Dark Slayer

I think I will have to admit defeat with the Carpathian series. I want to like them, really I do - the world buiding is fantastic, the premises usually great, sweeping romance, plenty of action - but I just can't because the writing is so repetitive and I end up stalled, rolling my eyes and skimming - which I hate to do.Every other chapter or so in Dark Slayer the entire story of what happened to Ivory is repeated, and then the story of what happened to Razvan after he is introduced and everytime Razvan thinks about his sister we get the story of why she distrusts him again. There are more incidences where the same story, dialogue or motivation is repeated - no new information, or a new perpective, just repetition and it drove me show more nuts.The repetiveness is evident in other books also, as well as the obsession with a 101 ways to describe - in Dark Slayer its dirt - in others its dark eyes, or auburn hair. I was really hoping that Dark Slayer would be different - the plot certainly is and there are some wonderful moments but I have to give up and accept that I will never be able to see past my irritation to enjoy the series. show less

This is one of those series which may have gone on too long. The author is beginning to add more and more magical elements/character types. I like the series and have read all of them and don't suppose I'll quit but I hope there doesn't start being elves and demons and Greek gods and stuff.

Okay this book. I liked it pretty well. It has a strong heroine and Razvan is a great tortured hero. I really enjoyed seeing him get a story as I had suspected in earlier books that he wasn't as evil as portrayed. I didn't like the magical wolves so much. I think it's because that element came out of the blue for me. It wasn't set up anywhere else in the series that I can remember. It falls into my afore mentioned pet peeve of "oh! and there are show more wolves that turn into clothing! oh and demons and unicorns!"

The story other than that type of quibble is good. The writing well done and the love story is touching.

Oh and I remember when the artist came to paint me for the front cover of the novel. I totally look like that. :-D show less

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 show more 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. show less

Christine Feehan decided to give us an atypical leading manand it is just as well because leading lady, vampire slayer Ivory Malinov, is an atypical leading lady as well and wouldn't have fit as well with some of the more dominating and arrogant of the Carpathians. And another part of what made this offering so good was that that she gave us a starring pair who have both had enough pain and suffering in their interesting backstories, and in their experiences with family members turning to the darkside, to add greater depth to both of the characters and their relationship.

Instead, another legend of the Carpathians: Ivory the presumed-dead sister of the evil Brother Malinov stumbles across Razvans' body after a lengthy battle with show more vampires.

Hundreds of years earlier, Ivory was attacked and cut into pieces when she was betrayed to vampires by Zavier. Happily for Ivory, the vampires neglected to remove her heart...so the pieces of her body lay in a field while wolves chewed into her legs and arms. Ivory manages to put herself back together with the help of Mother Earth and, after lying in the earth for three hundred years Ivory begins her dreadful life's mission to eradicate the evil Zavier by unraveling his spells and fighting vampires. She becomes another legend, the Dark Slayer.

Seeing Razvan's crumpled body causes her great pain because she never dreamed of family or children. She was always alone except for the wolves she saved from death by sharing her blood and converting them to Carpathians. Yet, she recognizes Razvan's importance to her...because he is the other half of her soul.

I have been a huge fan of this series ever since the first book, "Dark Prince." 5 stars for an entertaining and facinating read. show less

Controlled for a seeming eternity by an evil mage and made to wreak unimaginable horrors on those he loves, the only solace Razavan seeks upon his escape is to die in the arms of the rising sun. Ivory is a legendary Carpathian huntress of vampires, brutally dismembered centuries ago at the behest of an evil mage she roams the night solitary except for the brethren wolves that are now her only family. When Ivory finds Razavan she is amazed to discover he is her lifemate and the only one with the knowledge to help her defeat the evil that has haunted them both.

I know that Ms. Feehan always goes out of her way to gives us characters with unique personalities, something I imagine must be difficult after so many Carpathian stories. However, show more she has really succeeded here. In almost a gender role switch she has given us a female warrior who has strength and great ability and a male Carpathian who is so zen he really seems to stand out. Having read this series from the beginning I was really pleasantly surprised by Razavan who has always been a conflicted character. His actions take on new meaning as we are given his background. In this story the author seems to wrap up some longish plot threads while continuing to dangle enough to keep her series alive for future volumes. As with the most recent of her stories I really enjoy her bringing in the past characters and it is nice that she has them mature and grow over the course of her new stories. Gregori and Mikhail continue to have strong presence in the series and I enjoy their interactions with each other although it seems a shame she has turned Savannah into such a screaming meme. I really enjoyed the wolf pack dimension added in here as well and loved the idea of the tattoos.

Overall this was a very enjoyable entry into the Carpathian drama and I continue to look forward to the next, particularly if it turns out to be Dimitri and Skylar’s story. show less

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 show more 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. show less

In the seventeenth book of the Dark/Carpathian series, Ivory Malinov has been hunting and killing vampires for centuries while searching for the evil mage Xavier. Four vampires had decapitated her and chopped up her body, leaving her for dead, but she miraculously healed. The Carpathian people, including her five brothers and the De La Cruz brothers, believe she is dead. Her brothers are now vampires, and one of them is on the hunt for her. Then she finds an injured Carpathian male a few minutes before sunrise. He plans to kill himself, but she can’t let him do that, especially since she recognizes him as her lifemate.
Razvan is the enemy, an outcast, and hated by his people. He finally escapes his vicious grandfather Xavier after show more centuries of horrific abuse and wants to die. Ivory was the last person he expected to find. For years, Xavier has experimented on Razvan and taken over his mind and body, forcing him to do unthinkable acts to strangers and to his own loved ones. To save his sister Natalya and his daughter Lara, he sacrificed his life and soul, giving himself over to Xavier, but the women never knew of his actions. His only confidants were his aunts Branislava and Tatijana, two powerful Dragonseekers who were just as tortured as he was.
In the previous book, Dark Curse, Razvan was the villain, but it’s later revealed he was forced into doing evil and that he truly loves his sister, daughter, aunts, and his human wife, Shauna. In this book, Shauna isn’t included as a “loved one,” which just didn’t seem right. He’s definitely a beta hero—the first in the series! He’s calm and controlled, not arrogant or demanding. Even though Carpathians aren’t supposed to age or go gray, he has because of his extreme torture. He lets Ivory take the lead and treats her as a partner, not a woman to be coddled.
Ivory is strong, scarred, sometimes overly protective of Razvan, and self-reliant, having lived alone for so long. The role reversals made these characters very likeable and different from previous couples. They complemented each other perfectly.
My favorite scene is at the end when Razvan finally meets two of his daughters, Lara and Skyler, but it was too short. Also, that’s when Ivory meets Nicolas De Le Cruz again, a man she thought of as a beloved brother. This long anticipated reunion should’ve been a whole chapter, not just a few pages.
It was great Mikhail and Gregori accepted Razvan and Ivory pretty easily, realizing they weren’t the enemy, but not all of the hunters and lifemates were as understanding (including Natalya and her man Vikirnoff).
I loved Ivory’s wolf pack. Years earlier, she converted the dying wolves into Carpathians and considers them her family. The wolves can shape-shift, and she sometimes wears them as a coat, which is a surprise to an attacking enemy when they come to her aid.
I was really looking forward to this story, but it just didn’t sit well with me. The H/h are great characters, but the constant chants and the Carpathian language bogged down the story, as did the repetition and extreme detail to little things like dirt. The overall plot just didn’t interest me, which is a shame.
3 Stars show less