#BookReview – “Dark Symphony” by Christine Feehan

Blurb

Blinded and scarred in a terrible accident, Antoinetta Scarletti made music that thrilled the world with its beauty and passion. Descended from a long line of psychics, Antoinetta has learned to rely on her other senses to “see” the world around her, but nothing could have prepared her for Byron.

He came to her, drawn by her music, and became her secret obsession. Others fear him, sensing that he is dangerous—a predator—but for Antoinetta he is her ultimate fantasy, her dream lover. He woos her with kisses full of erotic allure, whispering that she is his light, his salvation. Byron has waited an eternity for her, and he will let nothing stand between him and the woman born to be his lifemate...

Review

In the ninth book of the Dark/Carpathian series, artisan Byron Justicano has long ago left his homeland in penance and now fights the vampires plaguing the earth. He’s finally found his lifemate, but instead of wooing her, he’s been befriending her over the past few months. After someone tries to kill Antoinetta and her grandfather, he finally decides to claim the woman he loves.

Antoinetta Scarletti is a world-famous concert pianist and the acting head of her rich, eccentric Italian family. She’s a blind but confident 37-year-old woman with gray streaks in her hair, an abundance of curves, and scars on her face. Most of the heroines in this series are gorgeous, skinny, petite, vulnerable, and easily manipulated by their men, but not Antoinetta.

I liked both characters for the most part, but Antoinetta was pretty aggressive. Most of the Carpathian heroines are virgins, or if they’re not, they’ve been raped. Antoinetta was the first heroine to actually enjoy sex with other men and to have taken multiple lovers in the past. I totally loved this. Unfortunately, she was too independent and didn’t really need Byron in her life. Though she loved him, she would’ve been just fine had he broken up with her.

Byron was definitely a beta hero, but thankfully, he did have a few arrogant moments.

Byron and Antoinetta didn’t have much chemistry at the beginning of the story, but the romance picked up midway through. My favorite scene between them is when Byron psychically lets Antoinetta see through his eyes. She looks at herself and Byron in a mirror, and it’s a very emotional, sweet moment for them as a couple.

Antoinetta is the descendant of the H/h in The Scarletti Curse. That book has nothing to do with the Dark series or with vampires in general, and didn’t play a role in this story. However, Antoinetta does mention her ancestors (Nicoletta and Giovanni) in one scene, so it was nice knowing who they were (I read that book first).

I really enjoyed Byron’s reunion with his family. His adopted nephew Josef is awesome, and the scene when Josef is rapping in a special performance for Mikhail was hilarious! The poor prince was shocked stupid. It was also great to see Jacques again. He’s been healing and getting his life back together with Shea at his side.

Unlike most of the other books, this one didn’t have any vampire fight scenes. That was refreshing, but the main source of drama ended up being Antoinetta’s family. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the family, with the exception of her grandfather.

The Jaguar race is introduced and will play a large role in the series.

The pacing sometimes dragged, but I managed to get through the story fairly fast since I was reading it for the second time. The writing is very flowery with purple prose, but I do kinda like it. The head hopping is tiresome, but I’ve come to expect it.

3 Stars