Easy hot read for a lonely night. Loved it but not for the plot. It's main idea of mating even if the woman wants nothing to do with it is a bit of a down but it's a romance book of a semi-classic kind.

Doesn't make as much sense if you don't read Dark Destiny and Dark Secret first. ( )

Dark Demon is book 16 of Christine Feehan's wonderful Dark Carpathian series. This is the story of Natalya Shonski and Vikirnoff von Shrieder. We first met Natalya in Feehan's Dark Secret and Vikirnoff in Dark Destiny.

Always on the run from vampires and Carpathian hunters, Natalya is part dark mage, part human, and part Carpathian. Her Carpathian bloodline is from one of the oldest and most respected of all Carpathian families: the Dragonseekers. Poisoned against the Carpathian people by the treacherous dark mage Xavier, she has been trained to fear all immortals equally, and is an accomplished slayer. She never imagined she would feel anything other than disgust when facing an immortal, until the day she comes face-to-face the man that is her lifemate.

When his brother Nicolae's lifemate Destiny asked him to find a woman who needed their help, Vikirnoff knew he could do no other than find and defend her from all enemies. As soon as Vikirnoff saw the photograph of the woman, he felt a strong compulsion to locate and protect her. He will follow her across oceans, back to his homeland, the Carpathian mountain range.

Vikirnoff has lived a colorless and emotionless existence for centuries, and is astonished at the gut-reaction he has when he finds his one true lifemate: Natalya. Although she's not at all what he imagined, Vikirnoff feels the instant age-old pull to her. Natalya is a clever and capable warrior with battle skills that rival Vikirnoff's. He knows she is not quite human, and not quite Carpathian, but she is the light to his darkness, the woman he is destined to love and protect for all time. Together, they must uncover the secrets of Natalya's past, and try to protect their people from certain destruction.

Dark Demon is the best Carpathian book I've read since Dark Destiny (book 13). It is the longest Carpathian book I've read so far, and was full of the legends of dragons and wizards. I loved seeing some of the characters from the other books - especially Mikhail, the prince of the Carpathian people. The illumination of the Dragonseeker line added so much to the existing folklore in the series.

Natalya is hands downs one of Feehan's best heroines to date and maybe my favorite lifemate in the series so far. She is so modern and sassy, and full of pop culture references that Vikirnoff (or Vik, as she sometimes referred to him) had no hope of understanding. She is a sharp and witty woman with immense combative and magical abilities - a true kick-butt-heroine!

Dark Demon shows Feehan's great versatility and is truly an original. For me, this book represented an enormous amount of growth for the Dark series. The storyline is taking an interesting turn and I can't wait to see what happens next. ( )

The only thing keeping Vikirnoff Von Shrieder from seeking out the dawn (to end his existence) was the search for a specific psychic woman that had started in the US (Dark Destiny) and finally brought him back to his home in the Carpathian Mountains. The miracle of her being his lifemate brought on fear and terror first because his first site of Natalya Shonski was of her in battle with a vampire. Growing up, Natalya and her twin Razvan learned the art of magick and she knew of Carpathians, vampires and others and was taught to fear them all. Now this hunter wanted her and her need to protect him was just as strong too, even with her doubts about their compatibility.

Book 16 ….. Fun - We met Vikirnoff in Dark Destiny and started to hear about Natalya (even though we didn’t know much about her back then). Then we met her briefly in Dark Secret and got to see more of him, now to get to the story for them. Natalya is a riot, she watched so much TV over the years that she actually nicknamed a vampire after Freddy Kruger. Her references to the old classic movies and TV shows (used to alleviate her nervousness and fear) had me laughing most of the way through this book. Vikirnoff was not what I expected, I was not sure I could take another cooking cutter Carpathian, after his emotions returned I expected the protectiveness and bossy attitude, but he had a wonderful sense of humor to be able to match wits with Natalya. The return to the Carpathian Mountains brought a familiar cave into more light and also allowed a touch with Mikhail, Raven, Falcon and Sara.
***** Bonus (in the book I have), in the back of the book, Ms. Feehan has added an appendix with information on the Carpathian language, their healing chants and a bit of history. It doesn’t change the stories at all, but it is kind of neat to have some of their native language in the book and the information too. ( )

For as long as she can remember, Natalya has been fighting demons: first in the form of childhood nightmares, then later, immortal creatures that kill and prey on the innocent—including her own twin brother. Whether Carpathian or vampire, she slays those who murder by night, and has no equal—until she is seduced by the very thing she considers her enemy…

A Carpathian who has seen nearly everything in his endless existence, Vikirnoff didn’t think he could be surprised anymore—until he faces a woman who rivals him as a vampire hunter. A formidable and gifted warrior in her own right, Natalya has a nature that is strangely familiar—yet alien—to his own. Who is this mysterious female who fears no one—not even him? Natalya could be the key to the survival of the Carpathians, but all Vikirnoff is certain of is that she is the key to his heart and soul… ( )