June 28, 2004
Prolific Feehan (Dark Melody
, etc.) continues her supernatural Dark series with this 13th installment, the first to feature a female Carpathian. Though Carpathians roam the streets at night and gain strength from feeding on blood, they only kill evildoers and vampires. Transformed into a night creature when she was a child, Destiny is unlike any of Feehan's previous heroines. Her physical strength is equal to that of her Carpathian counterpart, Nicolae Von Shrieder, but she's horrified by what she is and haunted by memories of her parents' brutal murder. Nicolae merged his mind with hers when she was first transformed, and through their mental connection, he taught her how to survive. Now Nicolae must find Destiny and make her his lifemate, or he will succumb to darkness and become a vampire. Feehan's protagonists and prose can be overwrought ("His body was hard and full, aching for her.... and deep within, the crouching beast lifted its head and roared for release"), and inconsistencies litter the text (Destiny can supposedly read Nicolae's mind, but it takes her eons to trust him and stop threatening to kill him). However, the story has sufficient sensuality to keep readers sated, and fans should appreciate Feehan's unusual pairing of two Carpathians. Agent, Helen McGrath.
