Helpful Score: 8
I don't get it. Feehan is rated very high on Amazon etc...but it was tacky romance novel..a TACKY one. I'm not opposed to romance novels. But please...it was god awlful. I could barely finish it. And I made myself finish hoping it would get better. It didn't...and it was incredibly repetitive, after 3 chapters you had the whole story, same stick just kept repeating and repeating. I don't get why everyone loves this book (did I say that already?). I'll stick with the other paranormal romance authors. This is the worse one I have ever read!
Helpful Score: 6
Plot Summary: 1st of Feehan's Dark Series, this book introduces the Carpathians (read: generally "good vampires"). A Carpathian male (they have a serious woman shortage) seeks his soul mate, and upon finding her, wishes to bond her to him completely. The romance was in the foreground, in the background they were being hunted by vampire hunters.
Main Characters: Mikhail and Raven. Mikhail is alpha male, a bit archaic, but tolerable for the most part. Raven was tstl (too stupid to live). Some reviewers already noted that she continuously put herself and others at risk. Yup. She also took an absurdly long time figuring out that Mikhail wasn't human. (She hadn't figured it out even after he drank her blood, attributing that to "cultural differences").
Best about this book: the intensity between the hero and heroine was very romantic. They were completely engrossed in each other.
Worst about this book: Again, as others pointed out, some phrases were over-used to the point of bringing me pain: Mikhail's coffee colored hair, Raven's slenderness. She was described as slender so many times I wanted to buy the author a thesaurus (how about slim? Delicate, perhaps?!@!)
Absolute WORST about this book: the emphasis on women as breeders. When a woman is treasured by the man she loves its romantic. But when women are treasured as walking wombs its just species survival. It was a foregone conclusion that Raven would agree to "breed" and another character already determined that should she conceive a girl, that child would be his mate! Ick.
Summary: I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read the Dark Series (which I hear improves over time) for the background. But, I for one, am hoping for more intelligent, less breeding obsessed heroes and heroines in her next books.
Main Characters: Mikhail and Raven. Mikhail is alpha male, a bit archaic, but tolerable for the most part. Raven was tstl (too stupid to live). Some reviewers already noted that she continuously put herself and others at risk. Yup. She also took an absurdly long time figuring out that Mikhail wasn't human. (She hadn't figured it out even after he drank her blood, attributing that to "cultural differences").
Best about this book: the intensity between the hero and heroine was very romantic. They were completely engrossed in each other.
Worst about this book: Again, as others pointed out, some phrases were over-used to the point of bringing me pain: Mikhail's coffee colored hair, Raven's slenderness. She was described as slender so many times I wanted to buy the author a thesaurus (how about slim? Delicate, perhaps?!@!)
Absolute WORST about this book: the emphasis on women as breeders. When a woman is treasured by the man she loves its romantic. But when women are treasured as walking wombs its just species survival. It was a foregone conclusion that Raven would agree to "breed" and another character already determined that should she conceive a girl, that child would be his mate! Ick.
Summary: I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read the Dark Series (which I hear improves over time) for the background. But, I for one, am hoping for more intelligent, less breeding obsessed heroes and heroines in her next books.
Helpful Score: 4
This book includes the bonus (long) short story, "Dark Descent".
"Dark Prince" the story of Mikhail, Prince of the Carpathians, and his lifemate, Raven. So far, she is my least favorite of the Carpathian lifemates. Her name alone - "Raven" to signify her long, black hair - is somewhat archaic. The book follows the formula of all the Carpathian books I've read so far. Carpathian male meets lifemate; his strong, posessive personality causes potential lifemate to resist him; she eventually succumbs (in between very sensuous, graphic sex) and agrees to acknowledge her lifemate status with Carpathian male. Given the controlling nature of these men, it's understandable that the potential lifemates would keep fighting for their identity and independence. However, these guys are so thrilled at finally finding their lifemate they become totally besotted with the women and end up compromising bit by bit. But Raven's fight to keep her identity is beyond common sense. Refusing to believe Mikhail's warnings of danger and her inability to handle it, she rushes into very dangerous situations resulting in harm to her and other Carpathians. Yet they're all indulgent with her; none point out the risk she poses to others. Beyond that, the male Carpathians were interesting characters, especially Jacques and Gregori. Their hunters are stock, one-dimensional characters who exude ignorance and evil.
Joie (where does Feehan get these names?) in "Dark Descent" is a much more attractive character than Raven. A lot brighter than Raven, she "gets" her lifemate Traian. The story formula doesn't operate here. Joie is the one who searches for Traian and once she finds him, she doesn't waste a lot of time fighting him. Joie has lots of courage and is secure in her own identity. Both stories are full of erotic lovemaking which I think is one of the main attractions of Feehan's Dark series. She does write eroticism well.
"Dark Prince" the story of Mikhail, Prince of the Carpathians, and his lifemate, Raven. So far, she is my least favorite of the Carpathian lifemates. Her name alone - "Raven" to signify her long, black hair - is somewhat archaic. The book follows the formula of all the Carpathian books I've read so far. Carpathian male meets lifemate; his strong, posessive personality causes potential lifemate to resist him; she eventually succumbs (in between very sensuous, graphic sex) and agrees to acknowledge her lifemate status with Carpathian male. Given the controlling nature of these men, it's understandable that the potential lifemates would keep fighting for their identity and independence. However, these guys are so thrilled at finally finding their lifemate they become totally besotted with the women and end up compromising bit by bit. But Raven's fight to keep her identity is beyond common sense. Refusing to believe Mikhail's warnings of danger and her inability to handle it, she rushes into very dangerous situations resulting in harm to her and other Carpathians. Yet they're all indulgent with her; none point out the risk she poses to others. Beyond that, the male Carpathians were interesting characters, especially Jacques and Gregori. Their hunters are stock, one-dimensional characters who exude ignorance and evil.
Joie (where does Feehan get these names?) in "Dark Descent" is a much more attractive character than Raven. A lot brighter than Raven, she "gets" her lifemate Traian. The story formula doesn't operate here. Joie is the one who searches for Traian and once she finds him, she doesn't waste a lot of time fighting him. Joie has lots of courage and is secure in her own identity. Both stories are full of erotic lovemaking which I think is one of the main attractions of Feehan's Dark series. She does write eroticism well.
Helpful Score: 3
Feehan's weak, unimaginative writing and anemic plot destroy what sounded like a pretty promising book by the blurb on the back cover.
Helpful Score: 3
The writing is atrocious, the story insipid, the characters flat as the cheap paper within which they reside...and somehow I can't stop myself from reading this. It's like when you eat too many M&Ms, and your mouth starts to taste terrible and the candy coating splinters are in your gums, but you just can't stop yourself because it's CHOCOLATE, and who says no to chocolate? It's sorta the same thing with this. Who says no to terribly written semi-romance paranormal crap? Not me!
