Sexual scenes are very explicit, but less frequent than would be expected for Romantica. However, they are that style in graphicness and verbiage. ( )

Ivory Malinov, the only sister among five Carpathian brothers, was thought dead after being shredded to pieces by vampires at the orders of the evil Xavier. Yet now she runs with a pack of wolves as her only family now as she is determined to destroy Xavier and prevent him from harming anyone else.

Razvan Dragonseeker is thought to be the ultimate betrayer to the Carpathian race and raised as a follower of Xavier is found by Ivory as he flees Xavier. As they come face to face they realize they have found their life mates. Together can they over come Xavier?

I was not a fan of the earlier Dark books but I have become enthralled with the series since I read Dark Celebration. The books following just seem to get better and better. Dark Slayer immediately draws you into fight that Ivory and Razvan face to prove they are not traitors to the Carpathians, find a cure for what is killing the Carpathian children and destroy Xavier. Razvan is a far cry from the typical Carpathian males we have seen so far and will still grab your heart. This is another great addition to the Dark series. ( )

Oh my goodness! I know I say this (almost) after reading every book in this series, but here I go again - Dark Slayer it the BEST of the series so far! It is different from most of the other books, in that we finally get a hero who is powerful and confident, but COMPLETELY without ego! Due to the horrors endured in his life as a prisoner of Xavier, Razvan has a quiet strength, and is definitely the only man who could possibly be a match for Ivory. A former long-time villain and enemy of the Carpathian people (before they understood the truth behind Xavier's treachery,) Razvan is supportive of Ivory and greatly admires her vampire slaying skills. He is easily the least domineering of all Carpathian males so far, and is more than willing to let Ivory take the lead and to learn from her when it comes to fighting the undead.

Ivory, a female Carpahtian and warrior, has also experienced unspeakable barbarity at the hands of Xavier and the brothers who betrayed her. Her nature would never have allow her to cope with Feehan's typical alpha male hero - Razvan is the perfect lifemate for her. If any Carpathian ever had reason to turn to the "darkside" as it were, it would be Razvan and Ivory. They have both endured much pain and suffering, molding them into the strong willed individuals they have now become. Their separate ordeals in life make them that much more grateful to have found each other, and to appreciate the true meaning of being lifemates.

As always, we get a glimpse into the lives of the Carpathians we have come to know and love in the series: the dialogue between Mikhail, leader of the Carpathian people, and his Gregori, "The Dark One", protector of the prince, it truly hilarious at times - especially when Gregori is (unpleasantly) surprised by Razvan. We also see some of our favorites girls: Savannah, who is getting ready to deliver her twins; Syndil, working hard to heal the earth; Natalya, twin sister of Razvan, distraught with the knowledge of what her brother has endured to keep her safe; Lara, daughter of Razvan, who trying to keep Xavier's microbes from killing the Carpathian babies.

Dark Slayer also introduces us to some new ancients, hopefully giving hints as to where the series will go in the future. Andre and Tariq, along with brothers Mataias, Lojos and Tomas, have returned to the Carpathian Mountains at this critical time for the people, to help protect the prince and hopefully hold out against the gathering darkness they all feel without lifemates. As a side note, there is a particularly good scene in Dark Slayer in which Ivory and Razvan teach the ancients a lesson in underestimating their opponents. I don't want to give too much away, but that scene (which also contains powerful Carpathian hunters Nicolae, Vikirnoff and Gregori) is well-written and simply hilarious!

I am enjoying the way Feehan is solving the big issue of the Carpathian people - few children are born, even fewer survive childhood, and fewer yet are female. The creativity she is using in finding a solution to this problem is really interesting. I also loved the creation of Mother Earth as a real character - thinking, feeling, and speaking to her children.

Dark Slayer is the best of the best so far! However, this is not a series you can just jump into at book 20 - you really need to go back and read the rest of the series first. There is a lot of character development and Carpathian history that you really need in order to enjoy this latest book. On the whole, this really is a good series, definitely worth a look if you enjoy paranormal romance. ( )

Don't ever buy this book in audio format. For some reason, the director has the readers use a very bad Bela Lugosi accent for the dialogue. ("I VANT to DRRINK your BLAWD.") Not only is the accent bad, but the sing song nature of it makes it had to understand. We listened to this in the car and had to keep adjusting the volume to try to catch what was said.

The book itself is exciting if in need of some editing (but many of Ms. Feehan's books could stand a little pruning, especially on the sex scenes.) I got tired of repetition which I can skim when I read in print.

Recommendation: Read this, but don't listen to it in audio format. I gave it three stars for the story but no more because of the poor directing of dialogue. ( )

Ivory Malinov was thought dead for centuries, while all five of her brothers chose to become a part of the enemy (vampire), that caused her death. Finding out she is alive only raises suspicions that she may be in league with the last of her brothers. Razvan was a Dragonseeker and everyone knew him to be the worst of traitor’s to the Carpathian people, but after escaping his long captivity by Xavier the most evil Mage anyone had ever know, he was determined to walk into the dawn. The warrior in Ivory couldn’t let the man she found unconscious in the snow face the dawn, especially after realizing that he was her lifemate. As his healing progressed, new information was uncovered that would help Mikhail (Prince of the Carpathian people) and Gregori (their healer) believe that to defeat the Carpathians greatest enemy, they needed the help of this unique couple. Could they be trusted with the fate of the entire species?

Book 20 ….. ai kucak! (oh stars!) I had forgotten in the past several months (while impatiently waiting for this to be published) just how much I enjoy these Carpathian men and women. To be thrown back into it, such a great continuing story, it only took a minute to recall how last Razvan had been portrayed and I wondered for so long, how this character was going to be redeemed enough to be worthy of his own story. I get it now. Both of these characters are strong and they just drew me in. The back story, tragic and pain filled for both, allowed me to see why they desired solitude (and then only each other) but it also showed the strength, courage and patience that they both possess. (As usual) I really enjoyed seeing so many of the other characters from previous books, seeing their continued support and happiness with each of the couples. Not many new characters, a couple of bachelors (I don’t even remember their names). I wish there had been more of a reunion with the DeLaCruz brothers and Ivory - I hope their will be more of this series. ( )