to rectify the situation, the Dark series is a paranormal roma...more Let's see if I can manage to write a review about this book without spoiling the previous sixteen installments for anyone. Seriously, the best compliment I can give this book is that I'm thankful there are sixteen other books plus three novellas, so maybe it won't be so painful and hard to wait for the new one to come out next year!

For any newcomers to the series, and if you are indeed a newcomer I suggest you get to the library ASAP to rectify the situation, the Dark series is a paranormal romance series about the Carpathians, a race of supernatural tough guys (and ladies) fighting grossly horrible baddies at every turn and trying to save their race from extinction. There are about a million other storylines woven in and, naturally, a love story in every book, and the happily ever afters are the stuff that saccharine headaches are made of; with winter and foul weather days just around the corner I definitely recommend these books as a great way to wait out a blizzard.

This book grabbed me from the word go and absolutely refused to let go. Seriously, I stayed up way too late on the night before the first day of school reading until I literally could not keep my eyes open anymore. So many story arcs from previous books get resolved in this book, and all it did was make me even more excited to see what direction the series is going to go in next. I definitely applaud the author for keeping the series going so strong after so many volumes. I think a lot of other authors would have (and let's face it, have) jumped the shark a long time ago (cough cough Janet Evanovich yeah I went there cough cough.) There's action, suspense, romance (of course,) fear, love, you name it.

Easily my favorite thing about this book was the relationship between and characterization of Ivory and Razvan. Ivory is a truly kick ass lady who absolutely does not accept no for an answer. She is strong and has overcome a truly awful past to become a strong and vibrant power in her own life in the present. Even though she has every right to be rabidly pissed off at the world and everyone in it, she isn't! She goes out of her way to do what's right on a cosmic level, even if that puts her at odds with other people.

Razvan, on the other hand, is a completely chill dude, which is (I'll admit) a departure from the norm for Carpathian novels. Typically Carpathian guys are alpha almost to an annoying degree and toe the line between interesting and "if I knew you in real life I'd punch you in the face." Razvan is completely different- he has a well-defined sense of self and is defintiely no pushover, but he doesn't stomp around and boss people around and brood and do unattractive things like that. Instead, he treats life as an opportunity and seeks to enjoy every minute of it, an attitude which, given the horrific backstory he has to deal with, is indeed remarkable.

I'm really trying to think if there's any criticism I have of this book. Um, it ended too soon? Does that count? If you're into paranormal romance and haven't started this series yet or are interested in exploring what the paranormal romance genre has to offer, do yourself a favor and start with the first book in the series (Dark Prince) and read in series order. As with any series, some are better than others, but I think you'll find you enjoy them as a whole.

Overall Grade: A

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Sep 25, 2009 Gardavson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, 5-star

Jeez Louise! The book was a monster! How in the world did she pack all that into this one, average-long book? This was Ivory and Razvan's story. I didn't think I was going to like Ivory, pinning her as another Natalya/Destiny/Jaxon combo. Turns out, I really liked her. She wasn't macho he-woman wannabe that i'd expected. Her strength came from her intelligence and perserverence. She suffered without being man-like tough or whimpy whiney fetal position girl. Razvan was extremely likeable. He came...more

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May 17, 2010 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Best one of the entire series for me, Feehan finally wrote the book I was waiting for. Ivory and Razvan's is eloquent and heart tugging in it's beauty and I hope that we see more of them in the next book "Dark Peril".

It was very nice to have a "change of pace" in this book from all the never ending bedroom drama and histronics that every other "lifemate bonding" entails so far to date. I enjoyed how the book took the relationship between Ivory and Razvan, loved the cameos of all the other Carpat...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Doris rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: don-t-intend-to-read, paranormal-romance

For some reason I never felt a connection to either Ivory or Razvan. It almost felt like the author was trying to retell a story that was from ancient history, no one cares anymore, but this is what happened blah blah.

Every time I did start to like one of the characters, they started to whine about how hard they had it. Really? Yeah it sounded really bad but whimpering after all those centuries have gone by... no. Give it up, or give up.

There were a few "minor" details that irritated me, in addi...more

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Nov 04, 2012 K rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of series/paranormal romance

Recommended to K by: fan of series

Being a fan of Feehan's Dark Series, I was really excited when I got the notice from the library that the book was available. I had read some reviews of this book, so knew the story was going to be about Razvan. I must admit, I was slightly dissapointed that he was going to be the next one (although his character was intriguing and had alot of potential) as I was hoping for Dimitri and Skyler's story. Despite my slight disappointment, I found myself quickly drawn into the story and Razvan and Iv...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Angela Sweatman rated it 5 of 5 stars

finally here is a woman in a carpathain story who is just as bad as the rest of the males. its about the infamous Ivory Malinov, the young girl thought to have been killed. left for dead and with the help from some furry friends and mother nature she survives a horrible ordeal and lives with one purpose. to kill Xavier the evil mage responsible for her unspeakable attack. She finds a male laying in the woods. He is Razvan. Branded a criminal, detested and feared, he has managed to free himself f...more

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Dec 11, 2011 t'Sade rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have never read the Dark series before this book, but I could see the lure of it. It is a lovely tale about romance and lots of wonderful, gory magic. I feel that Dark Slayer wasn't stand-alone in that it refers to many of the other books and a lot of the interpersonal relationships are based on those previous tales. I'm willing to skip over the obvious interactions and because of that, I enjoyed it greatly. The interplay of magic wove nicely into the tale. The mix of science and magic, on the...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Lisa Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, contemporary, physical-collection

Feehan’s descriptive tale of paranormal romance and suspense is sure to keep fans of her Carpathian series satisfied! While this installment may not be as exciting as previous novels, it still has all the basic elements to make a story all Feehan fans will love!

Dark Slayer begins with Ivory. Ivory is a Carpathian or more commonly known as a vampire. She is a loner, untrusting of others like her because hundreds of years ago her Carpathian brothers tried to kill her and ultimately all turned evil...more Feehan’s descriptive tale of paranormal romance and suspense is sure to keep fans of her Carpathian series satisfied! While this installment may not be as exciting as previous novels, it still has all the basic elements to make a story all Feehan fans will love!

Dark Slayer begins with Ivory. Ivory is a Carpathian or more commonly known as a vampire. She is a loner, untrusting of others like her because hundreds of years ago her Carpathian brothers tried to kill her and ultimately all turned evil. For hundreds of years she rested in the earth, trying desperately to heal her body. One of the things that saved her was a wolf pack. Her constant companions for years, they have never left her side and will do anything to protect her.

Razvan was fourteen when he was taken by Xavier, a mage, and the Carpathians ultimate enemy. Under Xavier’s control, he was forced to do many horrible things...things for which he can never forgive himself. One day circumstances allow Razvan to escape and he desperately runs to the deepest recesses of the Carpathian mountains in order to die in peace. Moments before the dawn would take him, Ivory discovers him. Not only is he battered and bruised, but he is her life mate. Her one and only companion for all eternity. She saves him, despite the dangers he presents and together they strive to defeat their common enemy; Xavier.

Fans of Feehan’s earlier work will continue to love Dark Slayer. While each couple’s story follows the same basic principles, Ivory and Razvan are a unique couple. They develop a connection the builds on respect, courage and honor. Razvan admires and appreciates Ivory skill and talent that she has relentlessly built over the years and Ivory is in awe of Razvan’s ability of acceptance and determination to survive and succeed.

Christine Feehan writing creates many wonderful things. When reading the first half, I was amazed at the amount of emotion and heart that was displayed in her storytelling. She is spectacular at describing the pain and joy of falling so deeply and completely in love. These characters become so much a part of the other that you don’t know where one character ends and the next one begins. She is very heavy on the description and characters inner thoughts that you have very little communication or dialogue throughout the book. Which may be a pro or con to some readers. You also have to appreciate or accept the fantasy. These overwhelming emotions the characters feel about their relationship with their life mates are sometimes difficult to understand. The life mates learn more about each other by telepathically experiencing each others lives. Obviously the book doesn’t have the time to take us on that same journey so it is sometimes difficult to comprehend the depth of their emotions and why they feel that way.

While I didn’t feel this novel was as wonderful as previous Carpathian installments, I still enjoyed it immensely. Razvan was different from the normal overbearing males Feehan has written about and was a interesting change of pace. Both of them were loners, alone in the world, forming a bond that nothing could break. Christine Feehan’s series shows no signs of slowing down, so I think we have many more Carpathian novels to look forward to!

Overall Rating: 4/5
Heat Level: 3/5

Lisa @ Once Upon A Chapter(less)

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Jul 24, 2011 Bleunween R. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-series, paranormal

Oh My God! This book is amazing! I'm a fan of the series and had to read all the other books to finally be able to read this one (that was the first book I bought and didn't know was a series so I had to put it down to be able to understand the story)! I must say I have no regrets!

I couldn't put it down and I loved some couples, but Ivory and Razvan are truly special! When reading the previous books you can have an idea how Razvan could be, but I don't believe one could see him how he is present...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Emma Southee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Feehan brings new life back into the series that captured my imagination but had started to feel redundant and stale. Was so happy to be introduced to Ivory, ecstatic to learn that not everything we knew was right. After 'Dark Celebration' the series has been winding tighter and 'Slayer' does justice to all the work Mikhail has been doing for his people.

There is still the romance aspect, although thankfully she breaks her normal scenes and adds some new flare to the couples interludes. I had bec...more

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Mar 15, 2011 M A rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-paranormal, christine-feehan

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Wow. Feehan's Carpathian series has come a long way. I was a devoted reader to this paranormal romance series for the first thirteen books ("Dark Destiny.") I found myself getting a little bored with it and getting impatient with the longer delays on releases as Feehan developed other series. Recently, I picked up "Dark Secret" and liked it enough to consider the other books, and ended up selecting "Dark Slayer" as a new recreational read. Just a heads-up, I haven't read all...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Bron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, raunchy, vampire

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is the story of Razvan, kept locked up and controlled by his grandfather, Xavier, since he was young, and Ivory, chopped into little pieces by order of Xavier and underground for centuries. These two have more than a small reason to hate Xavier, and so it is not surprising that when Razvan escapes they would team up to remove the danger to the Carpathian society. Surprising to both of them was the realisation on first acquaintance that they were lifemates, an event that neither had expected...more This is the story of Razvan, kept locked up and controlled by his grandfather, Xavier, since he was young, and Ivory, chopped into little pieces by order of Xavier and underground for centuries. These two have more than a small reason to hate Xavier, and so it is not surprising that when Razvan escapes they would team up to remove the danger to the Carpathian society. Surprising to both of them was the realisation on first acquaintance that they were lifemates, an event that neither had expected to encounter. Together the pair must placate the Carpathian people, who believe that they are there to harm them, and work towards their goal.

Ivory is an amazing woman, she has a will of steel and is in touch with Mother Earth. When she was chopped into pieces and should have died, she managed to talk a pack of wolves into feeding her instead of feeding on her, and mother Earth provided rich minerals to heal her. She is very thorough, and skilled in everything she attempts, she is a weaponsmith and is a very good spellmaker. Ivory has 6 wolves that look after her, however, these are not ordinary wolves, as she had to save them when they were pups by giving them her blood. The Carpathian wolves have agreed not to breed, and only have blood from Ivory. When she hunts they appear as tattoos on her body and only leave when she allows them to. Although she had a loving childhood, due to the events that happened after she went to Xavier, Ivory is a hermit, and finds it very hard to be around anyone else. Razvan is the only one that she can endure in her presence for any length of time.

Razvan is not the usual Christine Feehan male lead, he is more of a modern male accepting the merits of his female, and allows her to fight as she desires. In all things he considers her feelings and does not command Ivory at any stage. For this reason I love this book more than most of the others I have read as there are too many chauvinistic males in her books. The womb clenching in this book is a bit to excessive, poor Ivories womb clenched at least 3 times during the novel, so it is lucky that Mother Earth fully healed her reproductive organs otherwise she would be incapable of responding to Razvan!

Sadly, although they defeat Xavier, 2 of his slithers manage to embed in the master vampire Sergey (one of Ivory's 5 brothers), so we can look forward to future adventures featuring Sergey.(less)

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Sep 12, 2010 Jenny Delandro rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, vampires, author-christine-feehan

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 21, 2011 Ann has a dirty mouth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

So normally I love all of these books, but this one was not one of my favorites. I can see why many readers enjoy Ivory and Razvan as a couple, and some of their interactions were sweet. It wasn't enough to save the book for me though.

What really dragged this one down is that it is extremely campy even by the standards of vampire romance novels. One part that I couldn't read with a straight face was the wolf pack that could transform into tatoos or fur coats depending on the needs of the action...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was very glad to see that Razvan was getting his own story after it was revealed that Xavier had possessed Razvan, using his body to betray his family and Razvan was too honourable to let them know it wasn't him, as no one would risk themselves to save him if they believed him to be evil. So he suffered the full brunt of Xavier's torture and experiments to keep his family safe the only way he knew how.

After Lara, Nicolas, Natalya and Vikirnoff destroyed Xavier's lair, he was forced to move Raz...more I was very glad to see that Razvan was getting his own story after it was revealed that Xavier had possessed Razvan, using his body to betray his family and Razvan was too honourable to let them know it wasn't him, as no one would risk themselves to save him if they believed him to be evil. So he suffered the full brunt of Xavier's torture and experiments to keep his family safe the only way he knew how.

After Lara, Nicolas, Natalya and Vikirnoff destroyed Xavier's lair, he was forced to move Razvan, during which Razvan escaped. He planned to use the last of his strength to meet the dawn so that he couldn't endanger anyone else.

He was rescued by a woman who proved to be his lifemate. Ivory Malinov was believed dead after the previous prince sent her to Xavier's school without the protection of her brothers or the De La Cruzes, where he believed she would be out of the reach of his mad son Draven (elder brother of current prince Mikhail).

Instead she was hacked into pieces and left for the wolves, but she survived after a century beneath the healing earth. The fact of her survival alone borders on incredible, let alone that she retained the light that helped keep her brothers from turning after they had lost their emotions. But a hero like Razvan, with his strength and endurance basically needed to be matched with a Carpathian superhero.

They immediately respected the other's strength and determination, believing the other to be a miracle. Instead of Razvan forging the lifemate bond without Ivory's consent, he was content to learn from her as they worked towards their common goal of bringing Xavier down. His calm acceptance (which shouldn't be mistaken for passivity) balanced Ivory's fiery temper. He found a place in her life instead of forcing her to adjust to his and truly didn't care what anyone else thought of him as long as Ivory accepted him.

Although neither of them are comfortable around others for long, Ivory maintained an astounding capacity for love, having memorialised her brothers with care, knowing they had betrayed her by turning vampire and teaming up with Xavier.

Ivory and Razvan were an excellent match for each other and made an unstoppable team with the potential to drastically improve Carpathian life, making Dark Slayer one of my favourites in the Carpathian series.(less)

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Aug 02, 2010 Stacie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, romance

I was pretty impressed with this book. I decided to give Feehan a try mostly because my patrons are always crazy for her. While the outcome of the love story wasn't exactly surprising(if it's your 'lifemate' than you will probably end up liking them) and the sex was a little more graphic than I usually like, the characters' backstories were extremely engrossing and kept me interested. Obviously, there are multiple books in this series and I jumped in at the end, but I was surprised at how well I...more

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Apr 05, 2010 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 2 of 5 stars

I think I will have to admit defeat with the Carpathian series. I want to like them, really I do - the world buiding is fantastic, the premises usually great, sweeping romance, plenty of action - but I just can't because the writing is so repetitive and I end up stalled, rolling my eyes and skimming - which I hate to do.
Every other chapter or so in Dark Slayer the entire story of what happened to Ivory is repeated, and then the story of what happened to Razvan after he is introduced and everytim...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampire, romance

I've read several of the Dark novels by Christine Feehan and they have been my favorite vampire romance series for quite some time.

This novel though was a major let down for me. I just felt the romance was very meh, and the over all plot didn't grip me like the others. I probably won't be continuing the series, I just feel like this is where the Dark Series ends for me and I'm sad it ends on a more lack luster note.

Ivory was a very strong and powerful lead, but I found her so emotionally cripple...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Me Lin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural-paranormal, z-feehan-christine, weapon-toting-hh, 4-stars

I picked up the Dark series not too long ago hoping for a change of pace from my usually reality-based reading. The two books I read were a disappointment, if I were to be honest. I quickly tired of the heroine being stubborn and the hero being barbarically dominant. The books I read were early on in the series and I had pretty much decided not to try reading any more after those. But then I read some of Feehan’s Leopard series and really enjoyed those books, so I thought I’d give the Dark serie...more

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Feb 04, 2010 July rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: home-library

Dark Slayer has to be the best so far. Ivory is the strongest of the female so far. And Razvan actually has suffered for his whole life that he most grateful to have a lifemate like Ivory that he accepts he for how she is. Which for a carpathian male is unheard of. It makes him most attractive.

Ivory has been alone most of her life. She grew up surrounded be 10 strong males her 5 brothers the Malinovs and there 5 close friends De La Cruz brothers. She was treated like a princess by them. When the...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

I loved this book.. lots of action and a wonderful relationship between Ivory and Razvan. In a way it's a paranormal take on the story line that I always like..where to "damaged" individuals help "heal" each other. Of course, in this book.. it even takes on a more literal meaning.

I've been reading this series out of order and yet it hasn't really mattered. When couples are introduced that I haven't read about yet.. it just makes me want to go find their book.

This may be on of my favorites of th...more

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Dark Slayer (Dark Carpathian #20)

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