jj7twin's review against another edition
5.0
First of all I love the fact that there were two stories intertwined into this next chapter of the saga. Not sure if I'll like be excited for Dark Caraosal since the male isn't one of the ancients mentioned but I hope they do get stories. Gabby and Trixie both had real issues when they became lifemates and thankfully their problems had to be worked out during the story. Glad the situation didn't dissolve into the problem that is magically resolved because the man said so or a 5 minute brainstorm thst gives you enough time get over this 10ft tall hurdle.
enchantedtomeetcute's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
srharris's review against another edition
5.0
I gave this book a 5 star despite all the negative reviews on this book and I am mad at myself because I put off reading this book because I thought it was going to be bad.....I was wrong..
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My issue with the reviews were that so many people were upset that Gabrielle and Gary did not wind up together. I honestly was hoping that they would not and only because number one it would have been to cliche and number two in the previous books when Gabrielle and Gary were mentioned there, they never displayed passion, love yes, affection also yes but not real passion.
Gabrielle tried so hard to still live her life as a human, she never fully embraced the fact that she was no longer human, now I can say she probably wouldn't have made the choice to become a Carpathian had she not have thought she would be with Gary. Alek taught her what she needed to know to embrace her new life and he taught her how to become a confident Carpathian woman which is what she is now. I will agree that the beginning of the book played on my heartstrings because you could feel her pain over losing Gary, however, I do believe that she held on to him because he represented comfort and a life that she use to live.
Now my favorite part of the book, the side story of Trixie and Fane, maybe I relate more being an African American woman and for some reason most authors don't believe that we also love to swoon over the hero and have the heroin being described as something other than "her beautiful pale skin".
One of the other issues that other people had with the book was the way Alek carried Gabrielle off and Mikhail and Gregori did nothing to stop it, I was confused as to how dedicated readers to the series had an issue with this, in previous book Carpathian males bound human women to them without their knowledge and yet Gabrielle knew what a "lifemate" was and no Carpathian would come between a male and his lifemate.
I am hoping that as the series progresses that we see more of these two interacting with the prior characters and I was really hoping that the next book would be about Gary but no still patiently waiting.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My issue with the reviews were that so many people were upset that Gabrielle and Gary did not wind up together. I honestly was hoping that they would not and only because number one it would have been to cliche and number two in the previous books when Gabrielle and Gary were mentioned there, they never displayed passion, love yes, affection also yes but not real passion.
Gabrielle tried so hard to still live her life as a human, she never fully embraced the fact that she was no longer human, now I can say she probably wouldn't have made the choice to become a Carpathian had she not have thought she would be with Gary. Alek taught her what she needed to know to embrace her new life and he taught her how to become a confident Carpathian woman which is what she is now. I will agree that the beginning of the book played on my heartstrings because you could feel her pain over losing Gary, however, I do believe that she held on to him because he represented comfort and a life that she use to live.
Now my favorite part of the book, the side story of Trixie and Fane, maybe I relate more being an African American woman and for some reason most authors don't believe that we also love to swoon over the hero and have the heroin being described as something other than "her beautiful pale skin".
One of the other issues that other people had with the book was the way Alek carried Gabrielle off and Mikhail and Gregori did nothing to stop it, I was confused as to how dedicated readers to the series had an issue with this, in previous book Carpathian males bound human women to them without their knowledge and yet Gabrielle knew what a "lifemate" was and no Carpathian would come between a male and his lifemate.
I am hoping that as the series progresses that we see more of these two interacting with the prior characters and I was really hoping that the next book would be about Gary but no still patiently waiting.
annakoski's review against another edition
2.0
I loved Fane and Trixies parts, they ate sweet together but Aleksei makes me want to put his face through a wall.
tai08's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
raven_acres's review against another edition
2.0
Library copy.
Stockholm syndrome and lots of sex which makes it okay, apparently. WTF?!
Stockholm syndrome and lots of sex which makes it okay, apparently. WTF?!
mees_grows's review against another edition
4.0
This is well written and much more like the Christine Feehan that I loved years ago. I am glad that her voice is back in the magical storytelling way that made me enthralled with her stories.
lexee9's review
5.0
I loved this story! It was great finally getting to read Gabrielle's story though the beginning is a little heartbreaking as her and Gary are not meant to be. I also really enjoyed getting the monastery ancients stories and learning more about them. This story is not super action packed with vampires and things like that but it has plenty going on to grab and keep your attention. It deals with men that have not been in the modern world and have to figure out how to adjust for their lifemates. Each ancient is different and needs different things in their lifemate and Gabrielle's is definitely set in the past. He does adjust though. It was really cool getting to see the women and their gifts and I'm excited to see how that continues to play out in future books. This is everything that I love about Christine Feehan's book and I absolutely loved it. I'm super excited to see where the next books are going.