Book Review: Dark Curse

Book Title: Dark Curse

Author:Christine Feehan

Published: 2009

Publisher:Berkeley Books

Pages:359

Cost:$24.95

How I got it: Library

My Rating:★★★★★

Synopsis:

Born into a world of ice, and slave to her evil father, Lara Calladine knew only paralyzing fear as a child—and escaping with her mysterious gifts unbroken would be the only way to survive her great Carpathian heritage as a Dragonseeker. Human, yet mage, she was of the blood of three species yet belonged to none. She walked her chosen path alone, guided by the wisdom of her aunts—to blend in and let no one know of her ancestry and powers. And never trust anyone. For beyond the frozen hell of her youth was a world of even greater mysteries and dangers.Today Lara is the leading expert in the field of ice cave study around the world and the healing microorganisms that thrive in them. She’s also in search of something else: the source of her nightmares—the cold dark corners of her childhood. Only one man has the will and the powers to help her: Nicolas De La Cruz, for whom centuries of hunting and killing have long since taken their toll. Dangerous and arrogant, he still longs to feel sensual love without the hunger for blood. Now, between Lara and Nicolas, a tenuous trust has emerged, and a passion neither has ever known before as a melody of dark promise begins.

My Review:

Now i know I have made my feelings clear about some of the men and the women in this series.  Some I have loved, some I liked, some I couldn't wait to walk away from, some I was glad didn't exist in this plane of existence at all.  

This story however had it all, it had magic, women's rituals that looked as if Christine peeked into a pagan gathering and copied everything down; mates who willing to work with their women, and some seriously hot love scenes.  This time even though the characters are mated, they take the time to meet each other using their minds and working together to become a couple. Lara had a horrible childhood where she was manipulated by a mage who wanted to become Carpathian so badly and when he couldn't manage the change he turned against all the people.  Through her we once again return to caves of ice where the dragon from Dark Descent are located, for it's in these caves that Lara was raised.  

It was good to see the overall story arc being woven together and where little clues from other books are being brought together to create a cohesive whole that's bigger than each Carpathian mated pair, but involves the entire race.

I don't understand how Nicholas could be raised by Zacarius and he turned out to be a way better man and lifemate.  He was also ready to walk into the light and found his mate only moments before and yet he wasn't anything at all like Z. Perhaps it had to do with Z's mate not being able to speak to him.  I don't know, I do know that Lara's life made her fear her gift, and her life, she feared being a prisoner so much that she made herself a nice comfortable prison.  She then fights tooth and nail to remain locked within that prison when she is faced with such a drastic & dramatic change. I liked that she didn't just jump into a relationship but worked up to it. And even though they said 'I love you' it didn't make her issues magically disappear.

I truly loved Nicholas, he did some serious soul searching when a arrogrant mistake almost cost him his lifemate. He tried hard to hold back on his natural inclination to hide his mate from everyone else and allowed her to wander into known danger because she needed to do so. He protected her as best he could but he embraced and understood her need for justice.  

This was one of the better stories Ms.Feehan has written, with older characters coming to visit, the advancement of the whole story arc, the gaining of new knowledge which explains why the race is dying off; it even allowed us a glimpse of the master plan and the architect of their demise.  & of course she layed the ground work for a few more novels within the book, giving detailes of several warriors, returning several women to the fold, and even finding a way for the warriors to start finding mates, all in all she laid down some serious ground work and a glimmer of hope for a people struggling on the brink of extinction.

I even shed a few tears over a few scenes that many women can understand. This was one of the few books I have actually cried over, laughed at and I will be adding it to my collection. If your a fan of these books then you must get this one; if you haven't read the series then this is one to look into.

Happy Reading