Author's Cut Special Edition (Dark Series) - Dark Prince

Dark Prince has been a favorite book of mine for a while. It is one of those books that I re-read at least a couple of times a year just because the story resonates. I'm not sure what I was expecting with the author's cut and the extra 100 pages (maybe a couple of deleted chapters...). Instead, we see the characters build and grow. In the original release, I always felt that Gregori was a stronger character than Mikhail, but with the restored pages, we see that Mikhail has some bite (pun intended!!) Not only that, but Raven is not quite the "Pollyanna" she comes off as in the original release. I like her even better, now!

I will admit to cringing when Mikhail started to use some Carpathian phrases near the start of the book, even giving an audible "OH, NOOOOOOOO". But, fortunately, the inserts are sprinkled in sparingly.

If you like the original, I think you will love the the author's cut. I do!!

Beauteous Prince of the Carpathian people Mikhail and his lifemate Ravens story. The story starts with Mikhail about to commit suicide, his deep emotional pain psychically gets Ravens attention. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Christine Feehan stories. PARANORMAL AT ITS BEST!!!!

This has to be one of the best books I have ever read! I am an avid reader of Feehan's Dark Series novels, and this was the only one I had not read. It was so wonderful I had a hard time putting it down.

This book was just bad. I figured I'd try Feehan's series out while waiting for my usual authors (JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lara Adrian, and Kresley Cole) to come out with their latest books. How this series sold so many and got such good reviews, I can't imagine. It was over the top with the romance novel stereotypes, the writing and sex scenes were sophomoric, and the characters were so one dimensional that the whole thing read almost comical. It was like someone wrote a SNL sketch about paranormal romance. The male lead is obnoxious, arrogant, and at times sexually violent (Are there really people that think forced sexual contact is an attractive quality???). The female lead is weak, wishy washy, and just wholly unlikeable. There are no redeeming qualities for this book and I tried REALLY hard to find one. In fairness, I haven't finished it. I made it about a third of the way through and I'm done. I honestly can't bring myself to waste the time. I would rather re-read every one of the books from the authors mentioned above while I wait for them to release new material.

I loved this book and paper back and I love it in the digital format. I think I am switching to digital on all my books because no one can steal them from me and I have access to them anywhere I choose from the Kindle, to the Iphone, to my computer! Thank you so much for making this available on the kindle. The book was awesome and the plot great. I give two thumbs up.

I have read only 10 books of the dark series but I must admit this book was capivating without lengthy emotional scenes and was a compliment to our magnificent author gifted with a complete gift and unparrelled(spelling?) artistry of imagiation. I am so thrillled and thankful for MS Feehan.

Again, new to this online reviews..........As I recalled it, this review was for "Dark Descent" and not "The Dark Prince", really messed up, now after reading 23 of MS. Feehan's book........she remains at the top.

Just finishing "Dark Prince".

This book was not at all what I expected. I put off reading it because I did not think I would enjoy the whole vampire thing. I was wrong - the story is about MUCH more than that, and I absolutely LOVED it. Feehan is an excellent author, pulling you into a story so much that you feel like you are living it. I cannot say enough about her or this book. I just ordered the rest of the series, and I cannot wait to "devour" it!

The writer kept your interest from the beginning leading the reader through a series of conflicts between two worlds. The underlying issue of two individuals from entirely different worlds learning to exist and compromise is as current today as it was hundreds of years ago. It is an interesting read and well structured with a great cast of characters. I enjoyed it and look forward to the author's next book.

I have read many of CD 's books and even reread some. She allows you to use your own imagination to carry on her descriptions. She does not describe every little detail like some writers do. You can make it live for yourself.

I really like the story line and the world Feehan is building. However, this book DEFINITELY needed an editor (it's noted that she had her daughters edit the book)!!! Too many words and descriptions are repeated too many times (It actually is distracting after awhile). I'll read the next book in the series with the hope that the editing is tighter.

I found this author's writing inferior to other urban romance author's such as Kim Harrison and J.R. Ward. The story was boring in the beginning. It did puck up a little toward the end. U would not recommend this book.

I'm embarrassed that I spent $1.99 on this. The plot is shaky, the chemistry is just awful. It is contrived and sad. The Shades of Grey drivel is better than this. The Twilight books seem like classical literature in comparison. Maybe the books get better as the series moves on? I'm 26% of the way in and I just can't continue. If only Kresley Cole could write faster... Now, how do I delete this dreck from my kindle?

Who doesnt love this book? Yeah its just a teensy weensy hard to get into first off...but after the roller coaster gets over the first major mountain...its nothin more than a high speed coaster the rest of the way! I love all theese books...keep em coming Christine!!!!

I read "Lair of the Lion" first, and that lead me to read this series. (I love Vampires!!!) I loved this book, seriously didn't disappoint.
I plan to read all of this series, and I think anyone else would enjoy it.

I was thrilled that Christine Feehan's first book in her Dark series was being released in hardback and will have 100 additional pages. And I looked forward to receiving my book. However, I was very disappointed with the quality of the book. At first glance, it looks very nice. But when I opened the book, the first thing I found was the first pages loose from the spine. It's a publisher defect. So I returned my copy for a replacement and I just received it. I was dismayed to find the same defect in the second book. Though very disappointed with the replacement, I have decided to keep this book. Since the store does not give me the option to contact a Customer Service department to report the poor quality, I felt it important to at least let other customer be aware of what I found.

I must be the odd one out, but I didn't like the book at all. I read the first two chapters and put it down. In my opinion it lacked excitement, the characters were lack luster and the writing was stilted.

Worst book ever! I like a damsel in distress once in a while but this character couldn't do anything for herself, I mean nada, nothing, ziltch! The main character spent 90% in a induced sleep that her lover forced upon her. If thats not bad enough the love scenes were terrible!!! White lighting, Hot velvet, liquid fire,hot silk, white hot heat, blue lightning, white heat, liquid heat, etc....... These are seriously terms used OVER & OVER to describe their sex! Not hot at all in my book & poorly written. Okay now lets get to the non-exsistant story. Mikhail is a vampire but although he bites raven over and over (once almost taking to much blood and killing her) she doesnt know hes a vampire. He claims to love her but he constantly erasing her memory with his powers as well as making her do things he wants with his powers....sorry thats not love, that's actually rape. The plot was almost non-exsistant, which can be okay in a romance book IF the romance is there. However, the romance was as non-exsistant as the plot and the whole book was filled with lame sex scenes and a weak female character....I mean really really WEAK.Did I mention Raven fell in love with Mikhail INSTANTLY soooo in love that she knew he was her destiny right away, PUKE...how lame.10% into the story they already had their first white lightning sex scene. The story was pretty bad, I only got 60% of the way through and I had to force myself. Save yourself the money and check out a better romance then this one.

Absolutely loved it! I read nearly every dark series book before finally being able to read this one, so by the time I did I was burning with curiosity about Mikhail and Ravens story....I was not disappointed it was a thrilling read from beginning to end! Well worth the wait!!

Here I thought I found a new series of Vampire stories and then when I read it although the story is original a nd well written it had a LOT of explicit sexual stuff in it and that spoiled everything.
The entire series is good enough, I think , to stand on its own merit without the explicit stuff.
from rain

Could not put the book down. It was sexy and warm at the same time.

I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a different kind of hero.

I also recommend people watching Moonlight on CBS Friday at 9PM as well as all Christine Feehan's other books.

Dark and sensual cutting my senses to the core...leaving me breathless and wanting more! what are you waiting for? this world that C. Feehan created is something you need to explore! of thee I deeply implore!!

SPOILER ALERT!

Star Rating: 1 star only because I could not give a zero or negative rating.

Let me start out by saying this is my first book review despite reading an average of two books a week. I'll never get back the time I put into reading this "book", but if I can save just one person the agony I suffered then it will be worth it.

I have read great books, I have read good books, I have even read "ehh" books, but this book makes me wish we could bring back the long and dark days of book burning. Unfortunately I read this on my Kindle otherwise it would be in the fireplace! Since I could not send the main characters of Raven and Mikhail to a fiery death into the sun, I found myself thinking of ways I would prefer to meet my own end rather than finishing this book. Raven vacillates constantly between submissive and dominant, stupid bravery and paralyzing fearfulness, catatonic and Chatty Cathy, so weak, so strong, blah, blah, blah. Mikhail - well words cannot describe the hubris that this male possesses. Look, if you are so domineering that you have to turn a woman you just met into a vampire because she has yet to realize that she is your lifemate then you shouldn't turn into a complete sap when she freaks out. Deal with it!

As for the story line, it is pure rubbish. There were way too many tangents and so many places where this story could have - should have - ended. I kept waiting for Mikhail and Raven to find a cure for cancer - that's how meandering the plot is. Vampire meets girl, vampire turns girl. Crazy fanatics want to kill dying breed of vampires. Vampires kill fanatics. Son of fanatic (who previously though his father was a loon) finds his dad's evidence, now he is a fanatic with an express mail account. Burns vampire's house down. Vampire uses mind control to make young fanatic crazy in order to discredit him. Throw in the fact that the leader of the vampire hunters is a vampire himself (this comes up in the last 20% of the book out of the blue!) and he covets the other vampire's woman (of course). The story makes no sense. I'm sorry Ms. Feehan, but this "Author's Cut Special Edition" should have been left locked away in whatever deep dark hole you had it in. This story reads like a child's book report that has to be 2000 words and only one paragraph makes sense. There is so much nonsense thrown in that the premise of the story is lost making the finished product laughable.

Honestly I probably have three chapters to go before I finish this book, but I could not care any less about what happens to the Raven, Mikhail, Gregori, Jacques or anybody else. Right now I am searching for a spoon that I can use to scoop out my eyeballs.

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I decided to give Christine Feehan another chance. And I was enjoying this one more than the first novel of hers that I attempted (once I got over the "Ugh--another vampire novel" feeling) until I got about ¾ of the way through. Then, it just got boring and repetitive. The characters say the same things over and over. The situations become extensions of the initial conflict. Then, a new character from left field gets thrown in occasionally to, I assume, shake things up but serves no real purpose to the story. And, what ever happened to that guy who seemed like trouble at the very beginning of the novel—Noelle’s husband whose name I can’t even remember? Rand? He was obviously being set up as some sort of bad guy but the author just dropped him.

Also, Raven has the same last name (Whitney) as Lily from the other Feehan novel I read (of a different series). But there is no mention of how/if the characters are related. I assume there is some connection but a very brief internet search when I started listening to this novel turned up nothing and it wasn’t worth the effort to hunt further.

Anyway, I’ll give it 3 stars since I liked most of it but am disappointed that her novels did not meet my expectations.

The narrator, Juanita Parker, was alright. Nothing amazing and nothing terrible. I will say that she sometimes read the sex scenes too quickly and without emotion as if she had gotten tired of reading them. (There were quite a lot.) I'll give her a B.

Awesome. She is a psychic who having helped the police track numerous killer's is now burnt out and needs a place to recuperate. He is a dark, handsome hunk who unbeknownst to her is from another race. A race very similiar to a vampire in that they need blood but not in the sense that they kill indiscriminately. Although if they do not meet their soul mate, with time they do turn into one. He is close to turning but meeting her saves him. However his race has been hunted by hunters and when a hunter appears it is her who pays the price. What will happen to both of them? Will their love be enough for them? Brilliant story, fabulous characters (although I must admit that the cover is not how I pictured him). I had bought the hardcopy of this year's ago and have re-read it numerous times, so much so that I need another copy.

2.5/5
This was another series I was loath to start because of the sheer number of books in the series. Although I can say that you are able to read the first book without fear of being left with a huge cliffhanger and a desperate need to purchase the remaining books in the series.

Dark Prince started off really well. The whole sexy vampire feel with elements of soul-mates, supernatural powers, serial killers and an intense romance. Raven is a brilliant character having struggled with her telepathic gift, ostracised because of her abilities, my heart went out to her. Yet, she has held onto her compassion and desperate need to help people go so far as to endanger her help in her efforts to capture the depraved serial killers in society.

Mikhail has the whole alpha male, brooding vampire thing going on. It was very easy to pick up that this guy is not your average human, so I'm not giving any spoilers here. Although, the Carpathians aren't your run of the mill vampires, yes they drink blood but they don't kill and they act more like protectors for the humans living on their land.

Unfortunately, as with all areas of life there are extremists that stick a label on something and then go to the ends of the earth to destroy those they have attached the label to. For me it brought to mind all the inequalities in people's attitudes whether it's referencing religion, sexuality or gender, you can parallel the bias we encounter in the real world.

I really enjoyed the way in which Christine Feehan portrayed both Mikhail and Raven as exceptionally lonely even when with other people and their communication via telepathy as the initial form of contact. It really made it feel like they were meant to be. The relationship progresses very quickly but with the soul-mate connection you can go with the flow on this one :) The differences in attitude and upbringing between Grace and Mikhail (he's from a completely different era) cause more than a few ruffled feathers and even adds to the danger they both face.

As I have stated I enjoyed the story to start with but as Dark Prince progressed I began to find it overly descriptive and a tad repetitive. This is a huge problem for me as it makes me start skimming through the story and not fully engaging with the characters or the plot. It is these specific points which reflect my rating.

4 stars

This was a very good story. I've actually read it before (3-4 years ago) and didn't review it then. This time around I listened to the extended audio version of the story but it's been so long since I read the normal version I can't tell the difference. I liked the story and will be continuing the series.

Raven is a american woman that has psychic abilities. She's used her abilities to help the police catch 4 serial killers but at a great cost to her own mind and risking her sanity. Raven goes on vacation to the Carpathian mountains to rest up and recover but finds an unexpected adventure along the way.

Mikhail is a Carpathian male and the prince of his people (there's no king so he's the top dog). 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. Mikhail's people 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. Mikhail himself is close to the edge when the story begins.

Raven is in an inn in the Carpathian mountains and she feels a horrible pain being broadcast over psychic wavelengths. The pain is so great that she can't help but reach out to try to sooth whomever it is. Mikhail has been riding close to going evil and thought to meet the sun instead of letting himself go bad. When Raven reaches out to him, he feels hope for the first time and he has to find out who she is. When he does, Mikhail is surprised that she's human but he's sure she's his lifemate. He pulls Raven into his life without her being able to put up much of a protest. Because they're lifemates there's a strong pull between them but regardless of this, Raven is kind of freaked by Mikhail and is stuck between wanting to run from him and wanting to do anything she can to save him from his sadness.

The relationship between Raven and Mikhail begins roughly to say the least. Mikhail is the leader of his people and tends to command and be domineering which doesn't go over to well with Raven. Although he tries to continue his domineering ways for a bit, Mikhail soon realizes he's going to have to change to keep Raven happy. He does bond them before Raven truly knows what's going on though and that comes back to bite him in the behind but it also helps ensure Raven sticks around long enough for their bond to cement. There are some problems with another psychic and some vampire hunters with loose morals who are content to kill people they hope are vampires. They cause much drama and danger that has to be dealt with but may still have lasting repercussions. Things work out well for Mikhail and Raven though and they end the story starting a well deserved HEA together.

This was a very enjoyable story. I liked Mikhail very much. He was a bit domineering at times but he soon curbed his more overly pushiness. I liked Raven for the most part but she had issues with being a TSTL heroine at times. Mikhail told her that once they bonded that if she died, he'd died and that was that. Then a few different times when things were really tough, she sought death as both a way out and to "save" Mikhail...conveniently forgetting that her dying would kill Mikhail. It just happened one too many times to no be stupid. Outside of that I liked Raven pretty well. The story was very good and kept me interested through the end. I'd recommend this book.

* note - I listened to the audio version of this story and the narrator did a very good job.

I struggled with the decision to read this series since there’s so many books, there’s 28 with the 29th coming out next month and the 30th coming out in August. I thought about reading the Drake Sisters series along with the Sisters of the Heart series because the next book comes out in April but, I know I would have finished those two series way before getting that book so, get ready for reviews on the Dark Series.

I don’t know how many times I’ve read this book, I don’t even remember the first time I read it because I’ve re-read it so much but, no matter how many times I read it, I will always love it.

I will give a small warning, there is a tiny, tiny bit of sexual assault in the beginning but compared to what this author has written in her other books, it’s nothing.

Now I did have a few issues with Raven but I feel that since it was written so long ago, I can’t hold it against the author and I’m not going to judge Raven by today’s standards.

Her being a damsel-in-distress who tries to save herself but tends to make things a little bit worse isn’t what bothered me. It was a common sense thing. I feel like I should explain myself here but it’ll contain spoilers so, here we go.

*Spoilers*

What I’m about to write is something that happens in every relationship, allow your partner to make mistakes and don’t leave after the first rough patch. What does Raven do after Mikhail talks to her about allowing him to make mistakes? She tries to leave.

When they’re about to be separated, Mikhail tries to talk to her about how it’s going to be but she won’t listen. What happens when she feels what he said she was going to feel? She gets angry and says that he should have warned her. He tried! You didn’t listen!

There were assassins and she almost died and yet she wants to go walk outside to prove a point? Very smart, Raven.

*End spoilers*

I get wanting to prove a point but there’s a time and a place for it and it seems like she chose all the wrong times.

I absolutely loved that the readers got what seemed like equal time with the couple and the plot. When Mikhail and Raven were hanging out, I loved the little things they did to tease each other, it was so cute.

A little note about the next book, I’m really glad that the readers got to see Jacques here and that his story is next, really gives the audience time to compare instead of having other books between this one and the next one to understand him.

While I had the common sense thing with Raven, the entire story made up for it, so many different things to keep the reader interested.

Originally given 3.5 hearts at Rookie Romance.

I really love it when a paranormal romance weaves such a rich and believable world, as I found in Dark Prince. The details of the Carpathian race and their way of life were woven throughout the story in a way that draws you into this world.

Mikhail is the leader and Prince of the Carpathians. He's powerful and his word and decisions are law. Add in the fact that Carpathians are quite animalistic in many ways, and you've got yourself one major alpha male. I love a good alpha male and Mikhail doesn't disappoint. Okay, so he's a little too unyielding at times and definitely has a hint of misogynism about him, but he can also be really sweet and I love his protectiveness. I also admired his sense of duty and devotion to his people.

Raven is used to living a solitary life on her terms because of her telepathic ability. When she feels Mikhail's pain and despair she can't stop herself from reaching out to him, and thus begins one heck of a tumultuous relationship. I loved that Raven pushes Mikhail and challenges him when others wouldn't dare. She's very compassionate...almost too compassionate, and it certainly lands her in trouble. I liked that she reminds Mikhail of his mercy and compassion, bringing light and laughter to his life. At the same time, the girl certainly knows how to get in a spot of bother. She's constantly saying she can take care of herself and then totally disproving it by getting kidnappped/injured and needing to be saved. It's no wonder that Mikhail wants to wrap her in cotton wool.

Raven and Mikhail's connection is instant and intense. They have a mental bond through their telepathic abilities which only strengthens their physical bond. Not that it needs strengthening, they have crazy hot chemistry from the beginning. Raven finds this all a bit much and tries to withdraw but Mikhail doesn't allow her as he recognises her as his true life mate. The Carpathian life mate aspect does excuse the rather fast-onset love that Mikhail feels, but it does still feel a little bit too much, too soon in the story. There's not enough build up in their relationship, for me.

I would have preferred a little less sex (never thought I'd say that) and more of a proper build up in the relationship between Mikhail and Raven. I did like them together and they work really well as a couple, but I didn't love them as much as I'd hoped to since this is such a popular book. Overall though I really enjoyed the story and the whole concept of the Carpathians. I'm certainly intrigued about the stories for the rest of the characters introduced in this book and am looking forward to reading more in this series and discovering the fate of the Carpathians.

*I received a review copy form the publisher, for my honest opinion. Thank you!

This is a review for the special edition that is an extended version of the original with 100+ extra pages. I'm not sure what was so special about it besides all the redundant descriptions and repetitious phrases. If I never read the phrase "white-hot heat" again that will be fine by me. The author constantly reminds the reader that her heroine has "silky blue black hair that falls to her waist"- I get it once or even twice but dozens of times? Does she think her readers are forgetful or is she under a word quota? It got ridiculous. Another review stated that this author needs to invest in a thesaurus and I completely agree.

I ended up giving this 3 stars because I appreciated the old school vampire vibe: not being able to go out in the sun, dissolving into mist, morphing into a variety of animals, including a dragon!, mind reading and control, etc. The last 70 pages or so were action packed and enjoyable, but unfortunately I had to get through the first 2/3 of the book which I found to be very tedious. And even though I like a steamy love story, I really didn't appreciate the flowery prose in this one.

Gregori is an interesting character that was introduced and I would like to read his story, but it's book #4 and I don't have the desire to read books 2 & 3. I'll pass on this series.

I am reviewing the audiobook read by Juanita Parker

How to Woo Your Life Mate by Mikhail Dubrinsky Leader of the Carpathians

1. Never call her by her given name. Always call her "Little One".
It makes her feel special.

2. Lurk outside her window in your animal form and admire her bum with your dark, burning eyes. You have super powers for a reason. Use them.

3. Infect her dreams and mind-molest her. If she says "no" do what you want anyway. Women love it when you take control. Any weeping that ensues is from pure bliss. When you are done blame her for "releasing the beast".

4. She is yours because you have said so. If any man dares put a hand upon her attempt to end his life. You own her.

5. Swoop in and carry her back to your lair where you take control of her entire life. Ignore any token struggle she puts up. She will submit.

6. Rip her jeans and make her wear clothing only you like. Real women do not wear men's clothing.

7. Brand her with your sharp toothies at the first opportunity.

8. Repeat yourself frequently. Women are forgetful creatures.

9. Never gently take her by the hand, always "shackle her by the wrist".

10. Remain arrogant, overly-protective, obsessive, morose, melodramatic and controlling at all times. She will think you sexy and oh-so-strong. And if that doesn't work just compel her and bend her to your will. Again see #2.

It is with great sadness that I must admit that I made none of that up. This is how Mikhail behaves. He is the leader of the Carpathians, a dying race of shape-shifting, blood drinkers whose women folk are unable to produce healthy female off-spring. When he meets the naïve, pliable human (with telepathic powers) named Raven he realizes she belongs to him. He also expects her to "save" his race. He believes she is strong enough, I suppose (though this is never proven), and he plans to impregnate her with female babies who will grow up and become the life-mates of his long-lived men. His men are on the verge of giving in to their "dark sides" and turning into true vampires. Life without a mate really sucks, I guess. I'm finished with the book now and I still haven't a clue why he feels she is "the one" to save them and endlessly birth these amazing girl babies. What if she dares push out a boy, I wonder? I shudder to think of the berating she'll take for that one. Because, you know, it will be entirely her fault.

Anyway, while the two are working out the kinks in their relationship (basically he tells her what to do, she whines a little and then does it) there are villains attempting to put the Carpathian's out their misery permanently. "My women. Assassins are after them! We must protect the women." Action ensues. People are slain and sequels that I will never read are setup.

And then there's the narration. Juanita Parker made an unfortunately choice reading this overblown book in a deadly serious monotone for all of the characters. I tuned out more than I tuned in and did a lot of rewinding. The men all sound the same (mostly angry, always bossy) and not a one of the lot has a sexy accent. Wouldn't a man named Mikhail Dubrinsky, having lived for hundreds of years in the Carpathian Mountains (which, I believe is supposed to be located somewhere in Europe?), have picked up a little accent in all that time? And I know this is a nitpick and someone will surely blast me for it but it has to be mentioned because this is supposed to be a professional production, right? So why on earth didn't someone whisper to the narrator that "acrost" is not a word? There is no T in across. You have no idea how many times "across" is used in a novel until it's pronounced "acrost". It's the little things in an audio that can drive you mad when the book isn't quite working for you.

I know people love this series but I don't think it was meant for me. Mikhail "Do Not Defy Me!" is a jerk of the worst kind, Raven is weak and easily convinced to do whatever he wants, the dialogue is stilted and repetitive and the writing is overly dramatic. I much preferred The Awakening by this author. Tell me the rest get better?

First of all: I bought the original from 1999 several years ago and enjoyed it a lot. It's in many ways an old-fashioned paranormal / vampire romance with a sweet heroine and a tough and dominant hero, the leader of his people and very used to being in control. When his people and the woman he loves are in danger from vampire hunters, there are some action scenes, but they don't dominate the book. The romance is at the center, as well as two people from different cultures dealing with their differences to make a life together. I liked the characters and the story, but it is not politically correct and different from paranormal romance novels from recent years with action-heroines and politically correct males. That's something not everyone may like.
When I read that the author had published a new version with extra material, I read it side by side with the original novel and was rather disappointed. During most of the book, she just added a few passages with the Carpathian language she invented much later in the series and which really gets on my nerves. She also changed the time from the 90s to the 70s, probably to make it fit better with her later books. In addition, she makes it appear that there's a lot of new material by stopping the chapters sooner than in the original, usually in the middle of a scene. As a result, there are a lot more chapters, but just a few more sentences. Only during the last few chapters are there more changes. Two action scenes have been enlarged, there are more references to just how important Gregori is, and Raven is made more aggressive by letting her make snide remarks and defending some humans against Carpathians. I felt this was done to get the book closer to the tone of Feehan's later novels, and in this early book, this really doesn't fit well. In some cases, I think you won't even understand what it's about if you don't know the later books yet. Personally, I definitely prefer the original and feel that this author's cut was an unpleasant way of trying to get people to buy a book they already had and which has actually been made less good. I'm aware that tastes may differ, but the direct comparison definitely showed that there are actually not many new passages during most of the book, and those feel forced upon a book that had a different style. Lastly: There are some claims on the internet that the author added 100 pages, including some sex scenes. That's complete rubbish. With the two versions I compared, the author's cut was about 20 pages longer. If you play around with font size and chapters, you can definitely extend that. But the book was not extended by a third in content. To sum up: I would recommend going with the original. It's a well-rounded novel in which everything fits and makes sense.

These days, bookshelves everywhere are jam packed with works in the supernatural genre. There are a myriad of authors and characters, but always the same old plots, myths, and romance. I recently happened upon Christine Feehan quite by chance. What a rare gem I have found!

I loved this book! I was able to curl up in bed and treasure it...I stayed awake all hours of the night getting to know my new favorite couple - Raven and Mikhail. What a beautiful way to rekindle the hope of true mates in girls everywhere!

Raven is a beautiful heroine. How can we not love a pure, innocent, compassionate, crimefighting woman who ends up finding her mate at what might be her breaking point. Raven has felt and seen such horrific betrayals and been witness to what the worst of human kind can do to each other. Now she’s found her love of her life...and eternity in the Carpathian Prince.

Originally published on my blog, My Urban Fantasies.
(myurbanfantasies.blogspot)

Dark Prince is centered around a species called Carpathians. The best way I can describe them is pre-vampires. They have to drink blood to survive and stay out of the sunlight, but they are not undead. Compared to humans, Carpathians have superior hearing and eyesight. Carpathians can speak to animals, control the weather, find safety and sanctuary in the earth, shapeshift into various animals and shift into a mist like form. Carpathians can also have children, go to church and wear crosses. As for how they're pre-vampires and not just vampire like, I'll get to that in a minute.

There is a price for all those amazing gifts. Carpathians are cursed with the need to find their one mate, the other half of their soul. The males can only find a lifemate with Carpathian women. Carpathian women are the light to the males darkness. The problem with that is there are no Carpathian women left to give birth to lifemates. The few remaining women left can only give birth to males, even then many of the children do not live past their first year.

The Carpathians are now a dying species. Without a lifemate the males will remain in the darkness. Over the past few centuries Carpathian men have lost the ability to see color. They literally live in a drab gray world. Around the same time they also lost their emotions. The rely solely on will, integrity and memory to keep them honorable. The temptation to kill while feeding is a present danger. If they kill while feeding, Carpathians feel "a rush" taking over their mind. That's as detailed as Feehan got, "a rush." I'm assuming it's a rush of emotions along with a jolt to the system, the equivalent of getting a shot of Adrenalin straight to the heart, and in those few moments is the only time they get to feel anything. The down side is that every time they kill they will loose a part of their soul to darkness, eventually becoming the aforementioned vampire. A foul creature, rotting from the inside out, choosing the rush of killing over their soul. Carpathians recognize it as the trading of soul, honor, and salvation for momentary pleasure and endless damnation. Since there are no more women to bring them out of the darkness the Carpathian men fear that they will eventually become vampires or decide to meet the sun, the Carpathian version of suicide. Human women cannot be converted without becoming deranged. It's a seemingly helpless situation, that is until Mikhail meets a human women , Raven Whitney. Mikhail notices that her eyes are blue and realizes that Raven could possibly be his lifemate.

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I absolutely love the concept for Dark Prince. The Carpathian history and the fact that vampires come form a different species, it's just fantastic. What I did not like was the actual writing. Dark Prince has these weird sporadic points, not a lot, but enough that's noticeable. You'd be heading in a certain direction and the next paragraph you're taking a sharp right turn. There was no subtle shift and it did take a few seconds to figure out what happened. Dark Prince was also terribly repetitive, the same descriptions were being used over and over again. I think I even read the same conversation at four different points in the book. I love you, I don't know you, we're soul mates, I'm scared, I need you, blah, blah, blah. Most of the problems seemed to take place in the first half of the book, which is probably why some people never bothered to finish it. The second half is pretty good though.

The main characters were a little off as well. Raven Whitney was supposed to be this strong women who chased after serial killers, basically a bad ass chick. To me she came off a highly annoying in the first half of Dark Prince; trying to run away when she did not want to deal with her feelings, putting herself in danger simply because she could. I liked Raven a little more in the last half when she grew a backbone and a brain. Mikhail is your typical hot, brooding, neanderthal, alpha type. I only had a problem with him during the first few chapters. Mikhail came across as a potentially abusive person with definite stalker tendencies. Later it shifts to the whole, you're the most important person in the world to me, I need to protect you without being controlling and suffocating, I love you for who you are, type of person.

All in all it was a good book. I'm going to have faith and assume the mild annoyances and inconsistencies are because this was Christine Feehan's debut novel.

It may be a reflection that this was originally published in 1999 but the writing is flowery, repetitive and the dialogue overly dramatic. Could have been much shorter. Raven was SO irritating. Not only was she TSTL, her actions kept putting everyone else at risk. It's not good when you're skimming the text hoping she will meet a grisly end. Mikhail is pretty one dimensional. It's a two star review because the book may be a reflection of the time it was written 30 years ago.

I would give this one high two to low three stars. It was ok. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t totally hate it either. Raven was a bit of a flake. I couldn’t relate to her character. She is a young psychic who decides to go on vacation to the hotbed of vampiric activity. What? While there, she meets a man. Well, not physically meets him, telepathically meets him.

When Mikhail discovers a human woman who can talk to him telepathically, he simply has to meet her. When he does, he discovers that she is his life-mate. He is Carpathian. His race is the lighter side of vampires. They don’t kill unless they have to. They can have children and they mate for life. They find the other half to their souls and they die when they die. So Mikhail is a little distraught to discover that his life-mate is mortal.

This is an insta-love book. At least for Mikhail it is. Raven struggles to come to terms with the strange connection she feels to this stranger. There are some very cheesy lines and predictable plot twists. He called her “little one” constantly. It was beyond annoying. I see that the ratings for this get pretty high so I assume that this series gets better.

What I liked was the sexy strong and yes barbaric way that Mikhail takes Raven and makes her his. The Alpha male that gets carried away by his all consuming lust for his mate. Yea, I am weird. There is just something hot about an alpha male. I liked the secondary characters more than the two main characters. I am hoping to see Gregori find his lifemate… if I decide to finish the series. (There are currently 26 books in this series. )

In the Carpathian Mountains lives an immortal race of blood drinkers. These eternal Carpathians face several crises that have the species nearing extinction. There are few females and no new child has been born alive in ages. Humans with their superior numbers hunt Carpathians as soulless beasts. The assertion has support as the male must find his soulmate within a few centuries or turn into blood sucking vampires; some recognize the emotional void when they lose the ability to see colors and choose suicide.

Prince Mikhail Dubrinsky despairs for himself and his people as he is on the brink of lunacy. His emptiness overwhelms him so he wants to shut down the emotions; still he holds back his anguish as his people need him as their moral anchor. He wonders if he totally lost it when he hears a female telepathic voice in his head. Mikhail finds the woman psychic Raven Whitney the serial killer hunter. He knows who she is to him so he abducts her. Using mind-sex to make it with his virgin, Mikhail begins to win the heart of his savior. He has little time to persuade her that they are life mates as a serial killing monster hunts Carpathians with species cleansing the objective.

"The Author's Cut Special Edition" reprint of the original first Dark Carpathian romantic fantasy (released in 1999) includes over a hundred pages removed from the initial publication. These include sexual padding but also provide deeper insight into the Carpathian culture. Mikhail is a wonderful lead character with his mental roller coaster while Raven proves his equal as his soul savior. This life mate team must prevent the genocide. Reader of the twenty-one books series will enjoy the revised alpha thriller with its marvelous underlying premise while newcomers will find this is an excellent way to enter Christine Feehan's Dark.

Harriet Klausner

Christine Feehan's "Dark Prince" is the first book in her long running Carpathian series. Let me start with the mythology of the books:

There is an ancient race of men and women who hail from the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. They drink blood; they can not go in the sun; they can shape-shift; and they can manipulate the earth. They can live for centuries without aging, but they can be killed. Once a man reaches 200 years of age or so, he begins to lose his ability to see in colors and feel emotion. Those things can not be restored until he finds his fated love, his "life-mate," the other half of his soul. If he doesn't find her, darkness grows in him, until one day he either chooses to end his life or becomes an evil vampire. Vampires kill those they feed from; they are evil, rotten and beyond redemption. The Carpathian men fight the vampires to help keep the world safe from them. The future looks bleak for the Carpathians, though, because their numbers are dwindling. They are almost out of women and hardly any babies are being born.

OK. So this book opens with our hero, Mikhail (leader of the Carpathians), making the decision to end his life. But he hears a woman's voice in his mind, telling him not to give up. He is moved by her voice and follows it to a nearby hotel, where he spies her through the window. He realizes he is seeing her in color, and therefore she is his lifemate. The two speak telepathically and Mikhail learns about the woman. She is Raven, a human and an American traveling in his country. She is a psychic who helps police catch serial killers, but her work took a toll on her and she went on vacation to get away from it all.

Mikhail insists on meeting Raven and quickly brings her back to his home. They are very drawn to each other. And Mikhail can't stop himself from taking her blood. There are old stories among his people that a human woman might be converted to a Carpathian with three blood exchanges, but it poses the risk of turning the woman insane.

Anyway, while Raven is at Mikhail's home, a group of Carpathians come with news that someone has killed Mikhail's sister Noelle. As the story develops, we learn that there is a band of vampire hunters, who are targeting the Carpathians. The hunters are fanatics and don't realize they're killing good people. So basically, the book centers on finding the crazed hunters, while Raven and Mikhail explore their relationship.

I have mixed feelings about the development of the love story. Mikhail is pushy and overbearing and Raven is constantly trying to exert her independence. The sex scenes are vivid. Pretty hot, in fact. But the wording can be a little flowery for my taste. Some of the dialogue is a little flowery too. For instance, at one point Raven asks Mikhail what she tastes like (a pretty sexy question) and he answers, "You taste like sweet, hot spice, addictive and so sensual." When I read that, I tried to imagine a man actually saying it. I couldn't do it. Another example: when Mikhail noted his friend Gregori's "sensual mouth, marked by a hint of cruelty." Come on.

So how much does that bother me? Obviously, not enough to keep me away from the other 20 or so installments in the series. I like that the book drew me in from the beginning. I like the hot factor. I could do with a little less of the pushy-man factor present in every one of these books. But again, I keep coming back for more. Give it a try. You'll either love it or you'll hate it.

4 1/2 stars.

Christine Feehan weaves an intriguing tale in her Dark series, beginning with Dark Prince. While some parts of the book can be repetitive, as I have seen some people mention, it is a small price to pay for the wonderful story this author tells.

In this book, you meet Mikhail who is the ancient prince of his people, the Carpathians. Stuck in a world of bleak nothingness for many centuries, he is surprised to find that in his suffering, he comes across a human woman via a telepathic link.

Raven is a beautiful, young, American woman who has come to the Carpathian mountains in search of peace and quiet after using her psychic talents to track down a serial killer in the States. She stirs a fire inside of Mikhail and causes him, for the first time in centuries, to see in vivid colors and feel countless emotions that he had long forgotten.

The story is truly captivating. Christine Feehan is a magnificent writer. She goes into lengthy detail and really paints a picture for her readers.

I will admit, the book has its flaws. However, they are so few and far between, and the story is so well designed, that these things scarcely matter. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves romance with some action and mystery sprinkled in the mix!

I don't know if I like Christine Feehan's books or not. I have read 3, including this one and this review could be for all 3.
Her books are paranormal romances. Dark Prince has an extremely controlling love interest playing against Raven. He was a bit off putting to me. His manipulation of her against her will went past what I was comfortable with. She had compassion for him in the extreme and no matter what he did, she forgave him. His character was not my favorite in the Romance genre.
What I found in all 3 books was that the author jumps right to sex with little or no preliminary introduction. My preference is that an author build the characters and background before throwing them into bed. At the point of first sexual encounter much of the suspense is gone. What is left is hot sex and lust with pages of pseudo story in between. The sex in the books outweighs the story so the book becomes unbalanced. I did not finish this book. About 3/4's of the way through I knew every aspect of their lovemaking and his muscles and her nipples just got old.

Honestly, this is all going to be based upon opinion. Maybe the title is a bit strong, (No this is not twilighty, but Raven does strike me as a Bella) but it was what I took away from the book. I was looking for a good paranormal romance and also searching for a new author to love. This is the revised version? Though I've never read the former.

At first I looooved the book. It was hard for me to put down, and I couldn't keep a smile off of my face. I loved how Mikhail was dominant and powerful, and seemed very different from other male main characters. Raven I also loved in the beginning. Unique, funny, stong... but the more we progress through the book the weaker she became, to the point I didn't care what happened to her.

The beginning reminded me very much of a Beauty and the Beast-esque setting. -SLIGHT SPOILER- Raven gets kidnapped? (Might as well say) held against her 'will', but falls deeper and deeper in love with this man as she is held 'captive', and more or less stays. As intelligent and strong she was said to be... there was nothing behind that but hot air. Yesh she's strong with her 'gifts' but beyond that, she seems very weak and ... empty.

I guess I'm just dissapointed. This started off so well with the first hundred pages or so, and then the leads became so, repetive. "No you will not leave" "Yes I will" back and forth every ten or so pages. That along with the continuous sex scenes that became more and more empty and boring. One good sex scene can go a loooong way if done nicely even two, but once more and more begin to come along, it becomes mundane in detail and emotion. -End Spoilerish-

If you can deal with funky point of views, personality ping pong, and empty sex scenes, then go right ahead. Perhaps I'm just one of those that would've liked the original better.

This was the first book I have read by Christine Feehan and I am grateful to have discovered this series. The plot held me captive right from the beginning with so many elements of romance that I enjoy. Raven and Mikhail have an instant connection and work together to understand that. They also have to overcome some serious obstacles but they are together in their fight rather than going at cross-purposes.

The book has a lot of action scenes and dangerous mysteries to unravel. Along the way, Feehan opens up the world of Mikhail, building legends and history. Many secondary characters are introduced and I hope they get their own stories.

Raven and Mikhail are a well-balanced couple. He is very authoritative and possessive, but she is strong-willed and unafraid to speak her mind and do what she needs to do. Be warned, some won't like the extreme possessiveness that Mikhail especially exhibits but I'm kind of a sucker for it when it comes from the right place.

Feehan is an author I plan to put on my go-to list.

Ok, I'm gonna be honest. Ms. Feehan can obviously write. I'm not having a go at her skills in any way. And I know this is a really popular series. But I hated this book. I really did. I found the whole thing tedious, disliked the characters and by virtue of being female was frankly insulted on numerous occasions.

My first issue was the style of the narrative. Purple prose isn't a strong enough description for the writing in this book. It's extremely flowery and overly verbose, to the point of compromising itself. More than once I simply had no clue what was meant by the pages and pages of endless text. I was reminded that I read the 'Author's Special Edition,' with 100 pages of extra content. Honestly, I can understand why those 100 pages were one the cutting room floor to start with. They weren't needed. The emotional descriptions are endless, but even worse the whole book is ridiculously repetitive. The reader is forced to sit through the same epic recounting of the characters' emotional states over and over and over again...and then a few more times for good measure. And just to be sure you REALLY got it; the same stock phrases are used each and every time. I started to think the book would never end.

Then there was Mikhail's treatment of Raven. It was infuriating. If he infantilized her any further I would be accusing him of pedophilia. His pet name for her is "little one," as if she's some toddler. Even my three-year-old wouldn't stand for that. The narrative only seems able to describe her as small, fragile, innocent, and indiscriminately compassionate, all child-like attributes. Even the sex scenes make her sound like a child, full of her "soft whimpers," "keening cries" and "sobbing breath." He's occasionally described as speaking to her, "softly, as if to a child" and she fills his mind "with a child's wondrous laughter." Gag. I'm a full grown, sexual woman. I want my PNR heroines to be too.

All of that is before we even get into his arrogant paternalism. I lost track of how many times he declares, "I can't allow," I won't allow," you can't," you must." Sure, Raven occasionally argues back to him, but she always gives in in the end, or is simply forced to comply. She never seemed to get suitably angry about this afterwards, though. Add to that the innumerable references to her 'fragile mind.' All those things Carpathian men have been shouldering for hundreds of years apparently threatens to shatter her sanity in just over a week. As a fellow female, I was insulted. Plus, he's constantly trying to put her to sleep, as if she's some toy he needs to shut off when not in use.

Then there was the whole premise of the males lacking emotions. I get it. It's an interesting twist, but I don't buy it. How exactly can the men feel loyalty or honour if they can't feel anything at all? They'd all be psychopathic loners without any emotional bonds.

Lastly, there were all the subtle religious undertones. Honestly, I kind of wonder if the author even knew she put them in. They almost felt unintended, as if it was such a normal part of her that she didn't identify it as out of place in the novel. They did feel out of place though. They just popped up unexpectedly on occasion, with no warning or substantial contribution to the plot.

Now, I will admit that Feehan has created an interesting vampire myth by separating out the Carpathians. And I really did like the complexity of the antagonist(s). The fact that he was pure evil, but also pitiable was multilayered and appreciable. Again, I also admit that the woman can write. I'd be willing to give another of her books a try. But this book was not for me. I like a good alpha male as well as the next romance reader, but there is definitely such thing as too domineering and Mikhail passed that on about page 5. I'm just glad to be finished.

The Carpathians are a race that live for millennia and have psychic and physical powers. . They shape shift into animals and can become fog, while moving and travelling with phenomenal speed. They survive on human blood but never kill the donor and wipe memories when finished. Sunlight and violent wounding can kill them though they heal themselves from other injuries. They sleep in healing earth during the day and are awake at night. They're declining in numbers though, as no females have been born for hundreds of years and few males survive infancy.

The male has a darkness which grows until he finds his life mate - who balances and illuminates his darkness. If he doesn't find her, the male gradually loses his emotions and ability to see in colour. He is condemned to a lonely, dark and despairing world devoid of all happiness. When he does find her, he regains his emotions and his world becomes full of joy and hope. Males who don't find their life mates become filled with dark despair and "turn," becoming vampires who can then feel exhilaration by murdering humans and Carpathians. They tried to take human women as life mates before. Humans go violently insane when their bodies were converted to Carpathian and have to be destroyed.

Mikhail, the Prince and leader of the Carpathians, decides to take his life to stop the darkness. A woman's voice tells him not to give up and he follows it. The owner is a human woman he sees in colour, showing she's his life mate.

Raven is a psychic who helps the FBI track serial killers. She's come to the Carpathian Mountains for a rest after her last case. They're quickly drawn to each other and Mikhail starts to turn Raven, before marrying her. There is a group of fanatical vampire hunters targeting non-humans. Having killed Mikhail's sister and her unborn, they then focus on Mikhail and Raven.
This is the first in the Carpathian series and has lots of background about the race. It's not a gripping story though and it was later books in the series that got me hooked. For someone saying she's intelligent all the time, Raven does some pretty dumb things. "Ooh, fanatical assassins around, I'll just go for a long walk in the dark woods, all alone". Mikhail is unbearably bossy and overbearing. Sure, he's a prince but his "I know best' attitude is annoying.
Not the best cover art either. Ok read for when you have nothing better to do. Not suitable for tweens - there's quite a lot of sex.

Mikhail Dubrinsky is the prince of the Carpathian people. His race is slowly dying and regardless of his studies light and dark, he has found no way to save them. In despair, he contemplates ending his life when he hears a beautiful voice in the night, urging him not to. He is fascinated and intrigued by this voice, and for the first time in centuries, his feelings return.

She is Raven Whitney, a gifted human telepath, who has answered him. She has tracked serial killers for the police, and the last one has left her both mentally and physically exhausted. Although she has seen some of the most horrific things one can imagine, she is innocent, and still feels hope for the world around her. Taking a long needed vacation, she has come unknowingly to the land of the Carpathians

When they come together, Mikhail is faced with the problem that she is not only a human, but his lifemate as well. How can he bring her into the world of the Carpathians without her losing her innate goodness? She is everything he could ever dare dream of. Both beautiful and compassionate, can she accept him for what he is?

Evil stalks them in the form of the vampire--corrupted Carpathians who feed on the terror and pain of their victims. Will the vampire succeed in his mission to destroy Mikhail, and his bond with Raven?

Get caught up in the beauty of the first book of the series. I have read it many times, and I love going back to the original characters. Lose yourself in a different kind of vampire novel. A stellar beginning to the legacy of the Dark novels.

Dark Prince does not meet the expectations of the romance genre. Its main couple insist they are both strong people who want the best for their partner, but the novel lies on both counts.I found it very difficult to like Mikhail or even relate to him as a character. He had a great deal of self-loathing for what he was doing to Raven and the danger he was putting her in, but he went on doing it, blaming it on his nature. His attempts to control her at the beginning really irked me and it only got worse when Raven didn't have a semblance of choice over their bond. I tried reading this a few years ago and stopped after they'd had sex three times in the first hundred pages without any reason or other plot. The tension between them seemed repetitive. Raven acts like a five-year-old in her attempts to achieve a form of independence and Mikhail treats her like one, not acknowledging that this is a greater problem than the fact that she puts herself into danger every time she tries to assert herself. Raven tries to be a strong heroine, but fails at every turn because she is stifled by Mikhail's chauvinistic tendencies. He has the gall to tell her that their bond guarantees that he will always try to make her happy, despite all examples to the contrary.

I also had problems with the plot. After the initial struggle between their personalities grew tiresome, it seemed as if Feehan continued tacking on more plots to stretch out the story. She tries to incorporate the vampire hunters into the storyline, but they fall out of focus as Mikhail and Raven battle it out. Raven is almost raped twice, stabbed five times, and miraculously saved by Gregori. The vampire hunter action seems worn out at this point. However, the midwife's previously unmentioned son suddenly appears and goes insane over some evidence that vampires exist (and that Feehan never reveals). Raven is nearly burned to death, buried alive, and nearly goes insane before deus ex machina aka. Gregori saves her... again. But no vampire story is ever complete without the actual evil vampire putting in an appearance. Really who is this guy? The reader gets barely any backstory and no character development other than the fact that he makes the instinct-driven, tormented Carpathians look like saints. Andre screams plot device, but there's no rhyme or reason for him other than to kidnap the lovely damsel-in-distress, erhm I mean heroine, and promptly drive her crazy a second time. Honestly, I don't get it. At first, she trusted him, couldn't exist without him, and pleaded to be rescued, then suddenly, after he rescues her mind you, he's a monster? Make up your mind, you flimsy excuse for a feminist.

This book had an interesting premise, but the weakly developed side characters and taped-together plot effectively staked it through the heart and made it burst into flames. Mikhail's overbearing personality and nature made Raven look ineffectual and weak and him controlling and self-contradictory. Even if the rest of the series is extraordinary, this first hurtle makes it difficult to muster up the courage to continue.

Have you ever read a book where you flipped the last page and thought that the story was just fantastic? Have you ever felt this way about a book while not entirely loving the way it was written? I can easily say that I experienced this for the first time with Christine Feehan's DARK PRINCE.

This is a fantastic, dark, and very sensual story. Mikhail is the Carpathian prince; leader of his people with dark powers that are best kept hidden from humans. Raven is petite American woman, strong of character and mind. In fact, her mind is so strong that she is able to delve into the minds of others and discover their hidden truths. After helping to capture a particularly disturbed killer, Raven escapes to Romania for some alone time. Her peace and solitude is cut short, however, when a mental cry of desperation and anguish reaches her. Reaching out to him as her compassionate nature dictates, Raven finds herself entwined with Mikhail in a relationship that will change both of their lives.

The premise of the story was fantastic. The Carpathians are a separate race from humans and although they may appear to be vampires, as Mikhail will tell you, they are not undead. Feehan has created a fascinating world where we get the sensual darkness of the vampire paired with the exciting form changing of the shape shifter. This is probably one of the aspects that made this story so appealing to me. I didn't have to decide whether I wanted to read a story about vampires, or whether I wanted to read a story about shape shifters. I was able to satisfy both cravings with DARK PRINCE.

Another fantastic aspect of the book was the way Feehan developed the romance. Feehan has very strong Alpha males and Mikhail is no exception. He is tall, dark, powerful and so very protective. Once his fixation with Raven begins, no force on the planet will be strong enough to tear his mind from hers. At some point, every woman wonders what it would be like to be completely adored and worshipped by her other half. Many go through their entire lives just looking for this perfect soul mate. In DARK PRINCE, Feehan gives us a taste of what this utter devotion would be like. She really writes it in such a way that it is easy to fall into the story and become one with Raven and her adventures.

The story is fantastic; there's no denying that. What I had a hard time with, however, was the writing style. Now, before I go much further, I should remind readers (and myself) that this book was written in the 1990s and as such was written in a different writing style than what we commonly see today. It really is crazy to see how much books and the writing in them has changed in the past decade. Regardless, whether it was due to the writing style of the time or not, I had a hard time actually getting through DARK PRINCE.

I'm all for using descriptive words in writing. Without good imagery, the reader can't be transported into your world and become a part of the story. There is a point, however, when the imagery stops being helpful and starts hindering the story. Raven's blue-black hair is silky. We heard such multiple times throughout the book. In fact we even heard such multiple times in the same paragraph. When the same descriptive words are used over and over again, the reader eventually gets to a point where he or she starts skipping the words out of boredom. This can get annoying in the general story, but during romance scenes, this repetitive use of the same words and phrases can really ruin what would have otherwise been a good blood-pumping moment.

That's probably my biggest complaint about DARK PRINCE, yet I don't really want to label it as a complaint. As I mentioned, I absolutely loved the story; I just wish it had been a bit easier to read.

Fair warning: This book is full of adult scenes and themes.

Overall, I would still recommend DARK PRINCE to readers. Not everyone may have the same issues that I did and many will find the same wonderful elements in the story that made it stand out to me. If her other stories are anything like DARK PRINCE I am definitely going to have to give Feehan another shot.

The Carpathians are a unique race, similar to vampires but more complex. Not only are Carpathians monogamous but they only fall in love once. The male Carpathians grow darker and more cruel over time because of their violent existence. Not only do they feed on blood but they hunt down those of their race that have "turned" and have become ruthless killers. The one thing that keeps a Carpathian male from darkness is falling in love. Those that do not fall in love slowly see the world in darker and darker terms. When the male finds his life mate, the world grows more colorful -- he literally sees in color again -- and is happier, content.

We see the physical effects of love when Mikhael meets Raven. Their love story is particularly well done - rather explicit but tasteful. Mikhael and Raven are sympathetic lead characters and draw you in. I found myself engrossed with their love story and the suspense. After all, Mikhael and the Carpathians face deadly killers while Raven is able to sense and hear the Carpathians and the hunters. Mikhael tries to behave decently - struggling against incredible difficulty and odds - and it's his courage and integrity that inspire loyalty and devotion from the Carpathians and the villagers. Raven's willingness to take on others' suffering makes her a good match for Mikhael. Her inherent goodness and empathy give Mikhael and the Carpathians hope - she represents a new beginning, a possible future for the race.

I very much enjoyed Dark Prince. The story of the Carpathians is complex and fascinating while the danger that the race adds suspense. The best part is the love story between Mikhael and Raven. Overall, Dark Prince is an engrossing, satisfying read!

ISBN-10: 9780062009623 - Hardcover
Publisher: William Morrow; Special edition (March 8, 2011), 496 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

This was the first book I read from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Paranormal Romance is a new genre for me and I find like every genre the majortiy of books are real good or real bad and this book was a pleasant surprise.

The book takes you to the Carpathian Mountians where you are introduced to Mikhail Dubinsky who is the leader of the Carpathians..while Mikhail has been in existence for 400 + plus years he has seized to exist and feel like other living beings; until his mind is invaded by the voice of a psychic power. Raven a woman who is known to have used he psychic powers to help aid those in pain becomes aware of Mikhail's pain and seeks to help ease it.

As the story unveils we are made aware of a curse that most Carpathian men face of eternal darkness. A curse that only their true lifemate can break and release them from. Mikhail has accepted Raven as his lifemate but Raven has to find the strength in herself to overcome the preconceived notions of Vampires planted in her mind since birth and her quest for freedom of attachments. She too recognizes the bond that she shares with Mikhail but is afraid to cross the line from humainty into the supernatural world that the Carpathians. She is unsure if she is ready to give up her human life and embrace true love.

This book is excellent! I knew the male angst in it along with the vampire element would make me like it, but I had no idea how much. The world created by this book is what really intrigues me. It's a canon universe full of nothing but angsty males longing for their soulmates, STRONG females that can save them. It's perfect!

Here's a brief description. I don't consider it so spoilery that it needs to be behind a cut, but it does contain a little bit, just a description of the universe.

The Carpathian's are another race of beings, strong, powerful. But they are dying out. They are almost all males now. Carpathian's NEED a soulmate. Without one, they lose the ability to see color, the ability to feel emotions, and eventually lose themselves to the darkness. As the time passes on and a Carpathian male reaches that threshold, he has the choice to kill himself and meet the sun or let the evil and darkness consume him and become a vampire. So, in essence, you have an entire race of dark, despairing males searching for a strong woman to save them from their anguish.

I really liked both the lead characters in this story. Raven is strong and non-whiny. What? A decent heroine? Yes!!! Mikhail is powerful and aristocratic, but fully at her mercy. I love his role as prince of his people. He's the perfect mix of confidence bordering on arrogance and need, despair, and pain. I really wish I could read more stories focused just on them. But, at the same time, the side characters definitely intrigue me, and I am very very very much looking forward to reading about all the other Carpathian men, Gregori, Jacques, and Aidan the most. The possibilities for the set-up the author has created are unlimited. I went ahead and bought all the books in the series right away.

I will warn that some parts verge on dubious-con, but they are soulmates and happy together.

The only negative I will say is that the actual writing style is very jarring to me. The perspective switches frequently. One sentence is Raven's thoughts, and the next in Mikhail's. Mildly annoying but easily overlooked since the plot is so amazing.

Christine Feehan's Dark Prince is a refreshing take on vampires (Carpathians). In the novel, Mikhail, prince of the Carpathians, finds his lifemate (soulmate), Raven Whitney. Raven is the only person who can keep him from death.
Before I go into what I liked, which was most of this book, I have to point out that Christine Feehan didn't waste any time establishing the relationship between Mikhail and Raven. In fact, its starts out in the first few pages. The first third of the book consists of many sex scenes. There was a little bit of plot progression but it was mainly centered around their romance. As soon as the action started, the romance was balanced out.
The characters were very real. They all had their flaws, strengths, and fears. Each character was an individual, having complex and justifiable reasons for their actions. I enjoyed every character, even the obscure ones. However, I was annoyed by Mikhail's possessiveness and arrogance, even though I understood why.
I really liked this book. I'm a huge believer in love and soulmates. Christine Feehan definitely captured true love in Dark Prince. I would recommend this book for adults who love paranormal romance.
Warning: several graphic sex scenes, gore, and some violence.
3/5

A new hidden species or an ancient one? A friend or foe? If you like the strong forceful hero with a hidden marshmellw center for the ones he loves, the Christine Feehan Carpathian series is for you. They are fiercly loyal but they can make a ruthless enemy. Choose carefully which you will be.

Mikhail is prince of the Carpathians. Raven is a psychic looking for a respit after the trying hunt for a killer. She reaches out to a soul filled with despair and loneliness. She wants to impart hope but finds more than she ever could imagine. Whatt is this man who draws her so. Is he her own salvation or the monster who will bring about her destruction.

Dark Prince brings draws you in from the start and holds you captivated to the end. You will be look ing to start the nextin the series "Dark Desire" just so you can continue to find out more about the Carpathian people and their culture. Although each book is a srand alone novel the truly best read in order so that you can keep the timeline straight.

Enjoy yourself as you introduce yourself to your soon to be dear new friends.

I read one of the last installments (Dark Possession) of this series by mistake really, just picked it up cause it looked like a fun quick read for the weekend, it was highly erotic and enjoyable so I was pleased. I grab this first one (Dark Prince) to understand some of the plot from the later installment. I can see why the story line is intriguing to most Vampire novel lovers, its chalked full of possession, obsession, lust, need, passion and aggression. What it is lacking is a real story line outside of the sex, don't get me wrong Christine Freehan knows her way around erotica I will give her that, but the plot is a bit reaching.

It reminds me of Branstoker's Dracula a bit, but only in the since that the male Carpathian Vampire themselves are in great need for what she calls a lifemate, if they do not find there one and only mate they become Vampire (soulless creatures with unending blood lust) or they can walk into the sun and end there life. Freehan writes of the Carpathians in that typical Dracula way, they originate from Romania, they can become mist, or shape shift into various animals (Rats, owls, bats, wolfs), they sleep during the day (preferably in the dirt), and they can be killed thru means of steak to the heart and chopped off head. Not that original really, but Freehan does make you feel a real genuine liking for the charters in this book.

Her dark hero is the head "Prince" of the Carpathians, its set in modern day - her vixen is Raven a murder investigator of sorts that helps the police find serial killers by means of telepathy. She is a born physic - she travels to Romania for vacation and happens across the Prince by means of telepathy on accident. The Prince is instantly astounded by her talents, especially considering the fact that she is human, they banter back and forth thru telepathic commutation until he grows wary of this seeks her out at the local inn. He pretty much abducts her and then they begin a tit for tat bantering that last for a few chapters until he can't control himself much longer and just takes her for himself. He has little control over his feelings, he is convinced that she is his lifemate, because of his unyielding lust and the emotions he now feels. He was dangerously close to becoming Vampire before he came across her. Desperate to keep her with him and save himself from a horrific fate he binds her to him in a series of sexual blood letting acts that prevents her from ever leaving his side or it would mean her death as well.

Meanwhile a clan of Vampire hunters are on the loose looking to kill any Carpathian or Vampire they can get there hands on...the marauding Vampire hunters take a back seat to the love story between Raven and her Prince who are consumed by passion and desire for one another.

If you like Vampire Erotica it's a good read, but yes the editing is not that great unfortunately - I recommend the other installments of this Carpathian Series though, her later books are even better written and editing is not a issue. Like a fine wine this series gets better with age. The first book is a must read though if you have read the others.

What a great introduction to new series! The author was able to explain a lot of detail about the Carpathian race without being overwhelming. The information was woven throughout the story seamlessly. The characters are 3-D and real. Christine Feehan brings a story to life and makes you feel like you are a part of the story/life.

I enjoyed the story of the men in this story and the idea that they needed the women to equal them out. However, Raven's, most of the time, illogical need for a freedom never denied her got tiresome. Her selfish desire to have her way at all times no matter the danger she brought upon herself and those sworn to protect her in the name of "independence" was absurd. I am all for a strong female, but geesh...get a grip. She's teeny, tiny, has no fighting skill, can barely control her own telepathic abilities and she states over and over she can take of herself. I willing to bet the girl couldn't find her way out hole with a flashlight, directions, and a ladder. She'd probably whine and cry about the trees killed to create the ladder, the insects whose eyes would be hurt by the flashlight. That is taking into account she wouldn't pee herself because she was in a hole. Sigh....

However, it builds a nice foundation and I was left wanting to know more about the other characters. Raven...I could do withtout her.

I almost stopped reading this book around the 50% mark, and I wish I would have. The plot, I'm assuming was meant to have an element of suspense, but I only found it to be tiresome. Throw in insta-love, a weak heroine, and bland characters and story development and this is what you get. I think my biggest pet peeve was the repetition of the term of endearment the hero had for the heroine. Every page it seemed as if he were referring to her as "little one". I got so annoyed with the constant occurrence of this term. Overall, this read didn't cut it for me. There was really nothing about it I enjoyed and it won't be a series I continue.

This book was the beginning of the magic of the enchanting Carpathian world. I was in the used bookstore after finishing Kenyon's "Acheron" (bleak disappointment) and I was looking for a similar author in the paranormal romance genre. The store owner put Dark Prince in my hands and I have been hooked ever since.

I fell in love with Mikhail from the start. His anguish vibrated right off the page and I felt the pain of his long, lonely existence which had brought him the brink facing the sun and suicide. I loved how Raven connectd to this lonely man and brough him back from the edge. I thought she was a perfect match for the Prince, especially since she herself had lived a life almost as an outcast because of her abilities; their chemistry and connection was a natural fit.

I found so much in this book that was unique and refreshing: the character of father Hummer and his spiritual relationship with Mikhail, the unbreakable committment of the Carpathian male to his one lifemate, the allure and mystery of the Carpathian mountains, the threat of the human vampire hunters, the promise of more Carpathan males finding mates amoung psychic, human women... So many possiblities come with hope and love.

Five tears ago, I would have disdained the notion of reading any type of "romance" book; however, I had become frustrated and disillusioned with modern fiction with all the angst-ridden, unsympathetic, and tortured characters. I am so glad I gave this series and genre try. I now buy the Dark series full-priced if the used bookstore are out of stock. Wonderful read and highly, highly recommended.

Mikhail Dubrinsky is the leader of the Carpathians, a powerful race that is dying out due to lack of females. Raven Whitney, a human, is vacationing in the Carpathian Mountains after using her telepathic skills to help catch a serial killer. Raven senses Mikhail's distress and the two of them realize they have a connection to each other. Raven may be the life mate that Mikhail thought he'd never find and she represents hope for the Carpathians.

Ugh. I really hated Dark Prince and, though I tried to stick it out, I finally had to put it down after three chapters of torture. The first problem is the characters. Raven is everything you expect in a romance heroine: slender, small bones, tiny waist, big high breasts (how often does that combination happen naturally?), big blue eyes ("brilliant sapphires"), long thick lashes, skin like satin, full soft mouth, "a wealth of raven hair tumbling down her back to draw attention to her rounded bottom" (Ugh!). Raven's physical features are described over and over and over. The phrase "her slender..." (fill in with "arm," "body," "form," "wrist," etc) was used 25 times (assuming that the store has the entire print version searchable, I'm not sure). Every man wants Raven, yet she's completely unaware of it. And totally innocent. We're told that Raven is also intelligent, but I saw no evidence of that.

Mikhail is everything you expect from the brooding blood-sucking type: tall, rich, important, dark, broad-shouldered, chiseled features, arrogant yet passionate and, for some unknown reason, completely infatuated with Raven. Not only does Mikhail look great, but he sounds great, too. "Black velvet seduction was in the molten huskiness of his voice." (Ugh!). By the way, the word "velvet," which applies both to Mikhail's voice and Raven's creamy skin, is used 32 times in a 447 page book which calculates to, on average, one "velvet" for every 14 pages. With that much velvet, I could reupholster my living room.

This kind of stuff offends my ears (I was listening to this in audio format), but this isn't the worst of it. What I really hated was that these two meet telepathically and speak about 3 paragraphs to each other while Mikhail spies on her when she's alone in her bed in a white lace push-up nightie (how many antisocial young virgins normally wear those to bed, I wonder). Suddenly he becomes outrageously jealous at the random unwarranted thought of Raven with another man: "Rage shook him, raw and deadly." (Ugh!)

Then he claims ownership and control of Raven and starts bossing her around, calling her "my woman" and "Little One" (this title is used 132 times in a 447 page book -- you do the math). Despite Raven's protests ("Don't try to intimidate me, Mikhail; it won't work. No one tells me what to do or where I can go.") He manages to get her exactly where he wants her to be and she seems to be rather ineffectual against his manipulation. Though we're told she's intelligent, she seems naively unalarmed when Mikhail says these sorts of things (which make up most of his black velvet seductive speech):

* Do not disobey me in this, Raven.
* You will drink. Obey me in this.
* Obey me at once.
* Why do you defy me?
* Do not try to leave me, little one.
* Stay!
* Do not try to leave me, Raven. I hold what is mine and make no mistake, you are mine.
* You need to sleep.
* You are not nearly as afraid of me as you should be.
* You will never repeat this foolhardy act again.
* I will not tolerate any foolishness that might put your life in jeopardy.... I will not lose you.[he's got his hands around her throat here]
* American women are very difficult.

These examples are all in the first 60 pages of the novel when they've known each other for one day. This is Mikhail's courting behavior. Raven's "foolhardy act" was to take a walk in the woods around the resort while on her vacation. Apparently American women are very difficult because they like to choose their own activities while on their own vacations rather than obeying handsome violent strangers. After this conversation, he carries her off to his lair. And she's not kicking and screaming. Does Raven think that Mikhail will become less demanding, controlling and possessive after the courting is over?

Well, I couldn't stand it, so I gave up. I don't like Mikhail and Raven and I don't want to read any more about their twisted relationship. How any self-respecting woman can think this is sexy... I have no idea.

"Dark Prince" by Christine Feehan is a refreshingly original paranormal romance, putting a new spin on the average vampire tale. The premise for the Dark series is highly original and very entertaining. With a dark and dangerous hero who all but sends sparks from the pages, this sexy tale will leave female readers breathless.
Feehan has created a fascinating race of people with her Carpathians. Carpathians are immortal beings at one with nature who need blood to survive but never kill those they feed on. They have many special gifts such as the ability to shape-shift into any form, telepathy, and the ability to communicate with animals. However, the Carpathian race is dying out. There are very few female Carpathians left, and nearly all the babies born are male and do not make it through their first year. After centuries of life, male Carpathians lose the ability to see in colour and to feel emotions. The only way to remedy this is to find their lifemate, their female counterpart and the light to their darkness. If the Carpathian cannot find his lifemate, he must either seek the sun and kill himself, or turn into a true vampire, a creature that kills its prey mercilessly, in order to receive the rush of feeling the kill provides.
This tale begins as our hero, Mikhail Dubrinsky, prince of the Carpathians, is about to seek the sun and end his life. He can no longer stand the isolation and monotony of his colourless life, and so plans to end his existence. In his bleakest hour, suddenly a human woman makes contact with his mind. The human woman, Raven, convinces Mikhail not to take his life, and Mikhail is so intrigued by her that he seeks her out. Mikhail quickly realizes that since his contact with Raven he is seeing in colour and is feeling real emotions for the first time in centuries.
Could this tiny human be Mikhail's lifemate? She is unlike any woman Mikhail has ever met, so lonely and yet so filled with compassion and goodwill. Raven gives Mikhail a gift more precious than any other, the gift of hope for the future.
Raven Whitney is visiting the Carpathian Mountains on a well-deserved vacation. She is taking a break from her job of telepathically tracking serial killers, wanting to rid herself of the taint of the sick and twisted minds she has been inside of. But when she meets Mikhail, it seems that relaxation isn't in the cards for her. Raven knows that Mikhail isn't like other men. He is intense and brooding, and seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Raven is overcome by the powerful feelings she develops for Mikhail in such a short time. And likewise, Mikhail recognizes that Raven is the only woman for him. She is his soul, his heart, his life, and he is hers.
But many things stand in the way of Mikhail and Raven's happiness. There is a group of ruthless vampire hunters in the area murdering those they think are vampires and hunting Mikhail's family and friends. Mikhail knows that Raven will be in danger from these assassins and he is determined to protect her at all costs. Mikhail knows he must hunt down the assassins and stop their evil and fanatical campaign, despite the danger to himself.
Mikhail longs to make Raven Carpathian like him, for if he does not she will age and die like any human and will take him with her to the grave. Without Raven there is no Mikhail, but every human that they have tried to convert has gone mad and has had to be destroyed. Will Raven be able to deal with the change to Carpathian? Or is insanity all that awaits her? Her psychic gifts may help her through the transformation, but is Mikhail willing to take the risk?
As Mikhail tries to keep his people and Raven safe from the fanatics, he must decide what the future holds for himself and Raven. But a horrible incident takes the choice out of Mikhail's hands and now all he can do is wait and see if Raven will survive, and if so, if she will ever be able to forgive him.
"Dark Prince" is a wonderfully sexy tale, full of passion and tenderness, danger and suspense. Mikhail is a fantastic hero who readers will fall in love with. Likewise, Raven is a truly beautiful heroine, inside and out, and it's impossible not to love her. Feehan has created an exciting and deeply sensual fantasy world that will captivate readers. This story is fresh and fun and comes highly recommended!

I liked the Carpathian world a lot. I love the old world 'charm' that you feel with this book. All the technology and advancements that come with the modern world but you have the ultra, dominating males and their old world thinking to contend with as well. I especially like the exotic location, i feel that the mountains are extra wild, untamed and it makes me think of a time where the forests covered the world and creatures roamed.
In one word, Mikhail and Raven's relationship would be passionate. Initially I had trouble with Mikhail because of his alpha, domineering ways. I wanted to yell at him myself in some places. I tip my hat to Ms Feehan because the transition from dominating alpha to caring mate was so smooth I can't even tell you when I started to love Mikhail, all I know is that their relationship is so full of emotion that I was just bouncing along behind. I have to put in here that I liked Raven from the beginning, a person so caring that she chases after killers even when she has to training, but with a stubborn core that I can totally relate too.
I got the impression that you have to grab love and life with both hands becuase you don't know how long you really have together.

Although it was a quick, easy read this novel did not live up to its glorious reputation. I couldn't get over the mental image of Bela Lugosi standing on the stairs speaking to the children of the night whenever our hero, Mikhail, entered a scene.

The entire thing read like a black and white monster movie, even though it is set in the modern age. Feehan does her heroes a disservice by giving them antiquated dialog and stilted mannerisms. She tries very hard to use the heroine to bring us into the modern age and throws in computers and such, but they seem very out of place. I might have liked the novel better had it been set in the 1700's.

The romance was tiring and lacked chemistry and the plot was lifted straight from various vampire lore. I kept waiting for the villagers to show up with pitchforks and torches.

The most compelling characters in the novel were secondary - Mikhail's brother Jaques and friend Gregori. Once I resigned myself to the cobwebbed black and white imagery Feehan conjured, I enjoyed the story. I found myself skipping ahead in several places however, and I can't say it was anything better than a rainy afternoon's diversion.

ever read one of those annoying completely predictable vampire books? you know the ones with the suave, vampire with a heart of gold and all that crap? yeah i've dragged through my share to well thank god this isn't one of those. Christine Feehan has developed a whole new world with her dark series. One with heriones who can do more than swoon and flutter and heroes who can do more than smash stuff.
Dark Prince is the story of Mikhail, the prince of an ancient race called carpathians. They live surprise surprise in the Carpathian mountains. After 200 years carpathian males lose the ability to feel emotions or see colors until they find their lifemate, in this case it a small fiesty american, oh aren't those the best? spunky, tradition snubbing american clashes with old world domineering male? if no lifemate appears the males can turn, turning into the vampires of human legend. anyway this woman, Raven is psychic and has been tracking serial killers when she takes a vacation to the carpathian mountains to rest. and meets the mysterious, dashing and dark mikhail.
Mikhail doesn't know how but he does know for certain that Raven is his lifemate and will kill anyone who tries to take her away from him. you've got to love those possesive, jealous guys who can't help but give into their compassionate heriones. Mikhail completes the binding ritual of his people and so the problems begin. Mikhail knows he could conceiveable convert Raven to carpathian but most likely she would turn into a deranged vampiress and have to be destroyed. The problem also arises that Mikhail's people are being hunted by a secret society of vampire hunters and Raven is being hunted by vampires who are seeking a mate though they are beyond help.
i loved this story for the unusal story line and devoured it in a single night and immediately bought the entire series. This story acts like a template for the other books of the series but if you are afraid you'll be reading the same story over and over again be reassured each story is different and something completely unto itself.
definetly go for this book. something different with the strong, sure hero so absent in real life of late it seems and the herione who knows what she wants and isn't intimidated. a good read i would reccomend to anyone.

This would have been better without all the repetitiveness. It was literally painful to read simply because every page had the same information! Grrrrr. The story & plot could have been really good if the author hadn't been bogged down. If she had taken out all the repetitions this book could have been AT LEAST 100 pages shorter! She has another series I am going to read book 1 of. If it is like this one, she will go into my DNR (Do Not Read) pile. Yes, I keep an organized list of authors.

This is the first of Christine's Dark series, introducing the Carpathians and their world to the reader, and also to Christine's amazingly sensual style of writing, with internal studies of both heroines and their Carpathian mates . . .

The agonized mental cry of Prince Mikhail to Raven was what caught my attention, when I read the blurb describing the story, and was hooked from the get-go. I have read everyone of them since, including all the short stories, and can say that I have Never been disappointed. Each Carpathian, and each heroine have their own history, trials and tribulations---that makes each episode unique----never boring, never mundane!

As long as Christine keeps writing this series, I will continue to pick them up and get lost in the dark, intense, sensual world of Carpathian men and women and their struggle to survive and love . . . .

What can I say? I'm a sucker for an alpha male who knows what he wants and goes for it! The story of Mikhail and Raven was already a great one. But with this new authors edition, there is so much more to them! I fell in love with them all over again.
Mikhail is used to getting his own way and he is used to people listening to him and obeying him without question. Raven is used to being on her own and listening to no one! Talk about your opposites attracting! They have an intense relationship and it is seemingly an impossible one. This book will keep you turning page after page. There is a lot of action...both adventurous and sexual ;) Mhmmm...hot, intense sex and lots of it!! And lets talk about the cover! I LOVE it!! It really caught my eye. It's a beautiful book and I just had to have it! If you've read the original version of this book, then you will surely love this edition! It just adds a bit more bang for your buck! Truly a fantastic read and a great addition for your book shelf!

Before reading any of the Dark series, keep in mind that Dark is not just there as window dressing. Dark Prince is the first of these novels. Raven, a young psychic from the US has come to the Carpathian mountains in Rumania for some R&R after helping police track a serial killer. Raven likes her alone time, but is drawn to help the absolute despair she feels in Mikhail's mind. And no, Mikhail is not a vampire. He is a Carpathian, a species of people who look human, but have a different biology. They are shape shifters who live an extraordinarily long time. Sunlight will kill them if exposed for long periods, and they feed by drinking human blood. However, if they kill while feeding they become vamires, and are wholy evil. Carpathians have set themselves up to hunt down vampires, and basically just want to live in peace. Carpathian males lose their colour vision and emotions if they do not find their lifemate. The longer they go without finding their lifemate, the more likely they are to kill while feeding, since it povides them with the only high they can feel. Unfortunately, most of the Carpathians were wiped out several hundred years ago by the Ottoman Turks. And, for some reason, the few remaining pairs have only male children, and have for the last five hundred years or so. Human females that have been converted in the past have had to be destroyed because they are deranged vampiresses.
Mikhail believs Raven to be his lifemate, but she is human, and that entails some problems. Also, a group of human vampire hunters have come up to the Carpathian mountains to kill, and aren't too picky about who or what, as long as they believe that their kills are vampires. This is a lovely story, but not for those who aren't willing to accept violence in their romance.

I only wish there was a 6 star rating to be given. Ms. Feehan is exceptional. Dark Prince incredible first novel and a definite trend setter. Christine has put a new twist on Vampire legend with her dark Carpathians. This novel won Ms. Feehan three P.E.A.R.L. awards - for Best New Author, Best Shapeshifter, and Best Paranormal for 1999. I highly recommend the entire series.
The Carpathian's are a separate species of beings. The have special abilities such as superior strength and the shapes shifting. They require blood for nourishment but only kill when they're own lives are in peril. For males of the species their longevity is both a blessing and a curse. After a century or two the males lose the ability to see colors or to feel emotion. The only cure is to find their life-mate, the light to their darkness. Only by bonding to this life-mate can sensation be restored to the men. Those who can not bear the wait must choose to seek the sun or become that which is hated by humans and Carpathian's alike, the Vampire. For these lost souls the kill is like a drug which gives them a temporary rush of feeling.
The situation is becoming desperate for the Carpathian race, women are scarce, nearly all of the children born are male and only a few of these survive infancy.
Mikhail Dubrinsky, prince of the Carpathians is the most ancient of all his people. Carpathians don't age as human's do, he appears young and handsome, and devastated. He has held out longer than any Carpathian male but can no longer bear the darkness of his existence. He is contemplating giving himself to the dawn when a voice touches his mind and his life is forever changed. He is barraged with and excess of color and emotion. How can this be?
It had been a mere myth perpetrated by humans that victims of vampires could be turned to become one. As desperate as the Carpathians have become, it had been tried. All of the women had become mad. Yet the sympathetic voice within his mind is a human female. How can she be his life-mate?
Raven is a young American woman of psychic ability. It is this trait, which may be the key to the survival of the Carpathian race. Raven is vacationing in the Carpathian Mountains. She has been employed as a hunter of serial killers. She needs to erase the foul taint of the murderers thoughts from her mind when she senses a man in deep despair. He is contemplating taking his life. She cannot allow that.
Mikhail cannot resist going to her and though she is frightened of him, she finds him irresistible. Generally she avoids contact with others. Their voices clamor in her head, their touch brings physical pain. Not so with Mikhail who takes her pain away and threatens anyone who even inadvertently harms her.
Among the humans staying at the inn are fanatical vampire hunters. They have already claimed one victim, Mikhail's sister, Noelle. Mikhail suspects that one of the crafty undead is behind the movement. Mikhail with his superior talents and Raven with her psychic abilities become a team to end this madness. Through blood exchange for injuries sustained Mikhail inadvertently converts Raven, a torturous process. Raven survives is appalled by the change, but it soon becomes apparent that as a true life-mate she cannot be parted from Mikhail.
The successful conversion brings new hope to the Carpathian males. Psychic human women may be the key to the race's survival. When Raven becomes a pawn of the vampire everything must be done to save her life or the risk of losing their Prince will become inevitable. It is the obligation of every Carpathian male to put the Prince's life before there own. Here we get our first true glimpse of the personality of Mikhail's brother Jacques prior to his own story - Dark Desire.
This story is intense and sensual. The relationship between life-mates transcends that of of mankind. Highly recommended. Look for Dark Desire, Dark Gold, and the soon to be released Dark Magic.

Mikhail needs to meet his lifemate or he will committ suicide to stop himself from changing into a ruthless vampire. Raven enters his head and his prayers for a lifemate have been answered. The only problem is she is human and therefore has many limitations. The risk of changing her into a carpathian is great but with assassins hunting their every move, Raven's life is threatened. Mikhail knows the only way to save her and himself is to change her to one of them and fight the assasins. She is the Carpathian's ONLY hope to continue their race because the males must have life mates to live a carpathian life and they need women to reproduce more female offspring. Women carpathians are a dying breed.
Mikhail loves Raven so possesively, he almost suffocates her by controlling her every move, even when she sleeps and how deep. The completeness of his love was beautiful but I imagine if I were Raven I would be very turned off by his obssesive controlling of her. Still, he was an amazing hero and very easy to love!
This novel had a strong beginning. I was immediately drawn into the plot but about half way through I felt the pacing become erratic. The story seemed to drag at some points and go too fast at others but I still wanted to find out about these characters because I was in love with them. I became attached to their strong love for each other and felt they were well-rounded characters.
If you enjoy love scenes, you will love this novel. Almost every other chapter has a steamy love scene. Every other chapter also had a very violent scene.
I am continuing to read the rest of the series because I hear that they only get better. I highly recommend! :)

Mikhail Dubrinsky, prince of the Carpathians, had decided to end his life the night he met Raven. He had given up on ever meeting his life mate and was weary of his existence. Unless a Carpathian male found his life mate, his other half, he lost all emotion and lost the ability to see in color. Plus there was the fear of becoming the monster vampire of folklore.Raven had just helped the police catch a serial killer with her psychic abilities and was on a much needed vacation to blot out the ugliness she had endured while in the killer's mind. She felt Mikhail's pain one night and communicated with him telepathically, hoping to comfort him.I have to say I began the book with some trepidation. Mikhail was very arrogant and bossy. He decided he wanted Raven and proceeded to try to take over her life. Not so many pages later I was in love with him, myself :) Unfortunately for him, Raven was a very independent woman and let him know she thought for herself. Yet, she was comfortable with him as she had never been with anybody else in her life. Always a loner, it was nice to be with him.I loved the whole life mate idea. No Carpathian male could ever cheat on his life mate and the word divorce wasn't even in the Carpathian vocabulary. A bond existed between life mates that linked them together forever. There is so much more to the story but I don't have the room to go into it all. Dark Desire is a great love story with vampires, telepaths, and shape changers as well as vampire hunters and murder and vengeance. Did I mention sex? Lots of that, too.I bought the rest of the series today.

I read the original release back in 2000 and years later when I walked into the book store and spotted this gem on the table at the front where all the New Releases rest I jumped on it. This is basically Dark Prince, but with added chapters that were removed from the original leaving a lot of questions, though with this one the questions have been answered and giving the feel of completion in this part of Mikhail's and Raven's life.

I thought this book was awful. I keep forcing myself to turn the page thinking it might get better. There were a lot of things repeated more than once which I felt was unnecessary. The first half of the book was boring. It started to finally show some potential when the villians were after them. But then I was disappointed again with what I felt to be a not so exciting ending. What irritated me the most was that the lead male kept demanding the lead female's obedience. She would defy him then at times she would be terrifired of him. It just didn't make sense. The first quarter of the book was more like he had her hypnotized and was always putting her to sleep so that he could take advantage of her. The relationship seemed forced and because of that I just didn't feel these two characters belonged together. It also bothered me that through out the book he kept calling her "little one". Come to think about it, I don't think he used her real name (Raven) much. That was a turn off. At this point, I'm not sure I want to continue reading the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mikhail and Raven's story. I am a big fan of anything that is different, especially fantasy/paranormal stories. Although the vampire genre is not my favorite (there's something about the dead and romance that don't mix), Ms. Feehan does a fantastic job of avoiding that issue and making a whole new explanation for "vampires". Other writers, like Jasmine Creswell have broached similar themes before, yet Ms. Feehan brings everyone to life in a series (like Susan Krinard with her wolves) so we can see more depth to each story and the overall plot.
The "Carpathian" males are such great characters. They cherish their women folk (almost to the point of obsession, but what woman wouldn't like to be pampered and loved so thoroughly?). Mikhail has so many weights on his shoulders (a dying race, murderers, fanatics, living life with no emotions, etc) yet, Raven acts as his perfect counterpoint and compliments his character. A strong women herself, who doesn't want to be told how to live her life (a very independent American vs. the old world European), she really doesn't want to believe what is happening to her. This story, mostly about our hero and heroine's relationship, does not leave out other sub plots and ideas which we look forward to seeing written about in later novels. Do not miss this book (and its successors)!

Dark Prince is the first in Christine Feehan's multi-book "Dark" series. She creates an intriguing world which continues to grow and develop in subsequent offerings. We're introduced to Mikhail, pince of the Carpathian people; Gregori, the Dark One, warrior, healer, bodyguard and friend to the prince; Mikhail's lifemate, Raven; to the culture of the Carpathian people, and plots and subplots which are resolved for this tale but some of which are continuous threads in the series. I like this book, the series, and the characters. It is a romance, a story of the paranormal, and is set in our time and in our world. Some of the more intimate scenes are a little long but, in my opinion, the characterizations are worth it. Dark Prince by Christine Feehan, ASIN: B00324D7II, http://www.the store.com/gp/product/B00324D7II/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

I thought that this was an interesting series debut, though I have admit, being of Eastern European extraction, that using the term "Carpathians" for the dark and tortured heroes constantly amused me, because that's not what that term automatically brings to my mind. I guess it sounds suitably mysterious for people unfamiliar with that area of the world, but it just makes me laugh.
If you like your heroes strong and possesive, your heroines feisty and stubborn, then this book is for you. Mikhail is the ultimate dark and dangerous hereo, about to allow himself to die because of centuries of loneliness. Raven is a human psychic who picks up on his distress, the first female in years to "touch his soul". Their meeting, their developing relationship, and the compromises that have to occur are the main focus of the book. The threat aspect is the fanatical hunters who view Mikhail as a vampire and want to destroy him, and by extension, his lifemate Raven.
Ms. Feehan introduces the Carpathians as a completely different species, not just your run-of-the-mill vampires. Apparently, after age 200, the Carpathian males begin to lose all touch with emotion - their view of the world becomes literally monochromatic - and they slowly become more and more isolated. If they don't find a lifemate, they either commit suicide or turn into rogue vampires. Their species is slowly becoming extinct because there are very few Carpathian females, they breed slowly and tend to produce male offspring, and the babies usually die before their first birthday for some unknown reason. By the end of the book it all begins to make sense. She also introduces a number of the other male Carpathians, setting the stage for sequels of their searches for their lifemates.
I was going to rate this book a bit higher but then I decided that I had to have a somewhat consistent standard for my vampire book reviews. I'm using Laurell K. Hamilton's books as my guideline, and this book doesn't compare to one of her four-stars. This is a fun book and a nice intro to a new series. I have no doubt that I'll be reading the rest of Ms. Feehan's books.

Have you ever read a book and it was so good you are left too breathless to say anything about it? Well this is definatly that type of book. My first..yes I said first..copy of Dark Prince was read so many times while I was waiting for book #2 to come out that I had to go buy another one because it fell apart!
Mikhail is my dream man. Hes in control of life and that bleeds into everyone elses. You can feel his energy and power as you continue to read. When he finally finds his lifemate, the two of them burn each and every page up with the sensuality that sparks between them. Thier breathing, sleeping and "feeding" all become an erotic moment for them and in turn the reader.
Some may find that they do not like the fact that Mikhail is SO dominate and that Raven eventually "surrenders" to him. One needs to remember that Carpathian males are so old that they grew up when males were the dominate sex and women followed them. Raven will always hold on to some of her independence because she has Mikhail wrapped around her little finger. But everything he demands of her is to keep her safe and alive. He hands everything to her on a GOLD platter and never demands that she do the same for him. She eventually sees this and "surrenders" all.
*checks air fare to the Carpathian Mountain region in hopes of finding a man like that still alive*

Oh my was my first thought when I started to read this book. After just two chapters I was totally hooked. I have now read the first three in the Dark series, the first Dark Prince, then Dark Desire, and then Dark Gold. I have several of the others and am waiting for one that I just recently ordered.
Well at first I couldn't quite tell what the hero of this book was. He had the ability to transform himself to a wolf, owl and even into just a mist. He drank blood to survive but wasn't a vampire. He was a Carpathain. He was old, the oldest of his kind and their Prince. Mikhail was very lonely and had long ago lost all his emotions. He was close to turning into a vampire(one who kills when he feeds and enjoys it). He was considering going into the light and ending his torment when he started communicating with a human woman by the name of Raven.She is a telepath who has been hunting down serial killers and has come to the Carpathian Mountains to try and relax and come to find some peace. She can't touch people because she picks up their thoughts and it can hurt her. She feels Mikhail's pain from a great distance and longs to comfort him. She is unaware that he is being hunted by her fellow travelers and when she finds this out she becomes hunted also because of her association with Mikhail. He has found in her his true lifemate. The one who can bring emotions back to him. His kind are slowly dying out because there are only a few women and most only give birth to male children. They have tried to convert human women before with tragic results but with Raven's telepathic abilities the conversion goes fairly smoothly. Mikhail wants to protect her but soon finds that she can handle herself and learns that they both must give a bit if this love is to survive. The love scenes are hot and wild and then tender and touching. I look forward to all of the books in this series. I would recommend them to anyone.

Years ago I came across one of the books in this series and immediately stopped writing my own vampire novel for fear people would think me a plagiarist. Christine has a way of breathing life into her characters that is eerie but loveable. Yet at points I found this book a bit repetitive, so it is a relief at least to know that she isn't perfect.

The hope for their race's future is in Raven, Mikhail's lifemate. A human psychic and pre-vampire Carpathian destined to be together (or die) make for a great love story.

I can't imagine the first release of this book. I waited and read the author's cut. Every paragraph seemed necessary for me. Now, I want to read about all the other Alpha Males in this first book.

I have already collected most of the series. I'm reading the next book in the series, "Dark Desire", about Shea O'Halloran and JACQUES (Mikhail's brother). Without the "Dark Prince" book, I would not have embraced the series as it should be embraced.

I will keep my hard copy to re-read in the future. That says so much about the value of this Author's cut Special Edition. To me..the Carpathian series is a must for anyone who loves a man who is dominant, intelligent, powerful, and loyal.

Dark Prince is the first in the fascinating and highly sensual Dark series created by the very talented Christine Feehan. It is a world of mystery, danger, intense emotions, extraordinary psychic and physical power.
The Carpathians are a wise and ancient species, appearing just like humans except that they can live for millennia and have amazing psychic and physical powers. Only sunlight and violent wounding can destroy them. They sleep during the day, deep in the healing earth, and are awake at night, thriving in the darkness. They are in perfect harmony with the earth and all its plants and animals. They can shape shift into any animal and even become as fog. They move, travel and heal themselves with phenomenal speed. And they survive on human blood-yet they never kill the donor and gently wipe out his/her memory of their "feeding."
The male is a predator, dark and dangerous, and this darkness grows until he finds his life mate-the feminine light that perfectly balances and illuminates his darkness. If he does not find his life mate soon enough, the male gradually loses his emotions and his ability to see in color. He is condemned to a lonely, dark and despairing world devoid of all happiness. When he does find her, he regains his emotions and his world becomes brightly colored, full of joy and hope.
But for many hundreds of years no female Carpathians have been born, and few males have survived infancy. To make matters worse, many males who have not found their life mates have become so filled with dark despair that they have "turned," becoming vampires who can then feel exhilaration by murdering humans and Carpathians. Carpathian males have had to focus much of their energy on tracking down and destroying this threat to all life while themselves resisting the overwhelming temptation to turn. Some have tried to take human women as their life mates, but the women have gone violently insane when their bodies were converted to Carpathian and had to be destroyed.
When Dark Prince begins, Mikhail Dubrinsky, the very wealthy and handsome prince of the Carpathians, has decided to walk into the sunlight and thus end his life. He wields enormous power over himself, others and all the elements, but his extreme loneliness and despair at ever finding a life mate have become overwhelming. He can no longer bear to go on, even though he feels a strong duty to lead his people and to wipe out vampires from the earth. He is afraid that he will turn himself if he waits any longer. And then he hears a sweet female voice in his head-one of compassion and comfort.
Raven Whitney has journeyed all the way from America to the remote and beautiful Carpathian mountains for a much-deserved rest. She is a supremely gifted psychic who has assisted the police in tracking down mass murderers-a nauseating task that damages her body and spirit but which she undertakes because of her compassion for the victims. She is all that is light and goodness, and she reaches out to Mikhail when she feels his overwhelming loneliness and despair. She is herself no stranger to loneliness; she must keep as far away from other people as possible to avoid being bombarded by their thoughts and emotions.
Mikhail is astounded by this psychic contact and immensely enjoys the teasing banter Raven mentally projects to cheer him up. He travels to her in the form of a bird and, observing her, realizes that she is his life mate. But how can this be? She is human. And how can he convince a woman who doesn't even know that Carpathians exist that she is his life mate?
Mikhail and Raven embark on an extraordinary relationship-fun, tender and sensual-that keeps the reader riveted. In the meantime, they are faced with danger from a group of fanatical vampire hunters bent on killing anyone who's not human. Mikhail and Raven team up to stop them, but clash over Raven's determination to take an active role that often places her in grave danger.
As a Carpathian, Mikhail is extremely protective and highly possessive of this woman he loves with a passion that goes beyond the most intense human feeling. He is tender, gentle and caring toward Raven while utterly ruthless and violent with his enemies. He will faithfully cherish her forever and will himself die if she does. Once life mates unite, they cannot live without being in frequent contact with each other. But how can he live forever with a human or convert her to Carpathian without destroying her? And how can he protect her from evils she doesn't realize exist?
Dark Prince is a riveting story full of action, surprise, passion and the depths of love. Feehan has created a mesmerizing hero that every romance reader can fall in love with and the wondrous world of Carpathians that is fascinating to explore. I could not put Dark Prince down and am eager to read all the novels in this unusual and compelling series.

I came across this series when it was already at book 13 and book 1, Dark Prince, was out of print. I thought that if a series had lasted for 13 books then it must be fairly decent, and I was looking for a book to read while my favorite authors (such as Nalini Singh, J.R Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon) were between the next in the series. HUGE mistake. This book was nothing but repetitive pages of boring sex between a male character that came across as a scary, freaky,CSI Most Wanted Poster who was into controlling the female character that was some mindless puppet. (Even the pix on the cover is freaky looking instead of some hot, buff male that is usually depicted.)The "intimacy" between the 2 lead characters, Mikhail and Raven, was nothing more than date rape disguised in the terms of a "Carpathian lifemate" and all that it entitled Mikhail to take as his "right." The fact that hundreds of people read this series and think this kind of behavior is romantic, sexy, honorable or desireable is just flat out scary. I have bought books before that have been disappointing or really boring, but this is the first time I have been outraged and disgusted with a piece of fiction that should have been entertaining. This is a book that should have NEVER been published in the first place much less been re-released.

Seldom is there a book bad enough that I don't finish it. This book has the honor of being one of those. I was able to tolerate the first hundred pages with the hope that the book would get better but it didn't.
It is a story about a psychic, Raven, who establishes a mental connection with a Carpathian male, Mikhail. Carpathians are vampires for all intensive purposes. The couple pretty much instantly falls in love although he orders her around a lot and she whines about it. There are four or five sex scenes in the hundred pages that I read, and not terribly good ones. A sex scene in a book has the ability to bring fire and passion into the characters but this one is only mechanical actions for annoying characters. Raven is a helpless tortured woman having to live with her psychic abilities. Mikhail is meant to be a stong protective character but just comes across as insecure and bossy. The notion that they are in love is not believable. Love has to be built up and grown with the characters, not just established in the first couple of pages. The love story occurs beside a mystery to solve who is assasinating Carpathians.
I didn't care for the writing style either. It is often said that a writer should "show not tell". Christine Feehan uses too many adverbs describing everything the character says. If you want to read a good vampire series with passion and believable love, read Laurell K. Hamilton's "Anita Blake" series.

Mikhail Dubrinsky is leader of the Carpathians, an elemental race of vampiric creatures that calls the wilds of Romania home. Driven near to eternal darkness, he finds his salvation in the form of Raven Whitney, a rare telepathic human on retreat in his homeland. Together, and with the help of the rest of the Carpathians, Mikhail and Raven must eliminate a group of vampire-hunters -- radicals that believe the Carpathians are evil, while coming to terms with their own feelings for one another.

I really tried hard to like this book. I really did. Christine Feehan's books were recommended to me time after time, and most reviews of the series are rave. However, the plot felt both entirely too simplistic and too convoluted all in one. The pacing of the book is bad, with plot-threads that could have been better employed if brought out earlier delayed until the end, when they were too tangled to be enjoyable

The romance bothered me on a multitude of levels. The lead female character was annoying, and instead of coming across as a strong female lead, as it seems Feehan was trying to do, she comes off as whiny and petulant. I didn't sense chemistry between the characters at all, and even the sex scenes seemed uninspired and lacking any particular zing. Feehan also has a distracting habit of reusing the same phrases over and over in her descriptions, which gets tiresome after a few chapters.

That said, she has an interesting concept, for which this book is worthwhile. When not repetitive, her descriptions, especially of settings, aren't bad, and she seems to have a good grasp of how to get into characters' brains. I'd like to read more of Feehan's work, preferably featuring other characters in the romantic role -- maybe the Mikhail/Raven pairing just wasn't my cup of tea.

Okay, I really like vampire stories. I love the whole idea that a vampire or Carpathian have these heightened senses. I can't imagine being so sure of my mate like what happens when Mikhail and Raven meet.
I think Raven's human ideas of being your own person are valid. And to relinquish not only yourself but all of your mind and time, never to have anything left for your own would be overwhelming. But she didn't have any family left, she was living a miserable existence, she couldn't physically touch anyone else, so exactly why was she so reluctant to sacrafice everything to be happy. She should have been exstatic to finally be capable of being with someone. Mikhail's actions are primitive and possesive but for a species that hasn't evolved from their animal ancestors it is completely understandable. So I get his character but I didn't think she was justifiable.
The "joining" everytime that Raven and Mikhail have sex, yeah, I am into that too. The scenes are constructed so that you don't feel like it is a "I get off on pain infliction" thing but I complete amalgam of emotion, senses and soul mating. It ewas the whole taking and giving at the same time was intense. I liked that.
I guess the low rating I gave it is because, well, it just isn't very well written. Feehan needed to break out the thesaurus for some new adjectives. The descriptions just kept creating the same visuals for me. So every scene seemed like the one before. And the dialogue sucked! Everyone said the same dang thing when describing Mikhail...loyal, caring, mysterious, dangerous, dutiful....and always the same thing about how he would never harm you, always be faithful to you, give his life for you. Okay we get it, enough already.
The story was still good, and I love vampire stories. I might read the next one if it falls in my lap but I am not rushing out to buy the next one. Which is disappointing because there are alot in this series and I was looking forward to a long stretch of quality reading. Guess I'll keep searching the shelves for something else.

Not yet a vampire but not a human, Carpathians are of the earth and have the ability to control nature. Shapeshifting, mind control and their own brand of justice - these beings are unique, enthralling and terribly exciting! If you enjoy the darker side of romance, love with a slight chill running down your spine read The Dark Series!
Mikhail Dubrinsky is the oldest existing Carpathian, he is considered one of the Ancients - although he looks like a fallen angel. His power is incredible, his responsibilities are enormous and his law is absolute. Yet his destiny lies in the soul of one petite woman who is both exquisite and intelligent, not to mention human. Of course, what else would his lifemate be?
Raven Whitney never thought her psychic abilities would bring her the love of her life, nor did she realize he would change her life forever! The only thing she knew for sure was that she loved this arrogant, totally male being with all of her heart and there was nothing she wouldn't do to make him smile, unless he became too sure of himself... then she'd have to put him in his place :)
Come and join the family! Meet Mikhail and Raven, Jacques, Gregori, Byron, Celeste, Aidan and Julian... just to name a few! But beware: once you start there is no looking back! This is a series full of promise and love, and of course a Dark side!

I had high expectations on this book, with all the good reviews it had an everything. I began reading it, and I was like "How is this happening? How is she talking with him? How it is that they use telepathy to talk to each other? Have they meet before? Are they friends or something?" I don't know why, but it seemed strange to me that these two people, without having seen each other ever could talk very conversionately using telepathy.

And then the feeling of alieness keep going, I felt like I had began the book on the middle, like I had skipped some pages. Who the Hell is the heroine? Why has she travelled from America to here? How has she meet her human friends? Who they are?

It also is the same when we talk about the male lead: how is it that he's not more surprised about a human talking to his head? Who is he? Why is he a leader? A leader of what, for Christ's sake? Why does all the city know him?

And the plot was utterly boring, along the lines of "You're mine because you make me feel" for him, and lines like "Don't tell me what to do... I'll do it" from her.

Maybe this author gets better in following books, I don't know. I couldn't even end this one, it was sooo boring. I don't dispute the author is good. I'm only saying she doesn't do it for me.

I was looking forward to reading this book because of all the great reviews it received on the store. I gotta tell you... I don't know what is wrong with all the people who left great reviews for this book. I want to know what they're smoking so I can keep away from it!

The book starts out great. It draws you in and it makes you want to know more. Until you the main characters meet.. then it's: him: you're mine. her: no i'm not. him: i can't live without you. her: i don't know what that means. him: you're my lifemate. her: stop saying that, i don't know what that means. him: you're mine. her: no i'm not. etc.

So much whining from the heroine you want her to die. On top of that, every other page there's a sex scene. Hey, I like a good sex scene as much as the next gal, but not on EVERY.... OTHER..... PAGE!!! Give me a break.

The whining doesn't stop. All the author had to do is have the hero explain to the heroine who he is and his way of being, etc, in, at the very most, one chapter.

One last thing. Apparently this happens in Romania and the Carpathians have been around for centuries. Surprisingly not one of them has a Romanian name. That's puzzling to me.

I hope the next book in the series is better. But I'm not holding my breath.

PJVs QUICKIE POV:
These books are of an odd flavor. What I would describe as a book trapped between the flavorful common threads of paranormal romance and the throbbingly descriptive genre of contemporary romance. Dark Prince is a book that set the stage. When the vampire genres were just becoming romantic, Feehan paired a very male and overbearing vampire with a "little woman" and created a world. I recognize that Feehan is an excellent writer and I actually very much enjoyed the world she created...but unfortunately I'm very turned off by meek heroines and over made male heroes, so I didn't quite enjoy the romance as much as I do in other stories. But...I will read on to other books of her series, because I find her writing charming, her characters full and the world highly engaging. I'll just giggle my way through parts when it gets too much.

REVIEW:
Deep within the Carpathian Mountains a race of beings live. Carpathians, immortal, strong, shape shifters...blood drinkers. With their immense power and immortality you would think they would rule, but they are dying out. Few women exist among them and humans hunt them. If a Carpathian male doesn't find his soulmate within a certain time period he will eventual become detached from his emotions and slowly go mad, either succumbing to madness and killing, which turns him into a vampire, or ending his own life.

Prince Mikhail Dubrinsky, the leader of the Carpathians is on the brink of madness. He is at the point where he is willing to give in to his terrible loneliness when he hears her voice in his head. The voice is consoling, kind and female. Mikhail becomes instantly obsessed with the female, whose name is Raven Whitney, a very powerful psychic. From the moment they meet, Mikhail and Raven are instantly connected and their is no going back. But, while they explore these new feelings and experiences something hunts the Carpathians. Something that would see that the Carpathians are rendered extinct.

Well written and rather robust, Feehan has a way with descriptions and character formation. I was entertained, even though the romance didn't have that "hot" effect on me that other differently formed romances have on me. Juanita Parker is the narrator and I think she did an excellent job in pronunciation and accents. Her "male" voices didn't sound odd or badly formed.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Adult content, sexual encounters and violence. This is recommended for fans of Nora Roberts in the romance sense and Gena Showalter in the vampy sense.

Personally, I like the book although it tends more towards romance than action. I find the female heroine to be somewhat like Lois Lane in Superman in the way that she ignorantly gets into trouble. The Prince has to always save her from catastrophe.

I'm a fan of Feehan's and this is the first vampire book of hers that I read. I'm a fan of strong women and thought Raven might be a good one. Unfortunately, the heroine is weakly written in my opinion. There are tons of good, juicy parts where the two are getting it on left and right and how they can't take their hands off each other, but between all that the rest of the story is "Ehhhh."

I was able to put this down multiple times, so it's not one of those books you can't put down. Then again, romance is typically light reading for me, so it's easy to pick up where you left off with this book. It's not like you easily forget any major plot twists if you do.

If you really want an excellent vampire novel that's not like "Ooooo, gory!", then Lynn Viehl's "Evermore" is excellent. It was that book that got me to consider other vampire romances.

This was a slow formulaic start to what I know is a very succesful series. I had bought the first three books and am currently reading the second one. I don't know if this series can hold my interest for more than the three I bought if even those. I am disappointed as I expected more from such a popular author. Maybe the stories will become less predictable and obvious as I get into the series. I was also put off by how stupid these Carpatheans seem. Their Prince has no guard. There is no real organization of the warriors. One can see why the Carpathans are becoming extinct what with all of their extra powers they fail to be able to protect and care for themselves let alonbe their mates. What a child would know these warriors seem to lack. Insulting to the intelligence of the reader.

So, I got this bookmark at the Richmond Library that they made just for Halloween with a cool black cat image and a list of suggested books. Of course, almost none of them were actually there because they have maybe one copy of each book, and 400 bookmarks suggesting people check out each of the books. So, I should have known when one thing on the list was actually there that there was a reason.
Yup, I checked it out and even though I generally have a rule that once I start a book I finish it, I just can't handle the stupid writing and all the cheesy vampire porn. It turns out this author has made a living selling s***y vampire harlequin romances. Am I really to believe that a character who has lived billions of years hasn't EVER BEEN SO CAPTIVATED by anyone ever in his whole life blah blah blah then some random young woman he met one minute ago?
Yeah, I know. I should have been suspicious of the cover, but I can tolerate a degree of romance in fiction, I just hate stupid cheesy writing. After reading Michael Connelly and Stephen King, it's difficult to refrain from just throwing this one away (I mean recycling it). Ugh!

I have been reading 'vampire romances' for years now and Christine Feehan has become my favorite author of this genre. Her portrayal of the Carpathian race is fresh and new. Carpathians are a race all their own: they give birth to other Carpathians, they are not 'made' as other vampires are. They are a loving, loyal lot who will go to the ends of the earth to protect their kin and their life-mates. Mikhail recognizes human Raven as his life-mate and 'speaks' to her telepathically. Raven is a renowned psychic who is on a well-deserved vacation from her job tracking serial killers. Mikhail and Raven are an incredible couple with incredible powers. They must love and trust each other to stay one step in front of the 'others' that are trying to destroy the Carpathian race. Very sensual and an incredible novel. I have also read "Dark Desire" and "Dark Gold" and look forward to "Dark Magic" with all of the giddiness of a three year-old waiting for the ice cream truck. Fantastic!

I recently read Murder Game by Feehan and loved it so much that I immediately checked out the Dark Prince from my library (assuming it would be an equally good read), much to my regret! I can't believe that some readers rated the Dark Prince a 5! This book doesn't even rate a 1! The first 75-100 pages were quite good and I read through those very quickly but things went downhill after the first sex scene. All in all, this book was too long and was extremely repetitive.

Other reasons I hated this book:
1)With the exception of Gregori, all the characters were boring/stupid and entirely one dimensional
2)No plot and too many sex scenes (they were boring and totally lacking in chemistry)
3)The heroine, Raven, is the most stupid character I've ever come across, she lacks any supernatural traits that would protect herself or those around her yet she flits from one perilous encounter to another throughout the book in the delusional belief that she can single handedly protect the Carpathians (instead, she endangered them by frequently having to be rescued)
5)Authors should show not tell, if you have to frequently tell readers that characters are "in love" or if a heroine has to repeatedly insist that she is intelligent, you have failed to project these elements to the reader, as is the case with Raven and Mikhail's "love" and Raven's "intelligence"

Do not waste your money by buying this book! If you must read it, get it from a friend or the library.

I tried. I've really, really tried. But I am 30 pages into this book and I can't read any further. I've heard a lot of great things about this series, so I was eager to try it, but I won't read any more of them.

Mikhail, our "hero", is exactly the type of Alphole character I hate in romance novel men. And Raven Whitney (seriously, that's her name), our "heroine" is exactly the type of doormat character I hate in romance novel women. Within these 30 pages, Mikhail has:
1. Forced his way into her head using their oh-so-rare (of course) psychic connection
2. Sexually assaulted through her dreams even though she begged him to stop
3. Almost killed a man who had the audacity to touch her and ask her to go for a walk, only stopping when she asked him politely if he would (I would not have asked politely)
4. Kidnapped her, carrying her through the forest and refusing to even listen when she told him repeatedly to take her back to the inn where she was staying
5. Used his super-vampire or whatever mind tricks to force her drink something she told him she didn't want to drink.

So far she has managed to:
1. Psychically reach out to him because she "felt his pain" (fine the first time, but why repeat it after he refused to listen to even your smallest request
Also - this doesn't make sense. We learn that she usually uses her psychic powers to help the police track down serial killers. She's just finished a job, which is why she's gone away, to recuperate, so why on earth would you even start this when you're as drained and in as much pain as she is???
2. Told him he's arrogant and condescending, but continued to talk to him because.... well, there's really no reason.
3. Told him that because he keeps trying to control her and bend her to her own will, she doesn't want to talk to him anymore, then gives him her full real name and heads on down to dinner
4. Said out loud that she would enter his home of her own free will, even though this clearly brings up some sort of vampire mojo that I'm sure will further their connection.

So at this point, I'm done with The Dark Prince. I thought the part about her tracking serial killers would be interesting, but I can't stick with it long enough to even see how any of that works. And chances are, I won't be trying any more Feehan books. Even before it became clear what a horrible character Mikhail was, the writing was too over-the-top for me. So much melodrama. It's just not my thing. Based on the enormous popularity of the books, I'm in the minority, but that's ok with me.

I did not plan to finish this book on Halloween. But it is fitting. It is a great time to be reading of humans and "other beings" with special powers, shape shifters, and vampires. This book is well written and held my interest. Lately I have been getting bored part-way through with romance novels. This is a Paranormal Romance. If you can't get into Sci-Fi, then this book is not for you. But if you can use your imagination, suspend reality for a time, and just enjoy the story, you will find yourself transported to the Carpathian mountains and its secrets. Enjoy!

I'm of two minds about this book. On one hand it was repetitive and heavy with unnecessary sex scenes...I mean, these types of books usually have at least one, but I'm more a fan of one well written sex scene than of what Feehan has done in this book. Dark Prince comes in at 447 pages and I'd wager that fully 1/3 (if not more) of those pages are devoted to them...and we're not talking about well written or quality here, this is all quantity with every possible euphemism for the male and female organs, the act itself and for orgasm I've ever seen and a few I haven't. This wasn't tasteful or even interesting; it was repetitive and unnecessary filler. It was as if, in the absence of developing place or character further, Feehan used bits of plot to move from one sex scene to the next. Additionally, this is one of those I am man, I rule the world, I know what's best type of books...Mikhail's character basically abducts the lead female character, Raven (for her own good, yea...ok) and treats her like a child or a possession. Also, the story is set in the Carpathian Mountains but little effort is made to describe the area or the town the story is set in which is ashamed, because it would have helped a great deal.

So what makes this book worth reading...well, that's the other hand. For all its short comings Dark Prince IS entertaining in a "B" movie kind of way...complete with vampire hunters, shapeshifing, mind control, control of the weather and rogue vampires out to rule the world (and steal the chickie). The premise is that there are Carpathians (basically good vampires) who are long lived, literally "children of the earth," and who degenerate into the common folklore version of a vampire (killing for pleasure, soulless, ect) if he lives long enough without finding his lifemate (soul mate). This entire story is predicated on the idea that very few female Carpathians are left alive and even fewer children are born and survive past their first birthday, leading to a shortage of women among the Carpathian people. I positively adore the premise, but what starts out as a we need our women and will do anything to please them turns into forcing what a man thinks is best for her onto the woman...not cool. Raven, on vacation in the Carpathian Mountains after helping the FBI solve a trying serial murder case starts out as a fragile but brainy and tough chick who makes a surprising mental connection (because she's psychic and so are all vampires, naturally) with Mikhail and is profoundly touched by his loneliness. From there it's a stalkerish frenzy to their meeting and him sweeping her away to his home and into his control. From there, she degenerates into a childish sex kitten that never makes another decision of her own no matter how hard she insists she's got brains and won't be told what to do.

I am torn between giving this two stars or three...overall, Dark Prince winds up with three stars. It's definitely entertaining and compelling in a way, but the repetitive nature of the book (sex, over use of certain phrases, ect) and use of sex to move the story along instead of a more developed plot and characters really detracts from what is a good premise. I think there was a way to keep Raven as a strong, independent character AND lifemate to Mikhail without turning her into a vapid sex kitten. If the plot elements, if linked together with more PLOT detail and less sex this could have been, I feel, a truly fantastic book. I'll probably try another from this series to see if Feehan improves, but this isn't a book I'd want for my permanent library.

I should not have listened to the person who recommended this series, after she said it was her favorite of all time. From the very first chapter my eye brows were up and I kept saying "really" since I found it quite unbelievable. There was no development of characters, especially with that of Mikhail and his history as a vampire/Carpathian. Raven (a horrible name for a leading character) bored me endlessly with her mood swings and her rather whorish behavior. I'm used to romance novels where the characters don't get it on until about the middle of the book, and I rather prefer it that way. The most renowned romance writers in my opinion, like Virginia Henley and Beatrice Small, leave you hanging on that aspect, and therefore very interested. The beginning should be used to introduce the characters, develop their true beings and lay out the setting. The main characters shouldn't be having sex just fifty pages in. I'm sorry but if that is in any romance novel, it will automatically get a low score. Unfortunately I also bought the next two books in the series, so I feel obligated to read those, however not any time soon. I need to read a huge thick novel to get my IQ back up. If you want the best romantic series ever, read Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series.

It is hard to say what I disliked most about this book. As an avid fan of the genre, I am used to the anti-feminist male dominating a female (emotionally and physically)storyline, but usually, the author will at least make it romantic. In this novel, however, I never got the impression that the characters actually loved each other. Oh, it is very clear that they NEED each other, but need is not romantic, and it is barely interesting. Also, the female (Raven) never really gets a choice in the matter. The relationship is definetly forced on her, and she probably would have left him if she could.

Also, about mid-way through, the author introduces another male character, Greggori, who takes on a more important role than the lead male! I'm sure she is trying to set up the next book, but his plot lines are so boring and unnecessary.

I had a hard time finishing the book because the author is so repetitive! The love scenes were boring and formulaic. The author describes in detail how the men turn into animals, but by the 3rd time, I was skimming pages just to get to more interesting bits (which are few and far between).

I didn't like this book because I didn't like the characters. Yes, Raven is brave and compassionate, but she is totally forced into this dark world and you constantly want her to have something better. The relationships are shallow, and it seems like the whole book is a set up for the next in the series. I don't like the dialogue, and I hated the power the men had over the women.

Don't read this book. It isn't romantic, and it isn't interesting.

This was where it all began. I enjoyed this book, and it really sets you up in the world. I actually didn't read this one first, and really you can read them in any damn order you choose. They are a part of a series but I have read them in so many different orders that it has never really affected any other books or how I felt about them.

I was expecting a different kind of book. Since this series was mentioned along with the likes of Anne Rice, Laurell K Hamilton, and others I had high hopes for a new take on vampire lore, hard action, and violence. What this turned out to be is melodrama for bored housewives. Ponderously slow pacing and faux, cliched romance, this read like a really bad Lifetime TV movie. I won't be reading anymore Feehan books.

I'm a massive fan of Christine Feehan so couldn't wait to read this book and it's safe to say I was blown away. The book is sensual, exciting, violent and filled with elements you wont find in any other book. I do enjoy paranormal romance novels but I felt like this was much more than that. There was an added spark to it. Mikhail and Raven are amazing leads - their story is one that I think has much more to offer. Five stars!

Let me just start by saying I HATE romance novels with a passion (pun intended), but decided to give this one a try since I like the vampire genre. I like this book, and coming from me, that is saying a lot!
What I didn't like: This book still has the stigma of romance novel cheesiness, although it is not as prounced in this story as in some. Using words like "sheath" and "member" to describe body parts - that just sounds stupid to me. The author is especially fond of the words "satiny," "silky," and "velvety," and she uses them on every other page, which gets old fast. Another thing I didn't like, but can't really fault the author for because her fans probably want and expect it, is the multitude of sex scenes that became repetitive and didn't really move the story along.
What I did like: Carpathians are hot. They are handsome, powerful, and when they find their life mate, they are physically and emotionally incapable of cheating on their woman. This is very much a woman's fantasy and done in a sensual way that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's also told mainly from a woman's point of view, which I also like. The story was good, and there was enough mystery, excitement, and surprise twists to keep my interest throughout.
I will definitely read the next book in the series, and I recommend this book as it is well written for its genre. If you want to read a supernatural book that has romance in it without the cheesiness and tells the story from a female perspective, I also highly recommend Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (vampires) or Bitten by Kelley Armstrong (werewolves).

This was a fantastic book about unconditional love. Mikhail has decided life wasn't worth living and a human name Raven starts taking to him . She goes through so much stuff that is bad but the love between them keeps her grounded

So what's the harm of having juicy love scenes in a vampire novel? Except in this novel they are Carpathians & the vampire term refers to those who have become killing machines. Anyway, the plot is great: a dying race tries to continue their species by protecting their women, children and reproduction. A Carpathian leader comes into contact with a telepathic woman, they fall in love, he changes her into a Carpathian and she struggles to accept all the changes. All the while there are vampire hunters trying to kill off the vampires/Carpathians. All this happens between scene after scene of love-making. Ok, at least there weren't any corny lines but it was EXTREME overkill on descriptions like how Raven had such a small frame and Mikhail was so much larger than she. The ones that I couldn't help but start to roll my eyes over were "hair like silk" and "velvet tongue" and "voice like velvet" and "sapphire eyes". Geez, need a thesaurus?

There's a rather graphic scene at the very end, which I didn't mind at all. This Mikhail guy is made out to be all mighty & powerful yet they didn't give much of a chance to show that til the end. I mean, it doesn't take violence to show strength but there was so much groping going on and if he's centuries old, there was much more hands-on violence in the centuries before now and if he was such a good protector of his people then how else was he to show it? Anyway, besides the overkill on the descriptions the author sure puts in a lot of bickering between the two. There's endless:

"You are my woman."

"I'm my own woman. I don't belong to you. You don't own me."

"I must protect you."

"You need to let me be my own person. Protecting me isn't ... blah blah"

"You were in danger. You should know how important you are. My people do this & that to protect their women and children."

Get the point? And they go through this conversation over & over! And they always end up with the same result. Raven trying to ward off Mikhail. Mikhail forcing her to do stuff mentally & physically. The story keeps describing Raven as "such a strong person (mentally)" but besides her psychic abilities she's the damsel in distress waiting for Mikhail to resue her at every turn.

I really do like the shape-shifting and mental communication in this novel though. It was ok, just a few things that kept bugging me.

Good book! There is so much Raven needs to learn all while someone wants to kill her mate. The needs of her mate's people are dire. This a very well written story that is filled with sadness, romance, betrayal, and loyalty. Can the ancient race survive? Can Raven be the last hope for the people?

I must admit that the book has the seeds to a very intriguing series, if only Ms. Feehan weren't a romance novel writer. The book contains some 15 or so chapters and hardly a one goes by where we are not subjected to a "steamy" love scene. I consider "steamy" to be one that uses euphemisms for most anatomical parts, but not those that you'd find in the magazine you can buy at the local adult toy store. It's kind of soft porn. At any rate, Ms. Feehan introduces a new kind of vampire, the Carpathians. If you've read the other reviews, you know that they are dying out, the males become depressed and turn to the more traditional vampire if they don't find their life mate, the males are extremely possessive of their women, and if one of the pair dies the other dies also.

My disappointment lies in that it is a romance novel. Ms. Feehan introduces so many concepts, however vaguely, that if expanded, could have made for a truly interesting read. She talks of Mikhail's home with objects that he has collected over his long life, but never tells you any more about that home, what the objects are, where they were obtained or how. Describe the details. Make it real for me! Raven (the life mate) has a moment where she sees into Mikhail's thoughts and sees everything. This "everything" is glossed over. Tell us what's there. How many has he killed, what are his secrets, what's his most embarrassing moment, his turn-ons, his turn-offs, who's his favorite soccer team? Give these characters some real history and depth. I could go on, but you get the idea.

I'd considered trying another one in the series, but after reading other reviews, it looks like Ms. Feehan has found a romantic novel formula that works for her (indicated by all the 4 & 5 star reviews) and all of them pretty much follow the same template. Carpathian meets woman, makes her his life mate (partially against her will), then proceeds dominate the woman while the woman complains that she needs free will. These discussions about domination and free will usually end in a bout of sex. There's usually a fight against some "bad guys" as a secondary plot.

So, if you want a formula romance, with a vampire twist, this is for you!

If you want an intriguing new look on the vampire legend with depth and development, steer clear.

My star ratings:

One star - couldn't finish the book
Two stars - read the book, but did a lot of skipping or scanning. Wouldn't add the book to my permanent collection or search out other books by the author
Three stars - enjoyable read. Wouldn't add the book to my permanent collection. Would judge other books by the author individually.
Four stars - Liked the book. Would keep the book or would look for others by the same author.
Five start - One of my all time favorites. Will get a copy in hardback to keep and will actively search out others by the same author.

Brief summary: Mikaihl Dubrinsky is the leader of the Carpathians, a race that although they drink blood and need it to exist, aren't truly vampires (I'm still not sure how that works). Raven Whitney is an American in Mikaihl's country on vacation. Both Mikaihl and Raven have telepathic abilities. When she picks up his thoughts of suicide, she reaches out to him, and he immediately recognizes her as his `life mate'. As Mikaihl tries to `convince' Raven that they're destined to be together, he also has to deal with vampire hunters who are trying to kill off his race. The need to prevent any further deaths is made more urgent by the fact that his race is slowing dying off on its own, since there are very few females left and most newborns are males.

I am not a fan of vampire books, but so many people raved about this series that I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Thinking it was best to start at the very beginning of the series, I picked up the first book, and I was somewhat disappointed.

I loved the premises for this book. There was wonderful potential here for an excellent story, but in my opinion, the author failed to live up to that potential.

I didn't care for the author's style of writing. I found the overuse of adverbs irritating, and the constant point-of-view shifts made my head ache. I didn't like the hero. Now, I like alpha males, but I found this male entirely too alpha. Still, it is a vampire book, so I guess that is to be expected. I didn't like the heroine. Rather than finding her spunky and stubborn as others have, I found her immature. In addition, sometimes her actions were inconsistent with what the reader was told. For example: the reader was told numerous times how selfless and compassionate Raven was, yet when Mikaihl was injured and in desperate need of medical attention, she chose that moment to return his engagement ring and inform him that she was leaving him (and of course the medical attention was delayed so that this conversation could take place). That didn't seem very compassionate to me. The final straw was the constant repetition in the book--if the author told (and generally she did tell rather than show) the reader something once, she told them the same thing fifty other times, almost as if she didn't think they had the ability to remember it from one page to the next.

But I'm not ready to give up on this author yet. Maybe the writing improves as the series progresses, so at some point I do intend to pick up the latest book in the series (although it will come from the library--I won't be spending money on it).

The Prince and his life mate meet. Mikhail has gained feelings and colours. Raven is a human with psychic abilities. Both have had lonely lives. They have many adjustments to make. Much danger faces them. Good read!

Dark Prince is the book that made me fall in love with Christine Feehan and her delicious world of soul searing romance! U will want a Tall Dark N Dangerous Carpathian Hunter of UR own! The chemistry between Mikhail & Raven absolutely sizzles! The Dark Saga is completely addictive 5 Stars all the way!

Mikhail, Prince of the Carpathians, is thinking about ending it all when he is contacted by Raven, a telepath. He's suprised to discover she is his 'lifemate', the woman who will save his soul and keep him from becoming a vampire. Even more suprising is that she is a human...
Okay, so the beginning of the book was different. I read the book quite quickly until about page 80 when I realized I was going in circles. After Raven and Mikhail meet in person for the first time, they keep coming back to the fact that Mikhail is to arogant and possessive. After the first sex scene, I felt like I was in a time warp. They argue, make love, and argue again about that same issue. Mikhail refutes it anytime by restating the importance of a lifemate. I had to force my way through the book. If I hadn't read later books in the series, I wouldn't have picked up another one.
Another thing I had trouble with was the fact that the Carpathians are so powerful. They shape-shift into anything and everything, can control people from miles away, and that's just the beginning of the long list. Why not just call them gods? Feehan is expecting me to believe human vampire hunters are a THREAT to these superbeings?
The villians are just plain pathetic. The human vampire hunters are plain stupid. About the only thing they sucessfully accomplish is putting Raven in position were it is imperative that she become a Carpathian.
When does this take place? Oh... it's also good thing that everyone in the little back-waters mountain village knows how to speak fluent English.

A good romance novel is an interesting read. An excellent one touches your heart. However, a masterpiece is truly an unforgettable piece of art that will be forever etched in nostalgia like the Beetles, Woodstock, The Wizard of Oz...and anything written by the late Barbara Courtland. For me, Dark Prince is such a novel. One that takes you on a captivating journey into forbidden love, intrigue, history, and a sense of family. The characters are so powerfully depicted that you find yourself wondering things like: Do beings of this nature really exist? Are my partner and I true Lifemates? Preferring historic romance novels, I was not sure this book would appeal to me, but to my delight, I found myself eager to read page after page. Because of my preference, I was able to appreciate and admire the old-world traits in Mikhail. Also, I believe that only an independent woman of the 21st century like Raven could handle such a dominant albeit, loving male. Gregori is so compellingly mesmeric that you just know the author can not resist featuring him in a novel of his own....and of course, she does (Dark Magic). I look forward to reading all of the books in Ms. Feehans "Dark" series and much more.

Mini-Review time! My iPad deleted my long, prolific review, and I am too tired to recreate it, so this condensed version will have to do.
The book sucked, here is why.
1.) the hero was dominating in a way that made be uncomfortable, and he never changed through the entire book
2.) the heroine was too stupid to live, and never made the hero respect her, (damsel in distress is only okay to a point)
3.) Feehan get a thesaurus! The words Satin was used 13 times, silk was used 22 and the word sexy was used to many time to count. Yes, we get it the characters are very sexy and have unusually soft skin ( thank god for lotion)
All I can say is that I am glad that the genre has evolved from this prehistoric nonsense! I cannot understand all the five star reviews. I wasted a day of my life, 100 brain cells, and 5 bucks. Save yourselves, don't by this book, for fear you may lose the same. Scroll the other way!!!!!!!

I can't add much to all the wonderful things that have been said, except I AGREE! These books are fabulous. Mikhail is a lush full character; strong, protective, and sensual. He inspires such passion and loyalty, and yet is so alone. Until Raven reads his dark and dangerous thoughts. A talented psychic, she has been stretched to her limit trying to help track serial killers. Suddenly she is drawn to Mikhails mind and the result is magic! These Carpathian men can take your breathe away. Do youself a favor and READ ALL THESE BOOKS! In order; Dark Prince, Dark Desire, Dark Gold, and coming soon Dark Magic. The heros are powerful and passionate. The heroines are strong and supportive. Great characters, Super books! KCS

This book, and probably more in the series, have a great premise so I gave it 2 stars. But I cannot tolerate the stupidity of Raven, the "heroine". I think women need to be independent, but not stupidly so. Time after time, this woman puts herself and her lover in jeopardy because she wants to be "herself" and she "can take care of herself". Which she never does. Even when she knows there is a inn full of assassins, she has to go back to "be by herself". I was annoyed at her every step of the way.

Give me strong heroines like Sookie Stackhouse and Riley Jensen, who make the smart decision most of the time. Really, I'd like to find some more like those since the women of this series, or at least this first book, are pitiful, and I'm not likely to read another in this series.

This book starts out a really good series, the Dark series but like most first books it has some failings. My main complaint with this book is there is too much sex and not enough development. Almost 1/3 of the book is spent in anatomical exploration - I can't say the bedroom because they don't end up there much. Anyway I find the concept of the Carpathians one of the most unique and fun takes on vampires in years and a neat concept. I love the characters introduced and the whole theme of the series is set here. It is a must read if you enjoy or want to read the dark series, just be prepared for its graphic nature. Later books of the series spend more time with the characters and less with anatomy and are the better for it.

Dark Prince is the first in a series of books featuring Carpathians (a separate race of people, who are highly magical and drink blood to survive, on the verge of extinction), vampires (Carpathian males who have turned to the dark side), and "true psychic" females who are able to be converted by their Carpathian "lifemates."

In the first book we meet Prince Mikhail, who struggles under the mantle of leadership of his hunted people. His sorrow is "heard" by human psychic Raven, who tries to comfort him. Raven, though human, is eventually accepting of the existence of the Carpathian race. Bad things happen, love prevails.

Feehan is pretty much a cliché in her writing. The books are all very similar, read one and you've read them all, more or less, right down to the language she uses (certain phrases are used ad nauseum). Tall, dark and dangerous, over-masculine, domineering heroes, and delicate, reluctant heroines are the name of the game. (And yet, as my husband points out, I keep reading them.) I can't honestly say I *like* the series; the repetition is tiresome, the characters rather annoying... The men are excessively brutish and domineering, and the women accept "their fates" far too easily, with too little struggle. Perhaps it's not the domineering men I object to so much as the submissive and conceeding women (and even the strong-willed women eventually end up under the thumbs of their lifemates). I suppose I'm hoping for the storyline that continues through the whole series to conclude satisfactorily.

Dark Prince is a good stand-alone novel. If you bother to read any of these, start with this one and make the decision to invest more of your time based on that one. They do all interconnect, so read them in order.

I'll start with what I would have liked to know, as a huge fan of the original, before buying this book. The version is significantly different than the original. The extra hundred pages do add a lot and are definitely worth buying the book again for. However the book does NOT have anything indicating which sections are new. It would have been nice if there was some annotation to indicate which parts are new. I also wish that there had been more comments by Feehan giving her opinion on the new sections and why felt they were important. These things are not there. The story is just presented as a whole story. It's a great read, and a must read for Feehan fans, but it's presented as something you have to read as a whole story. It doesn't give any analysis.

Below is my review of the book in general, because some people may be considering reading it for the first time. If you're thinking about it, buy this! You won't be sorry.

This book is excellent! I knew the male angst in it along with the vampire element would make me like it, but I had no idea how much. The world created by this book is what really intrigues me. It's a canon universe full of nothing but angsty males longing for their soulmates, STRONG females that can save them. It's perfect!

Here's a brief description. I don't consider it so spoilery that it needs to be behind a cut, but it does contain a little bit, just a description of the universe.

The Carpathian's are another race of beings, strong, powerful. But they are dying out. They are almost all males now. Carpathian's NEED a soulmate. Without one, they lose the ability to see color, the ability to feel emotions, and eventually lose themselves to the darkness. As the time passes on and a Carpathian male reaches that threshold, he has the choice to kill himself and meet the sun or let the evil and darkness consume him and become a vampire. So, in essence, you have an entire race of dark, despairing males searching for a strong woman to save them from their anguish.

I really liked both the lead characters in this story. Raven is strong and non-whiny. What? A decent heroine? Yes!!! Mikhail is powerful and aristocratic, but fully at her mercy. I love his role as prince of his people. He's the perfect mix of confidence bordering on arrogance and need, despair, and pain. I really wish I could read more stories focused just on them. But, at the same time, the side characters definitely intrigue me, and I am very very very much looking forward to reading about all the other Carpathian men, Gregori, Jacques, and Aidan the most. The possibilities for the set-up the author has created are unlimited. I went ahead and bought all the books in the series right away.

I will warn that some parts verge on dubious-con, but they are soulmates and happy together.

The only negative I will say is that the actual writing style is very jarring to me. The perspective switches frequently. One sentence is Raven's thoughts, and the next in Mikhail's. Mildly annoying but easily overlooked since the plot is so amazing.

I didn’t finish this book cause I was mad, SO MAD with how the story was going that I was in pain (not really).

I have to be honest here, I know there’s a lot of Carpathians fans out there, so if you are…STOP READING!

The truth is, the characters are totally unrealistic and lacking of brains, rational thinking and coherence! The girl was and behaved like a child, naive. And that guy, OMG, talk about a CREEPY guy!!

The idea of the story wasn’t bad itself, and nor were all the characters, but how the main couple developed through it was the end to me. I quit on chapter 5 cause I couldn’t stand it anymore, it was totally nonsense to me. I have to consider it was originally written 10 years ago and that paranormal books were different back then, but I don’t see this book fit for contemporary readers.

This is my first foray into the vampire sub genre of romance. I'm usually glued to Medieval Scottish Historical Romances myself. The story is neat, the hero Mikhail is a little sexy, I like the heroine a bit, her telepathic powers makes it interesting component to their relationshiop, but unfortunately the author's writing is weak. She could use the services of a good RWA chapter group to bring more oomph to her writing and fix some weak parts. There is no real sexual tension in the story ... heroine and hero pretty much love each other right away. I also would rather have the heroine tell us what she sees of his features and read/feel her reaction rather than the author telling us from the hero's point of view "his handsome features" ... that makes the hero come off as pompous. I know that is not the author's intent, she was trying to tell her readers her hero is handsome, but I'd rather hear it from the heroine's POV please and I would like more description in the story. It took until chapter 3 to find out the story and these Carpathians live in Romania. Before this I had no idea where we were except that we are not in the United States. Other things irked me as a reader, things like a secondary character was accused of harrassment and bullying and I had to reread a few passages previous to find the evidence of this and there wasn't really any. Add to this, problems that the secondary character and heroine act as if they've known each other a long time, then the heroine states to the secondary character (a man) "you do not know me or my life at all" or something along those lines. Too many of these small problems that could be fixed if the author had taken her work to a critique group. If she hasn't taken workshops or joined RWA (Romance WRiters of America) yet, she should and then she'd could create more sexual tension, more passion, some depth. The premise and story of these Carpathians is excellent theme, but not executed well to my satisfaction and the pace of the story is slow. Mikhail, the dark Carpathian prince had the potential to be a real hot alpha hero, but calling his heroine "little one" all the time ... just doesn't cut it for me, it bothers me. He had the potentional to be a wonderful "dark" warrior.
I can not recommend this book in all honesty. I'm sure there are better vampire romances out there, I'll have to check around. The Dark Prince had the potentional to be an incredible romantic read, but the weak writing, slow pace and lack of sexual tension and the 2 dimensional feel of the setting and characters is a dissappointment. I will not pick up another of Feehan's books in the future, though I'm glad I did, I got to see what all the fuss was about.

The sequel to Dark Prince was everything I had hoped for and more. Jacques, the egotistical brother to DP's hero Mikhail and a very likable character, was tortured, staked through the chest (but not the heart), and left locked in a coffin in the basement of an abandoned cottage for seven years. In all that time, his only tie to sanity was a tenuous mental link across the ocean with another woman, one he believes to be his traitor but is his lifemate. Shea O'Halloran, an American doctor, doesn't know the dreams she's been having for years are about a real man until she finds him locked in a coffin with a stake through the chest in the Carpathian mountains. She feels drawn to this man whom she believes has the same blood disease she does, but as she tries to help this tortured man who claims she is his life mate she comes across the secret to her own past. I really, really loved the hero in this book. Christine Feehan had taken the tortured hero to a new level, yet let us retain our pity and adoration for him. Jacques is the epitome of a tortured hero, and those who read the previous book may feel more deeply the loss of the funloving yet sarcastic brother. The heroine is strong as well; she has to be to be able to put up with/recuperate the tortured Jacques. We also get a glimpse at the previous characters and get some ideas on future book characters. I very much recommend this book, whether you like vampire romances or not.

Not. A. Fan. Good premise, poor execution. It reminded me of Twilight! Here are a few of my issues with this book:

1) American tourist meets sexy European. Spends 2 days in his castle having "good times" and suddenly she finds herself married and unable to leave her obsessive and over protective friend. Sounds more like the plot of a horror story! I don't love books where the main characters find their "one and only" because of some mystical, predetermined match. They never really get to know each other or fall in love. It's like both characters thought, "Oh cool you can read my mind. Hunky dory, let's get it on". No questions asked about the fact that Humans aren't supposed to mate with Carpathians, that Mikhail hasn't found a soulmate in 1000's of years of existence, etc.

This issue is emphasized by the fact that Raven is actually extremely uncomfortable with many of Mikhail's character traits and tries to leave him repeatedly. However, he performed some Carpathian magic marriage on her such that she is unable to do so. Note that I used "on her" rather than "with her" because he never asked her permission to marry him (in the Carpathian way).

2) "I'm not a vampire" - dude, you DRINK HUMAN BLOOD. Instead of biting one person and drinking all their blood, you take a little bit from many different people. You can't bear the light of day. You sleep in your special dirt. You don't die. Sorry Mikhail, you are a vampire. There was a LOT of blood drinking in this book considering that none of these characters are supposed to be vampires. Not recommended for queasy stomachs.

3) Her long silky black her...I'm not sure what was more offensive: Mikhail waxing lyrical about it over and over and over again or the fact that the character with black hair is named Raven.

4) Despite all their power the Carpathians had a hard time taking on a few measly humans who killed two of their women before being taken down. This whole story line seemed entirely contrived and thereafter the reader is forced to spend the next 30 pages reading about all the ways one can an exchange blood. I've never read a romance novel with this many blood transfusion scenes.

I think the premise is okay and I would would be willing to try another novel in this series (maybe) but I definitely don't understand the hype around this novel.

Wow! This, by far, is the best Vampire Romance Book I have ever read!
For years I have wanted to write a vampire romance novel like this, however, patience is not one of my strong points. :)
Dark Prince; the first of the Dark Series grasps the reader instantly. From the first page, I found I was unable to put the book down.
After reading Dark Prince, I went and ordered the rest of the books on the Dark Series. I truly hope that there will be more to follow!
CHRISTINE FEEHAN's imagination is "captivating", to say the very least. She knows how to keep the reader's attention from the beginning to the end of her stories.
There's just one thing that was a bit bothersome to me; and that was the continual use of the phrase, "white hot heat". Other than that, I think this is an EXCELLENT book and would receommend it to any and all lovers of seductive Vampire Romance Novels!
Great work, Ms. Feehan. I eagerly anticipate future books on your Dark Series.
Regards,
IHSH

Upon reading some of the reviews posted for the books, I selected two of the Carpathians series. One had to be the first - there seemed to be little point in giving a series a try without reading the first book: Dark Prince.

It's obvious from the start that the writer focuses a lot more on the romantic aspects of the book than on character or plot developments. It's as though the whole focus of the book are the sex scenes, and the "plotline" is just the way to keep them (deficiently) connected.

The two main characters - Mikhail and Raven's - relationship develops in the flip of about twenty pages. Then, for the next one-hundred-something pages, there is little more to the book than the romantic scenes. You don't have to wait long for the first hot scene... you do have to wait a lot to see a semblance of plotline though.

This makes it very hard to connect to the characters. Raven, for instance, is presented as an assertive, independent woman, but she seems to lose all sense of "self" at the slightest sexy whisper from her lover. She pretends to resist, he seduces, and it's easy to know what follows. Whenever he produces great chance in her life her reaction is something close to "I'm my own person! You shouldn't have done that.... But it's ok. You are really sexy and I love you." It's very hard to believe or feel for the characters, to believe they are three-dimensional. It feels too cliché.

As for the plotline, I did not believe for one second that the main characters were in danger. One moment, the Carpathians are writen as all powerful, and the next, a weakeness just pops out of nowhere for the sake of attempting to create some danger that is never truly believable.

It's a light read, the romantic descriptions are good, but I wish there was more substance to the book, as the Carpathians have potential. The essence of the mechanics in the male/female relatioship reminds me of Anne Bishop's Black Jewells Trilogy, but pale in comparaison.

I sincerelly hope the next one is better.

To all of those who wrote bad reviews about this wonderful book and an equally amazing author, you obviously hold too much in the first book of a series to really give it a chance. Have you ever watched a movie and hated it at first but later you want to watch it again? I have read practically every book this author has written, and I may never stop reading them. These books give women and men something to look forward to, to relax with, or just to enjoy. If you want a book that you can lose yourself in, read this series!!!! I will not give away what the book is about, you will have to read it for yourself. Enjoy, and don't judge until you're done.

I just recently purchased and started re-reading all of Christine Feehan's Carpathian stories. I borrowed them all the first time, so the fact that I'm paying money to re-read them, should speak to how I've come to love this series.

That being said, not all Carpathians are created equally.

When I first read this book, YEARS ago, I had only just begun reading paranormal materials. I liked the premise of Carpathians but must admit the royalty of this race made me wonder how they'd survive.

Not extinction, but redundancy. Thankfully, the stories got better and the players more engaging. Every one is getting better, so I'm still spending hard earned money on Christine's books and I'll review them as I revisit her Carpathians and their lifemates.

I was very excited when I heard about this book and read all the wonderful reviews. So I was very surprised that this book was not as great as I thought it would be. I actually found it hard to get into and finish. A book that would normally take me two days to finish took me a week. It was a good enough storyline, but there was not enough romance, theirs seemed a sick relationship, like a stalkers obsession. I didn't feel that she had free choice in falling in love with him, he kind of made her do it. I also didn't like all the Carpathian healing and blood giving. It seem to take up most of the book. I heard that the rest of the books in this series aren't as bad so I'll give her one more chance and see what happens.

I picked this book at random and I must say that I absolutely love this book. I am totally hooked to the entire series. If you love vampires and romance you will love this book. She is a very discriptive author so it really pulls you in if you have a vivid imagination. I must however say that if you are a femanist you will probably be annoyed with her heroines. However I dont think that her heroines are that different from the women in any other romance novel or women in real life so......I think that if people were honest with themselves they would not be so critical about the women in the stories. Also she does make it a point to reiterate the premise behind the Carpathian race (vampires) in each book. So, that if you read say book 12 first you will understand what is going on without having to refer to the first book in the series to get the background. (Some people are annoyed by this). Anyway all I can say is that I am totally rivited and engrossed once I start any one of these books and I now have a hard time finding other authors that match her skill when it comes to vampire romance. I think that Dark Prince is an excellent place to start, if you love it you will love the rest of the series. I finished the whole series in a few weeks and am anxiously awaiting the next installment. Ms. Feehan cannot write them fast enough for me.

Dark Prince is darker than the previous books I have read in the paranormal romance section. The books starts off immediately with the 2 maincharacters getting to know each other but only psychically. I found the relationship development maybe a bit to fast, however, I understand that after waiting for 800+ years, you are kind of in a hurry to "close the deal". I enjoyed the details about the Carpathians nature, how they heal, how they live. Christine Feehan did a nice job making it come to life. I tend to avoid the pages with the villains, because a lot of books just don't treat them like main characters - not here. They did add to the whole mix in an interesting way. I can understand that some reviewers don't like the "almighty" attitude of Mikhail, however - he is the prince and has ruled and lead his people for a long time. It wouldn't be believable if all of a sudden he was that little lapdog. Raven's struggle was fully understandable: being attracted to the guy but also being ripped out of your life you know - there has to be some serious volatility.
All in a great first book to a hopefully great series.

I had never read a book by Christine Feehan. I have never tired of love scenes, but the sheer number and seemingly identical descriptions were just plain boring. The phrase that drove me up the wall was "he framed her face with his hands". How someone could write that in what seemed no less than a dozen times and not realize I don't know.

I gave the book three stars because the characters and the world Feehan created were interesting.

This series has been around awhile and this book is supposedly the first one. I haven't read the later installments but I hope, for the sake of those readers who do, that they're better than "Dark Prince."

As has been said by other reviewers, an editor must have been on vacation to let this book print "as is". The constant repetitions of phrases such as "little one" are really annoying. I realize that the "Carpathians" are supposed to be old-world but give me a break. The "little one" bit just made Mikhail the "Prince" look like a male-chauvinist pig rather than an arrogant royal.

And that's my main gripe -- the over all stupidity of the whole story. Here are a small (apparently) group of pseudo-vampires who need to find "lifemates" in order to, what? See in color? To feel anything? Why? Even over looking that obvious stretch, the "lifemate", once found, is evidentially treated like a child rather than an adult female. She is cosseted, protected, pampered etc. But what does she do other than have sex with her male counterpart and get into trouble so he can bail her out?? I'm not looking for a forum for women's equality here; but it seems to me that a blow-up doll could be a substitute for a lifemate female.

Raven the heroine is supposed to be an American female with self-proclaimed "brains". However, we never saw any evidence of brains. It was very hard to imagine her as a psychic who chased after serial killers. Every opportunity she had she threw herself into danger, requiring Mikhail to fly to the rescue. How many times does a prince rescue a damsel in distress in any fairy tale? And Mikhail the Prince is supposed to be the strongest, smartest etc. of his kind. So then why does he continually require repair? He is hurt a number of times badly enough to need to "go to ground" and take blood from another "ancient". In one scene he stands there and lets a mere mortal shoot him so as to make him bleed a lot. Some prince!

I read the rave reviews by other readers and just don't understand. If Mikhail the hero had been just a human male, there would be all kinds of outrage that he was too domineering, chauvinistic, overbearing, etc. What self-respecting woman would put up with this behavior? But because he's labeled something other than human, it's ok to be a jerk?? The only interesting conversation Raven and Mikhail began was when she accused him of feeling superior to humans and thinking of people as "cattle". Unfortunately that conversation never got anywhere despite the fact it was obviously true.

As I said, I hope the later books are better but it's a shame that the whole series is based on such a shakey story.

I read the Dark Prince several years ago and fell in love with the Carpathian race. Reread and found the story just as wonderful as the first time. Christine Feehan truly knows how to write a story. She captures her reader's attention from beginning to end with her eloquently written prose. Well Done Ms. Feehan. Thank you for sharing the Carpatians with the world.

This is the third time I have tried to read this book. I still could not finish it. It felt like a task I was trying to compete instead of getting me lost in the story. It had high hopes but falls way short. It is just tedious and the sex parts left me cold.

They are immortals. Born with incredible strength and amazing psychic powers. They look like humans, but they are blood-drinkers, living in darkness and afraid of the sun. They are shape-shifters, easily taking on the form of wolves or any animals and can also dissolve into a mist or fog. But the Carpathians are a dying breed; no female has been born in centuries. Most males are also succumbing to the curse: they are slowly losing their emotions and have been living in darkness, losing their ability to see in color. Some have already killed themselves or worse, turned vampire, therefore killing humans savagely instead of just taking in a "little feed" and erasing the memory of their victims. Time is running out for them. The only cure is to find their life mate, the other half who can make them whole.

At the center is their prince, Mikhail Dubrinsky, the oldest of them all. On edge of despair, he finally decides to end his life and the bleak existence he has endured for centuries. But while contemplating his last hours, a voice reaches out to him asking him if ending his life is the answer to his loneliness. He was rattled, for no human has ever made a psychic connection with him before, especially not a woman. And Mikhail knows instantly - she is their hope for the future.

Raven Whitney is a powerful psychic. Born with the powerful ability to read minds and see through people, she has suffered the consequences of this gift, living an isolated life. Others see her as a freak of nature. After helping the police in tracking four serial killers, she goes to Romania to enjoy the isolation and serenity of the Carpathian Mountains. When she hears Mikhail's desperation, her compassionate nature takes over and she tries to comfort him, not knowing that it would change her life forever.

When Mikhail realizes that Raven possesses a very powerful psychic gift, he is intrigued and shape shifts into an owl in order to see her. He lands in the balcony at the inn she's staying at and was mesmerized by her beauty and allure. He is shocked to find himself reacting to her, for such is an emotion he hasn't felt in centuries. But most of all, he sees the vividness of her blue eyes and he knows right then and there that she is his life mate, his savior. For the first time in centuries, he is happy and overjoyed.

Now despite recognizing the danger in him, Raven is drawn to Mikhail and finds herself unable to pull away. And when she finally realizes who he really is, it is too late for the Carpathian mating ritual has been completed and they are now bonded together. And while she struggles to face her new world, they must face danger together for a group of vampire hunters are determined to wipe out their race.

DARK PRINCE is a dark, captivating novel that had me glued from the very first page. The premise of the story is so fascinating; I found myself so involved in the Carpathian world, their lives, powers and sufferings. It was great reading how protective the males are over the female Carpathians and the depth of love that they are capable of giving. Sure, Mikhail is arrogant to a fault but Raven is the perfect antidote to his domineering attitude.

One of my favorite parts is toward the end when Raven finally uses her shape shifting ability. I loved how carefree she was and how eager to explore her newfound power. And the way Mikhail and his friends all walled her in trying to protect her was so delightful that I didn't want the book to end.

Despite my very slight annoyance with Mikhail's constant referral to Raven as "little one", I absolutely loved this book and look forward to reading the others in the series.

An excellent novel. The first of Christine Feehan's Dark series; also the first one I read - Focuses on the Carpathian "race", lending a unique bend to the world of paranormal romance, where Mikhail ( the Prince of the Carpathians ) and Raven ( a human with psychic capabilities who recently helped the police track down a serial killer ) meet and begin their destiny.
The book is highly sensual and erotic - but more than that, it's an excellent story, as well as a great introduction to the now popular series. All characters are introduced and lend their own zest - in other words, THERE IS A PLOT HERE!

"Dark Prince" offers paranormal fans a break from the stagnation in recent vampire romances. As a powerful Carpathian male (as opposed to a "vampire," who is a Carpathian-turned-evil) and the prince of his people, Mikhail dutifully carries out Carpathian justice. The weight of delivering death to former Carpathians and centuries of sensory deprivation (the combined result of age and failure to find a lifemate,) torment Mikhail with the fear of "turning." A human woman, Raven, responds telepathically to Mikhail's unspoken plea for redemption.
Raven, in the Carpathian Mountains on a respite from psychically tracking serial killers, finds a kindred spirit in Mikhail. Even so, she resists his instinctively possessive, dominating and feral behavior. Her transformation from human woman to Carpathian princess (as Mikhail's lifemate) is fraught with difficulty.
"Dark Prince" offers more than a new twist on "Dracula." Author Christine Feehan envelops the reader with her Carpathian males, their struggle against their inner beasts and the women who redeem them. Readers looking for more than the typical pain-in-the-neck vampire story will highly appreciate this book.

This is the story of Mikhail, the Prince of the Carpathians, who has the weight of countless centuries on his shoulders. He is alone and cannot face the loneliness any longer. At his lowest point, when he is ready to face the dawn, out of the light comes Raven, a human woman of compassion, intelligence, and unique powers of her own. This is their story, the story of the first step towards the renewal of a dieing race. It is also the story of the power of the relationship a Carpathian creates with his lifemate.
This is one of those few books that can actually keep your attention from start to finish (you know the kind I mean). I read this through in one sitting (staying up late when I had work the next morning and get up at 4:30am). This is definitely a keeper and one I would highly recommend to all those romance and paranormal readers out there.

From the very beginning of this book I was hooked... I typically like to give a book a couple of chapters before I will give up on it... I was locked in after reading only a couple pages... Mikhail is just a masterful character that commands your attention from the beginning... Raven is truly his "lifemate" and extremely compatiable to his dominant character... Christine Feehan is an incredible writer or artist... because she weaves incredible feeling that will take your breath away. I was so moved by this book and her writing style I went out and ordered the rest of the series... Keep writing Christine...you have been blessed with a gift!

OMG. ..All the hype about this series and I didn't even make it past the 4th chapter. Let me first say that I am NOT the one to give up on the book easily I usually try to read it all the way through the give author a chance but this book right here, that wasn't happening. As I'm listening to this book I'm thinking to myself "is this the first book cuz they act like they know each other already been around each other for a while". It didnt introduce the charaters so i didnt know who or wth raven or mikail was what they did or nothing till a little later and even then it didn't give much info. It was hard to connect with the characters. I didn't feel like it was a first book in the series. Raven was too committing too quickly she tried to play this tough chick but at the same time weak and needy. There was no chase to it she just gave in and did what he said. And mikail was entirely too demanding and then confused about it... So Raven goes through this "she didn't want this but needed this" bull crap this is that back and forth confused crap I be talking about... either you go do it or not. One minute she's like I gotta go I'm supposed to be back in America then all of a sudden it's like ooohh I need him so much and he needs me" REAAAALLLLYYYY... off of a couple of days or even hours of being mind f***ed and bossed around by this dude (that obviously got some major control issues) you all in love???? I am like OMG really how d*** confused can you be. I began to wonder what is the point of this book, I'm guessing it is supposed to be paranormal love story, well it missed the mark by a few planets. I couldn't tell if Mikail was a werewolf or a vampire because one minute they were talking about him sucking blood next minute they were talking about him turning/changing so I'm like wth is Mikail a werewolf vampire what was the deal. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. It was so horrible I couldn't even finish it. It really gave me a massive pounding headache. Ironically I didn't even notice that it was the book giving me the headache until I stop listening to it changed over to a different book and believe it or not the headache went away so it was the book. Also the reader wasn't that great either she was making the story worse but I can see thru if the reader is jacking up the story or if the story is just bad. If the reader is jacking up the story but the story actually has promise to it then I won't listen to the audio I'll read it. The author seemed very confused on what she really wanted to do with the book and it's characters. But I should've known this was gonna be a crap shoot considering the source that recommended the book. How dare anyone compare this to the BDB! this can't hold a candle to that series and so far I haven't found too many series that can. If anyone know of some please let me know.

This is such an amazing read! I loved the book so much that I went out and bought the rest of the series. It's unfortunate that most of the series is out of print now so I suggest you go buy the books soon if you liked the first one! I read a lot of paronormal romance and this one is one of my favorites. I think what makes this series stand out for me is the fact that the characters talk to each other in their minds. It just makes it more sensual and exciting! I starting reading it and got sucked in and it was hard to put down! I love all the characters, I like the Carpathian world and the romance is great. This book was on my to read shelf for a while and I'm soooo glad I read it! I definitely recommend it to lovers of paranormal romance.

This is the first book in the Dark Series and the first one I read. I loved this book. I enjoyed exploring the world of the Carpathians and Feehan's take on vampires. I liked the lifemate bond and where the men are somewhat overbearing, I really liked Raven's quite strength and her ability to use her brain for more than spacer for her ears. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a great romance mixed with the legends of vampires.

While I've really enjoyed all the other books I've read by Fee an I just couldn't like this one. Its the type of book I usually love but lead female character was just too stupid to believe. The things she did and said were enough to make you hope a villain killed her for stupidity. And the dialogue was unrealistic as well... I'll try the next one and hope it's better but I was very disappointed in this book. I NEVER don't finish a book I start but I gave up on this one about 2/3 of the way in.

Dark Prince is #1 in the series. I actually read Dark Fire, #6, first. I never thought I'd get into vampire-type romance novels, but this series has really captured my attention. I strongly recommend starting at #1 and continuing the series in numerical order, although you can read them and understand them in any order. Christine Feehan is a great author. She brings depth to her characters, action to her stories, and plenty of steamy romance scenes. I have started reading book #2, and I just can't bring myself to put it down! I would strongly recommend Dark Prince, and anything else written by Christine Feehan. At this point, there are 20 books in the Dark series, and I intend to read every one of them!

I really enjoyed Dark Prince. The Carpathian series is a guilty pleasure of mine and I count this as amongst my ultimate favourites. The additional pages really help to flesh out the characters and story more. The seconday characters were really good as well, got to love Gregori aka "The Dark One".

The repetition got annoying & the book isn't without its flaws, but the story captured my attention. I've become enthralled with the characters and world Christine has created. Mikhail and Raven have such a passionate love story that entertained me from start to finish.

I was not really impressed by this book, but it also has to be said my sisters pounced on this book and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread!

First of all I have to say Ms Feehan has an excellent spin on the whole vampire story going for her and the whole lifemate idea is sweet but, and there is a big BUT, it all went pear shaped with the writing! Reading this book was such a frustrating experience, it could and should have been so good, but it turned out so bad. The two leads were yawn-worthy.. their whole relationship summarised with Mikhail saying 'you will' and Raven(stupid name too!) saying 'i won't I'm human, i can't live like a carpathian!'etc. Lets forget the fact to that it took one second for Mikhail to realise he had set his eyes on his soulmate...one second, spare me, and besides how could anyone love a woman who is as thick as Raven is at times in this book?!

The only high point for me was the Characters of Gregori and Jacques... now theirs might be an interesting story if handled properly AND their characters are nothing like Mikhail. No woman would spend five minutes in the room with an overbearing caveman like that twot, not mind fall in love with him...I don't care how goodlooking or muscular he is!!

So in short, a good idea let down by the writing. However there may be hope for the rest of the series, it didn't convert me but as i said at the start my sisters loved it.

At this time, I have just read Dark Symphony (No. 9 in the Dark series)--I loved every page. And, as you can see, I wrote the review below almost 2 years ago. I just wanted to remind readers where the Carpathian legacy began and what a great book this really is to read.

Some readers will tell you that the characters fell in love too quickly; that there was no climatic "tug-of-war" of the heart. However, I believe that when you find true love, you'll know it immediately, and grab on to it with both hands, body, heart, and soul. (I knew my husband all of two months before we married--we just celebrated year number 14--and we are more than in love, we are friends, partners, and parents). For this reason, I can relate to the immediate chemistry between Mikhail and Raven.
During these times of wars and rumors of wars, I will forever keep this book on hand to reread again and again on those days and nights when I need a reminder that the simple love between a man and a woman is the reason our existence continues; even as bombs are bursting, towers are falling, and mankind's hatred seeks to destroy anyone who is of a different race, religion, gender, sexual preference...
So far I have reread Dark Prince and Dark Gold*****
An ingenious novel that takes romance to a new realm,
August 2, 2001
Reviewer: Michele Bowie (see more about me) from Marietta, GA United States
A good romance novel is an interesting read. An excellent one touches your heart. However, a masterpiece is truly an unforgettable piece of art that will be forever etched in nostalgia like the Beetles, Woodstock, The Wizard of Oz...and anything written by the late Barbara Courtland. For me, Dark Prince is such a novel. One that takes you on a captivating journey into forbidden love, intrigue, history, and a sense of family. The characters are so powerfully depicted that you find yourself wondering things like: Do beings of this nature really exist? Are my partner and I true Lifemates? Preferring historic romance novels, I was not sure this book would appeal to me, but to my delight, I found myself eager to read page after page. Because of my preference, I was able to appreciate and admire the old-world traits in Mikhail. Also, I believe that only an independent woman of the 21st century like Raven could handle such a dominant albeit, loving male. Gregori is so compellingly mesmeric that you just know the author can not resist featuring him in a novel of his own....and of course, she does (Dark Magic). I look forward to reading all of the books in Ms. Feehan's "Dark" series and much more.

i have read most of the other books by Feehan and decided to read the first in the series since all the reviews kept referring to it. Ughg. It was so boring. I could never really like Mikhail because the model on the cover looked ugly and OLD! He reminded me an aging soap opera star. Yuck. Raven was nothing exceptional herself; she had a psyhic ability, of course (which if you are so unfoRtunate not to have one, then your chances of attracting a Carpathian male are zilch.) Everyone has dark hair and eyes, AGAIN. Raven was hurt, bleeding, or whining most of the time. The climax was non-existant, the men were arrogant and dominating, as usual. Mikhail practically forced Raven to have sex with him and become Carpathian. The women in this series are given the illusion of freedom and free choice (when they are little more than trophy brood mares) by the Carpathian males who seem that they can fix everything with sex. I keep hoping one of the "heroines" will haul off and break her "hero's" nose.

THis book was recamended to me by Amanda Ashley, I was thankfull. Its hard to find Good Vampire romances out there. I will be reading her other books. THis book held a little bit more graphic discription than i am use to but never the less I theroly enjoyed it. You will feel that you know all the charecters personaly. You will fall in love with Mikhail.<the leading man so to speak> I really liked the twist that the author played about there 1st contact. I also like that She doesn't play Raven as a helples female. She also discribes her love seens in slightly more detale than the other authors and i found that captavating. Her writhing makes you want more from the charecters and I am greatful that I can get more with her other books. If you enjoy Amanda Ashly or shanon drake you will enjoy this read. If you are new to the vampire reads The best place to start is with these 3 authors, in my oppinion. I would love to hear about more reads if you know of anyother good ones.

Mikhail is the prince of Carpathians, a race that spawned the vampire myth. Raven is a beautiful, innocent, compassionate, most -insert every positive adjective to describe her here- telepathic human. There is no plot. The whole story revolves around Raven saying that she accepts everything that Mikhail is and why can't he do the same thing for her, but five seconds later she's threatening to leave him because she can't understand his culture. The heroine's stupidity is passed off as courage or compassion. Oh how courageous she is for taking a walk in the woods wearing only Mikhail's shirt and his cape, to comfort a male stranger. Oh how compassionate she is to want to ease his grief, despite being almost naked, alone in the woods. And how dare Mikhail be protective and uneasy about this scenario.

There is no suspense. They're hot for each other from the first page, get bound forever halfway through, encounter laughable resistance from pathetic villains in an attempt to give the reader a break from drowning in purple prose. Does no one in this book know how to speak normally? Everyone sounds so poetic and scholarly, it's ridiculous.

There is only flowery purple prose describing how perfect they look. Raven doesn't have black hair, it's blue-black and silky. Always silky. Mikhail's hair is "coffee-colored". What? Why can't it just be described as black? Sometimes the descriptions get too flowery that I literally laugh out loud from second hand embarrassment. Even the sex scenes are lulzy.

It took me three months to finish this book. I had to put it down and had no desire to pick it back up. Don't waste your money; rent or borrow instead.

Hot petite young thing with big blue/violet/lavender eyes seeks brooding ancient hunk coffee/espresso hair and creepy black eyes to mentally assault her silken triangle after attempted assistance with self loathing and suicidal ideation.

I'd rate this one star but for the fact the sex scenes were so absurd (and frequent) that I was laughing throughout roughly half of novel. By the time Raven and Mikhail get over the pissing contest as to whether or not they're a couple and the "oh noes we're not together I MUST KILL MYSELF" bs, I found myself a.) hopeful the vampire hunters weren't entirely incompetant, and b.) wondering if I could recall the names of any of the "supporting" cast. We have Raven, Mikhail, Gregori, Jacques, ...Hummer...?, Noelle right? Andre. He was there at the end, easier to remember. There must have been at least 10 more. Right?

Raven is worthless, Mikhail is your average brooding dark past/dark secrets needs the woman to find completion of his soul self deprecating manifestation of wish-fulfillment. This makes for a great bodice ripper but is falls painfully short of any ingenuity. Why there is an ongoing insistence that women LIKE to be forcibly molested, be it psychically or otherwise is beyond me. I telepathically reach out to a suicidal guy to say "Hey dude, it's not so bad. Cheer up!" I would fully expect the man to *NOT* track me down and violate me.

Why doesn't Vampirism come more frequently delivered in a witty, intellectual fashion? I love the concept of supernatural fiction but drivel the likes of this gives me little hope for the future of the genre.

...and for the love of everything holy could someone please explain to me how sucking blood from humans but not killing them makes the distinction between Vampire and Carpathian? Come on now.

This is the first book in Feehan's extremely popular Dark series. I purposely did not read the others until I could read this one. I enjoyed it. Obviously, you must like paranormal romances but it offers a more developed plot line and clearly left openings for the works to come.

I fell completely in love with the Carpathian men. They are dark, aggressive, very wild and animal like, more primal than anything..... possessive and utterly wonderful. They can not help but yield to their animal instincts of protecting their lifemates. It is love, compassion, desire, and instinct. The story was wonderful, Feehan did a great job ! I have just read her second novel "Dark Desire" and I can not wait to read the rest.
It did get a bit annoying that Feehan used the same words over and over, I thought I would scream if I seen "Silk Warmth", "Liquid Velvet", and of course... "Black Magic" as a description for things. I did scream, seeing them used over and over again... but it was well worth it because I also screamed and squirmed with feelings for these characters. It was all in all fabulous ! I would recommend to anyone, and have done so.

Christine Feehan writes a good story for women who like sensual details without being crude. While I could do without all the crying and screaming of most of her heroines during sex, the descriptions of the love-making are HIGHLY erotic without being offensive.

There is always humor in Feehan's books -- usually at the expense of the ultra macho males who are over-protective, over-sexed, and totally devoted to doing and being everything their mates want and need.

If Feehan would write a Dark Series book every week, I would mortgage my house to keep them coming. That's the highest praise I can give any author.

I am adding Christine Feehan to my short list of favorite authors. I give her a standing ovation for her work in this novel. It is a storyline so unique and so compelling that it leaves one craving for more. I fell in love with Mikhail and Raven's story. It was entrancing and very romantic. Gregori was a great character. I would love to read more in depth the story of his own dark struggle. I eagerly await what else Ms. Feehan will pull out of that wonderfully imaginative mind of hers.

I just finshed and icouldnt say what the new pages were. I like this series. but could do without the sex scenes. this is the first book in the series. how Mikhail the prince of carpathiahns is wanting to give up his life and all of sudden a human raven talks to him in his mind. this lays the foundation of series. how as a people they are dieing out. they need to find thier lifemates so they can have emotions, colors and not turn vampire

A few years ago, I fell in love with Christine Feehan's Carpathians/Dark Series when I listened to the original Books-in-Motion audio download. Even though Juanita Parker, the audio performer, made several pronunciation slips, the texture and energy of her voice enhanced the story. I must have listened to the story more than 20 times to hear that dynamic first frisson of attraction between Mikhail and Raven. The storyline was bold, mysterious, sensual, and exciting. I wasted no time in buying the audio editions of the subsequent episodes, and later, the print books.

Although I'm a huge fan of all things Carpathian, there were numerous non-sequitors and logic clashes in Dark Prince. When I heard that Feehan had released an "author's cut" of Dark Prince with 100 additional pages, I was eager to see how she'd polished the story, possibly embellished some of the characters who appeared in later stories, and to once again experience the audio magic. Unfortunately, I was terribly disappointed. The non-sequitors remained, Raven still claimed how intelligent she was before and after she did some stupid things, Mikahil still failed to utilize the full measure of his powers, and Gregori's cachet of mysterious, brooding, sexiness was diminished. This wouldn't have bothered me so much, but for the fact that I'd invested in the audio edition which proved to be one of the worst I've ever listened to. Abby Craden, the audio performer was way out of her league. She made every word out of Raven's mouth come out as a whine. Gregori's voice lacked weight, Mikhail's lacked masculine authority, and the whole performance was devoid of energy.

Although I'm a disappointed Carpathian fan after reading the "new" Dark Prince, I'm still a fan of the series.

I would have given this book 5 stars but the reader isn't warned of the consistent explicit sexual content. It was fine for me but given the popularity movies like Twilight one could mistakenly refer this book to a teen.

This book has some serious potential to be great. I picked it up from the local library, after read the first page I was interested. So here I am now after reading through it, thinking "Why did I waste my time?" I'll admit it was a good book on some levels, however, in my opinion, part of being a good author means that they are one who uses different words to explain the same thing throughout the book, instead of repeating things. Mrs. Feehan lacks that. There are so many different possibilities to describe things, but she keeps everything so limited. She uses the same words right after the other to describe something and it gets annoying.

And the worst part of the book, which I'd expected to be the best, was the love scenes. Yes Scenes. Plural. I expected one. One really well written love scene. But what did I get instead? One in almost every chapter. Every time you think something great's going to happen, Raven and Mikhail start it all over again. Every time they argue about something, they just end up making love all over again, wasting pages in the book. There's nothing wrong with a good love scene, but she just put in too many. We GET that they love eachother. We GET that they're horny. After awhile, I started skipping the love scene paragraphs because they're all the same. The only difference is where it happens, although it's usually just on any random floor.

Also, where's the plot? I got the whole part about the dying Carpathian race thing, but... the main premice seems to be more focused on sex than on anything else. If you're going to write a sex scene, make it good; don't bother throwing in 30 crappy ones thinking they'll be the equivalent to one great scene. I would have enjoyed the book much more had there been less meaningless, repetative sex and more of a conflict. The speaking lines are pretty corny too: "Touch me everywhere. I want you deep inside me."

The female character, Raven, trys to resist Mikhail's charms throughout the book, but she gives in for sex, then goes back to resisting. I mean, what's the point?

These two characters are the only two you get to know. The others are there, and they're very important, but the way this book is written they just pale in comparisson. I would also have liked to see more of the other Carpathians, but I guess we can't have everything.

Something I find very sad is that I've read stories by people who aren't as educated as I assume Feehan is, and I'd have to say 75% of the stories make hers look even worse. I actually have read a story very similar to this, and it was far better. People who write just for fun and post their works on the internet can write better than she can, at least in my opinion. And I have to say, that's really sad.

I gave the book 3 stars because it wasn't terrible if you ignore the never-ending sexcapades, lack of creative descriptions, and poor character developments and relationships.

I hope this review helps people. I don't want to flame Feehan, but just like any other author, she's not perfect.

Incredible. Didn't think I would be so enamored by it, but it captivated me from the very beginning-- loved the beginning. Got a bit stranger, darker, and more gothic as it continued, but it fit the setting and characters perfectly. It is about vampires--sorry Carpathians--after all! :) The characters were extremely well-developed, the passion was sizzling, and the ending was delicious. Was my first read by this author, hope the others are just as fun!

I'm reluctant to write reviews because they are always so subjective, but in this case I just have to do it. I was so excited to start this series. I love series, especially long ones, and this being a New York Times Bestselling author, I figured it was a safe bet. 70 pages into the book I had to stop. I just couldn't take it anymore. The head hopping was atrocious. There were times two character's POV's were in the same paragraph. I spent so much time rereading sections trying to figure out whose POV I was in, that it completely ruined this book for me.

The plot and character development was completely lacking. They're instantly in love, and there is no relationship building in the first 70 pages that invests me in these characters at all. I don't mind when there is sex early on in a book, I love a hot and steamy read, but this didn't flow well and left me cold and frustrated.

I've read several of her books. Each of her series is unique and compelling. It is hard for me to wait for the next one. I had never read the Dark Prince. After reading I have started rereading or reading each of the Caparthian novels over again in order. It is nice to reconnect to "old friends". The fact that characters from previous and future books make appearances is a nice touch. I can recommend any book of Ms Feehan's to readers everywhere.

I am a big fan of paranormal romance and a friend suggested I read this series. Not only have I read it, I have read it several times. This first book is not as exciting as some of the others but it sets the story line and the books just keep getting better because they keep adding characters. This is one of the best series I have ever read...and this first book is important.....

I loved this book. In searching for new authors I had several recommendations to try this author and I chose not to. Finally, I got the book at the library and could not put it down. I am not a huge fan of romantic suspense except for the paranormal kind (Christine Feehan's, Ghostwalkers and Lora Leigh's - Elite Ops), but I truly enjoyed this book. I am looking forward to reading the entire series. I would love some more recommendations.

This book is really light on substance and it's too heavy on the erotic descriptions. The heroine is annoying to the extreme and does things that makes you want to smack her. The hero is a wimp when it comes to making tough decisions. The story could be told in 3 chapters but because every other scene is a lovemaking scene (it doesn't even flow with the storyline-it just seems like they pause in the middle of doing something just to have sex) and the scenes are like 4-5 pages long of just repeated lovemaking and the descriptions are the same each time, the book is a whole lot longer than it should be.

Okay...after reading previous reviews...I've discovered that people are either pessimistic about this book or they absolutely loved it. And because each person seems to think that either bashing the book or giving rave reviews is the way to give a review...I'll put things in a wide perspective.

Pros:
1) Different from your usual vampire book. I wouldn't exactly consider it a vamp book...it's sort of a cross between Lora Leigh's "lifemate" plot where there is one person that is the answer to sustaining their race and who is the all important significant other. The animal/shapechanger story line is also a concept of Lora Leigh's. The other concept that Feehan uses is Sherrilyn Kenyons Dark Hunter series (Vampire series).

2) The ultra sexy alpha male that completely turns the woman upside down. If you're not into the "overbearing" male roles, this particular book in this series is not for you. You would probably like the second book in this series better "Dark Desire" b/c the male is wounded and the woman takes care of HIM for a change.

3) Great sex scenes...if you don't like them...SKIP THEM!!! Don't worry...you're not REALLY missing anything by flipping forward a few pages.

4) The supporting characters are really, really cool!!! This is the first book I've read in her series and she does a great job implementing her later lead characters in her books.

5) The characters in this book are telepathic which is SOOOOO cool!!!

Cons:

1) The editing is horrible in this book!!! There is one part where she meant to say Noelle and it ends of saying "Nichole"...remember that!

2) Feehan tends to stress a lot of things over and over again. Sometimes it's a little tedious. Like "You are my life mate"...or "Little One" (which is annoying by the way..I just tuned it out).

3) Raven (the main female character who is a human) is a little whiney. At the beginning you'd think she'd be a bit stronger.

4) They make love a little too early for my taste. I always like a little more suspense in the sexy parts of my books.

As far as previous reviews go...I've got news for all of the people calling this a vampire novel...they're not vampires...yet.......this new idea put me in complete awe! They're not really vampires until they "turn" (in other words, they don't find their life-mate). Second, Mikhail may be a prince, but all heros fall sometimes. If you can't except that,Don't read the book! Besides, if a hero never failed...wouldn't that be kind of boring?

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I'd probably give it 4 and a half stars if I could. The Cons that I've listed are a throw back. I'm currently continuing this series and believe me, Feehan only gets better. She's introducing new ideas and the editing is better. So don't let this one novel turn you away from such a great series.
Hope this helps! Happy reading! :)

This was probably one of the most confusing books I've read. There could have been A LOT more details. At first I was confused as to whether they were really vampires. The romance was...uggghh. I got through it, and I usually reread all of my books when I have nothing new. I can say this will not be one of them. This being the 1st of many in the Dark series I probably won't be reading the 2nd or any other.

So -- I've read all of these Dark Series books... loved them all.
I bought a kindle this past year, and I've been rereading some of my favorits on the kindle format.

I notice that the later books are all available in kindle format, but for some LAME reason the FIRST book of the series isnt. What kinda sense does that make?

I would have bought it if it was available for the kindle, but nope. No sireebob. I say that's majorly lame.

Who wants to read old fashioned books now that I have a kindle!? BLAH!

Dark Prince is the tale of Mikhail and Raven, just your average Carpathian and the fragile telepath he becomes involved with. The beginning of this book absolutely reaches out and grabs you, delving into mental telepathy between the two characters. I enjoyed the flirting and foreplay but I have to say Raven becomes weak after the first chapter of this book and the male macho syndrome barrels in. Yes I realize these vampires are supposed to be hundreds of years old and middle-European males but I want a little more backbone in my females. Having said that, it's one of the best of the 'tender vampire love stories' versus the radical and somewhat gruesome genre that has taken over. If you want ALOT and I mean ALOT of sexual contact between characters (full of vivid description) then you will like this novel. The Carpathians are an interesting lot---they're our tall, dark, vampires the way we'd like them to be...they don't kill anybody without good reason and fine women are the only thing that saves their mental well being. Alot like being married!

Okay, so this was the second book I read by Christine Feehan(first was Dark Destiny), and while Dark Destiny was significantly better than this one was, I just felt I had to read the first book to see how it all came about.

I had pretty high expectations for Dark Prince, but I was seriously disappointed by the character development and lame sub plots. The story is instantly forgettable once you finish reading, and it just feels really overlong and monotonous by the time you get past the first 200 pages or so.

The start started out promising, if not a bit formulaic: Mikhail needs a soulmate, voila, he 'stumbles' across Raven in some little mountain town. From the time they meet on it gets a bit repetitive and the reader just begins to wonder when the real action will take place. It's hard to tell just what Feehan wanted the story to focus on - the two lover's relationship? Or the subplot about the vampires trying to kill the race? It seems she just can't quite juggle the two, because the romance seems forced and the vampires who are supposedly meant to be a significant threat to the Carpathian race - only last about two pages before they're dead and buried.

In fact these killings are so predictable I found I just wanted to skip all the vampire killing stuff and really get down to the development of the characters. Mikhail is supposed to be the prince of the Carpathian race - he and Raven lead the Carpathians who all eventually meet up together from all the 'Dark series' books in Dark Celebration for a 'festive' feast/reunion(apparently they don't eat - if they do its extremely uncomfortable....so why they would cook food I don't know - but that's another book;))

Anyway, the two lead characters seriously annoyed the hell out of me. Mikhail - supposed to be all powerful, perfectly fits the archetypal masculine hero out of all those Mills & Boon novels - arrogant, handsome, 'im so powerful'/'i could kill you any moment' attitude etc. etc. On the other hand we have Raven - who seems so completely opposite to Mikhail that I found it so hard to actually connect with the two. It's like two extreme polar ends come together of the two idealized masculine and feminine characters - and I think that's what annoyed me the most about this novel. The fact that Raven is always protesting against Mikhail, but then gives in to his commands and orders just turns me right off. Also the fact that Mikhail ALWAYS seems to get his way. I'd just love to see Raven turn her back on him for once.

Their romance seems dull and forced - which made for a pretty boring book. I did find some of Feehans other books significantly better, but the only stand out for me in the series was Dark Destiny. All the other ones I tried reading were pretty much of the same story, different characters. So basically, once you've read one book you've read them all. And in case you havent already gotten the idea, here it is broken down in three simple steps:
-Carpathian Male finds female lifemate
-Lifemate protests lifemate status - but ends up hooking up with male about a million times by the end of the book
-throw in some insignificant mediocre vampires that always die by page 2.

There you have it.

This novel was the first in a series that captivates many. It gave a whole new twist on the world of vampires and shapeshifters. Feehan molded a concept that has been around for years into her own. You fall in love with Mikhail and Raven. You are affected emotionally when things start happening to them. You feel for the carpathian people and wish them deliverance from the plight with ignorant others who don't and don't want to understand them. So, should you read it...lets just say when you read this novel you will most likely seek the second installment afterwards.

Write on, read on
N.M. Phillips

When I discovered the Dark series, I was thrilled to find a new-to-me Vampire series that I could sink myself into. I bought the first 4 books for my eReader and started reading. The first book was okay ... it set up the series, explained important character points and all of the 'need to know' things in the Carpathian universe.

However, as I read through all 4 books, I quickly realized that they are all the same story with different characters. The male lead is dark, brooding and bordering on losing his soul and becoming a vampire; the female lead is beautiful, young, and fiercely independent; female lead then fights the Carpathian male constantly to maintain her autonomy; female lead refuses to believe she's been converted to a Carpathian and will now have to drink blood; she either a) goes out during the daylight hours where she suffers illness and pain, b) refuses to accept the 'bond' she has with her lifemate and tries to date others, or c) waits until a vampire or multiple vampires show up to kill the male lead and steal her away to become their woman, tries to escape the male lead. A and C options seem to be a favourite.

This series is incredibly disappointing. There is so much that could have been done with the Carpathian universe and really, I find that the books are just a vehicle for the poorly written smut that happens about half way through every book ... the male lead lays claim to the female, the female lead in a tizzy gives herself over to her baser instincts and lets the male lead have sex with her, the male lead then says the magic words and presto-bammo, they are bonded lifemates. Nothing else bloody happens. What a waste of money.

If you want smut, read fanfiction online ... if you want a story with plot, subplot and actual character development, then I would stay away from this series.

I got this book as an audio book, and have been listening to it today. I can't go on. It is just soooo boring. The sex scenes are pretty hot....at first...then it just gets boring because there is very little plot between the main characters' sexual encounters. The female character, Raven, is so weak and so predictable, and the male, Mikhail, is so stereotypically macho, alpha-male vampire predictable, that I just don't have time to spend on a book that doesn't have anything interesting to offer.

Feehan really gives a new twist to vampires. The vamp thing is over done, but the Carpathian series really had me going. Man why can't we find a guy like these ones women think while they read. Each book is about another member of the family and what they go through finding their life mates. I have to say I really enjoyed these books,(i am not done with them all yet though) Escape into these books and find mystery, danger and romance..

I like the other reviewer have drug myself through some awful and boring vampire stories. When I started this book I was hooked. The Carpathian males are real. Not Vampires. The love they have for each other is sizzling. Also the sex. I won't give away the end of the story though. I have read all of Christine's books except the unpublish Lair of the Lion. She is an exceptional writer and the fact she can get her mind around all of this stuff is interesting in itself. These are some of the sexiest men I have ever read about and I read six to eight books a week.

I loved this story. I love vampires, and the idea of having vampires as a race of beings not unlike humans was very unique. The idea is a breath of fresh air to the constant belief that vampires are monsters. Th only thing I didn't like about this story is that it left me wanting more. I want to know what happened to the characters. I want to know if Raven gave birth to a girl. I hope there is a sequel to answer these questions.

Way, way, way too many times. I picked up this book a hotel when I needed to recharge my Kindle. I thought, what the heck, I'm on vacation and it's probably a bodice ripper, so just enjoy it for what it is. Premise is good, but the execution is ... well, it needs to be executed. Over and over and over the hair is silky, the body is satin, his hair is coffee or espresso ... oh, my, I just can't go on.

I bought this book because I wanted something a little easier to read from what I usually read, but something that would still be interesting.

I was browsing around the Romance section in Borders' and saw book after book of regular romances. What I wanted was something that was fantasy, a bit dark, a romance of course, but not some cheesy vampire novel.

Then my eyes were drawn to this series of books. I read the back cover of a few and chose this one (as it is the first in the series).

I had a really hard time closing this book once I had started to read it. The charachters-seemingly cliche at first, definatly develop a lot as the story goes on, and even though they can be annoying at times, they really stick in your heart.

I feel that the author was very good at portraying the passion and violence in the story to the extent where the reader becomes very elated or very disturbed based on what is experienced in the story.

I highly reccomend this story to anyone who loves stories likes romance with touches of the darker Harry Potter books.

Right after I finished this book, I went ahead and bought the three books that follow. :D

I found the mythology created for this paranormal book an interesting premise. However, the relationship between the two leads and the plot development are weak. The two leads fall immediately into their "relationship" with barely any discussion or contemplation. What is even more aggravating, however, is the repetition of ideas and discussions between characters. I found myself wanting to yell, "All right, already! We get it! Move on!" so many times that by the time I was approaching the final chapters I simply began skimming the book. This book was a miss for me. I don't know if I'll read any more of this series.

The author seemed to be developing a good story line, the characters were developed rather well. The problem I had with the story was the repetitiveness through out with the sexual scenes, its like the author didn't have enough for a story and threw in way too many sexual encounters.

This book is terrible. For the first quarter, absolutely nothing happens except the head top Carpathian vampire guy sets his sights on a woman and finally shags her. That is it, for that much.

Boring as hell. Completely overwritten, turgid and melodramatic, and a complete and utter waste of time. Plenty of others of this sort of thing that are way more entertaining.

If you want something crappy and more gothic you might be interested, otherwise, forget it.

Wonderful beginning to a delightful series! I've been a fan for a while and this book started it for me. I can't stress enough how raw and primal this love story is. Absolutely loved it from beginning to end!

~ Courtney Shockey

I'm a Newbie to Christine Feehan Novels, This is the First I've Read from her. and i have to Say I Enjoyed it Very Much!! the Characters were amazing, the Storyline interesting,held my interest through out the entire book.So much that I will continue to Read the Series. and Keep Christine Feehan on my list of Authur's that I keep up with.

Christine Feehan's first novel, Dark Prince, was first released in 1999 and has now been re-released in a new "Author's Cut Special Edition." I recently had the opportunity to read it. I knew it was one of the early paranormal romances that had shaped the subgenre and its tropes. If I'm not mistaken, this may be the first instance of lifemates who not only don't want to, but physically can't be unfaithful to each other once they forge their mystical bond. Another example is "sequel bait": the hero of this novel is outfitted with a posse of equally hunky, equally angsty brothers and friends who will serve as the heroes of subsequent books.

The domineering nature of the hero, Mikhail, was a huge sticking point for me in the first few chapters. He stomps around demanding obedience from Raven and overriding her will when she doesn't obey. The good news is that this aspect improves. Raven starts standing up to Mikhail and even poking fun at some of his macho posturing, Mikhail takes a metaphorical chill pill and starts to enjoy her teasing, and the book becomes more bearable on the gender-roles front (though Mikhail is still overbearing and Raven still disturbingly weak in some scenes). I often dislike alpha jerks, but I do enjoy heroines who can deflate their self-importance.

Unfortunately, the book is marred by other issues, possibly because the original edition of Dark Prince was Feehan's first novel. The point of view jumps around constantly. I don't know if it's supposed to be third person omniscient or if it's just plain old head-hopping, but it's distracting. The writing is also thick with melodrama and purple prose, especially during the sex scenes: "velvet," "silk," "satin," "lava," and "black magic" figure prominently.

Most problematic, though, is the plot's lack of shape. It moves from sex scene to action scene to sex scene to action scene, and so on, without seeming to build *to* anything in particular. It just sort of *stops*, after a final round of violence followed by sex. If the overall plot arc is supposed to be "Raven and Mikhail fall in love, and they'll probably be facing persecution all their lives," that was resolved well before the ending. If the plot arc is meant to be "Raven is the hope of the Carpathian race because she can stay sane and bear a female child," it's still not resolved after 496 pages. She still teeters on the edge of madness every time something terrible happens, and there's no baby in sight. (I'm not ordinarily a fan of the Baby Epilogue, but it might have gone a long way toward making the book feel "done.")

I haven't read the original edition, so I don't know how much of this meandering quality is due to the re-addition of scenes that were cut the first time around. If that's the reason, though, maybe Dark Prince was better off at a shorter length. After the first few sex/action cycles, it began to feel like a slog. On the other hand, it may be worth reading if you want to know where some of the conventions of paranormal romance originally came from.

I liked this book very much. I will not rehash the hash by going over the storyline cause if you are still reading reviews,, you know it by now.

I am saying that I think this book needs to be read with a specific mindset to get the most enjoyment out of it.

First of all you have to suspend your preconcieved notions about normal man woman relationships. These are essentially not humans, and these relationships are not based on equality or even strength in the normal way of looking at it.

These relationships are based on the premise that the couple, in this case,, Mikhail and Raven are actually one being. Two halves of the same whole. If you look at things this way, which is the way the author presents it, you can sort of see why Raven behaves the way she does and why Hikhail behaves the way he does.

Just my opinion here.

I say buy it and see for yourselves.

You be the judge of your own reading pleasures.

best wishes

Chrissy

I agree with many of the comments written here by other reviewers. However, I must say that I thought the pacing was off. The characters were either making passionate love or running for their lives. Raven is a strong heroine, but she is constantly giving and withdrawling her trust in Mikhail who has to convince her over and over that they are right for each other. I found it somewhat exhausting.

I agree with most of what has already been said except I kept waiting for Raven to be stronger and finally get a clue, and by the end of the book I was tiring of reading about "WHO" was going to be for dinner.

Too much talking "about" power and not enough immersing us "in" that power. But all in all this book is an interesting read and quite refreshing in presenting a newer view vampires. I will be purchasing the next book in the series.

Dark Prince is the kind of book you wait all year for. If you love Dara Joy, Thea Devine, Stephanie Laurens you need to read this. Fresh, exciting writing that will keep you enthralled from begining to end. A hero you love, a heroine you respect, a plot that sizzles. What more could you want? Pick it up today.
The term"Love bite" takes on a whole new meaning.
Enjoy!

Ehhhhh - not a very good paranormal. I think Feehan tried to give a sense of action and drama by using lofty, melodramatic language. She did this all the way through and it got a bit old after a while.

She also used many phrases repeatedly such as: "...the nape of her neck" - "the fall of her hair". After about the sixth time I was laughing. After about the tenth time I was ready to throw the book across the room.

I will try some of Christine Feehan's other title. I'm not giving up on this series just yet.

I can't understand why so many readers love this series. First, a little background: Having always stuck to "serious" literature, I listened to the urgings of a friend earlier this year and started reading what I'd always considered in the past "trash" while I was ill in bed one week. Result: I was instantly hooked on the urban fantasy genre. I love (and have read all) the books featuring Anita Blake (well maybe I loved the first 10 of those anyway), Cassandra Palmer, Kitty Norville, Kate Daniels, Riley Jensen, Mercy Thompson and so on. So.... people's lists in "Listmania" that recommended these series always also included "Dark Prince". Confident that it would be the start of another great series, I downloaded it as an (unabridged) audiobook and listened to it on my ipod. If I'd borrowed it from the library as a book, I would have given up reading very early on, but I had nothing else downloaded as an audiobook at the time, so kept listening on the bus into work each morning. It was just dreadful. No suspense, a pathetic plot, no humour, absolutely one-dimensional characters... there is nothing good I can say about this book, I'm afraid. I just can't understand why so many other readers have enjoyed this so much. This is the kind of stuff that really is "trash" and not worth reading.

I tried, I really really tried to read this book, but I've had more coherent experiences while standing close to a gas pump and inhaling too deeply. The head hopping actually made me nauseous. It was so bad that at one point, I was pretty sure that Raven was making Mikhail's virgin skin burn. What the hell? And none of the action follows any logical sequence. He's holding her wrists above her head, then he runs his hands down her body, parts her thighs, does all this business in her moisty regions and THEN let's go of her hands? What is she, third ape from the left on Darwin's chart? All those endless and repetitive descriptions of Raven and not once did the author mention that her knuckles scraped the ground when she walked. Page 62 and I'm done. I love paranormal romance, I wait impatiently for the next installments of Ward, Kenyon and even Adrian, but I really hated this one.

The author of this book has quite the imagination, hands down. The Carpathian males (not human, but not yet vampire) are passionate, controlling and dominating, so they think. Finding a mate is quite the task. Learning that all women don't want to be controlled or dominated becomes frustrating.

I just finished reading this book for the second time and I'm amazed that I was able to get through it the first time. The book is about the prince of a dying race of humans called Carpathians and how only one woman can save him from the darkness inside him. Mikhail and Raven seem like the perfect couple at first but the thrill of the chase ends as soon as they sleep together and Mikhail binds Raven to him. After that the pages are filled with Mikhail's show of dominance over Raven, her fight to try to deny what she's feeling, and sex. Only towards the end does any true plot develop with the appearance of a vampire out to do the couple harm. During the last couple chapters they track him, fight him, get hurt, etc. More time is spent developing Gregori's character of healer than on the original couple themselves.

If you are interested in this series I would start a couple books down the line. I really enjoyed Dark Fire, Dark Symphony and Dark Celebration. You might not understand some of the character relationship without the background of the rest of the series but they stand on their as books as well.

I only finished this book because by the time I realized it just wasn't going to get any better, I was in 250 pages. Mikhail continually utters the phrase, "I am a Carpathian male..." constantly looks into Raven's enormous blue eyes while his body fills with white-hot flame, and all to often feels small teeth scrape his skin. The only thing I know for sure after reading this is that Christine Freeman needs to buy a thesaurus.

Wonderfully sizzling romance. Ms. Feehan's characters are fully developed and the story was mesmerizing. I fell in love with her characters: a strong female with psychic powers and a proud, old world Carpathian male who is on the edge of turning to the Dark Side. I loved the way they interacted with each other. The description of Raven's struggle to understand, acknowledge and embrace Mikhil's world was heartfelt. I could not put this book down and when I did it was only to pick up her next book in the series and start that. She is definitely one of my favorite writers.

Once I started to read DARK PRINCE,I couldnt put it down.When I had to,It was all I could think about.When was I going to read it next.I had to tell myself,when I read late at night,to put it down so I can sleep.But then the book always stayed in my mind.
A book that you cannot get rid of in your mind,must be worth reading,at least twice.I am about to let a friend read it.She and I have shared books for about 2 to 3 years now.She has many good books,I think for once I have a better book then she could ever have.
I wish to thank Ms./Mrs. Christine Feehan for this wonderful new look into the Vampire and human minds.I wish that one day I will get my chance to thank her in person {which may never happen,but I can dream cant I?} but if not then I wish she could read this.
Ms./Mrs. Christine Feehan,your DARK PRINCE was the best book I have read about Vampire and the Vampire race. {I know,I kno,its not about vampires but there was a few in there} I have read many Vampire books,but yours was be far the best.I only hope that your other books will get even better.
To those who have not read this book,I say find someone you know who has this-or even buy it yourself-and ask to read it.Then tell me if you think it is bad.To those that have read it,I can only hope we will get the chance to see Ms./Mrs. Feehan write many books,that will be as spell-binding as this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I actually read the latest book she has written and decided to check out her earlier novels. Her writing is wonderful. I plan to continue to the next book to read the stories of the other Carpathians.

This book was a big let down. The male love interest has the "I'm so arrogant because I'm overpowered" deal going on. Those types of characters can be fun to read if you have a good strong female to stand up to him and take him down a notch or 2. The female lead "said" she was strong, "said" she wasn't going to be pushed around, "said" she was intelligent but acted like a weak, spineless, idiot who took all his controlling, conniving acts like it was all ok. He drugs her and places her under spells so she will be under his control and she giggled about it. Doesn't seem like someone with spunk and backbone to me.

Then they have sex in chapter 2 or 3. WOW! What a rip off! No romancing, no lead in, no struggle with character development, no obstacles to their "love".... nothing... just BAM! sex. Bored. And then it didn't stop. Constant love scenes.

The bad guys were lack luster as well. I have finished bad books before because the bad guys were at least interesting.

I put this book down after reading several chapters and I have no intention of ever picking it up again. It was boring, filled with gratuitous sex scenes, cookie-cutter characters, and no plot. My advice is to stick with some other authors.

I picked up this book after having it suggested to me by a friend. I'm not an avid fan of the genre, but I do enjoy a good romance every now and then. Although I've heard that this series gets better as you go, I ended up getting so frustrated with this book that I didn't even finish the last couple of chapters.

I must say that this book was so ridiculously repetitive that it was hard to even care about the plot or the characters. If I hear the words "velvet" or "silk" one more time, I'm just going to have to throw up! Everything you can possibly imagine is compared to these two materials. Seriously, is velvet really so sexy that it must be compared to anything and everything? I, personally, don't think so. Every other sentence refers to "his black velvet voice," "his velvet muscles," "her hair was black silk," "her silken mouth." Enough already! Let's find some new adjectives, shall we? I think if you took those two words out of this book, you'd have about 50 pages left, but at least it might not feel like you're reading the same paragraph over and over.

I also have a serious beef with the so-called "heroine." I think the author meant to portray a feminist type character who can think for herself but instead gives us a disgrace to women everywhere. There is a big difference between being strong-willed and just plain stupid. She runs off and gets herself in trouble constantly just because she can? Also, when the Carpathian "hero" forces his sexual thoughts on her during their first mental conversation, she just sits there and takes it! She doesn't even demand an apology! She just falls in love with him anyway! Hardly the strong, intelligent female we are constantly told she is.

Interesting concept, but very poorly executed.

It was a good book, a lot of repetitive. The author state the same thing over and over agian. Was a little nerve wracking, I started skimming pages and that is never a good thing, really I just wanted the book to end.

I loved this book. The love story of Mikhail and Raven is superb. If you like the darker vampire romances then I recommend Wide Awake A Vampire Romance (Kindred Souls) Another very good read.

Mikhail is lost, the weight of the world on his shoulders as he is the Prince of the vampire world. Raven is his light, his life mate. He finally finds her and she brings the light that he has been seeking into his world. A love story to be treasured time and again. A highly recommended read!

I loved it! It has a lot of sexy scenes in it. It has a lot of twists & turns. It's a long book & I had to put it down. There is NO good place to do that! I can't wait to read the rest of the series!