Dark Secret (The Carpathians (Dark) Series - Book 12)

This book is very interesting, exciting, and romantic. The characters are well developed. The author is very descriptive, the dialog is easy to read and at time humorous. I'm trying to read the entire "Dark Series". Fantastic!

I love Christine Feehans Carpathian series! There isn't 1 book in this series that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. I am finished with all the series and I hope there's more comming. I liked Raphael ALOT! Very good read!

Colby Jansen is determined that the Chevez family will not take her brother and sister back to the family compound in Brazil. Armando Chevez left the ranch to his children and she is determined to see that his wishes are carried out. Juan and Julio Chevez have brought Rafael De La Cruz with them. He is an ancient Carpathian on the verge of turning into a vampire when he notices colors and feelings and recognizes that Colby is his lifemate. She is stubborn and independent and has no intention of being anyone’s lifemate. Rafael has his hands full in getting Colby to see things his way.

I love Christine Feehans books but the Romance was missing in this one & it is my lease favorite so far. I did not feel like Rafael cared if Colby fell in Love with him or not he was just going to take her anyway. When she wanted him to be more gentle he told her he knew her better than she knew herself and kept being rough with her. Yuck! I was really turned off by that! There was too much going on with the brother being attacked by a Vampire and then attacking Colby over and over again. I read thru that as fast as possible as the book got hard to get thru around that point. I did like the fact that Vikirnoff was in this book and I am all excited about reading his story which I hope will have more Romance and a girl with some backbone who can earn his love & respect. I will put this one on my shelf with all my others and keep it but it will not be one I will read over and over like the other Feehan books. 3 Stars because I liked her secondary Carpathian characters and the fact that she put just enough of them in this book to make me buy the next one that comes out.

This was the first and last Christine Feehan novel for me. The cover should have warned me that I wasn't going to enjoy the book. The cover model wasn't sexy enough or menacing looking.

My main problem with the book, however, is the author's complete lack of creativity in describing the characters, especially Rafael. By about page 40, I was thinking that if I read one more time about how menacing he was, how darkly magnetic his eyes were, or how he exuded raw sexuality and power I was going to scream. I also agree with another reviewer that Colby's character got old real quick. I like strong heroines who give the men a run for their money. Colby started out that way, but became the typical damsel in distress.

If you want rough, graphic sexual scenes, however, this is the book for you. That was the best part of the book at the beginning, and I did find myself getting caught in the sexual fantasy, but even that got old midway through the book.

If you really want to read about a strong heroine, read one of Brenda Joyce's old novels, "A Scandalous Love."

I have read every novel by Christine Feehan and have for the most part enjoyed them, not to say that I hated this novel, but "Dark Secret" showed me something that was apparently there all the time and I refused to see, "Lifemates are given no choice and they are generally taken against their will".

While the Carpathian male proclaims that it is his duty to protect his Lifemate and see to her happiness/well being, who protects the Lifemate against such a predator? What if she can protect herself and can make her own happiness? The reality of it is that he needs her more than she needs him.

Although I usually love the dominant Carpathian males in Ms. Feehan's novels, I had some serious issues with Rafael in "Dark Secret", in particular his raping Colby, and no matter how you cut it, it was rape. Rafael is the first Carpathian I truly didn't like throughout the story and my opinion of him hasn't changed. Although Colby has had to work hard to provide for her siblings and as difficult as it would have been, Colby would have managed without Rafael's entrance into her life.

When looking back on the series as a whole, Rafael wasn't the first Carpathian male to do what he did to an unsuspecting female who has given color/emotions back to a Carpathian male.

I am fully aware these stories are completely fantasy and that the Carpathian male must find his Lifemate in order survive becoming the vampire but it's almost like saying "I'm going to live no matter what the consequences are to you and I will MAKE you go along with the program no matter what you think/feel/do, I KNOW what is best for you".

Although there may have been other instances, I can only recall "Dark Symphony" where the Carpathian male, Byron actually gave Lifemate, Antonietta the choice as to whether she wanted to become a part of the Carpathian world. Byron resisted his nature of taking the control away from Antonietta because he wanted her just as she was no matter the cost to himself. Antonietta made that choice to be with him in all ways. Although many of you did not care for Byron's character, I respected him, as he actually did what was good for his Lifemate and not what was necessary to his well-being.

Unless there is instance where the Lifemate life were in jeopardy or death was imminent as in "Dark Gold" where Alexandria was bitten by a vampire and was destined to become a vampire, until Aidan intervened, conversion into the Carpathian world should still not be accomplished less she, the Lifemate consents.

After much consideration on my part, after having read "Dark Secret", I've decided to take a break from Ms. Feehan's Carpathian series as it appears I'm experiencing a problem with the fact that all Lifemates are portrayed as subservient to their male counterparts, no matter how smart or powerful she is in her own right. As in every novel, it is the male who controls all.

Maybe these novels are not what I need at this time as "Dark Secret" left a really bad taste in my mouth and I'm not certain I can rid myself of it anytime soon.

This is probably not a book for die hard romantics but it is very hot.

I personally loved the caveman personality of the Carpathian, Raphael - it seemed somehow more convincing to me. A true, earthy, predator without the veneer of civilisation. And whilst not a gentleman, he struggles to overcome his inherent nature to meet his lifemate half way.

Colby was a tad annoying however - repeatedly demanding her independence when very real and proven danger threatened her and her young dependents.

My carpathian faves are Darius and Tempest and Byron and Antoinetta - so if you really liked those, you will probably like this too.

Rancher Colby Jansen demands that Juan and Julio Chevez leave her spread immediately and that she will never hand over her young step-siblings to them as they command. She detests the Chevez family for not responding to the request of her "adoptive dad" who never adopted her. He wanted to end his estrangement with his sons their nut they never went to see him before he died. They conveniently show up to take the blood members back with them to Brazil except for Colby who they believe is tainted since her mom never married her biological Chavez father.

Accompanying the Chevez males is Carpathian siblings Nicholas and Rafael De La Cruz. They are both shocked that this slight female mortal can block their mental attacks although she does get headaches from doing so. Rafael is stunned when he realizes that the feisty American is his soulmate that he has waited centuries to find. She refuses to have anything to do with him as long as he is on the side of her enemies, which loyalty demands he must be. As Rafael struggles to persuade his beloved they belong together, someone is stealing her equipment, vandalizing her machinery and escalating the assault on Colby, which her beloved will not tolerate.

DARK SECRET is a refreshing Carpathian tale that uses a different location to tell an entertaining story. Colby is a courageous mortal refusing to allow any harm to her step-siblings while battling against impossible odds. Her counterpart Rafael is typical of the Feehan alpha male, but knows he has met his perfect match in the feisty American. With a strong support group that further brings out the personalities of the lead couple especially during the war of words and attrition, fans of the series will enjoy this fine gender battle.

Harriet Klausner

Hey, Colby isn't Anita Blake...& Rafael isn't human. Colby is a hybrid, which makes her "different" than most humans. She has the racial memories that cause her to want the Carpathian quilt, the psychic abilities that her human half-siblings don't share. Carpathian mating rituals are obviously more animalistic than human, and the author wants to convey this to the reader. Rafael is the alpha male to Colby's alpha female role. The female Carpathian, which Colby becomes after her conversion, is the sole recipient of her lifemate's sexual advances. If ever a final Carpathian novel is written, the "Prince" will be replaced with a "Queen." Probably Desari, but Colby will be her right-hand gal. & the males? Well, they can still hunt the vampire, but we all know their real role is to amuse the gals at night!

This is the latest installment in her Dark series.

Riordan our hunky hero is trapped inside a volcano with a very old and wicked vampire. They have been there for 500 years.

Juliette our beautiful and gutsy heroine has an affinity with the volcano that goes back generations. She doesn't understand why she has to get to the top of the volcano before it erupts but is determined to get there.

The first half of the book is intense, dark and brooding. The second half is action, adventure and romance.

We do get some answers to the ongoing Carpathian problems.

If you are a fan of these books I recommend you read this one. If you are new to the series read them in order or you will get confused.

I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

After reading the various reviews here, I was very hesitant to pick up this book. I have read this entire series, multiple times. After reading about how agressive and even brutal Rafael was, well, I wasn't looking forward to reading this new addition. However, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I can see how some would think that Rafael was too forceful, too aggressive; however, I do not think Rafael's character is any less dominant than Gregori's (Dark Magic). While some reviews indicated Rafael basically raped Colby, I do not think that is true. I thought the book dealt well with both characters and their struggles to understand their feelings and how their lives were changing. CF did focus on Rafael's struggle to understand why Colby repeatedly withdrew from him emotionally. He recognized that he was the dominant in their sexual relationship but that he had to come to an understanding regarding the independent, intelligent woman Colby was. A woman who was used to making her own decisions in all aspects of her life. Whereas some of the other Dark books dealt strongly with the vampire conflicts, this book really focused more on the two characters and the conflict between emotions and independence. I would highly recommend reading the series from the beginning before reading this one as it is darker and the male is more dominant than in other books.

This book is not Feehan's typical warm, passionate, protective story line. Here we have a Carpathian who, along with his brothers, is obviously raised apart from other Carpathians. You definitely get the sense that this guys is on the verge of a total loss of control and there are scenes in here that made me squirm uncomfortably because they were on the verge of force and without Colby's consent. It's not the kind of easy reading, comfortable romance I was used to. However, the saving grace is that the Carpathian will come around. You just have to stick to it and trust Feehan not to cross that line. If you ever wondered what a Carpathian would be like if he didn't have the support of others helping him understand what he's going through, this is the book for you. It's exciting and passionate, if a bit disturbing in the beginning. Feehan weaves a spectacular battle into the storyline the likes of which I have seldom seen. Consider this a rollercoaster romance, a thriller, and a wild ride.