Caution there will be mild spoilers...and cursing - A LOT more than normal! Sweet baby Jesus I finally finished this fucking story! (I really wish I knew how to add pictures because I could express my feelings better!)Anyway, now I will explain my ridiculous statement above.This book was cruising along at a 3 star because the heroine was so annoying and I was bored silly with her antics. She never admitted to feelings for Lucian until the last 5-10%. She pushed him away and even went so far as to try to kill herself! Fucking BITCH! I wanted to push her off the cliff myself! I found nothing redeeming in her as a lifemate for Lucian. She was whiney, self absorbed and in denial the entire book. Lucian deserved SO much better! He must have been blinded by the mythical lifemate pussy to put up with her sorry ass. I think he would have been better in the afterlife without having to drag her around as a dead weight into every battle and confrontation. The stupid idiot thinks she can battle vampires?! Made him work doubly hard battling and protecting her selfish stupid ass. Can you feel the love I have for this heroine? But I was STILL willing to give it 3 stars.Then the author did something that I will call "jumping the shark". For those of you too young to remember Happy Days, the episode in which Fonzie jumps a shark is the precursor to the downfall of the show. If you give a shit...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ZGK...So what did Feehan do? She brought Jesus into play. Maybe I am overreacting, but I was livid. Jesus? Really? In a VAMPIRE book?! First, I do not need religion in my vampire novels. Second, this is a VAMPIRE book! Come on! She has run out of all ideas that she now needs to bring Jesus to the table? And the conversation that Lucian had with Jesus prevented him form seeking the dark or turning vampire. Really? Because I read the last book where he tried to get his brother to kill him because he could go on no more and Jesus was never mentioned. At this point I was going to DNF, but I refused to let this book be my Waterloo, my Alamo. So I read on. The ending was ass. Like Lucian, or any Carpathian male, would let a woman participate in a battle with vampires. Bitch, please! I did learn something in the previous 8 books. And it would NEVER happen! Then Lucian, the most powerful Carpathian hunter ever, gets shot by a lowly human that he never even senses? An obvious plot device to try to make the bitch out to be a heroine. Way too late for that shit! Clearly I need another break from these books. I am very upset that the author could not come up with a better story for Lucian. It was an abomination. Why in the hell am I giving it 2 stars? I guess because I finished it and I liked Lucian when he was not being pussy whipped? At this point I do not know.
I get my cop!!!Remember way back in Dark Prince I gave some things I wanted to see? I think I listed 4 separate things, but they were kind of a conglomerate. I wanted a Carpathian woman, and I've gotten that in Francesca - though I had more intended a woman converting a male.Another thing I wanted was a cop. I had imagined it as part of this really vivacious woman, and Jaxon is definitely all that. She's spunky and driven, and mother fucking cop!!Not at all the wait at home kinda gal that puts Carpathian men at ease.Which is why she's pretty awesome for Lucian.So, we know a bit about Lucian from Dark Legend when we meet his twin, Gabriel. We learn a bit more about him here, but the main character is really Jaxon.In Legend, when they're trying to save Lucian, Francesca tells him he has to live for his lifemate, that she's out there and that she needs him. That he might be the only one who can help her.That's true and it's not.See, Jaxon is the daughter of a Navy SEAL. Her father died on a mission and her mother, who was always a bit...delicate, became increasingly depressed. She had a younger brother who she cared for in place of her mother. When she was a kid, her father's best friend asked if she wanted him to marry her mother and be her father. Help take care of her. She loved him, and she was young so she said yes.Only, the guy was a complete and total psycho!He ends up abusing the mom and brother. The only one who can try to control him is Jaxon. She tells others, but no one believes her. Until one day she comes home and he's murdered her family. She's taken in by another family friend who try to adopt her. Until the stepfather kills them.So, Jaxon spends her whole life trying to to be too friendly with people. Trying never to be seen with people in public. Cause every time she does, he shows up and kills them.Jaxon is of course psychic, she knows when things are going to go bad - a really helpful talent for a cop. She ends up in a shootout and almost dies.Lucian saves her, of course.The stepfather obviously doesn't take kindly to Jaxons rich fiancee, and comes after them. One of my favorite things about this one is that the stepfather succeeds! He shoots Lucian and nearly kills him. Jaxon gives him enough blood to save him and he finishes off the psycho stalker.That's what being arrogant gets you. Which is why he is and is not the only one who can save her.She kept telling him the stepdad as a SEAL and no joke.I found this one to be very sweet. I liked that we had a human monster, though the vamps made their appearance, too. I like Jaxon. I like that a Carpathian male has to deal with a woman comfortable with danger.So, what's next?No freakin' clue.
What do You think about Dark Guardian (2002)?
Ahhhh, this was such a great read! Lucian is a fantastic hero and virtually unstoppable. He’s an ancient protector of his race who sacrificed the latter part of his existence to save his brother, Gabriel. I also read, DARK LEGEND, the previous book in the Carpathian series, which is mainly about Gabriel. But Ms. Feehan devoted so much attention to Lucian that by the time I finished it, I couldn’t wait to read Lucian’s story in DARK GUARDIAN. Lucian is probably one of my favorite Carpathians, although I really liked Mikhail in DARK PRINCE. Jax, our heroine, is one tough nut! You don’t mess with her and don’t call her small! Initially, she has a hard time accepting Lucian and who he is (and who wouldn’t), but she comes around in the end. Through Ms. Feehan’s flowing and descriptive style, she eloquently illustrates that there’s a lifemate out there for everyone, some just might have to wait a bit longer than others. I really enjoyed this one.
—T.J. Shaw
Did not care for this one. I didn't like the way the pov switched around. I didn't like that the millenia old European hero called the heroine "honey" even though he was European and really old. There was too much telling for my taste. I also didn't like that the tough as nails heroine almost cries because the hero is kind to a wolf. And I didn't like the parts that read along the lines of "The wedding really was like a fairy tale" or "She realized she trusted him completely because he loved her and would protect her as his woman forever."
—Janeen
The power that Lucian Daratrazanoff could wield was immense, but the power he came by naturally did not help him find the one thing that could make is existence more tolerable. Finding a lifemate was not the difficult part of his newest challenge, it was to convince a human women to become a part of a new existence. Running most of her life from a monster, Jaxon Montgomery was not prepared to find out just what kind of evil creatures really were a part of her world, she had the street smart and special training to survive on her own, she would never be able to really depend on someone else for her safety, or let them try to take care of themselves without her help. Finding that each had a special gift for seeking out the monsters (human and vampire alike), they might be able to strike a balance between the two that allows Jaxx her own way to protect and serve while Lucian still follows his way of dispensing justice.Book 9.…. Amazing how a cookie-cutter series can have such diversity. These stories have given us several powerful ancient Carpathian men and a few human women, all have been the same basic concept that she needs to be converted. The how is the fun part, this one is no different in the story, but the most powerful (to date) ended up being the most gentle, the most compassionate and the most accommodating to his lifemates feelings and wishes. I liked that Lucian had worries of her recriminations over what he had done, but I also liked that he admitted his error in judgment, had to be tough on his ego. These are all such fabulous characters and as always it was nice to hear of some of the others, Gabriel and Francesca, even the Savage twins are mentioned several times. I would have enjoyed more interaction between Jaxx and Gabriel, just because they are the two most important people in Lucian’s life.
—Debbie
