#BookReview – “Dark Desire” by Christine Feehan

Blurb

The stranger silently summons her from across the continents, across the seas. He whispers of eternal torment, of endless hunger...of dark, dangerous desires. And somehow American surgeon Shea O'Halloran can feel his anguish, sense his haunting aloneness, and she aches to heal him, to heal herself.

Drawn to the far Carpathian mountains, Shea finds a ravaged, raging man, a being like no other. And her soul trembles. For in his burning eyes, his icy heart, she recognizes the beloved stranger who's already become part of her. This imperious Carpathian male compels Shea to his side. But is she to be his healer...or his prey? His victim...or his mate? Is he luring her into madness...or will his dark desire make her whole?

Review

In the second book of the Dark/Carpathian series, Jacques Dubrinsky is no longer the man we met in book one. While none of the Carpathian men are really gentle and carefree, Jacques was one of the least violent and least dark of the men. After a trusted Carpathian betrayed him, human vampire hunters drugged, imprisoned, and tortured him. Only the need for revenge kept him alive. After seven years of captivity, he’s finally free, but his sanity is hanging on by a thread.

Shea O’Halloran used to be a surgeon, but now she’s on the run for her life. Strange men want to kidnap her and experiment on her because she has a rare blood disorder; they think she’s a vampire. For years now, dreams of a man in severe pain have tormented her. He always called to her for help, but Shea ignored him, thinking he was just her imagination. Once the dreams/compulsions grew in strength, she finally set out to find and free him.

Jacques is so damaged and deranged. He barely remembers who and what he is, but he knows Shea is the other half of his soul. He feels it in his heart and in his shattered mind. Shea feels it, too, but she’s lived her life alone and doesn’t know what to make of this handsome, savage man who is both cruel and kind to her. Trust and love blooms fast between them, but Jacques’s hold on reality is tentative at best and the monster in him is always just below the surface.

Wow. I forgot how much I love this story. It’s my second time reading it, first time reviewing, and it really pulled at my heartstrings. Jacques and Shea are perfect together and helped each other heal from their emotional and physical wounds.

Mikhail, Raven, Gregori, and Byron are back and help Jacques regain some of his memories. The scenes with Mikhail and Jacques together are especially hard to read since Jacques doesn’t remember or trust his guilt-ridden older brother.

The story is predominately told from the H/h’s POV, but the point of view does shift into all the other characters, the good guys and the bad. I normally don’t like so many POV shifts, but the story flowed well, so I wasn’t confused.

Though I’ve read a lot of books in this series, this book stands out as one of the deeper, more heartfelt ones.

5 Stars