Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Dark Descent by Christine Feehan

Dark Descent (Dark, #11)Dark Descent by Christine Feehan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm happily getting caught up on the Carpathians after a long break, and I'm enjoying the ride. The Carpathians have such a complex folklore foundation, and I like seeing it unfold in each book. While I wouldn't like some aspects of being a Carpathian lifemate, there is a whole lot to appeal as well. They really are delicious heroes. I think that this one might be one of my favorites. I loved Joie and Traian as characters, and Joie's siblings Gabrielle and Jubal definitely add to the appeal of this novel. Gary Sanders (who becomes a friend and ally to the Carpathians) has a cameo, and it was fun to see this adorable nerd again. Joie is a kickbutt heroine in her own right, a great match with Traian.

This book is actually quite horrific. The vampires are scary and downright disturbing and disgusting. They give an ugly visual picture to creepy crawly. While Traian is one of the most formidable Carpathian warriors and hunters, he has his hands full when he gets caught in the middle of a nest of master vampires who have formed an alliance. Joie forms a mental bond with Traian and that bond causes her to track him down to the ice caves in the Carpathian mountains. In the process, the Sanders discover a long lost familial relationship to the secretive mages.

I loved how the Carpathian universe is expanding to other species. The mage aspect of the story is fun. Like many of Feehan's works, this book reads like an exciting movie. The battles with the vampires would have me quaking in my books on a big movie screen. But at the same time, they were highly exciting.

I'm pretty into Jubal. I'm wondering if he'll have a story (fingers crossed). It looks like Dark Promises is about Gary and Gabrielle. I hoping that Jubal will have a storyline in this book. He's a character I definitely connected with.

For a short novel, this packed an exciting punch! I read this out of the Dark Nights ebook and I'll read Dark Dream next.

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