#BookReview – “Dark Gold” by Christine Feehan

Blurb

Alexandria Houton would sacrifice anything - ever her life - to protect her orphaned little brother. But when both encountered unspeakable evil in the swirling San Francisco mists, Alex could only cry to heaven for their deliverance...

And out of the darkness swooped Aidan Savage, a golden being more powerful, more mysterious than any other creature of the night. The ageless Carpathian male snatched them from a hideous fate. But was Aidan a miracle...or a monster? Alex's salvation...or her sin? If she surrendered to Aidan's savage, unearthly seduction - gave him the color, the light, the family he craved - would Alex truly save her brother? Or sacrifice more than her life?

Review

In the third book of the Dark/Carpathian series, Alexandra Houton can sense evil in the air. After a deranged man kidnaps her and her much younger brother Joshua, she doubts she’ll survive the night. The man bit her, gave her his blood, and chained her to a sea cave wall, but she intends to help Josh escape. When a golden-haired man kills the vampire, she doesn’t know if he’s her savior or his next target.

Aiden Savage is on the lookout for five vampires who have been killing humans in his city of San Francisco. When he finds Alex and Josh, he believes the poor human woman, now insane, will kill the child. But one good look at her and he knows different. He can see color, emotions overwhelm him, and he knows he’s found his lifemate. Though the vampire started her conversion, Aiden finishes it. Alex, however, wants nothing to do with her new life, and the family Aiden never knew he desperately wanted might just be out of reach.

I really liked Aiden. He’s arrogant, bossy, patient, overprotective, and demanding as most of the Carpathian males in this series are. I couldn’t relate to Alexandra. Though she’s gone through a traumatic experience, I couldn’t understand why she refused to believe Aiden when he only wanted to protect her. When she finally accepted the truth that she was no longer human and that Aiden wouldn’t hurt her, I started to like her more.

Unlike the previous two books and several of the following books, the cast of secondary Carpathian characters is minimal. Gregori is the only one who shows up in this book, and his role is fairly small.

Though I liked the story, it doesn’t tie in with the other books or further the overall series arc. So, in that case, it works great as a standalone, but a reader could skip it and not miss anything that would happen in the next book.

3 Stars