A Carpathian Novel (The 'Dark' Carpathian Book 3)

I am a big fan of Christine Feehan. Even with her other series going overboard on the sex in the last few novels, they were still tolerable and most had a good action ratio.

I didn't like the first two female lead characters in this series and I absolutely hate Alexandria. I understand the change being hard for her but she is so darn whiny and indecisive I had to just scan the majority of the novel.

All three books so far are about the complete control of the female by the male without giving her any choices, which I don't like. This book is the worst of all. Aidan Savage has the potential to be a super sexy and likeable hero, but he is ruined with his constant need for absolute control and domination. Then a 6-year old child is thrown in the mix and it makes him down right disgusting the way he uses the child to get to Alexandria's heart.

This series has great bones, but the way it is executed is horrible. There is so much the author could do with the Dark series. I am going to try the next book because I hear they actually do get better...We shall see.

I really enjoy this series, but I absolutely hated the lead female character in this book. She is stubborn to the point of stupidity and she is so whiny and self-deprecating that I can't stand her. Quite a few times she is extremely willing to die and leave the brother that she supposedly loves behind with the man she views as a monster. How does that make any sense? She absolutely refuses to believe anything that Aidan says about what she has been turned into, and continuously ignores all of his advice that is meant to help her. She is an incredibly weak woman and if Aidan hadn't been there to look after her, she would have died a hundred times thanks to her own stupidity. She refuses to accept her attraction and her feelings for Aidan and purposely taunts him by going out with another man who is nothing but a pompous ass. I get that being turned into Carpathian is shocking and really confusing, but she wants to throw away her entire life just because she can't eat food and can't go out in the sunlight. Not to mention that she basically refuses to actually learn about her new life and chooses to remain ignorant because she can't deal with her new reality. This female character is very disappointing in a series that I really enjoy and I feel really bad for Aidan because he deserves so much better than what he was given. In the first few chapters, Alex was brave and noble when she faced the vampire that kidnapped her and she tried to protect her brother no matter the cost to her, but once she was saved by Aidan she turned into a whiny, childish, petty, weak-willed, and pathetic woman. The female characters in the other books were also stubborn, but they never deliberately tried to kill themselves because they were too weak to deal with their new existence. They may have had trouble accepting their new lives but they were strong and brave while they faced the changes and they didn't have a helpless child depending on them. Alex basically just gives up and throws her brother to the wolves.

I am re reading Dark Gold for about the 5th time and decided it was time for me to do a review. I loved Aiden Savage. What a hot Carpathian. His Lifemate Alxeandria Houton, at times was a bit annoying. While on a job interview with the famous game designer Thomas Ivan she falls victim to the Vampire Paul Yohenstria. Alex had brought her young brother Joshua Houton on the interview with her and left a friendly homeless man name Henry to watch over him while she mets with Thomas Ivan. Alex immediately feels the lure of the vampire and know instinctively that her brother and Henry are in danger. When she attempts to rescue Josh away from the vampire who is luring Josh to him. Alex is attacked the vampire takes her blood. Well she let it happen thinking this would save her brother. Poor Henry has already been viciously murder by what she thinks at the time is a mad man. Paul takes Alex and Josh to his liar a cave setting right off the ocean. He believes Alex is his Lifemate that will save his soul if he converts her to a vampire. Alexandra suffers another viscous attack by the vampire taking her blood, while still in the caves She tell Josh to hide and during the day to try and find away for him to escape. Aiden is an 800 year old Carpathian vampire Hunter with golden hair tall and just too sexy for words. He finds Alexandria & Josh in the captivity of Paul. Aiden destroys the vampire, but he believes that Paul has changed Alex into a vampiress prying on young children He thinks she is hurting Josh instead of protecting him. He starts to kill her when he discovers he is feeling emotions and seeing in colors the things that he would only feel and see when he meets his lifemate.

Aiden and Alex are a good match, but at times Alex gets on my nerves blaming Aiden for turning her into a Carpathian or an immortal. She would have turned anyway becasue Paul the vampire had already started the process of conversion with two complete blood exchanges. I loved all the characters in the book. Marie and Stefan her husband are the humans whose family for generations has provided care & help for Aiden Savage and his brother Julian Savage see "Bk5 Dark Challenge". Josh an 8 year old human boy whose life has been changed becasue of what has happen to his sister, is such a beautiful little boy that brings a lot of depth to the storyline. The Romance is hot an exciting between Aiden and Alex and you begin to see that some of her foolishness is because she is so young. I grew to like her by the end of the story. I Highly Recommend Dark Gold and the entire Dark Series by Christine Feehan my all time favorite Paranormal Romance author. Check out her GhostWalker series, its not about ghosts LOL!! But genetically Engineered Military Men. It is another great Romantic and Highly Sensual Paranormal series by this author.

3-3.5 stars

Well, I really liked just about everything in the story...except Alexandria. Aidan was good and Joshua (Alexandria little brother) was cool, but Alexandria was definitely a TSTL heroine and stayed that was through most of the story.

Alexandria is a very talented artist that wants to get a job with a famous maker of vampire video games. She's pretty desperate for the job because she's raising her 7 year old brother, Joshua, and they really need the money. Alexandria has never dated because she's never found a man that attracted her.

Carpathians are born vampires with other abilities like shape shifting (to any form, even mist), magic spells and psychic powers. The males of the Carpathians have a darkness in them and if they don't find their lifemates, they can loss their souls and become evil. The Carpathians are in dire straights because they don't have many women and the woman that do get pregnant usually give birth to males so their males aren't finding lifemates. Aiden is an ancient of the Carpathians and hunts the men that go evil and start killing humans. Aidan has held on, waiting for his lifemate for centuries and is close to the edge when the story begins.

In previous books, the Carpathians found that human women with psychic abilities can be lifemates to Carpathian males and can safely be transformed to a Carpathian without going nuts. Some of the evil vampires found out about this and this is why they seek out Alexandria (although there's no indication of how they found out about her abilities). Alexandria is at a dinner interview for the job she wants when she's drawn out by a vampire who kills some people and then takes Alexandria and Joshua captive. Alexandria is desperate to find a way for them to escape and they go through a bit of hell at the hands of the vamp. Aidan rescues them but he's as scary as the vampire and even after Aidan have saved them and taken them back to his home, Alexandria was majorly freaked by him and the situation.

Aidan realized that Alexandria is his lifemate and also that she's still in danger from other vampires in the area so he moves her and Joshua in with him while she recovers (with a bit of creative memory repair/replacement for Joshua so he thinks everything is good). The vampire had started transforming Alexandria so Aidan had to continue it and she did not handle it well. TBH, I liked just about everything in this story except Alexandria. She was irrational and over dramatic and thought that ignoring reality would change it to what she wanted. And for someone that supposedly loved her brother so much, she didn't take his needs into account when she was freaking out over her new life. Not to mention, Alexandria tried to go out with another man as part of her denial of reality even though she already knew she was repulsed by his touch. It takes most of the book, but Alexandria does get past her issues and they end the story with a HEA together.

I found this story a combination of enjoyable and frustrating. The whole frustration part lies completely on Alexandria's shoulders because she was a completely TSTL heroine. I mean dam! My eyes are sore from rolling them so many times. Outside of Alexandria I liked the story and is she hadn't been so annoying I'd have easily given it 4 stars. Regardless of my disappointment with the heroine in this story, I do plan to read more of the series. :)

* note - I listened to the audio version of this book that is done by Books In Motion and the narrator was Juanita Parker. Parker did a good job but the audio files weren't the greatest quality. I'm not sure if the quality issue is because the audio files were degraded and it took down the quality or if it was due to something else.

Wonderful. She will do anything to save her brother. He is from another race, tall and a hunk. When she and her little brother are attacked, he swoops in to save her. She is wary of him, having already been attacked before by a vampire (a member of his race that has succumbed to the dark when they think that they will never find their soulmate). Can he keep them both safe from a very determined vampire who wants her back? Will she ever trust him and his race? A stupendous read with great characters and plot that pull you into the story. I first got a hard copy when this first came 5and an so addicted to the series that my copy has fallen apart - hence a digital copy.

Warning: This review will contain spoilers.

Not my favorite. Takes way too long for the female main character, Alex, to come to terms with everything. Even Raven and Shea didn’t take that long to see the differences between vampires and Carpathians, and they also got to know their men while trying to come to terms with what they had become. Alex just refused all of it.

I can understand being frightened after what happened, being scarred by it, but still. Waiting until less than a hundred pages for her to even start accepting Aidan is just way too long.

I have a little journal where I keep my notes of things I don’t like in books and usually, that only takes up one page. This book took up two pages. I can only imagine what will happen when I read Dark Peril, I remember not really liking that book.

Now, instead of giving you all of the bad with the good at the bottom and vise versa, I’m going to try to mix it up. Give you a little bad with a little good.

Before I get into what was up with the characters, there is a little error I would like to point out. In the other books, past and future, it takes three blood exchanges to convert a psychic but in this book, and only this book, it says four blood exchanges.

Good: When Alex wasn’t freaking out and making things more difficult, the teasing and playfulness between Aidan, Alex and Josh was really cute and funny to read.

Bad: Alex, though still recovering from her vampire attack, takes one horrible experience with a vampire and judges the entire Carpathian species, even though Aidan tries to tell her over and over and over again that vampires and Carpathians are different.

Good: I did feel a little bit of a connection between the couple when they would joke with each other.

Bad: The connection never stayed long. Something would end up setting Alex off again.

Good: Josh was an amazing character, so cute. I just wanted to scoop him up and hug him close when something bad happened to him.

Bad: She says he’s confusing her but all he’s doing is explaining what is happening and she refuses to listen.

Good: Gregori continues to steal my heart. Is it bad that I want to scoop him up and hug him close as well? Big bad Carpathian, the biggest baddie so far, and I just want to cuddle him and tell him everything is going to be okay.

Bad: He’s demanding things of her? Like what!? No he’s not! He’s telling her things and she’s refusing to listen! Even when there’s proof to his words, her discomfort and slight pain around the sun, she still doubts him and flings herself out into the sun! Then she focuses on one thing he said in anger, that he could make her his slave. Now, while that is true, he could’ve made her his slave any time, straight from the get go but he didn’t.

Aidan is the only Carpathian male that I have ever read about, in all 28 books, to physically stand by while his lifemate goes out on date and dancing. True, he didn’t make it easy for the men but still, he didn’t really object all that much to her going out.

Is it a good book? Yes, everything except for how Alex acts and how long until the couple actually gets together is great.

3.5 Stars and this is because the hero was amazing. .. Aiden Savage was extraordinary and the most patient loving hero.

The heroine drove me crazy till 70%
I don't really consider this book safe.. Because she wanted to want another man and she actually went out to find a man. She even danced with them. I don't discriminate between hero or heroine when I'm getting mad over ow or om scenes. I do get way more mad when it's the hero but I can guarantee that there is no way this book would have been marked safe if the hero would have been thinking that another woman was attractive and how he wanted to want and make love with any other woman.. But the heroine. So yea it bugged me that the heroine did this. Even though she was fighting the whole mate thing it doesn't make it right. She finally woke up but by then I was really reading for Aiden and the suspense.
Kinda sad for him but.. I do think she was just scared and naive. Still really hoping that my Feehan fans will tell me if there are more books that are not heroine safe. I need both sides to be loyal.

There’s nothing like a good romance about a man who has no emotions suddenly finding himself awash in color, feeling and emotions so strong they confuse yet strengthen him. All because of one special woman.

Ms. Feehan’s Carpathian series have pretty much the same scenario. They’re based on a race that over time, without finding their one true mate, the other half to their soul, they slowly lose the ability to feel emotion or to see color or to have any interest in life at all except for duty, honor and the ingrained need to protect their race, humans and the distant hope of finding the woman who will save them. What makes each and every one unique is the heroine, the circumstances under which they meet and the dangers they must overcome in order to reach their HEA.

Ms. Feehan’s heroes are all alpha. They’re dominant, commanding and expect obedience. The fun part about that is they have to adjust when their woman ends up being a modern, independent thinker who’s been self-reliant for a long time. So, they butt heads. Aiden is a typical Carpathian male. Alexandria is a not so typical human female but independent with a strong will. Those two personality traits are going to save her life, and eventually, Aiden’s.

The story this time around has a few vampire/Carpathian conflicts to spice things up but the bulk of the plot is character driven. Alexandria just can’t accept that the life she knew is over and resents and distrusts the new way of life she now has to learn. For the most part, her concerns are valid. However, the book would have been much shorter if she didn’t have quite so many anxiety attacks after which she backslides and Aiden has to work on getting her to trust him all over again. It got a bit tedious. Also, Ms. Feehan repeats things a lot. I don’t think it’s a filler as much as it is a mantra since I’ve noticed it in her other books in the series. It’s just the way she writes about her Carpathians. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t drive me nuts, it does but I’ve read enough of them to just ignore it. It’s her style. Then again, I mention it so new readers won’t think the author is being lazy by doing that. I don’t think that’s the case at all.

I liked Alexandria’s brother, and Aiden’s housekeepers. They’re good folk who prove pivotal at certain points throughout the novel. I also liked seeing Gregori. There’s a set up here for his romance and HEA coming and that’s one romance story to look forward to. He’s so scary in this book!

Dark Gold was a good read. It’s entertaining, and highly likable. Aiden is sexy once he gets going and Alexandria is a great sister to Joshua. Aiden is very sneaky. I liked that about him. My favorite part was with the crème puffs and the bee. The heroine’s stubbornness eventually becomes an asset to the hero and the happy ever after is complete and satisfying. It’s a fascinating romance and worth recommending to other paranormal romance readers.

originally posted at long and short reviews

6* Christine Feehan is a great writer, and the Dark series is attention getting, you never get tired of rereading, or listening to the audiobooks. If you have not read/listened to any yet, start at the beginning with: DARK PRINCE, and come forward. The Carpathians......mmmm, daydreaming....what was I saying? Anyway, this is a must have series.

Each story can stand alone, but I like watching them change with the times, as the books move the story along. There are funny parts, sad parts, and ummm, those parts too....LOL

Enjoy!

I wanted to begin this 24 book series in the listed order but things happen and plans change so I began with what's available to me. Dark Gold is book number three in this Dark Carpathians series and the second book I've read in the series. Gratefully each book is captivating enough that a cliff hanger ending is not necessary to get you to the next book. What I like most in this series is the fearlessness and devotedness of the male Carpathians to their life mate. Carpathians are similar yet different from vampires and can live for centuries before finding their life mate. After 200 years and not having found the predestined life mate, male Carpathians are sentenced to live in the world without color and without emotion.
In Dark Gold, we journey along with Aiden as he finds his life mate, Alexandria . She is human and possess psychic ability , a much desired trait among Carpathian. Upon finding Alexandria in a near death state, Color and emotion returns to Aiden's life and he recognizes Alexandria to be his life mate; however, she does not recognize him as such. Alexandria has much to learn and even after falling into the hands of an evil vampire, she remains defiant in her ignorance and childish behavior. Her defiance is too protracted and is frustrating. Overall, this series reminds me of the Night Fury Series so hopefully the best is yet to come.

What I like about Christine Feehan is that she does not stick with one mold for each book and her characters. She does stay true the strong dominant male but I love how she changes up her female. I love how she manages to combine Old World Culture with modern romance. Grigori is a complex and charismatic man who is very dominant, Savannah while at first scared and shy she blossoms into a strong woman that is equal to Grigori.

"Dark Gold" is the 3rd book in Christine Feehan's Carpathian series. This book centers on Aidan Savage. He is born of the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. He is 800 years old. Like others of his race, he drinks blood; he can shapeshift; he has telepathic abilities; and he can not go in the sun. Like all Carpathian men, he lost his emotions and his ability to see in color after he turned 200. Those gifts will not return unless he finds his lifemate, the other half of his soul. If he does not find her, he will lead a barren existence, until he chooses to end his life or become vampire, an evil being who kills and inflicts misery on others.

Aidan finds his lifemate, Alexandria, in the clutches of a true vampire. The beast is trying to take her for his own mate. And he has tortured Alex to a point where, when Aidan first sees her, he thinks she is a deranged vampiress and attacks her. Once he realizes his mistake, he gives her his blood to save her life. After his brutal attack, Alex does not see the difference between Aidan and a vampire.

Aidan brings Alex and her young brother (who she is raising) back to his home. He realizes that the vampire had two blood exchanges with her --and his own blood exchange was the third necessary to convert a human woman to Carpathian. The conversion is hard on Alex and she doesn't want it. She fights her attraction to Aidan. She fights becoming Carpathian. It's hard to see her stripped of her choices; her independence ripped away.

Even though Aidan killed the vampire who first kidnapped Alex, another is searching for her, which puts her life in danger. And there is drama in that, but the real issue at the center of the book is her fight against what she has become and her fight against her feelings for Aidan. It takes a long time for her to get past the idea that he is using his telepathic abilities to make her want him, as he pushes his will on her in so many ways. I found I got angry for her many times in the book. As with all the other Carpathian men, Aidan believes his way is always the right way... and with the strength of his abilities, that's a tough pill for Alex (and me) to swallow.

Of course, the sex scenes are pretty hot. That's one thing you can always count on in a Carpathian book. But I think we can start a fairly good drinking game, where you take a shot every time Feehan uses the word "velvet." Everyone will be tanked before we get halfway through the book. Between the velvet sheath, the velvet fist, the velvet tip, the velvet over marble, and velvet voices, we could open a fabric store courtesy of "Dark Gold." If you can overlook that, the love scenes alone make the book a great read.

Despite my issues with bossy Aidan (and of course my rant on "velvet"), I enjoyed this book. It was fun to see the heroine running away from our hero, despite the fact that he is gorgeous, rich and head over heels for her. 4 stars.

The other two before were better. By now you know exactly what is going to happen: dark somewhat evil male is going to fall for a human woman who he converts and then she as a weak stupid inept female will not be able to adapt to the life of a non-vampire Carpathian. Gag. I figured that the author can't seriously keep writing women as so weak and ineffectual. DOn't bother with the book. I couldn't even finish it.

My friend loaned me the entire series as I love all things vampire. At least I thought I did until I started the Dark series. The premise is excellent - the idea of the Carpathians versus the vampires is unique and intriguing and is what initially drew me into these books. However, the author really needs to gets herself a new editor as several people have mentioned - the editing is absolutely apalling. This and repetition of large chunks of back story, phrases and character types make these books inferior to others of this genre.

The third book in the series is simply a repeat of the second which was a repeat of the first. Different characters, same storyline. Perfect, darkly handsome, imperious Carpathian males with "black velvet voices" (if I had a nickel for everytime that phrase was used I could go and live in the Capathian mountains) find lifemates with equally perfect, small waisted, long haired (beyond their hips - I mean who really has hair that long?) human women with gem-colored (fill in the appropriate gemstone) eyes. The Fabio-like men always have a "beast lurking within" inches from the surface just waiting to get out, which basically means they haven't been getting any for several hundred years and a good third of the book will be given over to "steamy, hot sex" (yes, another frequently used phrase) with the woman resisting valiantly until the "liquid heat" overcomes all and she gives in. Resistance is futile - you will be assimilated into the Carpathian lifestyle, like it or not.

My friend tells me that the books do get better. Unfortunately I don't want to waste any more time waiting to find out. I actually quit Dark Gold half way through which is extremely unusual for me; in the 40 years I've been reading adult fiction I have only done this a handful of times. Unlike the women in these novels, I do have the power to say "no"...

Boy, Ms. Feehan just keeps us hooked!!!
In this third installment of the Carpathian series, Ms. Feehan introduces us to Aidan, one of a pair of twins who are also "ancients".
Tremendously powerful, Aidan has chosen to live in San Francisco to hunt the vampires there. He also has a "family", humans who have come with him from Carpathia and lived with him for generations.
Alexandria Houton is living on a shoestring--she's a computer design artist who's got no job, no money, and a six-year-old brother to care for. Just when it looks like her luck might be changing, she witnesses several murders by a deranged, bloodthirsty creature. To make matters worse, he seems to have taken a fancy to her, and carries her off to some cavern where he makes her drink his blood.
Enter Aidan, who mistakes her at first for a vampiress and drains her blood. When he realizes his mistake, it is too late; he has already brought Alex over, and realizes she is his lifemate.
All of a sudden, nothing in Alex's life is the same; she's living with strangers in a strange house, can't be out in the sun, and can't eat anything. For a person used to being in charge of her life, the loss of control is terrifying. Alex is attracted to Aidan, but desperately wants her old life back. Can there be a compromise?
Dark Gold has a much lighter feel to it than its two darker, more primal predecessors. This book has got more of a comedic element, due in part to Aidan's reaction to Alex's persistence in continuing to date.
If you haven't yet read Dark Prince and Dark Desire, you don't know what you're missing. For those who have been following the Carpathian series, you will be happy to know that more info is provided in this book about Gregori and his lifemate, and that his book is the next one to come out, in July.

I've been reading the Dark series by Feehan. I'm starting to have an issue with her heroines. They always seem to put the hero into danger with them whining and defiant natures. I suppose we are supposed to see that as a sign of independence? I find it irritating. Thus far, Alexandria (from Dark Gold) is the most annoying, whining, ungrateful, fussy, nitwitted heroine of them all. It's ruining the series for me. I plan to read the next book in hope that Feehan improves on her moronic heroines. I like all of the heroes and I like the twist on the vampire idea. I preferred the first two books when the characters were in the mountains and the descriptions of being in the forest....just a personal preference. Still, Feehan's heroes are worthy.

Like all of Christine Feehan's books this one is riveting. Her characters are alive and strong. You find yourself emerged in their lives and become involved in their story. Whenever I read one of her books I disappear in the characters and am only disappointed when the book ends. But with her series, there are many other adventures awaiting. She is one of my favorite authors.

Dark Gold is a good book, and stands fairly well on its own (it is the third in a series), but does not quite reach up to the standards of the earlier books. Aidan is a carbon copy of Mikhail and Jacques in the previous books. I suppose all "Carpathian" males exhibit the same qualities and that is what makes them who they are (protective, arrogant, self assured, devoted and strong willed) but reading the same story for the third time can be a bit awkward. They are all good stories, but how many times can one read about a dominant male and his independent life-mate/wife?
I found Alexandria to be the most believable of the female leads. She resists the changes happening to her, not knowing how to handle everything. Her first encounter with a vampire is a traumatic one and she doesn't understand (or want to understand), the differences between a vampire and a Carpathian. Aidan tries his best to protect her, though I found that he did very little to explain her new powers (telepathic communication, shape shifting, etc...). Aidan lets her have her space to try and find her new self, (though he is never too far behind) and I found that to be a refreshing change.
One of my biggest disappointments in the story is the lack of interaction with the previous characters. We see Gregory (and have throughout the books) and I have to assume that the next story will be his. But we do not see anyone else, not even Aidan's brother. Since the Carpathians are to some extent telepathically connected, I would have thought Mikhail would have at least shown himself to welcome the newest female to the clan. I would have also liked to have heard some news about Jacques and Shea (since at least 18 years have past since the last book). Well maybe I'm getting too nit-picky. I did enjoy the book, and suggest reading it, though I suggest picking up Dark Prince and Dark Desire first.

"Dark Gold" is the third book in Christine Feehan's wildly popular "Dark" series, and it does not disappoint. Vivid characters, an exciting and well-written storyline and a lot of steamy sex combine to make a fabulously sensual tale that will leave readers craving a Carpathian of their own.
Alexandria Houton has one purpose in her life, and that is to protect and care for her young brother, Joshua. Since the death of their parents in a tragic accident, Alexandria has struggled to make ends meet for herself and Joshua. A talented graphic artist, Alexandria is thrilled when one of the most prominent video game designers in the U.S. takes an interest in her work. Leaving her brother outside with a homeless man they have befriended, Alex meets her potential employer for an interview at a fancy restaurant. But in the middle of her meal, Alexandria is overcome by a feeling of evil and impending doom. She rushes out to check on Joshua to find him entranced by a soulless monster, a vampire. She manages to save her brother, but both are kidnapped and taken by the vampire to his lair.

It seems as though Alex and Josh are about to meet their untimely end, when out of the night comes Aidan Savage, a powerful Carpathian hunter, who destroys the vampire and then turns to the task of destroying Alex, believing that she is a deranged vampiress. But before he completes his unpleasant task, Aidan suddenly realizes that he is seeing in colour for the first time in countless centuries. And that can only mean one thing - that this poor beaten and bloodied woman is his lifemate!
Aidan brings Alexandria and Josh to his home where he inadvertently converts Alex into a Carpathian by exchanging blood with her (not knowing that the vampire had already completed two blood exchanges). When Alex awakens she is terrified by Aidan and by the thought of what she has become. As time passes Aidan tries to help Alex adjust to being a Carpathian, but many aspects of her new life are hard to accept. Aidan wants to keep Alexandria close in order to keep her safe from harm, but Alex needs to have her independence. As these two try to work out a way to balance their needs, Alex finds herself falling for Aidan, though his immense power still scares her.
Alex and Aidan are an explosive couple when they come together, and the reader is treated to some incredibly hot and steamy scenes. Aidan, though he is overbearing and arrogant at times, is a fantastic hero who readers will adore. Likewise, Alexandria is a truly lovable heroine who will win readers over with her courage, determination, and sense of humour.
"Dark Gold" is a wonderfully entertaining read that will leave readers sated and satisfied. Feehan expertly renders Alexandria's internal struggle, and captivates her readers as we watch Aidan and Alex find all they ever wanted and needed in each other's arms. There is a perfect dose of danger and excitement in this story, as vampires close in on Aidan and Alex in an attempt to take Alexandria for their own. All in all, I truly enjoyed this book and I'm sure that you will too. So sit back, relax and get ready for a very sexy read!

Alexandria Houton desperately needed the job that Thomas Ivan could give her. She was an excellent computer programmer and knew that she could design Ivan's games so that they were better than ever before. But, before she could close the deal in the restaurant, she heard a voice calling to her. She didn't want to follow it, but, when she saw the creature holding her beloved little brother captive, she knew that she had no choice. The vampire chained her in a cave where she could not escape, too weak with blood loss and the poison now flowing through her system from the vampire's tainted blood to even try to get free. When the vampire rose the next evening, she prepared to face her death, but found an avenging angel who came to save her...
Aidan Savage had volunteered to leave his beloved Carpathian mountains to hunt the vampires in San Francisco and its surrounding area. He had lived for so long without a life mate that he didn't believe his eyes when he started to see color and feel emotion in Alexandria's presence. He knew that Alexandria was afraid of him, but could never let her go. Aidan tried to ease Alexandria into her life as a Carpathian, but she defied him at every turn - demanding that they drop her brother off at school even though the sun was exquisitely painful, going out on a date with Thomas Ivan and continuing to work with him, refusing to take his blood until forced, in short, doing everything in her power to deny what she had become. How long would Aidan be able to be patient with his beloved Alexandria before she would finally accept who and what she truly was?
I really liked Aidan's character and thought that he made a nice change from Ms. Feehan's other heroes. For one thing, Aidan is blonde, where all the other Carpathians are dark, and he seems to have keep more light in his soul than the other men in the Dark series. He is very playful and patient with Alexandria. Aidan also has a human family who have cared for him for generations, a son or daughter always choosing to stay on and to take care of his house and other affairs while he is resting during the day. The only problem was that Aidan was such a strong personality that all of the other characters seemed to pale in comparison. I would have liked Alexandria to be a richer character, less superficial, but I did like her. This was a great addition to the Dark series and I enjoyed the new setting as well as the new kind of hero. Keep up the great work Ms. Feehan!

If you like Christine Feehan and the Carpathian series, you will like this book. It is her typical, rich style of erotic writing with a dominate Carpathian male subdued by a woman who is to be his life mate. The usual premise with a different story line. I almost put this one down at first. It has a very brutal start involving a child and it took pages before the central characters connected. Once they did, I was relieved to sit back to enjoy the story. Some of these drag on and on a bit through the erotic scenes and I get impatient. However, I imagine some readers like this part best so I compromise move through these parts quickly. The author is a good writer and despite the violence of the vampire hunt, there is also some humor in the banter between the life mates. This is a popular series and if you are new to it you will be pleased to know that you will have many more books to read. Enjoy.

He is one of the oldest and most powerful Carpathian, a healer in his own rights, and a hunter so feared by vampires. He is also referred to as the `golden one' for he is fair in coloring unlike the usual dark features possessed by male Carpathians. For years he has lived in San Francisco, ridding America of those abominable creatures, many of whom he once called his friends. But Aidan Savage feels the desperation that plagues many of his kind. He knows that he would soon need to make a choice between greeting the dawn or succumbing to the ultimate evil - that of turning into the very breed that he has spent years ridding the world of.

She is a very talented graphic designer desperately vying for a job with Thomas Ivan's highly successful computer games company, a job that would mean a better life for herself and her little brother Joshua, who she's been taking care of ever since they were orphaned. Apart from her usual talent in designing is another that is powerful enough to attract the attention of a vampire who means to make her his partner for Alexandria Houton is a true psychic. So on the night of her meeting with Thomas, little does she know it would be her last night as a human being. Knowing she would sacrifice her life to protect her brother, the vampire threatens to kill Joshua unless she comes to him willingly.

After blood was brutally exchanged between the vampire and Alex, with dawn soon to come, he takes her and Joshua to a cave and chains her to the wall where Alex starts to feel the torment of the contaminated blood in her. With her rapid physical changes, all she could do is hope for a miracle escape, which comes shortly after nightfall as Aidan has discovered the vampire's lair. After the vampire was killed, Aidan sees her clutching Joshua and he assumes that she is a crazed vampiress about to murder a child. Thinking to destroy her, he bites her neck and is shocked as color burst upon him and he knows instantly that the dying woman in his arms is no other than the lifemate he has endured centuries of loneliness and bleak existence for.

In order to save her, Aidan has to give Alex more blood which would also get rid of the contaminated blood that the vampire gave her. But as Alex became Carpathian, Aidan faces a battle of wills for she refuses to trust him and accept what she has become. And despite the bond between them, Aidan knows that he must win Alexandria's trust and love before they could truly find happiness together.

DARK GOLD is the third book in the Carpathian Series and somewhat different from the first two books (DARK PRINCE & DARK DESIRE) in that the violence is less graphic and the sex scenes more toned down. It also made more attempt at humor. I enjoyed Aidan's playfulness especially when Alex goes out on a date with Thomas Ivan. I loved how he nearly drove Thomas insane making the poor man think he was hallucinating. And I simply adored Aidan's patience with Alex, considering she starts off as rather selfish and annoying. Another thing I liked is the fact that Aidan had humans living with him who are aware of his true identity and love him for what he is.

Although I didn't think this as good as the first two, I still enjoyed it if mainly for the humor and of course the hero. Now I can't wait to start on Gregori's story (DARK MAGIC).

Aidan Savage is a Hunter. Little did he know that the woman he thought to be a vampiress was actually his lifemate - thank goodness he didn't destroy her before it was too late! Who cared that she looked like a hag and hated him on sight (talk about having to gain someone's trust), Alexandria Houton was the woman for him! Once he was able to heal her that is.
This book was a little different from the previous books and although Mikhail is mentioned, only Gregori makes an appearance. It takes place in San Francisco and has a more modern feel to it. Not to mention more family: Aidan has adopted a "human" family (Maria and Stefan), not to mention his brother Julian Savage (who has his own story in Dark Challenge) and Alexandria little brother Joshua.
Although this story was very good I found it missing that "extra, special something" that Dark Prince and Dark Desire had. Maybe it was his appearance (Aidan and Julian are the "golden twins" where everyone else is dark) or maybe it was the lack of Carpathians involved, I'm not sure. The book was very good but in order to be a 5 star book, it has to be extra special!

Alexandria Houton is sorely abused by the undead after witnessing his murderous rampage...and her only thought is to protect her baby brother from harm! She spins a tale of a golden angel who will save them with his golden magic! She describes Aiden to a T though she's never seen him. But...is he a savior...or is he too an evil vampire???
Aidan destroys vampires...the evil who have turned from their lonely lives as Carpathians to the thrill of the kill. When Aidan discovers Alexandria looking like a hag and half dead clutching a child, he assumes she is evil and has become a vampiress. As he takes her blood and goes in for the kill, he discovers the light and color that only a lifemate can offer! Rather than kill Alexandria, he saves her life the only way he can and begins the process of turning her to Carpathian.
Alexandria refuses to accept her fate and rebels at every turn! Her only concern is her brother, Joshua and she must stay normal and human for him! Can Aidan give her the best of both worlds? Or will his natural desire to control and protect push Alexandria into the sun?
Once again, Ms. Feehan gives us a wonderful story with a fantastic hero and hot sizzling sex and lots of plot twists that lead to adventure and continues the greatest love stories I have ever read! She truly is the mistress of the Carpathians and the romance genre!

This is the third book in the Dark series, the first two Dark Prince and Dark Desire were wonderful. The heros are Carpathian. They must drink blood to survive but they don't kill their prey like true vampires do. They can transform into anything and have telepathic abilities. They also have a big problem, their race is dying out. There are very few women and when they have children most don't live past a year and most are born male. They have recently discovered that a few human women can becaome thier lifemates. These women are telepathic and can survive the conversion without going insane. Our heroine in this book is such a woman. Alexandria is a struggling graphic artist in San Fransisco. She is trying to raise her younger brother alone after their parents died. She ends up being kidnapped by a vampire( a Carpathian who has turned to the evil) and he has exchanged blood with her. She is rescued by Aidan who after almost killing her(thinking she was a vampire herself) must give her blood to kill the poisen the vampire gave her. She goes through the conversion but not willingly. She hates what she is becoming and hates Aidan for turning her this way. He has realized that she is his true lifemate and struggles to protect her in this modern world. She is stubborn and insists that she be able to have her freedom. She soon discovers that she is very strongly linked to Aidan and like to tease him and longs to hear his laughter. She is unaware that he hasn't had any emotions for over 800 years until she cam into his life. Together they struggle to find even ground. He has been hunting several vampires that have been preying on San Fransisco and when one takes her brother he uses all his strength to save him. Alexandria sends him her strength telepathicly and together they kill the evil. This has been the funniest of the books so far and I enjoyed it a bit more because of it. I can't wait to read Gregori's story next. If you want great books get the Dark series, it won't dissapoint.

Nearly another quarter of a century has elapsed (since Dark Desire) and the Carpathian plight is little changed. The race is facing extinction. The woman are scarce, the few surviving children male. The hope for the future lies in those rare human women with true psychic ability who are able to survive the conversion process and become lifemates.
A previous attempt to depose the Dark Prince having failed, the vampires have dispersed to the far corners of the earth. The hunters have been forced to follow, leaving their beloved homeland and it's healing soil behind. Aidan Savage is one such man. An intimate of the Prince, he is a master hunter charged with the task of ridding the New World of the deadly menace. His soul is at risk however for, without a lifemate, each kill brings him closer to turning himself. His home base of San Francisco has recently been invaded by a band of five vampires. He has yet to stop the killing spree. He must hunt.
Aidan is unique in several ways. He is fair in color, a trait that he shares with his reclusive brother Julian. He also he has a loyal human family who care for his home and protect him during the vulnerable daylight hours. This second quirk will later become invaluable to him.
Alexandra Houton is a young woman in her twenties. She is the sole guardian of her six-year-old brother and a talented graphic artist. This last fact has not escaped the notice of the foremost creator of vampire video games. Excited about the prospect of this highly desirable career move and the hope of creating a better life for her small sibling, Alex agrees to an evening interview at a local restaurant. Unable to leave her young brother at home alone, she leaves him to wait outside with a kindly indigent of their acquaintance. Shortly into the meeting it becomes clear that the wealthy employer is interested in more than Alex's artistic skills. Taking a moment to check on her brother, Alex finds his protector brutally slain. The killer is a creature the likes of whom she has never seen. Attempting to prevent her mesmerized brother from reaching the demon, Alex, the true prize, is captured and spirited away to the entrance of the demon's lair. The vampire has recognized Alex's lifemate potential and hopes to claim her for himself. He performs two brutal blood exchanges before chaining her to a wall at the mouth of the cave. He does not trust her to know of his lair, where he will lay vulnerable while the sun is in the sky. As the level of seawater in the cave rises the elements take their toll on Alex so that she is unrecognizable by nightfall.
Night is upon them and Aidan has discovered the whereabouts of the vampire. After a brief battle he dispatches the betrayer. He then turns to the crazed vampiress (Alex) of the evil one's creation. She is clutching a small human child. Aidan attempts to destroy her before she can slay the child but in the process discovers that the blood surrounding him appears to be red. Sensations burst upon him. The woman is no vampiress, but his true lifemate and she is dying. He must save her at any cost.
The cost is further blood exchange which triggers the conversion process. Aidan regrets that this has occurred without her consent, but he was left with no choice. The vampires' treatment of her and the battle she witnessed between him and Aidan has fostered distrust of him. She cannot distinguish the difference between Carpathian and vampire. She wants no parts of this creature who would possess her and despises what she has become. She rebels against him, but even as she struggles to maintain her independence, in an effort to retain her humanity, the bond strengthens. Aidan is stunned by Alex's loveliness and even more taken aback by her affect on other men. Though he is aware that the bond between them is unbreakable he must struggle to win her trust and her heart.
Four vampires remain. It is clear to the pair that the humans they love are their Achilles heel, that the vampires will undoubtedly strike at them through their family. Will Aidan be able to convince Alex that they are each other's destiny? Will they combine their strengths to fight the menace that plagues them? Will they succeed?
Aidan meets briefly with Gregori, who awaits his lifemate's arrival here. Gregori is walking the edge, having given her the freedom to grow before claiming her. Her identity indicates that the union between those special human women and the Carpathian males is indeed the solution they were hoping for to continue the race. It is a perfect lead-in to the next title in the series, Dark Magic which is Grigori's story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. This was the first time a human lifemate had an actual family member to contend with. One wonders how the pair will handle this as the boy grows older and they remain the same. At some point the child will have to be let in on the secret. It will be difficult for Alex not to be the major part of his life that she wants to be, and it will be even harder to watch him age. It is a testament to Ms. Feehan's writing ability that she is able to deal with such hard-hitting issues with such aplomb. I am really looking forward to the next installment due to be released in late summer. --Leslie Tramposch, Copyright © 2000 ~Paranormal Romance Reviews

I won't bore you to tears with the summary of this story, there are plenty of them written by other reviewers. However, I have to agree with Tanya Veverka's review, she hit it right on the dot. The book is becoming too much like the others before it with the exception of Dark Prince, considering it was the first installment. The character that got on my nerves was Alexandria; I guess I'm getting alittle bored with the 'I'm so innocent-totally unworldly, I'm so young, I'm so beautiful, I'm so frightened of the big, bad vampire,' routine. What would happen if the so-called destined female lifemate wasn't so innocent and pure? Actually liked becoming a Carpathian? Hmmm... Anyway, it was so annoying to keep hearing Alexandria say that Aidan was a 'vampire' and with him constantly correcting her. Every waking moment she denied the fact that she transformed into Carpathian, even though she knew she had incrediable hearing, needed blood to survive, couldn't go out into the full sun, slept during the day in the soil, etc. I was beginning to grate my teeth, Aidan definitely had more patience with her, than I did. I could've pitched her out the window and said later. Also, Dark Gold plot is weak and the "Dark Series" fight scenes (except for Gold's gang fight scene) lacks the detail I'm used to reading. All in all, Dark Gold is a good read, but hopefully I won't be disappointed with Dark Magic - however, the preview summary already sounds annoyingly the same with the herione characters.

In this book we follow the actions of Aiden, one of the Golden Twins and appointed hunter of vampires. Aiden is very close to turning into the very creatures he hunts when he rescues a woman and child from his lastest vampire victim. The woman is well on her way to becoming a vampire when he attacks her thinking that she is already one. The results of the attack makes her one of his people, a converted Carpathian. Aiden has to overcome her trauma of the vampire's assult, her horror at becoming a bloodsucker and the problems of convincing a modern woman that she is bound to him for life and that life is going to be very long in order to claim her as his lifemate.
As with the other Dark books this one had a few errors. Throughout the books we hear how the blood of vampires burn Carpathians and it makes them sick or damaged yet Aiden assults this woman by sucking her blood when he thought she was a vampiress? Other similar gaps in introduced logic of the series follow. If you can ignore the occasional word in need of a spell check as well you will enjoy the book.

Let's face it, these books are certainly not intended for what you'd call the "modern woman". These Carpathian men may be hot and have old-fashioned romantic tendencies but they sure as heck don't truly respect women. They say they do but their actions speak otherwise. In all the other stories we had these seemingly strong women who have a tendency to succumb to the all-powerful Carpathian males in a matter of heartbeats. "I'm strong and have a mind of my own, you can't boss me around! Oh hey, when you touch me it feels great... Ok, you can boss me around." The men definitely milk that obedience for all it's worth, throwing their weight around like wrestlers gone crazy. On my more submissive days it can be a bit appealing strictly from a fantasy view. I must admit though, this book really wasn't as bad as the others. Aidan seems a bit more laid back and is able to laugh at himself. He ends up turning his lifemate by accident as opposed to the men in all the other novels. He's trying to save the boy so unlike the other books it doesn't seem like rape of the will. He tries to protect the boy, discovers she isn't an evil child killer but his lifemate, and goes about saving her life by changing her. At least he didn't seem to do it for purely selfish reasons, as the others do (Gregori... Don't even get me started on him). "I don't want to turn vampire or walk into the light so I'll just take YOUR life away! How's that sound? Don't like it? Too bad. You'll grow to love me in time..."

The heroine of the story actually holds out for half the book before giving in to her Carpathian male's charms. That was refreshing for a change. She actually made an effort to fight against the new life she was afraid of. It was refreshing to see at least one of these women fight instead of rolling over and simply accepting it.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. I also enjoyed Julians' tale "Dark Challenge". Was nice seeing him paired with a powerful woman.

Dark Gold is different yet from those it follows. We are no longer in the Carpathian Mountains with Mikhail and Raven but rather we are on the west coast of America. Aidan is the hunter of the region and he is very good at what he does. While hunting a vampire that has been leaving a messy trail all over the place, he finds a woman and a boy. After mistaking her for a vampiress, he is in the process of putting her out of her misery when he realizes that she is in fact his lifemate.
This book contains everything that the others do in the respect of sensuality, intelligent characters and outstanding abilities. But this book is a bit different where you arent completely lost without having read the ones before it. Aidan has been on his own for years with little to no contact with other Carpathians. Alexandria is an artist who draws vampires but doesnt truely believe in them. But after she is converted into a Carpathian, she has a hard time understanding it all as being real.
Another great book by Ms. Feehan. This series is highly addictive!!

As others have said, this installment in the Dark series can pretty much stand on its own as a separate story.

Alex, for me, was at least the spunkiest of the females thus far. I know that I would NOT be pleased to find out that I couldn't eat chocolate or sit in the sunshine ever again, no matter how hunky the tradeoff. The whole concept of a mono-diet is so unappealing. So any female who resists 'conversion' for a long time has my vote.

Anyhow, Alex resists and tries so hard not to accept who and what she has become. Gradually, she does come around, but the chemistry between her and Aidan isn't quite what I'd hoped for. Still good, but not great.

Her little brother is a nice touch, as well as the human servants. Like someone else said, its nice to see the 'vampire' world expanded a bit to include, well, 'us'.

Good read overall!

I really like the Dark series. I bought numbers 1 - 8 but skipped over this one because of the mixed reviews. I found something really good in each of the installments even though I do have my preferences. Well, I finally decided to go back and get it just to complete my collection ... I could have left it out. This is definitely the weakest link in the chain.

It starts off strongly with Alexandria and her little brother as compelling characters but once the two main protagonists actually meet it loses its life. In a series of this nature the author has set up certain constants of Carpathian instinct/culture that are not subject to the individual character's personality. There are inconsistencies in the story line that don't fit with the Carpathian premise. The most annoying of which is the fact that Aidan is supposed to be an ancient great hunter but he winds up needing the strength of a fledgling human convert to save him. It makes you wonder how he survived on his own all these "centuries". The entire development of the story wasn't plausible.

For example, when Alex was going through the change Aidan gives his word not to do anything to her and sweats blood pacing outside of her room because he can't stand her pain but doesn't interfere. No. It doesn't fit with the Carpathian male's makeup. He would have been compelled to interfere for her own good. The whole "I can do no other but see to your happiness" thing. In addition, the major climactic confrontation near the end of the book is provoked by the kidnapping of the child. Aidan sits back and watches the boy leave the house when any of the other Carpathian characters would have simply taken control of his mind and made him stay in the house - thus preventing the whole scene. Ms Feehan needed to work on this one a little more. There's also the fact that Aidan kept expecting Alex to understand what he was talking about when he made references to things Carpathian but he hadn't really explained anything to her. No wonder she kept having panic attacks. There's also Alex's insistence on thinking that she was going insane or in the middle of some really long hallucination...come on. After having witnessed several murders, been kidnapped, bitten, threatened, and subjected to emotional torture and exposure by a vampire she actually says that they don't exist...and can't see the difference between that other creature and herself and Aidan.

I was rolling my eyes. I only finished it because I paid good money for it.

The rest of the series runs right along and you won't miss not having read this one. If you're new to the Dark series then start at the beginning with Dark Prince. If you're not new but are looking for one with a little different twist and a main character with a sensitive approach then check out Dark Symphony which is Byron's story.

So, going into this book I hadn't read a romance novel in several years. I've always found that romance novels are extremely hit or miss. I don't like the contemporary ones at all and the historical/fantasy ones range from tawdry fairy tales with little substance to masterful works that are only seperated from regular sci-fi/fantasy by an overabundance of sex and fewer fight scenes.
My co-worker was an avid fan of Christine Feehan's work, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Dark Gold is apparently the third in the "Dark" series, but my co-worker recommended it as her favorite. Though the setting links the various novels, they can be read independently of each other without confusion. Her latest installment in the series, Dark Symphony, just came out this week.
Each book tells the tale of a particular "Carpathian male" and his future "life-mate" as they find one another and overcome various obstacles on the way to spending the rest of eternity together. In essence, the Carpathians are a race of predatory, immortal humans. Over the centuries, the number of Carpathian women has dwindled and the males have been forced to wander for eons in search of a life-mate. A life-mate is the only thing that can assuage their savage nature and ensure they they do not succumb to the dark side and turn vampire.
Very few human women have the mental fortitude to survive the transformation into a Carpathian, so most of these guys must wait for a long time. Imagine all that pent up sexual frustration! Fortunately for them, they cannot feel strong emotion (or even see in color) until they meet that special someone. In this particular novel, we bear witness to the romance of Alexandria Houton and Aidan Savage.
I, personally, found much lacking in this book. There was a lot of sexual tension and very little plot. They spend most of the book in Aidan's house while Alexandra undergoes her transformation and then Aidan tries to convince her that she is not damned for all time. Very little actually happens in this book. I was bored to tears halfway through it and even the forthcoming steamy sex scenes couldn't completely overcome my apathy.
The characters were one-dimensional. They did not undergo any real growth during the course of events. This is particularly true of Alexandria, who spends most of the book being defiant and then suddenly changes her tune in time for the books climax. Apparently the sex really was that good! Unfortunately, the most interesting character, Aidan's mentor, doesn't appear until the end and is only present for a few scenes.
All in all, there was plenty of sex and much of it was suitably animalistic. Ms. Feehan has a firm grasp on the necessary romance novel terminology; the sexual tension and sexual encounters were well done. Unfortunately, I like a little more substance to my stories, even in the context of a romance novel.

Alexandra is a beautiful young woman, who is trying to bring up her younger brother. She is a talented graphic designer, but impoverished. While on a dinner with a potential job offer (who has more than work in mind) Alexandra, who is psychicly tallented feels a malevolent force calling. She has left her brother outside with an older man who has become their friend. Alexandra rushes off to check on her brother, and finds him mesmerized by the vampire. Alexandra saves him, but the two of them are kidnapped, and the vampire begins trying to convert Alexandra. Aidan (our hero) finds the two, and thinks Alexandra a vampiress at first, trying to kill her brother. He realizes his mistake after almost killing her, and saves the two, in the process realizing that she is his lifemate. This book deals with the trust issues between two strong willed people, one of whom (Alexandra) doesn't want to belive any of this is happening.

Alexandria and her younger brother were in trouble and desperately needed a hero and they got one.
Alexandria is so sweet I really loved her and the adorable little brother made the story that more enjoyable. The pleasant banter that goes on between Aidan and Alexandria is sweet and helps lighten the otherwise dark mood.

Aidan has a human family with him as well unlike most Carpathians and they help to create a fun and lighthearted environment in this story.
Though this book is more lighthearted than the others it is still full of action and some very steamy sensual moments between Aidan and his life mate Alexandria.

For any author, there is a challenge when writing a series of books. There always exists a threat that the books will become monotonous -- too much like one another.
"Dark Gold" itself stands pretty well on its own. There's good chemistry between the hero and heroine, and the writing flows smoothly.
Unfortunately, this particular installment is a pale imitation of the quality that came before. The beginning of the book is compelling, but after Alexandria and Aidan meet up, it's the same old struggle for Alexandria to deal with the change from human to Carpathian that Shea and Raven went through in much more compelling and realistic ways in "Dark Prince" and "Dark Desire."
In addition, the struggle for dominance/protection between Aidan and Alexandria is the same old struggle that came in the "Dark" books that precede this one. It becomes a bit monotonous after awhile.
On the other hand, we see more of long-time human/Carpathian relationships in this one in the form of faithful retainers that serve Aidan and his home. I appreciated that glimpse of a relationship that seems to transcend the "human as food and lesser being" concept that can become common in vampire-related literature.
All in all, this is a decent read. Feehan writes well, and her characters and relationships are interesting. Unfortunately, this is the weakest installment in the "Dark" series, so it somewhat pales in comparison to the others.

This is the third in a series of spectacular books about the Carpathians (who become vampires if they succumb to evil)--the first two being "Dark Prince" and "Dark Desire". Like "Dark Desire", this book can stand alone without you having to read the previous ones.
In this book, Dark Gold, Alexandria who is human matches wits with one of the "golden twins" Aiden Savage. Aiden, unlike most of his species, has much more interaction with humans, trusting his secrets to his family (a family who has known his secrets down through the years, passing the tradition of protecting Aiden down through the generations). Aiden has his hands full with his lifemate, Alexandria, who is as independent as the wind and about as tamable. Like the other "Dark" books, the lifemates must learn the true art of compromise.
I think this one was the 'lighter' of the four books in the series that have been released so far, if you can consider it "light". I found this to be just as much a keeper as the previous ones and have reread it numerous times. I would highly recommend this book to all romance and paranormal readers.

Unlike other reviewers here, that's the first one I've read of the dark series. So my review probably won't be enough since I haven't compared with the other two books. When Alexandria Houton and her little brother are taken captive after they witness the murderous rampage of a crazed vampire, she holds little hope of ever living to see the next day. Little does she know that the tale she spins to reassure and calm her brother of a golden haired savior coming to their rescue is about to come true, or is it? Has he come to save them or are his golden good looks hiding the heart of a monster? Alex soon learns that although this dangerous being has saved her life, the price he requires in return may be too high to pay. Aiden Savage has taken on the task of hunting down and destroying the creatures of his race who have given up hope and given in to the lure of the thrill of killing. Until he rescues Alexandria, he fears that he too is on the edge of turning. When he meets Alexandria he realizes that she is the only one who can save him, the only one who can bring color and emotion back into his cold, gray world. But Alexandria is not like any woman he has met before. How can he find a way to balance his inbred need to control and protect her with her desire for independence? He knows he can never give her up. With Dark Gold, the third one of her Carpathian series, Christine Feehan establishes herself as the mistress of Torture and Suspense. The torture of waiting for her next book to come out and the suspense of turning each page to find out if this book will be even better than the last! I am happy to say that Dark Gold gives us everything we have come to expect from her books and more. Making it a worthy addition to the series.

As the third book in the "Dark" series by Christine Feehan, "Dark Gold" fails to achieve the can't-put-it-down status of its brethren. Aidan Savage, an exceptionally powerful Carpathian and hunter of those of his species turned vampire, inadvertently rescues his lifemate (the light to his darkness,) Alexandria, and her much younger brother from the hands of an "evil one." The traumatized Alexandria lives only for the safety of her brother- for whom she has been the sole caregiver since the death of their parents many years before. Being forced into the home and life of Aidan Savage- in addition to facing the tribulations of having become a Carpathian herself- leaves the fiercely independent Alexandria in a constant state of denial and frustration. Aidan does little to ease his lifemate's transition. To further complicate matters, a group of rogue vampires continually seeks to abduct Alexandria and eliminate Aidan, placing his fledgling lifemate and her brother in constant danger. Aidan's battles with the vampires allow Alexandria her demonstrations of unity and strength while providing a reintroduction to "The Dark One," Gregori, who arrives in town to await the arrival of his yet-unclaimed lifemate (the daughter of Mikhail and Raven.) In the end, we learn nothing new of the Carpathian male (except, perhaps, of Gregori's transgressions) and are presented with the quintessential defiant, human lifemate. Still, the addition of Aidan's human caretakers adds a new spin on this thrice-told tale. For dedicated readers of Christine Feehan and paranormal romances- or for those who have yet to read the previous two novels in this series, it will captivate. For those of us who have read "Dark Prince" and "Dark Desire," "Dark Gold" is less enthralling and far more predictable. For either category, it leaves you salivating for the sequel, "Dark Magic," and FINALLY, it's story of Gregori!

Dark Gold is about Aiden Savage the latest Carpathinian to be saved from becoming a vampire by his psychic soul mate. It is the third book in a series that I hope continues indefinitely about a dying race, the Carpathinians. After being alive a couple a hundred years they lose the ability to feel, and to be decent beings without the love of a good woman. Unfortunately, women are not being born to Carpathinians and generally humans can not give birth to Carpathinians. Except it seems a woman with psychic abilities. When a Carpathinian male has lost his ability to feel, and his hope of finding a mate he turns and becomes a vampire. Even though Dark Gold builds on the two proceeding books in the series it stands alone as a great fantasy romance with a compelling hero, a likeable if not too bright heroine and great supporting characters. If you like vampire books this book and the series is a must read.

Feehan is not the best writer in this genre, and the editing of her books is awful (typos just about every page). Feehan uses pages of writing to try to convey what could be achieved more elegantly with just a few better-crafted sentences.

She at least tries to build the heroine's love for the Carpathian gradually, instead of the instant commitment so common in this genre, but doesn't really succeed very well. In addition to fighting vampires, there is a human man competing for the girl's attentions -- but that storyline is never resolved, just left hanging.

There's nothing unique or terribly interesting about this episode in the Dark Carpathian series. And there are other books in that series that are markedly better. But if you want to be thorough, go ahead and read it. It does add details to Gregori's storyline. Though I found it disorienting that apparently 18 years have passed since Book #2, Dark Desire, where Gregori's story was set up....

Christine Feehan's books are different from the other romance novels on the market. Each book captures readers and shocks them from the first page to the last. This book begins with Alexandria and her brother being captured by a vampire. They are not rescued until after the vampire has taken her blood. When Aidan, the gorgeous Carpathian vampire hunter does come to save them he thinks that Alexandria has been turned into a vampiress and almost kills her before realizing that she is his lifemate.
The fact that he is rich and gorgeous pales beside the facts that he drinks blood and sleeps in the ground and has made it so that she must do the same to survive. Alexandria must deal with the emotional conflicts in herself, the jealousy of having to rely on others to help care for her brother, and added to that the fact that she is a target for any vampire in the area. I recommend this book to all readers. It has something for everyone.

I was talked into trying the first of the Carpathian series, Dark Prince -- and was immediately hooked. I've read all three books now and am impatiently waiting for Gregori's story. (hurry up July! ) What I loved most about the heroes is how protective and strong they are, emotionally and physically. The books are fantasy based but the emotions are everything we want in reality. It was wonderful, too, how the author made each book unique. Dark Prince oozes sensuality and is the perfect introduction to the Carpathians. Dark Desire is darker, more intense, and while we still get the setting and sense of the Carpathians and their world, we get a story totally different for the characters. The same is true of Dark Gold, which was lighter, more playful. They're all very sexy with to die for heroes who have larger-than-life abilities (which make them the ultimate alpha guys!) and intelligent heroines, but the characters have their own individual personalities, too. This is by far the most entertaining, original series of books I've found in a long, long time. I highly recommend them all.

As the previous two books before it, Dark Gold tells another wonderful story in the Carpathian series. Aidan and Alexandria were great. We see a different side to the Carpathian male in Aidan, who is funny and patient as well as sexy. The heroine was scared with all the changes occuring in her life yet kept her head above water with her humor and strength. I found myself laughing out loud while reading this book. The book was set in a more modern setting and due to this fact I thought the plot went smoothly and the feelings shared by the characters well portrayed. A different book than what we have seen but just as good. I look forward to the next one.

This one (#3 in the series) is more about getting to know and appreciate someone than about wild sex, which often seemed to be the only glue holding the couples together in some of the other books. In fact, nothing sexual happens for 2/3 of the book; instead Aidan and Alex get to know each other, making it realistic and romantic and sweet.

I also liked the fact that Aidan had humans who took care of him, who shared his life and his secret. It made him more vulnerable, more approachable. This is my favorite of the first 4 books in the series. Sometimes ratings are so hard. This one should be a 3 & 1/2 star rating.

Aidan Savage is a powerful vampire hunter who is losing hope of finding his lifemate. The Carpathian men must find a lifemate, or eventually they lose their grip on sanity and turn into Vampires. For now, he lives away from his beloved Carpathian Mountains because vampires have decided to expand into America. He's tracking one vampire and has found his hiding place but that's not all he finds. He finds a poor woman who the vampire has turned, about to bite a boy! Well that's what he thinks...
Alexandria Houton is the only family her 6 year-old little brother has and she needs a job to take care of them. She has an interview with a famous game maker who could make her career. The interview doesn't go all that well until he sees her drawings but then Alex can feel the evil invading the restaurant. All she can think of is to get to her brother outside to protect him from the evil. She gets there too late and her brother is gone but using her psychic abilities she follows where he went. She doesn't know what to make of the evil man that has her brother in a trance but she will do anything to protect him.
The stubbornness of both the hero and heroine will have you in giggles but their chemistry will have you wiping the steam from your glasses! Ms. Feehan builds up the sexual tension till you feel you can take no more but rewards you with some very hot scenes that border on erotic. The secondary characters and the family scenario will tug at your heart stings. The battles will have you sweating and praying.When you start the book you should clear your schedule because your not going to want to put it down till you're finished!

This is another favorite of mine within this series. It was actually the first book of the series I read. At the time, I didn't know it was a series, a friend of mine loaned it to me and I fell in love with Christine Feehan's style of writing. However, once I started reading the other books within the series, I realized they become repetitive. She uses many of the same words and the stories pretty much follow the same line.
That being said, I would recommend this book and the rest of this series.

I basically felt this book was force. I was forced to believe that these two would fall in love, but with the whole Carpathian lifemate thing working and the ability to mind read, you don't ever get the chance to listen to the characters share their fillings, their past or their fears. Since they automatically know each other. I felt I didn't know anything about either character and this made it even harder for me to enjoy the book. Anything about them was a blip compared the physical attraction they had for each other and then to top it off the sex scenes were often quick and annoying fix its to the story with Aiden Savage asking for more afterwards.

If this is your first book by Christine Feehan, you are in the wrong place! You need to start at the beginning with "Dark Prince", move on to "Dark Desire", and then end up here at "Dark Gold". These books are simply too fantastic to miss a single one! Each story teachs us more about Carpathians, their lifemates, and the mysteries of their existence. The PASSION and loyalty the characters create is extraordinary. So, follow along the primrose path with the rest of we Christine Feehan fans. Then join us as we wait for Gregoris story "Dark Magic"! KCS

Both the main character and the plot were pretty disappointing. Particularly the author's clear lack of understanding of any of the things it takes for a person to support herself as an artist (let alone her little brother, who appears to be merely a plot device, instead of a character). Now she's going to be a game designer? She got this interview how? But I digress.

The love story was forced, the girl was much too perfect, and for crying out loud, if she's going to be an artist, you could have the decency to give her a day job and some paint under her fingernails like the real thing. Also, what is with the totally generic mansion? They need a ballroom why? Is pretentious consumerism somehow wired into the Carpathian mindset?

I think that this is the worse written book out of her whole series. It repeats itself soooo many times that you can skip paragraphs without missing anything. The writing style is not consistant with her other books in the series and almost seems that a different person wrote each paragraph. One of many inconsistancies that I found in this book was the conversion from human to Carpathian. In all the other books it states that it take 3 blood transfers to convert - in this one it states 4. And I just wanted to yell at Alex and tell her to get over it already - the vampire had almost converted her completely anyway. And also during the conversion it states that Alex threw up the tainted vampire blood, yet she had just taken blood from Aiden and they are supposed to be able to push the toxins out of their pores - not throw it up after a day has passed since the first vampire exchange.

I've read 9 of the books, but not in order and couldn't wait to read Aiden's story, but I am VERY dissapointed in this one. It was so poorly written that I would have given it 0 stars if it was possible. If you like strong females - I suggest reading Dark Destiny.

Dark Gold is another masterpiece in the Dark saga by this author. I highly recommend this book. It is full of excitement, suspense, romance between to strong lovable characters, and adventure. Although the story stands on its own, I would suggest reading Dark Prince and Dark Desire first to get the true flavor of this book. Many questions can be answered. But new questions have been raised about this interesting race of people, Carpathians.
You will not be able to put it down.
For Vampire and paranormal genre readers, this book is a must.
To all readers, I suggest putting this author on your automatic "To Buy" list. She will not disappoint you.

If you have never tried Christine Feehan's books, you don't know what you are missing. They are a new twist on the vampire legends...about a race of beings called Carpathians, who must find their lifemates in order to keep from going over to the dark side! The series is great, warning, you won't be able to stop reading them - definitely an addiction for me! Dark Gold is the 3rd in the series, following Dark Prince and Dark Desire.
Dark Gold is a book that can stand on its own if you haven't read the others in the series. A young woman named Alexandria is targeted by vampires, and she is trying to protect her young brother. Just when things are at their worst, a golden being, Aidan, appears and saves them. Or has he? Is he a god, a man, or a monster? Alex must decide, and her decision could condemn them to death, or give them life, and love for all eternity.
This is a wonderful, sensuous book, that you will not be able to put down. Once you've read it, you will probably be as addicted as I am!

Okay! This was the first of the Dark Series that I found by accident. Ohmygosh!!!!!! I was hooked! The first chapter or so kind of made me grimace; Not knowing what the rest of the book was like, I wasn't certain I could continue.... I don't do violence very well. LOL Was I ever wrong! This is the ultimate in sensuality. I'm not much on domineering men, but I think I could adjust! :) It's hard to say which is my favorite in the series, but Dark Gold was definitely one of them.

I enjoy this series, especially the first books, but this one is good except for the main female character, Alex. It is too bad that the writer made her so grating on your nerves. I am all for strong females but when they are whiney like Alex, you want to just tell her to get over herself and move on. Otherwise. This has all the things you want in a vampire romance.

i think this might have been a decent book if i hadn't read other 'dark' books. you might also like it if you enjoy stories about vampires. the rest of my review is pretty harsh, but it is more a dissatisfaction with the series than this individual book. to be honest i couldn't even finish the book. if you like the other books in this series, you might like this one, unless you are tired of the same plot. carpathian turns a woman without her consent or against her wishes, and then the male proceeds to take over her life and basically order her around, while the woman turns her life upside down to accomodate the male. quite frankly, i enjoyed the first few books in this series that i read, but by now i am tired of reading the same story with the names changed.

I enjoyed this carpathian book for the fact that the heroine didn't immediatly fall under Aidans power she was still her own person and he was not in to much of a hurry to claim her without giving her some time to adjust to him. It was more interesting for the fact that their was lots of interaction between other carpathians and humans that were aware of what the carpathians really are and other characters. This author improves with time she seems to be getting better with a little more meat to her characters.

Each book gets closer to Gregori's. I am excited that it is the next one. Loved the story of Aiden and Alexandria. What's also nice is that the women in these stories have strong minds. It makes the story interesting to see how the Carpathian men adjust to their human lifemates.

I wish I could give this no stars. I don't know how people can enjoy this woman. This is by far one of the worst published authors for this genre of books, I've ever had the displeasure of reading. I've read only two of her books (the second one, was just to give her another chance) and they were just horrendous.

It's the most repetitive, ridiculous, unbelievable cheesy dialogue imaginable. It's almost insulting to the reader how horribly vapid the writing is. I thought I was reading a Ann Rice-wannabe/Harlequinn Romance hybrid abomination.

I just can't even express how awful this author is.

christine feehan is a true paranormal writter her dark collection is a must have for those of you who love vampire's and supernatural love stories .alexendria is on her own with her six years old brother joshua who she loves with all her heart.the evil begins while she is on an interview with one of the most famous computer game designer ,she feel this unspeakable evil creeping around her in the restarurent feeling suddely ill worry about her brother she excuse her self and thats when her life change forever.aidan a carpathian male and vampire hunter,has been alive now for over six centuries with know emotions or feelings he felt on the verge of turning vampire himself .until one night while killing a vampire he save a little boy and what he thought was an vampiress of the vampire .then to his horror he was able to see colors and feel emotion which mean the hag vampiress was his life mate ,aidan an alexandria love story is a must read!!if you love this book read all of her dark sagas.dark prince which was the first,dark magiic, dark desire and dark challenge which is about aidan twin brother and more lost carpathian males who was lost to the great healer gregori .

I have to agree with most of the others who have written reviews on this book. I LOVED the first two in the "Dark" series. But i couldn't even finish this one, i'm jumping ahead to Gregori's story. I absolutely hated Alex. Just like everyone else was saying, she was snobbish, and selfish. I kept reading, hoping she'd get over her "hysterical" period and finally LISTEN to Aidian about what she'd become, but she kept pushing him away, and being what i thought was really closeminded about the whole thing. I couldn't stand her to the point where i was reading with my teeth gritted, so i just put the book down. i'll keep reading the rest of the series b/c i adored the first two. I just hope the rest to come are far better than this one.

Another "hero" that sneers and belittles everything the heroine says, thinks or does. All of her feelings and desires are fodder for him to laugh at and make fun of. He takes very little seriously because he makes all the rules, no matter what she wants, including interfering in the relationship between the heroine and her young brother, teaching the child to belittle his sister.

Of course, the heroine eventually finds it all amusing and gives in to him. I lost respect for her after chapter one when she stopped being a person.

Christine Feehan, has done it again! She has created yet another unforgettable Carpathian male and spunky heroine. While having a different feel then her previous two books (Dark Prince and Dark Desire), Dark Gold still packs a powerful punch. How can you not feel for the heroine, who must struggle to understand and accept what she has become, and yet at the same time fight off her growing attraction and love for a being she fears. The hero in this story, Aidan, is different from the Carpathian males we've met, while just as arrogant, possessive and powerful as his brethren, he is able to put his needs and wants aside, and allow Alexandria the space and time she needs to grow. Definitely another keeper. Fans of paranormal romance, and romance fans in general will love this book.
Also recommend Dark Prince and Dark Desire

I hope all of the women in this series are not like this woman. She is seriously making me crazy. Whining for 6 full chapters so far. So weak and idiotic. She just cant seem to get a grip. I certainly hope the rest are stronger. Please tell me this is not a common theme throughout. I really like the carpathians, the female in this book is absolutely intolerable.

Fingers crossed...hoping.....

If you can accept the premise of the series, than this book is more realistic than most others in the series. It is one of my favorite stories, Dark Destiny being another. The characters are well developed, the storyline good, and having the human caretakers is a nice twist. Aiden's conversion of Alex occurred more by accident than intent, which is a nice change from her other books (frankly, the he-man beating on his chest approach was getting a bit repetitive). Alex's reaction to finding out that she was converted was very believable. This story is much better written than the first book in the series (Dark Prince). A great read, I would not hesitate to recommend it to first time readers of this series.

Loved this installment! of the Dark Series Aidan and Alexandria are one of my favorites set of characters in the Dark Series So far. This is a must Read Vampire Series I've read several Vampire series and this is one of the Good Ones! I'm going on #4 and will Continue to read this series. I LOVE IT!!

After reading Dark Challenge, I can still say that I refer to Dark Gold as my favorite so far. The heroine was sympathetic and I really cared about her, and Aidan was just wonderful - not the flawed character Gregori or Julian are. The chemistry was great, the human factor was wonderful and I really enjoyed this one the most so far I believe. It's tough to say, but I have 3 or 4 more books left to go...

This is probably the only book in Feehan's Dark Series that I was a little disappointed in. Personally she should have made this one the short story and made Dark Descent the longer version. Alex was ready to give up her life for her brother, than becomes a real sissy the rest of the book. I still liked the book in other ways, with the battles and Aidan's relationship with his servants and Alex's little brother. So it was worth reading.

This was the third book I read, after Dark Fire and Dark Desire, obviously I'm not reading it in the right order. I thought Fire was best overall, and Gold was good because Aidan was a really sexy hero. But it seemed incomplete, for eg, I thought there was a lead-up to something sinister happening with the Ivan character but nothing came out of it and he just disappeared from the story. But bringing in Gregori was good, because it showed his darkness and his power, preparing us for his story in Dark Magic, which I hope to read soon, along with Dark Prince. Maybe Ms Feehan could write longer books so that the stories can work themselves out better? And I could have a longer read too!

Great Book! I would highly recommend all of Christine Feehan's books. If you like Gothic Romances, you will love her books.
Aidan Savage is an Ancient Carpathian, 800 years old, one of the oldest living Carpathians. All Carpathian males must find their lifemate or they will eventally turn to evil, lose their Carpathian ways and turn into a vampire. Aidan has found his lifemate Alex. Alex is not Carpathian she is human, a human with physic abilities. She fights to stay human and continue her everyday life with her brother Joshua. Since the death of their parents, she has raised Joshua on her own, and has a hard time dealing with the love others are willing to give to them. She fights the love Aidan, Stefan and Marie give her and Joshua. If she will only give in, she will find happiness for them both.

"Feehan once again provides a book that stands well on its own, but is infinitely stronger with its companion novels. The "lightness" of Dark Gold takes some adjustment after the emotional thunderstorm of Dark Desire, but Gregori pops in on the trail of his erstwhile lifemate, showing Dark Gold takes place approximately twenty years after Dark Desire. Feehan's books are a treat for the jaded paranormal fan, and luckily, there are many more ahead."
Excerpt reprinted from The Bookdragon Review.

What the heck did I just try to read? Hardly any of it made any sense!! The writing is so vague when the heroine gets to the hero's house with dialogue that goes absolutely nowhere, that I just couldn't take it anymore. DNF.

I'll admit it. I REALLY didn't want Alex for Aidan. She annoyed me.

What I did like was the human family that Aidan had created for himself before he met Alex and Joshua. It made the dynamic of Aidan dealing with Alex and all her human complexities and Joshua's trust and need to feel safe, more real and less 'domineering Carpathian male' being put out.

Translation:MORE FUN!

Aidan is Golden!

I just found Christine Feehan--and her "Dark" series. I really enjoyed the first books in this series. Unfortunately, I can't the same about this one.

I found Alexandria to be a boring heroine--immature and selfish. What would happen if a human woman enjoyed being "turned"? (TAKE ME!!) Adain had more patience than I would have. (Actually, so far ALL of the Carpathian men have been VERY patient with their "lifemates. Makes me wonder if it is really worth finding her--most of them are royal pains.

I am still going to read the rest of the series and hope that Ms. Feehan was having an "off day" with this one.

Don't let the negative reviews keep you from discovering this series--basically--it is very good.

This book was so bad that I have to wonder if family and friends of the author wrote the other reviews. I feel like I was deceived since I got it based on those same reviews. To be honest I didn't (couldn't) actually read the whole thing. I think I threw it against the wall after 50 or 60 pages. I forced myself to read that far. I should have gone with my initial reaction and tossed it after the first 5 pages.

Loved it, i found it facinating because Adian lived with humans and trusted them, not like other Carpathian males. His character was kind, generous, loving and protective which is exactly what Alexandria needed. I really enjoyed the humor between Adian and Alexandria, made me laugh out loud. I'm truley hooked.

...I am not a huge romance fan, but I love her books! This is another tour-de-force from Christine. Her characters are rich, deep and complex. There is passion, mystery and the fight over evil. Aidian and Alex make a terrific pair and the extended family is wonderful. I highly recomment all her books. I've not been disappointed yet!

I loved Dark Gold and the other two in the series. I couldn't put them down until I finnished each book. I do wish I could have learned more about previous heros and the women they bewitched. I can't help asking myself, did Jacques and Shea have children? Where in the US did Julian settle? Has any of the others taken mates yet?
The series really is wonderful and I'm waiting impatiently for the next to be published in July.

I bought this without realizing it was a "vampire genre" novel -- something that I long avoided. But I now have over 15 of her books, including the "Drake Sisters" and "Games" series. Her characters are so likeable. If you're a newcomer to Feehan, I hope you'll enjoy her stories too.

This was the first book I ever read by Ms. Feehan. I enjoyed this book so much that I bought the other three to the series and am looking forward to the 5th one in November, 2000. Normally I'm not into books that run in series but these books had me glued. Would highly recommend!

I must say, even though i rated this book 5 stars, i missed the other characters(Mikhail, Raven, Jacques, and Shea). But this book was absolutley another best of Ms. Feehan. Aidan makes you want to kill him and kiss him at the same time. In the 3 books of Ms. Feehan's about the Carpathian race that i have read, i have always loved the female in trouble, the handsome male rescues her. And this takes the cake along with her first and second books. I am really going to miss these men and women when she ends her series on the Carpathian race....vampire or not..you gotta love 'em!

I think Dark Gold is a wonderful novel. The story is beautiful and sad and funny. It takes you through a range of emotions and gives you vivid pictures of what is going on. I would recommend you read this novel, it is worth the time.

Write on, read on
N.M. Phillips

I agree with some of the other reviewers in saying that the book was good when there was conflict with the vampire in the beginning, but then it quickly died down. I'm a bit sick of all the "I just want my freedom and why can't you let me do what I want to do" "I can't cuz I'm overprotective" that's been going on in the books. There needs to be more diverse storytelling. Why can't there be a capable woman who doesn't have to be tiny that can actually equal her lifemate?

I absolutely loved this book. I actually reread it right after I finished it. Aidan is so sexy, and Alexandra was so perfect for him. I liked that she continued to defy him, as opposed to other heroines who meekly do as they are told when faced with someone so powerful. This was my favorite out of her dark series. If you are a fan of Nancy Gideon and Amanda Ashley you will love this book...

THIS CARPATHIAN SERIES...WAS ANOTHER ONE THAT DEFINITELY A PAGE TURNER FOR ME..AND IF LOVE THE CARPATHIAN SERIES AS MUCH AS I DO YOU WILL ENJOY THIS LITTLE TALE OF ALEX AND AIDAN!

THE WHOLE CARAPHIAN MEETS PYCHIC GIRL, BATTLING THE VAMPS..I TRULY ENJOY!

TO THE FULLEST.

If a vampire novel could be realistic! I liked how Aidan gave Alex the time to get used to him before claiming her. The other Feehan novels that I've read (Dark Magic, Dark Prince, Dark Desire) - this was, I would say, better. I'm one to reread my books and I've come back to this one frequently over the past few months. I just really love the story, the characters seem very real and I found myself wanting Alex to fall for Aidan, for his gentleness with her. So far, this one is my favorite for the Dark series.

that hasn't already been said? But I just had to add my recommendation for this excellent book! Though it definitely has a different feel to it than the first two ("Dark Prince" and "Dark Desire"), it will still keep you riveted from the first page. Christine Feehan has created a world that I am more than happy to lose myself in. This book and its predecessors are well worth the "price of admission"! I look forward to each new installment of the series.

"Dark Gold" was a much better novel than I had expected after reading the reviews. "Dark Gold" is one of the better "Dark" books. The hero actually had a distinct personality - not the usual cookie-cutter alpha-male Carpathian.

This was the first in the series that I read. After reading it (two times in one week! ) I had to see if there were more. Luckily there were! I highly recommend them to anyone. It's a great twist on a theme that can be hard to find romance in. The characters are what one wants in a leading man, although in reality their strong personalities might be a bit trying. I would like to hear more about the characters from the previous books. All I can say is "keep'em commin, Christine! "

NOT HAVE I PURCHASED THE FIRST FOUR OF HER BOOKS, I HAVE READ THEM AND THROUGHLY ENJOYED IT ALOT. I CAN NOT WAIT FOR "DARK CHALLENGE " IN NOVEMBER. WHEN IT DOES COME OUT. I'LL BE CERTAIN TO BUY IT TO READ I AM SURE IT WILL BE JUST AS THRILING AS HER OTHER WORKS. CHRISTINE IS A WINNER AS FAR AS VAMPIRE ROMANCES GOES. IF THERE WERE A RANKING OF UP TO TEN,SHE WILL BE MOST DESERVING OF IT.

Dark Gold, the third in the Carpathian saga, was a wonderful book. This one is a bit gory at times, but well worth reading. I can definately sympathize with the feelings of Alex. Read this book and you'll fall in love with Aiden, too.

THE AUDIOBOOK WAS WELL MADE. I WAS VERY SURPRISED OF THE QUALITY OF THE JACKET THAT THE DISK CAME IN. I ORDERED THE FIRST 3 , DARK PRINCE,DESIRE,MAGIC. ALL 3 ARE VERY, VERY GOOD. THE AUDIOBOOKS, ARE AS GOOD AS THE BOOK. THEY STAY RIGHT WITH THE STORY, THAT IS IN THE BOOK FORM. I SEE THAT THERE ARE MORE DARK AUDIOBOOKS COMING OUT. I PLAN ON GETTING ALL OF THEM.I ALSO HAVE DARK GOLD

THANK YOU

LOUISE FORREST

VERY HAPY WITH DOING BUSINESS WITH the store

THIS BOOK WAS EXCELLENT! WHILE READING IT, I FELT THE EMOTIONS OF THE CHARACTERS. IT BROUGHT ME RIGHT INTO THE STORY. THE WAY CHRISTINE FEEHAN WRITES MAKES YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE COULD ACTUALLY BE A SPECIES OF CARPATHIANS/VAMPIRES OUT THERE. SHE MAKES HER CHARACTERS SEEM SO REAL. I EAGERLY AWAIT HER NEXT BOOK. I HOPE SHE CONTINUES WITH THE SAME STORYLINE. HER CARPATHIAN SERIES IS A MUST READ IF YOU LOVE (VAMPIRE) ROMANCES.

This is the first book of Ms. Feehan's I have read. I just ordered the other two! Dark Gold is very well written. I enjoyed her spin on the vampire/romance genre. She has a great imagination. This story is oozing with romance. Warning--once you start reading it you will not want to put it down, so make sure you have lots of time to cozy up with this one.

Dark Gold (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 3) This book is one that you don't want to put down. It is an excellent continuation of the Dark Series from Ms. Feehan. I would recomend this series to anyone whom was caught up in the "Lestat" series.

I love Christine Feehan's books but this one is the worst of all them. I really just hated Alex and the fact that she blamed him for what a vampire did to her. He saves her life and she treats him like crap. She was soooo selfish when all they wanted to do is help her deal with the situation. But all in all I read the book because I really love this author.

This series is wonderful!! I started reading this series in 2005 and still never get bored with it. I have recommended this series to several friends and family members and like me they haven't been able to put the books down. I can't wait till August 31,2010 when the next book in the series "Dark Peril" is released.

IT WAS A GOOD STORY, BUT I EXPECTED MORE. IT FELT LIKE CERTAIN THINGS WERE LEFT OUT. OVERALL GOOD, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I JUST HOPE DARK MAGIC MEETS MY EXPECTATION. I HAVE READ ALL THE BOOKS SO FAR AND AND THEY WERE GOOD. A WRITER WHO IS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT HER CHARACTERS AND THEY WAY THEY FEEL FOR EACH OTHER.

Christine Feehan is a very talented author. I can't wait to read more of her books. Dark Gold was totally awesome. I keep reading it over and over. Christine's Dark series is worth reading and keeping every book. Aidan and Alexandria's romance was everything that we could hope for during a Carpathian romance. Can't wait for the rest of the series to be published.

I have started the fourth book in the Dark series, I gotta admit, I'm hooked. The story, the characters and the way its written. Cheristine Feehan has been deemed the Goddess of Dark Writting as far as I am concerned. I wouldn't think of picking anything else up. I have recommended this to anyone I know who loves to read. And will continue to do so.

Yet another amazing , Hot , and Sexy book.
I started reading the entire Series by accidnetly starting with Dark Symphony ...I have not ordered and read the entire Dark Series( in under 2 weeks) ...and Dark Gold was certainly not a disappointment , You can't get enough !!

I love the dark series, i'm a long haul driver and get the audio's, but for some reason i can't get number 3 dark gold and #4 dark magic. I'm from Oklahoma i hope i can get these wonderful books soon on audible.

I just love this book , this author is fantastic. I loved this one as well as Dark Prince and Dark Desire. It is my wish that Ms Feehan writes the next one about the healer of the Carpathians. A must, you will love her books as much as I do. all are well written.

I have read all of Linda Lael Miller Vampire books as well as Anne Rices'
Christine Feehan is now on my must read list and this makes her one of a select few. You MUST read this book.....it has passion, drama and great humor

I LOVE THE DARK SERIES, I HAVE BEEN PATIENTLY WAITING FOR GREGORI'S BOOK. WHICH PROMISES TO BE THE BEST OF THEM ALL SO FAR. I LOVE THIS BOOK, AS WHITH THE OTHER TWO I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I WANT MORE OF THIS SERIES. SOONER THAN LATER

I have collected all of Ms. Feehan's book since reading the first of this series. I find that with each book I get more involved with the characters. This book has only left me wanting more. Trilling, romantic, and fun, what more could a girl ask for?