Scan barcode
melodicfate's review against another edition
4.0
At last, Gabrielle's story was told. As it's right there in the blurb, I'm not spoiling anything when I say that watching Gary and Gabrielle learn that they're not lifemates was terribly sad. When she meets Aleksei, her actual lifemate, things got really tense. He didn't know Gabrielle had been human, and so thought she'd betrayed him with Gary. It didn't help that Aleksei was very, very dark. And poor Gabrielle was so afraid of everything. I thought she was being ridiculous in the beginning, trying to convince herself that Gary would want to live away from the Carpathians, but meeting Aleksei and having him support and encourage her to stop being afraid was the best thing for her. She grew so much during this book, and Aleksei, while always wanting to be in control, learned to laugh, had to do his best to fix some of the big mistakes he made in the beginning(which some readers may consider too much), and he had to learn to accept Gabrielle for who she was. While he was very intense, Gabrielle needed that to grow. We see that she and Gary wouldn't have worked out half as well.
In addition to that romance, we also got the story of Trixie and Fane. The previous book left off with Trixie, Teagan's grandma, threatening to come to the Carpathian Mountains. Well, she sure did. And by doing that, she found Fane, her lifemate and guardian of all the ancients in the monastery. Their relationship was much lighter, though no less serious than Gabrielle and Aleksei's. To me, Trixie honestly read a lot younger than sixty, but she was still hilarious, just a bit crazy, and very kind. I loved that Fane was more apt to laugh, and only really gave orders when it was totally necessary.
Along with the two romances, there were humans and vampires to fight. The romances certainly took priority, but there was definitely some action, particularly near the end. Plus, Teagan, Trixie, and Gabrielle were able to combine forces and give the ancients in the monastery hope for finding their lifemates. That's going to be a huge thing for the series going forward, for sure.
This story was quite different from the rest. This was the only real love triangle, and while I'll never be a fan, I understood this one. Gary and Gabrielle had loved one another as humans, so it was awful to see them torn apart upon conversion. There was also the fact that the story featured two romances. While Gabrielle and Aleksei's was undoubtedly my favorite, I can understand why these two were put in the same book. It was pretty necessary due to the fact that the women all needed to team up. This wasn't my favorite, but I found it to be an interesting, and probably integral, part of the series going forward.
In addition to that romance, we also got the story of Trixie and Fane. The previous book left off with Trixie, Teagan's grandma, threatening to come to the Carpathian Mountains. Well, she sure did. And by doing that, she found Fane, her lifemate and guardian of all the ancients in the monastery. Their relationship was much lighter, though no less serious than Gabrielle and Aleksei's. To me, Trixie honestly read a lot younger than sixty, but she was still hilarious, just a bit crazy, and very kind. I loved that Fane was more apt to laugh, and only really gave orders when it was totally necessary.
Along with the two romances, there were humans and vampires to fight. The romances certainly took priority, but there was definitely some action, particularly near the end. Plus, Teagan, Trixie, and Gabrielle were able to combine forces and give the ancients in the monastery hope for finding their lifemates. That's going to be a huge thing for the series going forward, for sure.
This story was quite different from the rest. This was the only real love triangle, and while I'll never be a fan, I understood this one. Gary and Gabrielle had loved one another as humans, so it was awful to see them torn apart upon conversion. There was also the fact that the story featured two romances. While Gabrielle and Aleksei's was undoubtedly my favorite, I can understand why these two were put in the same book. It was pretty necessary due to the fact that the women all needed to team up. This wasn't my favorite, but I found it to be an interesting, and probably integral, part of the series going forward.
nicolet2018's review against another edition
3.0
I have enjoyed the Dark series since the beginning and faithfully been following each installment. However I had issues with the last few books. I had hoped future ones would have those problems rectified or at least see improvement. I read this before Dark Ghost and was worried it would seem disjointed. But luckily it actually seemed okay and quite standalone.
There will be spoilers ahead!
Since this book was announced, many readers have speculated on whether Gary and Gabrielle would be lifemates. People guessed whether he would be Trixie's as well. The anticipation was crazy because things were so vague.
I am quite surprised that Christine Feehan chose to have a lifemate who is much older than the usual female heroines. I think it is something she wants to do for her readers given they are typically within that age group. I guess it would help them relate more to the character. I was intrigued to see how this relationship would work. I certainly like seeing new things in the Dark books.
Another thing that surprised me was incorporating two lifemate pairs into the story. But Trixie and Fane's relationship was not so focused upon compared to Gabrielle and Alexsei's.
I also liked that the author does not shy away from interracial relationships. Which I think is great. Diversity is important.
Gabrielle seemed so needy from the beginning and I could not understand why she got so ridiculously emotional. Also she kept saying it was her turn to be number one annoyed me. But I admired how she was so adamant against being bound to Alexsei at first. I felt so sad for her when she had that wedding and then things did not work out. And poor Gary....
Alexsei really pissed me off. Is his name pronounced a-lex-say? His behaviour at the start was horrible. It was abusive and manipulative. The thoughts he had were terrible and I wanted to tell Gabrielle to run. I mean he wanted to make her into a mindless sex slave! He also did wrong by using his abilities to stop Trixie and Gabrielle from moving. I really annoyed me that he got angry with Gabrielle for finding a friend in Trixie and wanting to talk to her. What is wrong with wanting to share your troubles with a friend? I felt that was very petty. His "I live in a time where women obey" grated me. I only lessened my anger towards him because he realized how wrong that was. I disliked how he always demands obdience from Gabrielle. But he did grow and compromise.
I was disappointed with the representation of Trixie. I had hoped she would appeared to be more her age of fifty. But instead she had the body of a woman in her thirties. It felt abit like a cop out as I would like to see how a lifemate pair would deal with the female being much more mature and looking older than the male. Also what would her mentality be after she has lived so many years of her life? Trixie's personality felt typical of a character the author thought female readers would like. Sarcastic, stand up for herself. But Trixie came off abit young, which did not surprise me because of her past. I did like how motherly she was to Gabrielle and hope they develop a friendship. I liked that Fane was less of an arse than Alexsei when it came to Trixie.
Another thing thay disappointed me was that the book focused so much on sex. It was so much to the point that it seemed unnecesary. A balance should be struck. I would have preferred knowing how things were going for the Carpathians as a whole or just to see how the lifemates develop their relationships with each other.
Wow I have alot of things that did not sit well with me but I was frustrated that the female characters had the same bodies. The only difference the author incorporates is tall and short. Other wise it is "Slim, tucked in waist, rounded butt and big boobs". Seriously, as a reader I would like to see a range of body shapes. Not the same old curvy type. It is almost as if the author wants us all to believe that women only have one body shape....
I did enjoy Gabrielle, Trixie and Teagen coming together to help the Ancients of the monastery try and beat back the darkness and to point them in the direction of their lifemates. This definitely sets the stage for more books and it is a new developement for the Carpathian world. I have been thinking of whether there was a possibility that a character would be able to take away the darkness in the Ancients who have not found their lifemates. I think it is great that Gabrielle has the ability to locate people, Trixie can see people's Songs and Teagen can heal with her stones.
This book was quite emotional for me. I flew through the first part but was bogged down by the repetitive sex. I am excited to read Dark Ghost and future books. I just hope improvements are made.
There will be spoilers ahead!
Since this book was announced, many readers have speculated on whether Gary and Gabrielle would be lifemates. People guessed whether he would be Trixie's as well. The anticipation was crazy because things were so vague.
I am quite surprised that Christine Feehan chose to have a lifemate who is much older than the usual female heroines. I think it is something she wants to do for her readers given they are typically within that age group. I guess it would help them relate more to the character. I was intrigued to see how this relationship would work. I certainly like seeing new things in the Dark books.
Another thing that surprised me was incorporating two lifemate pairs into the story. But Trixie and Fane's relationship was not so focused upon compared to Gabrielle and Alexsei's.
I also liked that the author does not shy away from interracial relationships. Which I think is great. Diversity is important.
Gabrielle seemed so needy from the beginning and I could not understand why she got so ridiculously emotional. Also she kept saying it was her turn to be number one annoyed me. But I admired how she was so adamant against being bound to Alexsei at first. I felt so sad for her when she had that wedding and then things did not work out. And poor Gary....
Alexsei really pissed me off. Is his name pronounced a-lex-say? His behaviour at the start was horrible. It was abusive and manipulative. The thoughts he had were terrible and I wanted to tell Gabrielle to run. I mean he wanted to make her into a mindless sex slave! He also did wrong by using his abilities to stop Trixie and Gabrielle from moving. I really annoyed me that he got angry with Gabrielle for finding a friend in Trixie and wanting to talk to her. What is wrong with wanting to share your troubles with a friend? I felt that was very petty. His "I live in a time where women obey" grated me. I only lessened my anger towards him because he realized how wrong that was. I disliked how he always demands obdience from Gabrielle. But he did grow and compromise.
I was disappointed with the representation of Trixie. I had hoped she would appeared to be more her age of fifty. But instead she had the body of a woman in her thirties. It felt abit like a cop out as I would like to see how a lifemate pair would deal with the female being much more mature and looking older than the male. Also what would her mentality be after she has lived so many years of her life? Trixie's personality felt typical of a character the author thought female readers would like. Sarcastic, stand up for herself. But Trixie came off abit young, which did not surprise me because of her past. I did like how motherly she was to Gabrielle and hope they develop a friendship. I liked that Fane was less of an arse than Alexsei when it came to Trixie.
Another thing thay disappointed me was that the book focused so much on sex. It was so much to the point that it seemed unnecesary. A balance should be struck. I would have preferred knowing how things were going for the Carpathians as a whole or just to see how the lifemates develop their relationships with each other.
Wow I have alot of things that did not sit well with me but I was frustrated that the female characters had the same bodies. The only difference the author incorporates is tall and short. Other wise it is "Slim, tucked in waist, rounded butt and big boobs". Seriously, as a reader I would like to see a range of body shapes. Not the same old curvy type. It is almost as if the author wants us all to believe that women only have one body shape....
I did enjoy Gabrielle, Trixie and Teagen coming together to help the Ancients of the monastery try and beat back the darkness and to point them in the direction of their lifemates. This definitely sets the stage for more books and it is a new developement for the Carpathian world. I have been thinking of whether there was a possibility that a character would be able to take away the darkness in the Ancients who have not found their lifemates. I think it is great that Gabrielle has the ability to locate people, Trixie can see people's Songs and Teagen can heal with her stones.
This book was quite emotional for me. I flew through the first part but was bogged down by the repetitive sex. I am excited to read Dark Ghost and future books. I just hope improvements are made.
maureensbooks89's review against another edition
2.0
‘Dark Promises’ is the third novel in the Dark series that I received for review, and the twenty-ninth of the series. The Dark series revolves around Carpathians, an immortal race of beings with animal instincts. The previous two books I read where definitely enjoyable, so I was excited to start reading.
This book is hard for me to review because I just don’t really know what I think of it. Overall I missed a storyline in this book. There wasn’t much of a story there, besides a lot of sex scenes. Not that it was bad to read, but I just missed action (not the sex kind) and real meaningful conversations. I felt like these characters just really didn’t got to know each other and I surely did not get to know them, other than what kind of sexual habits they had. Not really what I had in mind when I started reading this book.
The main characters Gabrielle and Aleksei are lifemates, which means they are made for each other and can’t life apart from one another after they ‘bonded’. I did like these characters. Especially since Aleksei was this bad guy, but he was really sweet (most times at least) with Gabrielle. I love that in romance novels. The bad guy, and the good girl who makes him a better person.. who doesn’t love that kind of story?! But there was just way to much sex in this book and after the first couple of chapters it began to bother me.
The two other characters who played a part in this book were Trixie and Fane. And well.. Trixie is a grandma in her sixties.. I really didn’t expect to read about her having a relationship. I was just so surprised when this storyline began.. I liked Trixie’s character, but I really didn’t need to read about her having sex.
So.. My end conclusion.. This book was not my kind of thing. It wasn’t super bad, but it just didn’t have enough of a story in it for me.
This book is hard for me to review because I just don’t really know what I think of it. Overall I missed a storyline in this book. There wasn’t much of a story there, besides a lot of sex scenes. Not that it was bad to read, but I just missed action (not the sex kind) and real meaningful conversations. I felt like these characters just really didn’t got to know each other and I surely did not get to know them, other than what kind of sexual habits they had. Not really what I had in mind when I started reading this book.
The main characters Gabrielle and Aleksei are lifemates, which means they are made for each other and can’t life apart from one another after they ‘bonded’. I did like these characters. Especially since Aleksei was this bad guy, but he was really sweet (most times at least) with Gabrielle. I love that in romance novels. The bad guy, and the good girl who makes him a better person.. who doesn’t love that kind of story?! But there was just way to much sex in this book and after the first couple of chapters it began to bother me.
The two other characters who played a part in this book were Trixie and Fane. And well.. Trixie is a grandma in her sixties.. I really didn’t expect to read about her having a relationship. I was just so surprised when this storyline began.. I liked Trixie’s character, but I really didn’t need to read about her having sex.
So.. My end conclusion.. This book was not my kind of thing. It wasn’t super bad, but it just didn’t have enough of a story in it for me.
katiepooh13's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really struggling with how I feel about this book. Most of it was just sex, which I don't object to as long as it contributes to the plot of the book and series. Most of the sex in the book did not do this. There was very little plot development. I also felt that the Trixie story line was forced. I just couldn't connect with her or Fane.
On the other hand, I like Aleksei and Gabby. There were real emotions and struggles for both of them. The plot (what little of it was there) absolutely furthered the series as a whole and I like where it is going. We are finding out more about how the save the race and the ancients. The overarching plot was well thought out and I am looking forward to the next book.
On the other hand, I like Aleksei and Gabby. There were real emotions and struggles for both of them. The plot (what little of it was there) absolutely furthered the series as a whole and I like where it is going. We are finding out more about how the save the race and the ancients. The overarching plot was well thought out and I am looking forward to the next book.
jlee76's review
5.0
This book is very different because it is two stories in one. This book is about Gabrielle and Alexsei and Trixie and Fane. The book goes smoothly with the two couples. It is also about the elimination of feelings and color for poor Gary. The book was fast paced and very passionate. It goes into the monestary more and introduces the ancients. Overall a great read.
samie_k3's review
3.0
More like a 3.5 for me, but not an all out 4 stars... It's actually almost difficult to believe that this was a Carpathian's novel. There was far too much sex, hardly any plot, and Aleksi was a controlling ass. Though I didn't like Gabrielle much better, she was a simpering, whimpering, crying dishrag. In fact, I think I would have liked this book a lot better had Trixie and Fane been the main focus, instead of a secondary plotline. Though I do like the intriguing gifts that Teagan, Trixie and Gabrielle have, and I do hope it means that it'll make it easier for the ancients to find their lifemates.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
This book was two couple's books, and I wish that it'd been longer, because I want to see some moments that I know have to happen! Lots of developments, continuing on from Dark Ghost, and in helping the Ancients!
laurla's review
-two parings in one book. mostly sex, not much story. and sadly that made it a better book than some of the others in this series. every time i read another one i ask why i keep reading this. i guess i just know too many of the characters and curiosity keeps dragging me back in.
"these people, they don't even try to get to know me. i do research and i keep to myself. i dont mean anything at all to them. but you... you see me. i matter. i exist."
"she just wanted to be numb and not think about anything at all. not ever again."
"you have enough attitude for ten women."
"no matter how angry you get, no matter how many times you throw what i did in my face, i cant change it. i did it."
"she'd been too young. too sensitive. too intelligent. she'd buried herself in the acquisition of knowledge and no one noticed she'd retreated - gone into her own mind and lived there."
"she hadnt realized how much she wanted to feel safe and secure, to have some direction in a world she hadnt wanted to live in."
"she made her own way in the world and didnt ask anything of anyone."
"i have been on my own for centuries. i take no orders from anyone."
"you could just beat your chest."
"let it go." there it was again. his demand for her to let something go that ran through her head like a loop playing.
"these people, they don't even try to get to know me. i do research and i keep to myself. i dont mean anything at all to them. but you... you see me. i matter. i exist."
"she just wanted to be numb and not think about anything at all. not ever again."
"you have enough attitude for ten women."
"no matter how angry you get, no matter how many times you throw what i did in my face, i cant change it. i did it."
"she'd been too young. too sensitive. too intelligent. she'd buried herself in the acquisition of knowledge and no one noticed she'd retreated - gone into her own mind and lived there."
"she hadnt realized how much she wanted to feel safe and secure, to have some direction in a world she hadnt wanted to live in."
"she made her own way in the world and didnt ask anything of anyone."
"i have been on my own for centuries. i take no orders from anyone."
"you could just beat your chest."
"let it go." there it was again. his demand for her to let something go that ran through her head like a loop playing.