Books I’ve Read: Dark Prince by Christine Feehan – Dark Carpathian Series

Image from Goodreads

Title: Dark Prince
Series: Dark Carpathian #1
Author: Christine Feehan
Publisher: Piatkus
Publication Date: March 2011
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 2.5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads

Enter the enchanting world of the Carpathians, where dark adventure, mystery, and love await, and the desires of two daring hearts unite in one irresistible passion

A telepathic hunter of serial killers, Raven Whitney’s work has drained her body and spirit, and now, in need of rest and rejuvenation, she embarks on a vacation far from home.

The powerful leader of the Carpathians–a wise and secret ancient race that thrives in the night–Mikhail Dubrinsky is engulfed by despair, fearful of never finding the mate who can save him from the encroaching darkness.

From the moment they meet, Raven and Mikhail are helpless to resist the desire that sparks between them. But just as fate unexpectedly brings these life mates together, malevolent forces threaten to destroy them and their fragile love.

This was another series I was loath to start because of the sheer number of books in the series. Although I can say that you are able to read the first book without fear of being left with a huge cliffhanger and a desperate need to purchase the remaining books in the series.

Dark Prince started off really well. The whole sexy vampire feel with elements of soul-mates, supernatural powers, serial killers and an intense romance. Raven is a brilliant character having struggled with her telepathic gift, ostracised because of her abilities, my heart went out to her. Yet, she has held onto her compassion and desperate need to help people go so far as to endanger her help in her efforts to capture the depraved serial killers in society.

Mikhail has the whole alpha male, brooding vampire thing going on. It was very easy to pick up that this guy is not your average human, so I’m not giving any spoilers here. Although, the Carpathians aren’t your run of the mill vampires, yes they drink blood but they don’t kill and they act more like protectors for the humans living on their land.

Unfortunately, as with all areas of life there are extremists that stick a label on something and then go to the ends of the earth to destroy those they have attached the label to. For me it brought to mind all the inequalities in people’s attitudes whether it’s referencing religion, sexuality or gender, you can parallel the bias we encounter in the real world.

I really enjoyed the way in which Christine Feehan portrayed both Mikhail and Raven as exceptionally lonely even when with other people and their communication via telepathy as the initial form of contact. It really made it feel like they were meant to be. The relationship progresses very quickly but with the soul-mate connection you can go with the flow on this one The differences in attitude and upbringing between Grace and Mikhail (he’s from a completely different era) cause more than a few ruffled feathers and even adds to the danger they both face.

As I have stated I enjoyed the story to start with but as Dark Prince progressed I began to find it overly descriptive and a tad repetitive. This is a huge problem for me as it makes me start skimming through the story and not fully engaging with the characters or the plot. It is these specific points which reflect my rating.