Dark Magic

In the fourth book of the Dark/Carpathian series, Savannah Dubrinsky is a world-famous magician. She a Carpathian—a species of psychic people who survive off blood and walk in the night—but she rejects her heritage and the powerful man destiny has chosen for her. When her lifemate finally comes for her, Savannah’s life turns upside down.
Gregori is the healer of the Carpathian people and the most feared individual among them. He walks a fine line, always on the edge of madness. He needs the one woman who completes him and can shine light into his dark, dangerous life, but Savannah is terrified of him. Still, without her, he either has to walk into the sun and die, or lose his soul and become a vicious vampire. Gregori claims her show more for his own, but he has a terrible secret, a sin he committed in his past to tie Savannah to him, and he believes the truth will tear her away from him forever.
I’ve always liked the cold, stoic Gregori in the books that take place before and after this one (I’ve read most of the series), but I find Gregori hard to handle in his own story. I understand and sympathize with the horrible life he’s led and the eternal emptiness he’s felt, but his treatment of Savannah, especially the first time they slept together, is inexcusable. Most of the Carpathian men are alphas and all are determined to protect their women, but Gregori’s possessiveness and need to control everything Savannah does, even for her own good, is unsettling. Savannah is determined to live her life as she pleases, despite his mandates, but by midway through the book, she willingly falls under his thumb.
It’s weird Gregori’s last name of Daratranznoff wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the book.
The best part, however, is the introduction of Gary, the human scientist who befriends Gregori and Savannah. He’s one of my favorite characters in the series, and I love seeing him grow and adapt as the series progresses.
Though I like the compelling storytelling, I was sometimes confused since the author jumps from one POV to another in the same chapter and even in the same paragraph at times. The language is verbose with detailed description of scenery and emotions, but I’ve always preferred too much description rather than too little.
While this book isn’t one of my favorites in the series, I like Gregori and Savannah as a couple once he finally learns to loosen up. This book leads right up to the next book, Julian’s story, and I absolutely love that one.
3 Stars show less

Well....ahem. This book suffers from the same flaws as Dark Prince: the writing is too soppy, the same phrases are repeated too often, and falling into the romance genre failure (over dramatization.) But, BUT, this book is a treat. I had a soft spot in my heart for Dark Prince and its characters. When Gregori, the Dark One, appeared at the end I was intrigued. When skimming for other books in this series, I was glued to the back covers, wanting not to read in order, but the read the one telling his story. Finally this is it, and I'm glad to say I'm not disappointed.

I guess I love bad boys, Gregori keeps my heart fluttering. Mikhail was tall, handsome, and dark, and Gregori is even darker and more authoritative. His overly domineering show more ways would get on a woman's nerves, but you see a side of him here that really made my heart reach out to him. His power and strength are a major turn-on. The heroine Savannah is adorable, has a wickedly teasing personality, inner strength, and the right amount of hesitancy (always an erotic touch.) So yep, another case of the characters making the book find a permanent place in my head.

I have to give Kudos to Feehan for something else as well. A minor character, a friend of Savannah's, dies at the beginning of the novel. Typically movies and books grieve at first, then never mention the poor sap again. Or they do bring it up at the end as a point, not with feeling. Here Savannah grieves realistically, not 'getting over it' overnight. I loved that! She wasn't mopey or whiney about it, but it came across very convincing. The more genuine the emotion, the better.

The continuation of the human vampire hunters was welcomed, as was the villain. Kept a mystery until the end, the swamp tale was creatively disturbing. I grew a bond with the new human character and hope he returns as well, as his personality was beyond endearing. The final pages were heartwarming and inspiring.

It is true that there is a formula each book follows, but the personal story told here was one I actually care about. Could I choose between Dark Prince or Dark Magic? Nope, it's impossible. They're both great in their own rights. show less

First, trigger warning for sexual violence - there is a rape in this book, and it's not pretty.

If you fully accept Carpathians as being non-human, then you'll see this as a near-epic-level tragedy overcome through will and compassion, and it's fantastic. If you have trouble with the concept of non-human characters, then you're going hate how this turns out. There's really no in-between. Either you get it, or you don't.

Savannah's got a lot of personality, and she's very naive, but she's not stupid. Gregori proves himself to be adaptable, compassionate, and unfailingly loyal - one of the better characters in the series, really.

Gary Jansen is introduced in this book, and he's an important character. There're plenty of gross and scary show more vampire fights going on.

This is Gregori and Savannah's story. show less

At last, we get Gregori’s book. Most readers who started the Carpathian series at the beginning with Dark Prince, have been waiting for our ancient warrior to get his happily ever after –and with Dark Magic, the wait is over. We only had to wait four books. And for me, the wait was worth it.

Gregori is one of the oldest and the deadliest of Carpathian men. As with all the men of his kind, he lost the ability to feel emotions and see in color when he turned 200. He’s nearly a thousand now. And he is dangerously close to losing his honor and becoming the evil vampire he hunts. All vampires were Carpathians to begin with: they all drink blood; can use telepathy; shapeshift; and must avoid the sun. But Carpathian men who give up hope show more of salvation, of finding their lifemate, embrace evil and become the beast that is the vampire.

Gregori has found his lifemate. She is Savannah, daughter to his best friend, Mikhail. She is a magician who has left the Carpathian Mountains of Romania to seek her independence. Gregori had come to her when she was 18, but she was not ready to be with him. She begged him for time and he gave her five years. These years have been very difficult for him. So difficult, that when they are finally reunited, he is almost more beast than man. He spirits her away to his lair and “claims” her. Savannah is very attracted to Gregori, but the act between them is far from gentle. She thinks him a monster, until she allows herself to use the telepathy of her people and see inside his mind.

Gregori is a tortured soul. He believes himself to be the monster she has branded him. But he loves her; he needs her. He doesn’t think he deserves her; especially because he thinks he tampered with nature and somehow forced her to become his lifemate while her mother carried her in the womb. Savannah begins to soften toward Gregori as she sees the ways he is fragile. And she realizes that despite his strengths and dominating ways, she has much power, simply because of his feelings for her.
The pair leave San Fransisco and head to New Orleans, where they take up residence. They quickly run into trouble with a ring of vampire hunters who are, ironically, led by a vampire. While raiding a safe house for our hunters, they find Gary Jansen, a scientist and true-believer, who they quickly befriend. He becomes Gregori’s first human friend, and goes on to become a reoccurring character in the series.

Gregori is very old and has some old ideas. He is stubborn and overbearing. But he is also very sympathetic. He loves Savannah so completely. And their love scenes are very, very hot.

Like all of these books, there is a little repetition with the language. We get several reminders that Gregori is “the Dark One.” And our standard reminder that he is “sensual with a hint of cruelty.” The only problem I had with this book is the first love scene between the two which…..well I won’t get into it, but it struck a nerve with me. I found that while I loved Savannah, for some reason I just couldn’t get past that scene with Gregori and wasn’t overly fond of him, even by the end of the book. The book is still a page turner and the action in it keeps it going. Poor Gregori will soon find his hands full with his mate and that was definitely something that kept me going with the read.

Give this book 4 out of 5 stars. show less

The Dark One, Gregori knew his time was running short and he needed a lifemate. He believed he had the power to force the daughter of the Prince to become his lifemate but when she asked for a few years of freedom, he could do nothing else but let her go. Savannah Dubrinski may have been the daughter of a powerful ancient, she knows the basics about being Carpathian, but she never really understood the life of the male Carpathian until Gregori, the most scary of all males, claimed he could wait no longer before claiming her as his lifemate. Spending time with the humans in America had given Savannah a new way of life that she enjoyed the problem was if she could find a way to get her way mix with his way to make them both happy.

Book 4 show more ….. Back to the basics, this is almost as good as ‘Dark Prince’. I love the ancients, they are strong, set in their ways, and knowledgeable. Watching them go from cold and dark to the warm light, is always interesting. Gregori specifically, he had given Mikhail and Aidan such a rough time about controlling their lifemates, I found myself laughing at him in all his frustrations. I normally like to see other Carpathians in the story, but this one doesn’t have anyone else, they talked about Julian (set up for the next book I think) but I was ok with it just being Gregori and Savannah and their human friends like Gary. I hope that just because Gregori has his lifemate, doesn’t mean we wont see him again, he is and has been one of my favorites, his stern ways, his certainty of right and wrong. show less

Finally, the book that's given me nothing but heartache (in a good way,) Dark Magic by Christine Feehan. I have been anxious to read this one since I began the series back at the beginning of the year. This is the fourth book in Feehan's Dark Carpathian series, and the (long awaited) story of Gregori and Savannah.

Savannah is the daughter of Mikhail, the prince of the Carpathians, and his lifemate Raven (for their amazing story see the first book in the series, Dark Prince.) When she learned of her destiny, Savannah fled the safety of her home in the Carpathian Mountains and traveled to America where she became a world-famous magician capable of mesmerizing illusions.

Gregori, the dark one, the name whispered by Carpathians and vampires show more alike, is destined to be Savannah's lifemate. He is the legendary hunter of their people and an extraordinary healer. The most powerful of all Carpathians, Gregori is a hard man. He has suffered more than any other Carpathian for he is called upon to dispense justice and all of that killing has taken a terrible toll. His own people fear him and the immense power he possesses.

Savannah was born to be Gregori's lifemate, a terrifying thought for one so young. More than anything, Savannah desires her own independence and the freedom of her own choices. Gregori has given Savannah five years of much needed freedom, but at what cost to his very soul? He has lived for centuries, and without his lifemate, the light to his darkness, he will become a most dangerous monster.

Now the vow he has made to her is at an end and so is his control. He is very close to turning and is now unable to seek the dawn to kill himself. He knows how incredibly powerful he is; knows that there is no one who could defeat him. Not Mikhail, Aidan or even Julian could hope to destroy him. He knows that if he turns, he will tear the world apart. Gregori can no longer trust himself and seizes Savannah. But it is too late?

Having her presence near him sends him toppling over the edge. The struggle between the man who has struggled with insurmountable darkness for endless centuries, and his beast is truly amazing. Savannah merges her mind with his and "feels" the suffering he has endured for her. For the first time, she understands Gregori's plight. The five years of freedom he has given her have been horrible for him to endure. She recognizes that it is her fear and young age that have brought so powerful a man to such a pitiful, horrible state, and she is consumed with guilt. She reaches out to him despite her fear and in her total acceptance of him, he finds control over the beast.

Together, they must learn to live in each other's worlds. Gregori must "allow" (as he so presumptuously puts it) Savannah freedom to walk among mortals and to make her own choices, and Savannah must learn that Gregori only wants what is best for the two of them (even if he has a somewhat pushy way of showing it!)

This was a great story and I am looking forward to book #5, Dark Challenge. show less

Da un personaggio come Gregori non mi aspettavo assolutamente niente di meno.
Fantastico anche il personaggio di Gary, l'umano che riesce ad entrare nelle simpatie del Tenebroso cacciatore.
Savannah è un personaggio un po' particolare, il cambio di vedute - improvvise - da amante della libertà ed indipendenza che non vuole vedere Gregori neanche scritto e da lontano, a compagna docile - benchè irriverente e frizzante - è troppo repentino. Leggemente forzato.

Ad ogni modo è, a mio avviso, uno dei migliori romanzi, assieme al primo, di questa serie "Dark". Squisito.