Blurb
In the eighteenth book of the
Dark/Carpathian series, Solange Sangria is fighting a war against her own
people. For years, the Jaguar men have been kidnapping, raping, and killing the
women, and Solange’s own father, Brodrick the Terrible, is leading the charge.
She’s lost her mother, aunt, brothers, and several friends. Only her cousins
Juliette and Jasmine remain, and Jasmine isn’t the same woman she once was
after her rape. Anyway, as a royal pureblooded Jaguar, it’s her duty to protect
the women and end the male terror. Planning one last battle, she intends to
kill her father and likely die along with him.
Dominic Dragonseeker ingested
parasitic vampire blood in the last novel and infiltrates the South American
vampire camp. The vampires there believe the strong Carpathian warrior is
slowly turning into a vampire, which he is, and they want him fully on their
side. Instead, Dominic plans to steal information regarding psychic human
females from them and send it to the prince. Then he plans to end his life.
After all, he’s a Dragonseeker, and no one in his prestigious line has ever
given up his soul and turned into a vampire.
I liked Dominic and Solange
in the previous books, but I just couldn’t connect with them in this one.
Dominic was very patient with Solange and didn’t bind her to him without her
approval—which was great—but there wasn’t much strife or animosity between
them. Little drama. They got along too well, which didn’t make since she
supposedly has a hard time trusting men. Even though he found her beautiful, he
didn’t understand why she was ashamed of her scars and that she didn’t feel
comfortable being naked in front of him. Of course, that didn’t stop him from
undressing her, watching her bathe, or telling her to wear sexy dresses. In
order to please him, she did as he wanted and felt beautiful because he
approved of her actions. Though I appreciate him trying to help her embrace her
femininity, he did so too quickly in their relationship. Dominic’s attempts to
change her and Solange allowing it to happen didn’t befit their characters and
seemed at odds with his approval of her as a warrior.
Besides that, I enjoyed the
fights with the vampires and Jagaur men. Those parts of the story were
interesting. I also loved the scenes with Zacarias and the introduction of
Marguarita. Like with Manolito and MaryAnn from Dark Possession, Solange isn’t
the only one doing the converting. Dominic becomes part Jagaur and can
miraculously walk in the sun. That was awesome.
Though I liked the overall
plot, the story is slow with lots of description and flowery
prose. I love the ritualistic lifemate bonding words (it’s so romantic), but in
the newer books these words are spread out over several paragraphs with descriptions
and thoughts mixed in. It’s difficult to read.
3 Stars
