Dark Predator

I have so many words for this book, and none of them fit for your ears. So sorry, it's going to be an angry rant, not a review.

Dark Prince was THE BOOK which introduced me to the genre of paranormal romance, and for years I loved this series. The men were noble, the women were strong and powerful in their own right, some of them pretty awesome and kick-ass, even the plot was somewhat unique. Sadly, it all ended at Dark Slayer.

I though Dark Peril was the most god awful book in the series, surely. There was nothing in it apart from endless jungle descriptions and a parade of whorish clothing.

But here comes Dark Predator with Zacarias in it. The biggest jerk and misogynistic pig ever. Really, no really? Do we need a trip back to the show more 70s-80s bodice rippers? Because this is how it felt.

He is abusive, violent and I could find absolutely no excuse for his behavior. He laughs at Marguarita's expense. Sorry, wasn't funny. He violates her mind and her body.

There was a moment in the book when I almost DNF it. Marguarita's friend Julio touches her arm, and Zacarias attacks him, drinks his blood, leaves him unconscious and tells Marguarita something along the lines

"Do you want to be taken for a whore?"

Come-freaking-on! She is to wear only skirts. Not go anywhere or do anything without his permission or there is punishment. She behaves like a victim and makes excuses for his behavior.

I truly felt sick. If this is story of love, then Julia Roberts was a happy married woman in Sleeping with the Enemy. show less

I didn't like Zacarias. The appeal of this series left me early on but needed it for a Peru challenge. Not as bad as some of the other books plot-wise, but he was mainly a jerkwad. The author also keeps inventing new rules it seems. He is downright abusive and even contemplates killing the poor gal a few times. He was definitely extra and no love interest. This book was off the charts weird and frustrating.

I have only read some of Feehan's newer Carpathian books and for the most part have really enjoyed them. I find it hard to say just how much I liked(or disliked) this one. It completely grabbed me and I could not stop reading it BUT I found myself having a hard time liking the heroine, Marguarita, and I did not like Zacarias at all! The common theme of the Carpathian males are that they are overbearing and have over protectiveness issues but Zacarias went way beyond overbearing and straight into abusive. I found his first attack on Marguarita to be overly brutal for "just teaching her a lesson" and even after he supposedly begins to fall in love with her whenever she goes against his wishes his immediate reaction is to physically harm show more her and brutalize her. Even when he finally brings her fully into the Carpathian world it isn't an action of a man in love and wanting to be with his lifemate. It's a pissed off guy who wants to teach his "woman" a lesson and show her what happens when she tries to think for herself and make her own decisions.

The worst part was that Marguarita just sucks it all up and says it's her mission to "save" him and it's not really that he's attacking her. Ummm, hello?! He brutally takes your blood to teach you a lesson, throws you against a wall because you did something he didn't like and basically kills you in a temper tantrum without a care for what you really want. That's not a lifemate to me, that's an abusive spouse you are stuck with for all eternity.

What really kept me reading was the fact that I've missed the last few books and was trying to catch up on what was going on in general with the Carpathian race and the war against the vampires. I really need to go catch up on the series since it sounds like a lot of interesting things have happened. The other motive was thinking that Zacarias had to have some sort of redeeming trait and Marguarita was going to grow a spine and tell him to shape up.

And I can't end this review without mentioning I will be a happy person if I never have to read the line "sun scorch you, woman" again. Ugh, for awhile there it felt like Zacarias was saying that every other page. So all in all I couldn't really stand the characters but apparently a lot has been going on in the Carpathian world so this book did peak my interest to go back and read the older ones. show less

Zacarias De La Cruz is a Carpathian, one who is a creature of the night, feeds off blood and is a shapeshifter. Those of his race that succumb to the evil of killing when they feed become the hated vampire and the prey of the hunter Zacarias. A hunter who has not found his lifemate must struggle everyday not to turn into that which he hunts. Zacarias has been a hunter for over a 1,000 years and has put aside the notion of ever finding a mate. Those with no mate lose the ability to see in color and they lose all emotions. Zacarias has lost those things even younger than any other Carpathian. All that has kept him going for a millennia is his honor and the fact he needed to be sure his four brothers and his Prince were safe.

Now that his show more brothers have all found their lifemates and there are many capable hunters to keep the Prince safe he has decided to end his life in honor instead of embracing the shadows on his soul and forcing his brothers to hunt him. He heads to his ranch in South America in time to meet the sun, but a woman intervenes and saves him.

Marguarita Fernandez has served the De La Cruz family her whole life. A few months before the start of Dark Predator she is attacked by a vampire and refuses to give up the De La Cruz’s resting place, so the vampire rips out her vocal cords. Before she can bleed to death Zacarias arrives and saves her life. Now, he has returned and she feels compelled to save him from himself.

After 22 books of the Carpathians I wondered how Christine Feehan was going to write this one since we saw very little of Zacarias in any of the other books. I really liked the character development of Zacarias and the fact that Marguarita couldn’t speak. Zacaraias is touched by shadows and is disconnected from his emotions. That makes him an excellent hunter, but a not very good mate. Luckily, Marguarita is a psychic and can touch those that are wild, mostly animals, but Zacarias counts. She can sense the emotions that he thinks aren’t there and helps him.

The bad thing about this book is the repetition. I lost track of how many times Zacarias thought about the shadows on his soul, how he had no emotions, how he was a solitary hunter and how his erection around Marguarita was ‘heavy’.

I loved the story itself and how the characters were flawed yet managed to be whole when together, but the constant repetition and reiteration drove me near insane. Ms. Feehan did this early on in the series and looked to have gotten it under control in the last books, but this newest book was, I believe, the worst offender so far. show less

I enjoyed this a bit more than Dark Peril, but it still wasn't a 5 star read for me. It waffled for a while in the middle third. It needed some action or friction (or both!)... Very innocuous spoiler: And I had a believability issue in that Marguerita is SO forgiving, no matter what bossy-pants Zacariah threw at her. (Not even on my best behaviour and totally in love, could I put up with those antics).

...But I still love the series.

In the nineteenth book of the Dark/Carpathian series, Marguarita Fernandez has lived all her life in service to the De La Cruz family. Her family runs one of the brothers’ ranches in Brazil, and she knows all about Carpathians. She met Zacarias a few months earlier when he saved her life after a vampire attack that left her mute, and now she finds him in a field, ready to meet the sun. Instead of letting him die, she drags him inside her house and protects him even though he’s telepathically threatening her with retribution.
Zacarias De La Cruz is very close to turning vampire, but refused to end his life until his four brothers found their lifemates. Now, he’s free to die with honor but never expected a human woman to upend his show more plans.
Zacarias treated Marguarita deplorably, but it made sense. He’s suffering from extreme PTSD and was justifiably furious at Marguarita for saving his life. However, he never should’ve flung her across the room, viciously fed from her, frightened and insulted her, and punished her in other ways. He acted so horribly because he was losing control of himself and feared he would become a vampire capable of slaughtering his brothers and countless other people. He was portrayed as cold and heartless in the other books, and that characterization continued in this one.
Darkness has always run strong in his family, so much so that he didn’t recognize Margaurita as his lifemate even when he psychically spoke to her or drank her blood. That’s basically unheard of for a Carpathian male, but for one very close to turning, the lifemate bond doesn’t work as well as it should. A female lifemate is supposed to permanently restore emotions and color to a male, but Zacarias loses his emotions and can no longer see in color when he is far away from Marguarita and when their minds are closed to one another.
Marguarita was naturally submissive and wanted someone to boss her around, but her tendencies to obey so easily definitely made her a doormat. She knew Zacarias needed to be in control of her and their relationship for his own sanity, so she submitted and rarely stood up for herself. Throughout the story, she did become more assertive in matters of grave importance, and he learned to ask and accept her opinion even if it differed from his. While I liked that, it still seemed too little too late.
This story focused more on the H/h’s relationship than on secondary characters and subplots, as per usual. There’s no set up for the next book in the series.
For the most part, I like description and flowery language, but everything was so detailed and repetitive that it took me out of the story. Zacarias was constantly thinking and saying how dark and obsessive he was that it became tiresome. Also, there were a few typos.
Anyway, I think Zacarias was portrayed accurately for his character, but I just couldn’t relate to him or to Marguarita.
3 Stars show less

Being one of the most deadly and successful vampire hunters of the Carpathian race, after so many centuries of gray, Zacarias De La Cruz decided to greet the morning sun. Choosing the De La Cruz Peruvian Ranch, he headed there and prepared himself with his final vision. As a member of the De La Cruz ranch, Marguarita Fernandez knew what the brothers were, seeing Zacarias laying on the ground at sunrise scared her into action. Getting him covered and out of the sun was her first priority, later she would deal with the consequences of going against his orders. The drive to save him was so strong she felt she couldn’t do anything else. Facing down a vampire had not been as scary as defying Zacarias, but that is what she simply had to show more do.

Book 22 ….. The strongest, most feared of the De La Cruz family, I was really looking forward to this one and was not disappointed. Could not put ‘Dark Predator’ down. The strength and courage Marguarita had in facing everything that she faced, and then to face off with Zacarias. One of the reasons I enjoy the Carpathian series is that most of the women show just as much, if not more, courage than the men do. The great Carpathian men are suppose to be strong, finding a woman to take them on is fun to watch. Defiantly a great addition to the series . Have to wait another year to see if we get another story, I really hope so. show less