#BookReview – “Dark Wolf” by Christine Feehan

Blurb

Skyler Daratrazanoff always recognized the miracle that was Dimitri Tirunul, a man beyond any dream that had ever engaged her nights. But she was human. Vulnerable. He was Carpathian. Nearly immortal. She was nineteen. He was an ancient. Yet she held half his soul, the light to his darkness. Without her, he would not survive. Caught between the two warring species, Dimitri has spent centuries hunting the undead to keep his people free, and humans safe. He had survived honorably when others had chosen to give up their souls. But now, marked for extermination by the Lycans, Dimitri found himself alone, and fearing for his life. But salvation was coming…

No Lycan would ever suspect someone like Skyler to dare mount a secret rescue operation. A teenage girl. A human of untested abilities. But she had something no one else had. She was predestined for Dimitri—as he was for her. And there was nothing stronger for Skyler than her desire to see her life-dream come true. Whatever the risk.  

Review

In the twenty-second book of the Dark/Carpathian series, Skyler Daratranzanoff enlists her two best friends, Josef and Paul, to help her track down and rescue her missing lifemate, Dimitri. The Lycans captured him two weeks earlier, and no one—not her adopted parents or the prince of the Carpathian people—are keeping her informed of the situation. Desperate to save him, she and her friends go to Russia and run afoul of a dangerous military-trained Lycan pack.

Dimitri Tirunul is more than just an ancient Carpathian warrior. After centuries of sharing blood with his half-Lycan/half-Carpathian brother Fen, he now has Lycan blood running through his body. The Lycan species calls mixed bloods Sange rau and the fanatics want to kill them all, so they kidnapped and tortured Dimitri. Meanwhile, the Lycan council is visiting Mikhail, the prince, in hopes of establishing an alliance between the two species.

Like most fans of the series, I’ve been looking forward to this story for years, ever since Dark Celebration came out. Dimitri and Skyler have been lifemates for the past three years, but he hasn’t claimed her in the way of his people. After all, she was only 16 when they met, but she’s grown up a lot in the past few years. She had suffered much physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as a child, so she wasn’t ready for a relationship with a man. Dimitri understood that and gave her time, all the while getting to know her and becoming friends. Even though he risked his life and soul to give her time, he remained honorable and put her needs before his own, as all Carpathian males should do with their lifemates.

Dimitri is an amazing person and respects Skyler for who she is. He’s not controlling, insanely jealous, or demanding as some other heroes are in this series. He accepts her male friends and considers them his friends, which few Carpathian warriors are capable of doing for their women.

Skyler wants to move past her trauma, but feels she’ll never be strong enough or good enough for Dimitri. Despite her doubts, she’s a powerful healer and psychic, and the perfect match for her mate.

I loved all the scenes with Skyler, Josef, and Paul. Even though they goof off and play, and the elder Carpathians consider them children, they’re really adults and powerful in their own right. Josef is especially wonderful, but feels unwanted, expendable, and a burden to his family. Luckily, he realizes how wrong he is.

I definitely enjoyed the scenes with Skyler and her birth father Razvan. She’s kept her distance from him, but she’s finally reaching out, wanting to get to know him.

There are a few inconsistencies. Skyler and Razvan are Xavier’s great granddaughter and grandson respectively, but twice throughout the book they are called his granddaughter and son. Also, Paul’s last name is Chevez (his father’s name), not Jansen (his mother’s maiden name), so why is Paul suddenly going by his mom’s name?

I enjoyed the story, but I had to reread parts of it to figure out what was going on and who was talking or thinking because of all the head hopping. The narrative is repetitive and there are lots of lengthy chants and rituals, which I skimmed over. Zev and Bronnie’s story is next, so stay tuned for that review.

4 Stars