Dark Melody

Dark #12

by Christine Feehan

Dayan has been searching for centuries to find the one woman who can complete him, a true lifemate, who can save him from the darkness in his soul. Despairing of ever finding her, and on the run from his enemies, something drives Dayan to stop at a bar and perform some of his music. Then Corrine Wentworth walks in, and Dayan knows instantly that she is the one.Corrine wants nothing more than to surrender her life and soul to Dayan, but she is suffering from a degenerative heart disease, and pregnant with her late husband's child. She is also running from the men who killed her husband, the same group of fanatics who are hunting Dayan and his kind. Dayan must call on his family, and the greatest healers of the Carpathians to aid him in a race against time to save Corrine, whose fate is now inextricably linked to his own.

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Vampires, Fantasy, Dark, Fiction

374 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 28, 2003

About the author

Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author multiple times over with her portfolio including over 100 published novels, including five series; Dark Series, GhostWalker Series, Leopard Series, Drake Sisters Series, the Sisters of the Heart Series, Shadow Riders, Torpedo Ink and her Romantic Suspense novels. All of her series have hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list as well. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature (PEARL) in 1999. Since then she has been published by various publishing houses including Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards since Dark Prince.
Her series include:
The Dark Series - https://www.christinefeehan.com/darkb...
The GhostWalker series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/ghost...
The Leopard Series - https://www.christinefeehan.com/leopa...
The Shadow Series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/shado...
Torpedo Ink series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/torpe...




IN HER WORDS:
I've been a writer all of my life -- it is who I am. I write for myself and always have. The ability to create pictures and emotions with words is such a miracle to me. I read everything; I mean everything! All kinds of books, even encyclopedias. I am fascinated by the written word and I love storytellers. It is a great privilege to be counted one myself. (www.christinefeehan.com)

Reviews

[Jessica's Totally Over The Top Book Obsession · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 My little groupie Stars

First read July 2012 Reread February 2, 2016
Reread Feb 4, 2017 Rereread 12/14/2020

*Some Spoilers*



"I have searched long for you, Corinne. I know you have accepted your death as inevitable because the human doctors have convinced you there is no hope, but it is not going to be that way. You are going to get well and spend your life with me."-Dayan

Dark Melody the 12th book in the Dark series by Christine Feehan was an emotional and heartwarming read. There is something so compelling about this series, something so great that even with the large number of novels it has in it never gets old or boring to me.

"If you choose to spend your time with me and you want to care for me, knowing full well the repercussions of what can and probably will happen to me, then so be it. It's your choice, Dayan." She reached up and framed his face with her hands. "Just know that if you care too much, death can be very painful to the one left behind."-Corinne



"I dreamed you up. You're my fantasy come true." She laughed then, the sound like music in his ears, a melody even his guitar couldn't match. "Complete with baby on the way, a broken-down heart, and killers stalking me. I'd say you need to try dreaming again, Dayan, you didn't do a very good job." -Dayan and Corinne

Dayan was a total sweetheart. He was poetic, caring, artistic, and very charming. Dayan loved with his whole heart and gave himself completely. I felt bad that Dayan had to deal with a lifemate that had not only been married which hurt him but that she was pregnant with another mans child. Not that I held that against Corinne, cuzz I didn't, but it still hurt him. Dayan embraced her and her child with love and acceptance. On top of all the other things Dayan had to accept and overcome about his lifemate she was also dying of heart failure. Dayan was so strong, giving Corinne everything she needed and fighting for her and the baby's life. He was a very selfless and loving hero and I adored him. Corinne was sweet as well. Corinne was a caregiver, creative, and very responsible. She always put everyone else before herself. She was raised with Lisa (her sister n law) and John ( her dead husband) and did everything she could to make them happy. She even married John who she only loved like a friend or brother because he and lisa wanted it. It made her feel like a failure as a wife that she couldn't love her husband as she should and that she didn't want intimacy. Corinne was very brave. She had accepted her death and enjoyed every minute she had on this earth.

"She is very strong. Such a miracle. All around the world people are finding out they are having babies, yet they do not appreciate what a miracle it is. Perhaps if they had no women, no babies, they would understand what is supposed to be treasured. As I treasure you, so do I treasure this child."-Dayan



"I love how you look at me as if you want to take care of me, though I am the one who is the male." She touched her fingertips to his perfectly chiseled mouth. "We can take care of each other."-Dayan and Corinne

I felt very badly for Corinne. I felt like her dead husband, John was a very selfish prick. That he took advantage of Corinne's giving nature. He and Lisa browbeat and forced her into a marriage she didn't want. She had told him no many time and he still went after her. Then he made her feel bad, getting frustrated and resentful with her because she didn't love him back. Knowing she had a bad heart, and birth control made her sick. Knowing that getting pregnant would kill her he decides he doesn't want to use condoms no more. He was dead from the first page of the book and I still hated his damn guts! Just sayin'

"And I want to be with you. I knew John practically my entire life. I loved him, yet I couldn't give him passion, I couldn't give him my soul. I look at you and everything in me wants you, wants to be everything you've ever needed."-Corinne



In the last few months before his death, John had begun to complain about using condoms. The pill made Corinne sick, and so did the shot. He hated everything else because it was "invasive." "It was just the one time. I knew better, but I wasn't thinking much about it at the time." John had gotten impatient with her inadequacies. Corinne hadn't blamed him. He had wanted her to feel for him the same things he felt for her. How could she explain how guilty she felt for not being sexually attracted to John in the way he needed her to be? She loved John - she knew she loved him. She loved him dearly, but she had never wanted the physical side of their relationship as he had.-Corinne

And God in heaven I wanted to slap the shit outta Lisa. She is every bit as selfish as her brother John. On top of that she is a huge whiny, coward. She just doesn't deal with anything at all. Corinne is like a mom and Lisa is like the little baby that needs shielded from anything scary, difficult or hard. I couldn't stand Lisa and I feel so bad that Cullen got stuck with her baby ass. I loved that Barack of all people puts her in her place when he said......

Barack snorted his opinion of that. "It was your refusal to accept reality that initiated this crisis. We could have lost both Cullen and Corinne. Did you want him shot? If so, you managed to accomplish it." Barack! Syndil hissed a reprimand. What are you doing? I think we should take Cullen to safety and wipe his mind clean of this childish woman. She looks good, but what is that without substance?-Barack and Syndil



Yea go Barack! I loved Corinne and Dayan together. They were so accepting, loving and passionate with each other. And I am a total sucker when it comes to babies and children in stories. There is just something so damn sexy about a man being a good father and loving towards a baby or child. It just melts my heart. And there are tons of swoon worthy moments in this book. OMG one of my favorite moments in the whole book of course was Gregori meeting his brother and sister (Darius and Desari) after thinking them dead. Gregori was just as awesome as ever. He even cracks a joke or two!! I loved this book. I didn't want to put it down. I love the world CF has created with her amazing Carpathians. If you haven't read this series you should check it out.

"You can stay away from him." Gregori pinned his brother with a steely eye. "How did you come to allow our sister to associate with this barbarian?" Darius's eyebrow shot up. "Yes, I was meaning to take you to task over your lack of judgment. Whatever possessed you to send him to us? Your lack of foresight amazes me. He took advantage of the situation, as you can well see. I hold you responsible." Julian smirked at the brothers. "It was fortunate I was around to guard the women of our race while the two of you were off chasing vampires, trying to hone your skills. In the end, I had no choice but to stay and guard what our race holds dear. I might point out that my relationship with Desari has officially made me your brother." He grinned complacently at them. "I had hoped you might whip him into shape," Gregori confided with a deep sigh. "But I see it is impossible. He never obeyed a single law."-Gregori, Darius, and Julian

[CC · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ridiculous. There is no way I can write a spoiler free review so I am just tagging the entire thing!



First, I think the author was in a contest to see how many times she could repeat words and phrases in the same book. It was so bad! Normally I hear people complain about her being repetitive, but this is the first book where it really bothered me. The same phrases and words over, and over, and over and over again. And over, and over and over again! Yes I get he mesmerizes you with his dark melodies! Crippies! How many times can that be said?! Anyway, cut the book in half and it would not have been nearly so terrible. Whoever edits her books is criminal.

I really HATE the beloved dead ex - grieving widow troupe. So why I actually finished this book is beyond me. If that woman twirled her wedding band one more time I was going to lose it! She said she loved John (the dead ex) about a million times. Of course she did not love him like he loved her, but whatever. Plus she was preggers with his baby! She has a fatal heart condition, but John did not like condoms so they did it without one and guess what - she got knocked up! No shit! That is how babies are made you morons!

So Corrine, being the stupid martyr she is, decides to have the baby even though it will for sure kill her. She wants Lisa to have a piece of her and John. SAY WHAT?! But not to worry, she has a plan - she is going to have John's worthless, selfish, bratty, bitchy (I cannot come up with enough adjectives to describe how much I hate this bitch) sister Lisa raise the kid. Oh but she is not going to tell her because she will be pissed Corrine is having the kid. She did after all, harass me into marrying her brother because SHE did not want anything to change (they grew up on the streets together). Glad to see she has always been a horrific human being. So the grand plan is to have Lisa, whose head is so far up her own ass it will NEVER come out, raise her precious baby. BRILLIANT! I cannot describe how much I hoped Lisa would die in this story. There was not one moment that she was likable. She was so bad, that she made my previous most hated Carpathian, Barak, a joy to read. He made her cry! It made me so happy!

But then, in an act of total absurdity, the baby is now not John's. Dayan gave the baby his blood while still in the womb so it changed her DNA and now she is part Carpathian. We will not discuss how stupid a concept that is. So now she is essentially Dayan's kid. Shit - if you were going to do that, why torture me for a million pages of loving John and John's baby, and on and on about John.

Dayan - the hero - he was stalkertastic. If I met him in a bar I would have called the police. But somehow the behavior works in the book. I liked him. I felt so sorry for him. I cannot believe what he put up with.

Corrine - stupid as shit heroine with a martyr complex. But she is not even a good martyr because she constantly risks the babies life (what she is martyring herself for) by doing stupid shit - usually because of the impossibly moronic best friend/sister-in-law Lisa.

Poor Colin (is that his name?). He is a trusted human friend of the Dark Troubadours, falls for Lisa because she is beautiful (certainly was not her brains) and is told that he can NEVER tell Lisa about the Carpathians because her mind is so fucked up she could never be trusted with the information. He is like - ok, no problemo. I don't need honestly as a foundation of my marriage (oh yea he wants to marry the bitch). Total disaster waiting to happen!

Whew! That was cathartic! I waited all day to write this hoping my opinion would get better with time. It did not. Why two stars since I clearly hated the book? Well the plot was creative for Feehan. Most of the Dark series book are almost identical. This one was definitely different so I give her one point for that.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, but it isn't one of the best in this series. Dayan was a sweet hero and I liked Corinne's personality. She was extremely practical and didn't fight Dayan or his ways. The best part of this book was the appearance of my boyfriend Gregori! Of course my hunky man swooped in to save the day with his incredible healing skills! I hope there is more Gregori in future books!

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, my God, why did I read this book? (I know why: because a friend of mine loaned it to me, and it's one of her favorites.)

I had trouble getting into it at first; the writing seemed clumsy. Then I hit the following sentence:
"The leopard inched forward once again without even a whisper of movement to betray him."
I read it once. I read it twice. Nope, still didn't make any sense.

I read it aloud to my partner.

"That doesn't make any sense!" he said. "If there's no movement, how can he be inching forward?"

"I know!" I replied.

I think I know what Feehan was aiming for in that sentence - something to the effect of "The leopard inched forward again, so subtly his movements did not betray him." But instead, she came through with that little gem. And it's only one of many in this book.

Feehan also seems to have a thing for making her characters act unbelievably (as in, I cannot believe it) stupid in order to move the plot along. "Hey - I have a fatal heart condition that will be made worse by sudden shocks, or even walking, and there are killers that are after me staked out at my house! But I need underwear! And I'm not willing to let my new romantic partner (even though he is strong and also apparently a skilled killer) get them, because I would feel wrong about him literally going into my drawers, even though he's already pretty much got into them in the figurative sense." Really? REALLY? Can't you, I don't know, go to Target to get some underwear instead of back to the house where KILLERS are waiting to SHOOT YOU DEAD?

Our heroine, Corinne, has a plot-dependent heart condition. At the beginning of the story, she's at a nightclub, and no one really knows how bad her heart is. Two days later, Corinne's on the VERGE of DEATH.

And the pregnancy! Don't get me started on the pregnancy. Corinne says at the beginning that she's about six months along. The whole plot hinges on the fact that the baby has no chance of survival outside her womb. But at 25 weeks, a baby has an 80% chance of survival. Say Corinne's six and a half months along (which from all clues seems pretty likely), and the baby's chance of survival is 90%. THIS IS NOT THE DARK AGES, PEOPLE!!!

And another thing about the pregnancy! She was pregnant by her dead husband John - who Feehan writes as a jerk, which in and of itself I have a problem with, because fine, One True Love and all, but couldn't he have been a nice guy who just wasn't The One? Why do all exes (even the dead ones) have to be evil? But I digress. We find out later in the book that Dayan, by feeding Corinne his blood in order to save her life, is OVERWRITING THE DNA OF THE FETUS. Yes, yes, he is RETROACTIVELY wiping out Corinne's dead husband's existence. No trace will remain of him, INCLUDING in the baby that is the ONLY legacy he has left.

And. AND! One of the human characters is too mentally fragile to ever know of the existence of Carpathians. So what do they do? MAKE HER PART OF THE ENTOURAGE OF THE CARPATHIAN BAND. Because THAT'S gonna end well.

I really like my friend, and when I sent her a somewhat pained email about this book she said, "Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! I have more to lend you!" I do not want to hurt her feelings, but I don't know how many more of these I can take.

[Sophia Triad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dayan and Corinne

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Featuring Dayan, member of the Dark Troubadours (with Desari, Barack and Syndil), Dark Melody began very promisingly and quickly disappointed. Dayan is a great character, tall dark and brooding to a fault, with that perfect blend of poet and bad boy - truly a classic archetype; how could Feehan screw this one up?

Even Corinne, damsel in distress, is one of the better heroines - her husband has been murdered, leaving her six months pregnant; her heart is weak and the baby will kill her (even without the baby she doesn't have long to live); she's also a musician, a songwriter, and has a very level head (she only nibbled her lip once!).

They had the perfect problem to create sexual tension and prevent them from getting it on until the end (her weak heart), but that's most of the problem right there: Feehan just can't create a compelling, exciting story to keep us interested until they can finally "get it on", and when they do finally "get it on", it's pretty tame and boring. And quick. *yawn*

What we have in Dark Melody is over 300 pages of Dayan worrying about Corinne's heart, protecting her from the people who killed her husband, and trying to save her life. Could've worked, handled by a better writer. I kept wanting to shout at him "If you're worried about her heart, why the hell are you drinking her blood?!!!" Grrrr.

One of Feehan's biggest problems as a writer is the constant use of the comma splice. What she needs is a good editor who knows and understands basic grammar, because the comma splice is really driving me nuts. Add that to the repetitiveness, to the weak character development, the plot-holes, and all the other flaws, and the best I can give this is 2 stars. A shame, a real shame, especially since it started so promisingly.

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dark Melody" is the story of Dayan and Corinne.
After centuries of searching, Dayan- the male singer of Dark Troubadours finds his soulmate in Corinne.. who is 6 months pregnant, sick and running away from hunters with her friend Lisa.
I absolutely adored this book. We know The Carpathians are utterly devoted alpha males- but Dayan was just another level of awesomeness. Him caring for her and the baby, never judging anything and claiming both, fighting for her life and never overpowering her mind totally made me respect him more than many of the other heroes.
We have a reunion of sorts of multiple couples from the previous books as everyone bands together to save the mother and child, as well as a new pair in Lisa and Cullen- but the highlight of the book remains the sweet blooming love and chemistry between the main leads.
I loved that Dayan waited, but even though she had surgery- coupling so soon after birth had me a little weirded out. However the scene of her finally enjoying life and them together were pretty damn sweet.
One of my favorites of the series so far.
Safe
4.5/5

[Monique Takens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eindelijk het verhaal van Dayan de laatste van de Troubadours die nog geen levensgezel had . Wanneer hij Corinne tijdens een optreden in het publiek ziet weet hij meteen dat zij de ware is . Helaas blijkt zij een zeer ernstige hart afwijking te hebben en is zij ook nog eens zwanger waardoor zij niet meteen omgevormd kan worden .

[Rhapsody · Rating 1 out of 5]

My keyboard's comma-key is broken that's why there are no commas in this review. Also this book is probably not quite as bad as my review will paint it but I only just finished it and the anger hasn't worn off yet.

Maybe this book deserves 2 stars rather than one but I am just so sick of Feehan's Carpathians series. The books are just unforgivably similar. I keep reading them because I like the setup and every once in a while am in the mood to read something incredibly stupid. With Feehan you pretty much always know what you're getting into when you start one of her books since they're all the same so it fit what I thought I was in the mood for.

Dayan is the only remaining member of the Carpathian musical group who hasn't yet found his lifemate. He finds her in a bar during a casual gig. Her name is Corinne. She has a terminal heart condition and not much time left. In addition she's 6 months pregnant. Her husband John died recently. Both she and John are/were psychics; she is telekinetic. He was killed by the same society that is hunting vampires/Carpathians. Blablabla. All Feehan novels are the same. Dayan sees her--oh she's sooo good and beautiful and she's his other half and she finds him so attractive and it's like they've known each other forever.

To a certain extent I did enjoy it. The writing is just unbelievably bad I think. Feehan keeps hammering us with metaphors between Dayan and a well-oiled machine and a jungle-cat. Every time Dayan picks Corinne up he holds her like she weighed no more than a child. OK we get it. Also throughout the book Dayan more or less bullies Corinne because he cares so much for her safety but when she's finally dying after giving birth he decides to let her go because "that's what she wants" and he wants to resepct her decision. Can't Feehan at least be a little consistent? But no she puts the melodrama above everything else.

[Pat Cromwell · Rating 1 out of 5]

First, the heroine had been with someone else before meeting her true lifemate???? What's up with that. Elen previous books of virgins and Feehan sticks a pregnant woman in the mix!!!!!!!! No way! That was a turn off and than Corrine was a professional whinner, a Raven / Savanna clone who got on my nerves. It tooks months literally months for me to finish this one! Even the appearance of Gregori etc towards the end could not salvage this story for me. Corrine destroyed this story. And yes I know that the baby is important to future stories but I don't care. Dayan was short changed!

Another reason I didliked this book and it had nothing to do with the writing is because prior to reading it I watched Feehan's trailer for it on her site. BIG MISTAKE! Therefore I avoid her book trailers. I made the mistake and watched the trailer for Dark Possesion but thankfully I was able to get the characters out of my mind before the book was actually released. I still get the shivers visualizing Dayan and Corrine.

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was dissappointed with Dark Melody. The premise is good but instead of concentrating on the story line, Feehan got wrapped up in 101 ways to describe a hot guy and his dark mysterious eyes. By page 60 something I actually said outloud - he has dark eyes I get it - move on already!
The repetitive imagery and metaphors overpowered what could have been a tight and tense plot - bulking out the book perhaps but were frustrating to read, which was a shame since the action scenes were mostly well written.
I also dislike wonton stupidity on behalf of the female charcters - ignoring a failing heart, a risky pregnancy and killers chasing you to get your underwear or going to a public photography shoot are poor plot devices.
Think I might stick to later books in the series since i assume earlier books are likely to be more of the same or worse.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

In this installment of the Carpathian series, Feehan takes a turn from the formula. Instead of running, fighting and chasing vampires while searching for lifemates, we settle down some. Dayan (a favorite yummy treat ) finds his lifemate in Corrine but immediately realizes there is a problem. She has a defective heart and will not live long. Now anyone reading this series might think, "what's the problem? The Carpathians can heal her". Well, not so fast - she is also pregnant and Dayan cannot mate with her or heal her because his blood will kill the baby. Hmmmm, nice twist in a series that, while at times can be horribly wordy and sometimes redundant, still keeps ones attention.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Read: 2003
Re-read: July 2022
Re-read: April 2025

[iamGamz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! Dayan’s story. And it was heartbreaking. I sobbed a couple times. Like ugly cried. It was ... ugly.

Dayan finally found his life-mate, Corinne, and she has a serious heart problem and is pregnant. She is also a widow. Carrying her baby is taking a huge toll on her heart and to save her Dayan calls out to Darius for help.

Darius brings together his family and calls on the healers to help save Corinne and her baby’s life. Gregori and Shea answer the call and come to their aid.

Gregori FINALLY meets his long lost siblings, Darius and Desari. And it wasn’t as epic as I hoped. But Julian, Barack and Syndil all play important roles in Dayan and Corrine’s story. They got the band back together.

This was a such an intense story. Corinne’s heart was literally giving out on her. She and baby Jennifer almost did not make it. That they did was a testament to Dayan’s love for them both.

I savored this story. I read it slowly and really enjoyed it. It was a delicious read.

[Alex is The Romance Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Melody features Dayan, a dark and handsome Carpathian poet, songwriter and musician with his family band the Dark Troubadours (I just love the stories featuring this band!! Desari, Syndil, Barack…and the rest of family and leopards….)He is close to turning and after seeing to the safety of his family decides to leave them and to perhaps find his own true lifemate.
Corinne Wentworth, whose husband has been murdered, is 6 months pregnant with his baby and due to her weak heart has very little time to live. She is also telepathic, a musician and songwriter who has been collecting all the Dark Troubadour’s albums.
She goes to a bar with a friend where Dayan is playing his guitar and from the moment she hears Dayan’s voice and their eyes meet, she knows she has found someone that will change her life and she will never be alone again. Dayan knows he has found, at last, his true lifemate who makes him see colors and feel emotions again.
Corinne is prepared to die to save her daughter’s life but Dayan knows he will be doomed without her in his life. He will do anything to save her and her daughter. The Carpathian healers offer to help him save their lives to ensure his happiness and will also assist him in turning her into a Carpathian and find a solution to how this will affect her daughter’s life who will be born human.
Their love story is sweet and romantic.
I enjoyed this book.

[Delta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corinne is a sweet and vulnerable human heroine. She is a widow, six months pregnant, and is physically failing fast due to the deteriorating condition of her heart. Her late husband, John, was murdered by the fanatic human group that erroneously perceives that those with paranormal abilities are evil vampires to be exterminated. Corinne shared his telekinesis ability, thus she is also a target of the fanatics, along with her sister-in-law, Lisa.

When Lisa takes Corinne to a club to hear her favorite group, the Dark Troubadours, Carpathian lead singer, Dayan, spies Corinne in the crowd and immediately begins experiencing color and emotions again--signaling that Corinne is his life mate. The story that follows chronicles Dayan's struggle to keep Corinne and her failing heart alive long enough to deliver her baby and for the child and mother to survive.

The story is sweet, but the repetitive and tediously lengthy descriptions of their attraction to-, feelings for-, and physical desire for one another had me skimming those sections to get to more of the story. The story line moved too slowly for my taste, but Dark Melody is a sweet Dark Carpathian love story that fans of the series will likely enjoy.

[Megan Riverina Romantics · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3/5
Heat Rating: 3/5
Narrator Performance: 3.5/5

I had issues with this one. It didn't flow right and the romance was off. The whole book felt sort of forced. I also think there were some inconsistencies with the characters and plot. I've read the first couple of books in this series so I'm rather familiar with the mythology of the Carpathian's and their mates. I don't feel that it was correctly covered in this book. As far as the inconsistencies with the characters go I'm mostly disappointed in the secondary character, Lisa. I didn't really like her in the first place and then there were instances where her actions and words didn't match her characterization.

I'm afraid I'm not the biggest fan of Kaleo Griffith. At first I thought it was his narration that was throwing the book off for me. His male voice was great but sometimes his pacing was off. The voice he used for females seemed to make them whiney.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cullen Tucker is sitting in a bar listening to his friend, Dayan, play his guitar. Dayan is strumming a song to call his lifemate to him. Corinne and Lisa Wentworth walk into the bar to hear Dayan, head guitarist of the Dark Troubadours band, performing. Corinne is a composer, musician and song writer, who collects anything by the Dark Troubadours. "Their eyes meet across the room, and immediately she (Corinne) could feel that mesmerizing pull. A spell of enchantment." Dayan knows Corinne is his lifemate. He finishes playing his song and goes over to ask her to dance. Their is something wrong with her heart. Plus, he is positive there are three heart beats -- his, Corinne's and a baby's.

I loved the story of Dayan and Corinne. Their love story is romantic and enduring. Dayan has such a positive attitude concerning Corinne's health and is accepting of her pregnancy. Corinne embraces life and lives it to the fullest, despite a deteriorating heart. Her desire is to give birth to her daughter, even if it cost her her life. Finding Dayan and his love makes her life complete. Dayan is determined to save both Corinne and her daughter. He will call on Darius and Gregori, a renowned healer, to save Corinne and the baby. The Dark Troubadours with their lifemates and the Carpathian people will pull together to try to save them.

The subplots are familiar. The villains -- human vampire hunters and a vampire -- are the same. I feel it is the characters which carry this story. Now to back track to the novella, Dark Descent.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm listening to this audiobook. Thank goodness the narrator is back to Rebecca Cook. I also have the paperback.

I've realized after what 12 books that every single woman is always tired, only having any kind of energy for a few hours a day. I realize that they are fictional but these women are a little unusual, okay a lot unusual. Have they never stayed awake for 24 hours? Most of these women are in their 20s so I don't understand why they are all so tired. In this book of course the heroine is ill, but what are the excuses for the other women. Is being constantly tired in some way sexy to Carpathanian males? You know, I do need a nap myself every once in awhile but I'm double the age of these women. So perhaps I'm the unusual one! Hmmm, something to think about.

Also the next book I swear I'm taking a shot everything a woman's vagina is described as "hot velvet" or "velvet heat" or "hot lava" or "molten lava". I have a birthday party at my house Saturday night with 5 - 13 and 14 years old girls this weekend. I think that would be the perfect time to get smashed.

The story itself, eh. I can't even blame it on the narrator. I liked the actual book more than the audiobook, and realized I had read this book before.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
This book was.... bad. I have the audiobook and it’s all breathy whispers. The heroine is made out to be some horny bimbo who is weak in every capacity and quality. I got so tired of hearing the same sentences and situations over and over again. Return.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorite Christine Feehan Dark series books. I loved the heroine. She was sweet, gentle, fragile, but still had a kind of strength. Dayan was a different kind of Carpathian hero, and I quite frankly found him more interesting than the rest of the Carpathian heroes. He was more of a beta hero in a series full of alphas (and near alpholes). His approach to wooing Corrinne was sweeter, and far more emotionally satisfying than many of Christine Feehan's other books.

What keeps this book from getting a full five stars, though, was one of the secondary characters. Corrinne's sister-in-law was one of the worst written characters I have ever seen. What she did, what people said about her, and how she was described did not match. She very nearly got people killed, merely because she flat-out refused to believe in the danger. The other characters said it was because "she was too good for this world" (gag me with a spoon) when really, it's because the character is completely deluded and needs some serious psychiatric help.

While I love this book otherwise, this book was the beginning of the end for me as far as Christine Feehan was concerned. This secondary character was a sign of bad writing to come.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I'll admit, this one was hard to rate. It was emotional, because Corinne, the heroine, had a heart condition, was pregnant, and was close to death. She was so strong, doing everything she could to help those around her and carry her daughter to term. I loved her joy in life, and her love of music. I really liked Dayan, whose story I've been waiting for since all the other band members got theirs. He was a very sweet, gentle, and poetic hero. That is, until Corinne gets threatened. Then, that dude's got crazy rage. Watching him do everything in his power to fight for Corinne(even resisting the compulsion to claim her as his lifemate), was pretty amazing. These two were great together.

This story is a bit slower than most of the others. There was some danger, since the people who murdered Corinne's husband(yep, she'd been married before Dayan came along, which made things even more interesting), came after her and her sister-in-law Lisa. That got things moving, but the majority of this book revolved around the survival of Corinne and her unborn daughter. There was a reunion between Darius, Desari, and Gregori, since all the healers were needed to ensure that Corinne lived. That was great to see. A side romance between Lisa and Cullen happened here, too, which I found rather fast. There were some interesting things about their relationship, due to some of the consequences when Cullen gets injured, though. I have to admit, Lisa got on my nerves. She hid from everything, and did something that caused both Corinne and Cullen serious injuries, and though most of the other characters saw good in her, I just found her annoying. Though she did really care for Corinne and Cullen.

Overall, I enjoyed this. Things were slow and repetitive at parts, but I quite enjoyed all the conflict that came with a heroine like Corinne, getting to see some past characters, and having a more gentle, sweet romance. This isn't my favorite in the series, but it's not bad, either.

[Kristina Deluise · Rating 4 out of 5]

well, i usually read to escape the outside world
and i can't really having a book make me so angry before..........

i'm thinking i may have read this originally BEFORE my daughter died.

my beginning notes were
the best friend was very annoying...............

and the i am going to die got old fast
and it really curbed the enjoyment of the first few chapters

i know it was part of the plot but it interfered with my enjoyment

and then, i guess it would be the mark of a really good author to spark emotion in the reader

and i was so mad at lisa for behaving so foolishly, again i know it was a plot twist

but i was even more angry at corrine, not only was she putting her life at risk, but she was risking cullen and her childs

no parent would EVER intentionally put their child in danger and that is what corrine did.

and second hand lisa. i was just so furious.

i wanted lisa to UNDERSTAND what she did was wrong and more prominently then the smoothing over itgot in the books.

[Myra Espino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice read!! The story started ok, but as the story goes I can't out it down and I was hooked. Dayan and Corrine's story will make you fall in love and cry. There are times that I want to slap the daylights out of Lisa because of her action, it nearly costs Corrine's life. Overall, the story and the characters are amazing!!! So freaking loved it!! Anyway, this is the first book I've read in the Dark series. I can't wait to read more!

[Sharleen Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Carpathians

Corrine and Satan's story. Really enjoyed this take. Loved how so many of the character's from the previous books showed up.

[Aparna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars: 3.5 / 5
Recommendation: If you like paranormal plots with hint of romance, eroticism and the other world abilities involving immortals and vampires along-side humans with super-abilities, then this is a series to go for.

Dark Melody is the twelfth book in the longest series, Dark Series, by Christine Feehan which was published in November of 2003. This forms the third book in the trilogy within the series - the first two being Dark Challenge and Dark Fire both written a good two years before this one. Couldn’t find why Christine too so long to write this though. In any case, the plot revolves around Dayan - the lead guitarist of the Dark Troubadors - and Corinne Wentworth - a psychic woman with a weak heart and a tragic past.

Among other Honors and Awards, this book was the Winner for the 2003 PEARL Award for Best Shapeshifter, Winner for the 2003 PEARL Award for Favorite Overall Paranormal and Winner for 2003 Fallen Angels Award for Best Novels of the Year.

Carpathians are a powerful and ancient race who are near-immortals living for thousands of years with powers and gifts that no man can fathom. Despite their gifts and extended lifespans, they are at the age of extinction as fewer and fewer children are being borne and far lesser of females. Without their female counterpart aka "lifemates" the male Carpathians lose the ability to feel emotions leaving the males with hard choice: either become vampire or "greet the dawn". Now that Prince Mikhail Dubrinsky finds a lifemate in a human female with psychic abilities and is capable of converting, there is hope for all the other Carpathian males who have been holding off from turning into vampires – the very creature that they hunt and kill to save the humans and Carpathians alike. The series now ventures into another species - Jaguar Species - with the 10th book Dark Symphony.

In her 31st book, Dark Legacy (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) released in September of 2017, Christine had introduced a new Carpathian female, Elisabeta Trigovise - an ancient and sister to Traian Trigovise and thought lost to them. Not sure why Christine brings back her characters and how she ties them together with the various plots, but the mention of Traian Trigovise made me want to re-read the series again since quite a few facts she had brought back in Dark Legacy were lost on me.

Last we read about Dayan was in Dark Fire, the sixth book in the series. Dayan leaves to Canada with Cullen Tucker to get adjusted since all the males around him who have lifemates. Cullen had joined the singing troupe in that same plot when he had braved to go against the Society of Vampire Hunters. Vacationing in Canada, Dayan gets pulled into a small bar where he urges his lifemate to come and save him through his music. In walks Corinne Wentworth, the one who can save him from becoming the predator the likes of his hunt.

But Corinne comes with her share of secrets, other than having a weak heart. She was a psychic with the powers of telekinesis, a recent widow due to the murder of her husband, John - who was also different like her. So does Dayan has his share of secrets, mainly the Human Society of Vampire Hunters who are bent on killing them. Dayan and Corinne meet at the most wrong moment in their life - with so many chasing them, hunting them and with so much at stake. Will Dayan be able to save her and the baby, and fight the threat towards them is what the rest of the plot is about.

Cullen Tucker who is being protected by Dayan is paired with Lisa Wentworth, Corinne's sister-in-law. That is why perhaps I don’t remember reading about him a lot in the rest of the books the first time around.

Christine has the Carpathians out in full force in this installment, working together to save Corinne and her baby. Gregori Daratrazanoff and his lifemate Savannah, Jacques Dubrinsky and his lifemate Shea, Julian Savage & his lifemate Desari, Darius Daratrazanoff & his life mate Tempest and Barack & his lifemate Syndil - all join forces together. Christine has a kind of reunion set in here. Almost looks like a reunion book.

This is an emotionally heavy plot written by Christine Feehan although she does still keep the elements of vampires, hunters and all that relates to Carpathians in the plot. I always thought why had Christine wrote the conclusion to the trilogy so many books later. However, when I read the story it doesn’t seem like the story line went too far away in the timeline.

A few tidbits: Again this book starts including the card inserts that give reader and opportunity to either join a book club and win books, or buy a book and get a few free. There is an advertisement for dorchester publishing at the end of the book enticing readers to join their club and buy books. Although we know now that in 2012 this publishing was acquired by Amazon Publishing and it shut down as dorcehsterpub.

As always Christine leaves a lot of inconsequential details all through the plot. It will be very interesting to see where and when these all surface again. We come across the ever presence Gary Jansen again. We also see Christine bringing back the leopards in this episode - although by this time her first book The Awakening (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) had been released in her Leopard Series. Interestingly enough she speaks of Amur leopards that we again see them in her Leopard novels since her eighth book Wild Cat (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...).

Another powerful erotic plot woven by Christine Feehan keeping us thoroughly entertained and immersed into the world of Carpathians. As always the fight scenes are excellent and love scenes are very romantic, not yet erotic. Christine has certainly left the readers with so many minute details that they would be craving to read those details becoming important in future plots. Watch this space for more reviews of the next books in the series.

Spoiler Alerts:

1. Plot reveals:
a. Corinne Wentworth is pregnant with her husband John's baby - a girl who is a strong psychic.
b. Julian muses that Gregori and Savannah should be blessed with twin girls who would run amok much to Gregori's suffering.
2. Sub-Plots:
a. Would love to ask Christine Feehan as to why she didn’t have Barack claim Syndil early on, why make him wait till after Darius makes his clam on Tempest in the sixth book Dark Fire? Also why not a separate book or a novella for Barack and Syndil instead of spreading their story within two books - fifth book Dark Challenge and sixth book Dark Fire?
b. Christine reveals the possibility of more Carpathians being settled in South America in Dark Challenge.
c. In Dark Symphony, Christine introduces some more facts of Carpathians - the Dragonseeker clan of Carpathians, Wizards and Mages who were one time close with Carpathians but now arch enemies.
d. In Dark Descent, we see quite a few sub-plots: Small details floating around, but I am sure Christine will be collecting them in a bigger plot later.
i. Gabrielle Sanders and Jubal Sanders are introduced - siblings to Joie Sanders.
ii. The Sanders siblings and Traian find a huge dragon encased in ice. We met Dominic Dragonseeker; saw Byron and Josef shape-shifting to dragons and mention of mages in Dark Symphony.
iii. We meet Shadow Warriors - Ghosts of the wizards, lost long ago.
iv. While being tortured, one of the master vampire takes Traian's blood giving the vampire ability to control Traian - although Traian beats him at that control. However, not knowing who that vampire was and where he was, Traian decides to be away from his people. However, I don’t remember this tidbit being explored by Christine in any of the future books. Perhaps that is why she brought Elisabeta Trigovise in the 31st book, Dark Legacy's plot. Or I might have to read the additional 100 pages that Christine included in a later version to know the truth.

3. Unique / Repeat Characters who are not Carpathians but with the possibility of them being expanded by Christine Feehan in future books:
a. Gary Jansen first time introduced in Dark Magic, doesn’t have a story of him yet - 18 years since his character had first been mentioned. Recently Christine announced in her blog on Goodreads that Gary's story has to wait as his lifemate is a child now. I wonder who that child was and if she had already introduced that child in any of the recent books. And if she is basing her on one of her granddaughters' - just like Skyler - and she would wait till the grand daughter would grow in real life before penning a story between her and Gary.
b. In Dark Dream (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...), Sara Marten adopts seven sewer children - three girls and four boys - all with psychic abilities.
c. Skyler Rose Thompson is first introduced in Dark Legend, as a 14 year old girl who is battered and injured in every way. Above all she is a psychic. We are going to see more of her, but Christine has left enough clues to readers to guess who her lifemate would be.
d. In Dark Legend, Francesca muses if her child would be one of those rare females since she had perfected the art of living like a human and walking in the sun. Wonder what would the fate of this child would be in Christine's hands.
e. Barry Woods, a reporter in the Dark Legend plot is not meted with justice or purged of the vampire's influence or any more exploration of his mind to understand about the Society of Vampire Hunters by Christine. Perhaps a future character?
f. Corrine Wentworth (lifemate to Dayan) gives birth to a female psychic child - Jennifer.

4. Perils that the Carpathians face:
a. Few children who have born are Males, most not surviving the first year of their life, females are rarely born. Shea Dubrinsky along with Gregori Daratrazanoff are working hard on how to better the food for their children so they survive. She is more interested to study Darius and Antonietta Scarletti's family in the hopes of finding a cure to their species.
b. With Dark Symphony, Christine introduces a new concept while converting a psychic female with Jaguar blood - Antoninetta Scarletti's blind eyes seem to be giving sight back to her.
c. Vampires are congregating; attacking in coordinated methods; doing a hypnotic dance in hopes to transfix the Carpathian hunters; ability to create a holding spell; able to inject a fast acting poison impacting the nervous system; can cause Carpathians to sever the mental path the Carpathians share; casting a silvery net to capture the hunter in their molecular form; two master vampires running the show together; use animals such as rats, birds and insects to pry on others.
d. Society of Human Vampire Hunters who constantly hunt the Carpathians mistaking them to be Vampires. The Morrison Center for Psychic Research is targeting psychic humans documenting about them to kill them in the end.
e. The antagonist Vampire was after Sara Marten in Dark Dream, as he needed her help to track the tomb of the master wizard and book of knowledge that will give access to untold power.

5. Lifemate pairs introduced as the series progresses: Will Christine have a plot for these pairs sometime in future?
a. Eric and Celeste – Celeste is pregnant with child in Dark Prince, but no mention of who they would be in the later books so far.
b. Vlad and Eleanor Belandrake - Eleanor is pregnant in the first book Dark Prince. However in Dark Symphony we see that she has given birth to Benjamin "Benj" and also adopts Josef - son of another Carpathian pair who are lying in ground now, Lucia and Rodaniver.
c. Tienn and Diedre - Diedre is sister of Vlad.
d. Vladimir Dubrinsky and Sarantha - Mikhail and Jacques Dubrinsky's parents - They are shown as dead in Dark Guardian (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) plot.

6. Other Carpathians who are waiting for their lifemates as of this book and we meet as the series progresses are:
a. Dimitri Tirunul – another ancient Carpathian mentioned briefly for the first time in Dark Desire plot. First introduced almost 15 years ago, we as readers already know that his story would not be until the 25th book in the series. He is a renowned scientist; works for preservation of wolves and guards them in the reservations of Russia; and has a wolf foundation.
b. Dominic Dragonseeker - Introduced in Dark Symphony, with added little details about wizards / mages and a war between them and the Carpathians. He is looking for his sister - Rhiannon Dragonseeker - a powerful mage although just an apprentice, thought to be lost.
c. Josef and Benjamin "Ben" - First introduced in Dark Symphony.

7. Being so many few Carpathian females born, a few females that Christine still manages sneak in her plots are:
a. Shea O’Halloran – lifemate to Jacques Dubrinsky, first female born after more than 500 years and a natural healer. Her story is in Dark Desire (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...) and is pregnant as of Dark Melody plot.
b. Savannah Dubrinsky - daughter of Prince Mikhail and Raven Dubrinsky; lifemate to Gregori Daratrazanoff. Her story is in Dark Magic (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...)
c. Desari Daratrazanoff - lifemate to Julian Savage, sister to Gregori and Darius; has the power to sing that could bring peace between humans, animals, birds and Carpathians alike. Her story is in Dark Challenge (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...)
d. Syndil - lifemate to Barack, both part of the troupe Dark Troubadours, with tremendous healing powers and has an affinity to earth. Her story is spread in two books - Dark Challenge and Dark Fire (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...)
e. Francesca Del Ponce - lifemate to Gabriel Daratrazanoff. Her story is told in Dark Legend (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...). She is a powerful healer; has ability to bring peace to anyone who is in her vicinity or by touch; makes stained glass patterns that are specific to a one's need and bring healing to them.
f. Tamara - daughter of Gabriel Daratrazanoff and Francesca Del Pounce, born a few months before the Dark Guardian plot.

8. Geographical / Character / Grammatical / Historical Errors:
a. On Pg. 155, Line 20, it should be "…you damn well…"
b. On Pg. 174, Line 17, it should be "…Corinne to be different…"

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still enjoying series

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

So we're back with the band and I really liked this one.

For many reasons.

So, if you remember, everyone in the band (Dark Challenge, Dark Fire) has a lifemate except for Dayan. At the end of Dark Fire, he went on the run with the human, Cullen Tucker, evading the human society of vampire hunters.

(see my reviews for these and others here)

He meets Corinne, a songwriter. The complication? Corinne has a heart condition, she doesn't have much time to live. On top of that, she's pregnant with her husband's child. You read that right, husband.

But don't worry, no adultery here, she's a widow. Her husband was murdered by the society.

So, all that creates a few of the dynamics I've been hoping for.

In Dark Symphony, I talked about the idea that the conversion process would eliminate any illnesses or handicaps. Here, however, we have to consider the idea that while conversion does do that, the body has to be strong enough to survive the process. In addition, can a baby be converted? Can it be converted in the womb? If conversion shifts and reshapes the organs, could a baby survive?

The answer is no. A baby could not, and the body can be too weak to survive.

Then there's the husband thing.


We've seen how possessive the Carpathians are, we've seen their desire to just ignore the fact that other men might be in a woman's life - her previous life. Now one has to face that their lifemate cared enough about this other man to marry him! As you can imagine, Dayan is not thrilled about it, but he really does make a genuine effort to understand. It comes out that Corrine didn't love her husband quite as much as he loved her. They'd grown up together in a really shitting situation and, while she did genuinely love him, it wasn't....a passionate love, if that makes sense.

She's decided to have the baby regardless of the risks to her health. The doctors have told her she won't live to give birth, and if she does, she'll never live through the birth.

This creates another dilemma for Dayan. He's driven by instinct and love to protect Corinne at all costs, but she would never forgive him if he traded the life of her child for her life.

Now, of course there's a happy ending. Corinne, and baby Jennifer, live. Corrine's sister(-in-law), Lisa, falls in love with Cullen. And all is right with the world.

This is the least sex we've seen in the series. Because of Corinne's heart and the baby, sex is off the table. So the whole relationship is about emotion, and boy did I cry!

Another good thing was that Shea was back and we learned a little more about her research into how and why females are having such trouble. She helps ensure Jennifer makes it, creating an incubator type machine. Gregori is also present to help heal Corinne and keep her alive through the conversion.

Oh! And Shea's preggers, too!

Also, with the band gathered, and Shea and Greggori around for the healing, all of them with their lifemates, it makes for the biggest gathering we've had. And that leads to the feeling of...camaraderie and humor, really, that I've been waiting for. Despite all the serious moments with death hovering, the family of it really brought a lightness to it.

Things I didn't like? Lisa. Feehan does a good job of justifying her actions, of making you like her. And to be fair, it's not that I didn't like her, really. She's just not the type of person/character I'd like to spend any real time with. They try to call her weak in the book, and Corinne and Cullen defend her. I don't really think she's weak. And if she were, I would be able to appreciate her more. She's willfully ignorant, and knows she is, and I think that's selfish. She would rather other people put themselves on the line so she doesn't have to face what she doesn't want to see. And she knows it. And instead of saying, "I can't help, but I won't make things worse," she just does whatever to make herself feel like everything is ok.

*shrug*

It's not that I don't sympathize, I just can't condone it. I'll be ok if we don't see much more of her.

Overall, I think this has been one of my favorites so far. It was another that had some of that depth that just puts it over the others in the series.

I'm hoping we see more and more of the broad plot. More about the research and causes of the issues plaguing the Carpathians. Oh! Plague, that reminds me: Shea said something about the fertility issues arising during the plague era. I've been thinking maybe it was the last shot in the war with the mages....

We'll see what comes of that.

[Judith Parra · Rating 5 out of 5]

SPOILERS!!!
This is the story of Dayan and Corinne Wentworth. Dayan is a lead guitarist in The Dark Troubadours. His story begins with him playing in a bar despite the danger of being hunted by a group of human fanatics. He is accompanied by Cullen Tucker who was introduced in Dark Fire. He had warned Darius and Tempest of the human fanatics and is now on top of the vampire hunter death list, along with The Dark Troubadours. Both are in a bar because Dayan had a strong compulsion to be there.

Dayan is singing a song to his lifemate, imploring her to come to him and complete him. I love how Dayan is honest in his need for his woman and it is not long before a young woman walks into a bar with her sister in law. Her name is Corinne and she is a fan of The Dark Troubadours. Cullen senses she is important and sends Cullen to talk to the women. Cullen is attracted to Lisa almost instantly. I found this sweet and quite right. The last bachelors in The Dark Troubadours find their women at the same time.

I liked how Christine Feehan writes in tension and a sense of trepidation into the story when Dayan realizes quickly that something is wrong with Corinne. He notices that her heart beats irregularly and that she looks quite weak. While dancing with her, he finds out that she is carrying a baby. A fact that Corinne confesses to Dayan that Lisa, her sister in law, does not know.

A pregnant lifemate is a quite unique story plot in that the baby is not Dayan's. She is also fatally ill and the complication of her pregnancy does not make it easy on Dayan to convert her. For once, a Carpathian male is forced to be cautious when it comes to claiming his lifemate. Converting her can kill both his lifemate and the baby she carries. Dayan has no choice but to take his time and get to know Corinne who is a renowned song writer.

Okay, here is one of my slight complaints in this book. The title is Dark Melody but Christine Feehan does not include a song written by Dayan or Corinne. It would have been nice for Christine Feehan to have done that and show the writing talents of Dayan and Corinne. The book would have been given a nice complete touch with the inclusion of a song.

While getting to know her, Dayan finds out that Corinne had been married to John Wentworth, who had also been a psychic. He was murdered by the human vampire hunting society and they are now after Corinne and Lisa. Dayan is forced to kill several members of the society several times.

Tension is high in this book due to all that Dayan, Corinne, Lisa and Cullen have to go through. They are being hunted and Corinne is living on borrowed time. Dayan tries to offer Corinne some relief but is forced to call in Darius and several of the best Carpathian healers to try and save Corinne and the baby. Corinne's baby girl is also a gifted psychic and may be even stronger than Corinne one day.

Despite the help from Dayan, Corinne continues to get even more ill which causes Darius and the rest of the healers to race towards the couple. This book could have been a dark and heavy book if it wasn't for a bit of humor that Christine Feehan included. The small bits of humor are greatly needed and appreciated. I found it endearing that Darius was nervous to meet his big brother Gregori. He hero worshiped Gregori when he was a child and drew on his memories of Gregori as he was raising the band. The reunited group tease each other and I liked how Gregori hugged his little sister with genuine love and affection. The teasing and genuine feelings for each other made them look like a real family.

The heart of the book and the most scariest was the birth and conversion scene. Even though I have read this book several times, this scene in the book still makes my heart pound with anxiety. At this point, Corinne was so weak that Dayan had to make her heart beat for her, at times even breath for her. It took the combined healing powers of Gregori, Shea and Darius to keep both the baby and Corinne alive. Dayan converts Corinne as soon as the baby is removed via c-section. She barely makes it. The baby is named Jennifer and she is half human and half Carpathian. She will be taken care of in the daylight hours by Gary Jansen, a character I have grown very fond of.

I love how in the end, Corinne embraces Carpathian life and brings to Dayan back the joy of running, flying and simply living to the fullest. I also liked that like Dayan, Cullen finds his happy ending. This story was good.

[Chalice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The couple: Dayan and Corinne

Romance genre: paranormal
Series: Dark, commonly referred to as the Carpathians
Length: 384 pages

Plot: Dayan, a member of the Carpathian musical group the Dark Troubadours, has left the group to travel for a while. He's seen Desari, Syndil, Barak, and Darius all find their lifemates, and he's the odd man out. He leaves with Cullen, a human we met in Dark Fire, to travel for a bit and get out of the way of the lovey-doveys. One night, in a small bar-like establishment, he senses her - his lifemate. Corinne Wentworth is a widow, pregnant, and dying. But she's also the other half of his soul. He needs to find a way to save her and her baby, protect her and Lisa and solve the mystery of the Morrison Center that is seemingly targeting human psychics.

Character development: This was a sweeter read than all the ones before, mostly due to Dayan's personality and Corinne's fragility. Dayan is definitely a capable Carpathian, but he lacks the aggressive alphaness of Darius or Gregori, and doesn't have the same laid-back vibe as Julian. He's happy to be the artist in the background who lends his muscle when needed. He's what Corinne needed: someone to help her fight her battles and protect her, but let her explore the world when she's able to again.
Corinne also has an interesting connection to another Feehan novel (standalone Gothic): After the Music. In that book, the H is Dillon Wentworth, a musician. It's not clear what the relation is, or even what the timeline is, but it's a neat tie-in, and matches the idea of Corinne being a talented songwriter.
This book also answers the question of what would a Carpathian male do if his lifemate had been married or had kids from another man. Dayan did himself proud in this situation.

Next book in the series: Dark Destiny