In the fifth book of the Dark/Carpathian series, Julian Savage is a Carpathian warrior ready to seek the dawn and end his life. After committing a heartbreaking mistake in his childhood, he’s lived centuries in solitude and avoided the people of his race, especially his twin brother Aiden, and he cannot bear the bleakness of his lonely world any longer. He just has one last task to complete and then he’ll be free, but finding his lifemate alters his plans.
Desari is in danger from vampires and fanatical human vampire hunters alike, but she and her close-knit family unit are prepared for anything, except for Julian. He saves her life from the hunters and binds her soul to his, but she doesn’t understand the concept of lifemates or what it truly means to be Carpathian. She and her hodge-podge family have lived together for centuries away from their homeland, never knowing the history and customs of their people. They’re traveling musicians, and performing is the only thing that keeps the family focused and together. Desari’s voice is magic, but she inadvertently draws attention from murderous vampires just by being a woman.
Julian and Desari are strong, likeable characters. He’s arrogant and controlling to a fault, but smart enough to back off and to admit when he’s wrong. Desari is full of light and love, never having lost her emotions and sense of color as the males of the species do. She’s strong in the face of adversity, which is mainly her overprotective lifemate Julian and her overbearing brother Darius, and stands up for what she needs and believes in. She makes Julian into a better man.
I adore the secondary characters (Darius, Dayan, Barack, and Syndil). Darius in particular is amazing and perhaps ever stronger than Julian, and his book is one of my favorites in the series. The drama between Barack and Syndil makes for an interesting subplot, which is further developed in Darius’s book.
Though I liked this story, the head hopping sometimes led to confusion, and I had to reread passages to understand who was thinking/talking. There’s lots of repetition, mostly Julian reiterating the same thing to Desari. The story mostly takes place in woodsy forest areas and in various music venues, and the scenery is always well described and breathtaking.
4 Stars ( )

Not bad individually, but they all read about the same ( )

Julian Savage is powerful hunter for his people, the Carpathians. He expertly hunts vampires, the undead, who torture and kill his people as well as humans. He has had to live a solitary life, sometimes even hunting down old friends who turned vampire. But he does his duty, without fail. Separated from family, totally alone, he finally finds his lifemate. Their new relationship is only part of the story - someone is out to hunt down Desari and Julian must protect her at all costs while dealing with her family and an enemy from his troublesome past. A story about love, peace, renewal and forgiveness. A story about learning, trusting, sacrifice and honor, not only for your mate, but for your family. I highly recommenf this entire series beginning with "Dark Prince". ( )

What stands out most in this book is Julian's sense of humor, and Desari's common sense. So many of the female lifemates in the series have been portrayed as not having a lick of sense, so it's a refreshing surprise when we get one who's old, powerful, and practical, and willing to put her man in his place when he needs it.

This makes it one of the better books in the series. It's also important to the series, as this is the Dark Troubadors' introduction, and we get to see elder Carpathian females.

This is Julian Savage and Desari's story, and it's worth not skipping. ( )

I heard a lot of things I don't remember when I first read the book, so I'm glad I listed to it again. ( )