In this thrilling novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Carpathian series, Christine Feehan presents the story of one of the oldest Carpathians as he meets the woman meant to be his…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 … 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…
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A fantastic read,A MUST READ i have the whole series ,Christine your books are awesome ,love them everything that Christine rights is gold
Wonderful story. Highly recommended.
A great paranormal romance series
I love all of Christine Feehan’s books.This one was no exception. I love the world she has created with the Carpathians. Loved the characters and the story.
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
very good read
I love the entire series Christine Feehan has written. Vampire action packed romance.
Christine Feehan is the BEST. The world she has created is outstanding and exciting to read about. I love All of her books…. this one included.
A descendant of once Jaguar race is found to be a lifemate of Byron. Lots of dangers lurk in shadows of this powerful family. Will their love be able to navigate through dangers…
Byron has gotten into trouble a few years ago (the problem with the authors books, there aren’t any real timelines, and as Carpathians live for a long time, we don’t have any real reference to when in time) he had mistaken his best friend’s lifemate was a carpathian female and he wanted that connection with her, and when his friend Jacques (dark desire) claimed her, he thought his friend was forcing Shea and wanted to take her away from him, (don’t want to go into to much detail, but Jacques has been captured, tortured and left for dead in a tomb, Shea rescued him, but it wasn’t an easy time for Jacques and Shea) then Byron himself had been caught and held prisoner (but he was rescued before too much had been done to him)
So he decided to leave and become a hunter like many Carpathians have (their brethren are turning into vampires quicker with each passing year, they have to either find a lifemate or face the dawn, or become the thing they most hate) but Byron wasn’t always a hunter, he was a jewellery maker, (he finds jewels beneath the earth and makes them into beautiful pieces of jewellery)
He is in Italy when he connects to music and a pianist …… she is his lifemate, and unlike the last time, he will make sure she is his, before he claims her for all time.
Antonietta is a world famous piano player. She’s also blind, an accident as a child, but that has never stopped her, she is a strong female and rules her family with a firm but fair hand. Connecting with Byron has awakened something within her, but she won’t leave her family, in fact she only intends to have an affair and move on But there are things about Byron she can’t explain.
Antonietta has a secret will she be able to tell Byron? Or will it be the secret keep them apart ? Byron has to convince Antonietta that they will be together forever, whereas Antonietta is only looking for short term she thinks the age gap will be their downfall (little does she know that Byron is a lot older than her)
There is a murderer in the Scarlatti family, or someone close to them, things are happening and Antonietta doesn’t know what to do !!! Why is her family being targeted ?
Now, I have to admit, Byron’s book was never a favourite of mine. I didn’t get the same connection between Byron and Antonietta as I did for the other couples.
But It was good that another layer of the back story has been added, and we see other races join the Carpathians, the jaguar race have always been a secret race, keeping away from the rest of society. The jaguar males have been brought up with the attitude that women were there to serve, to give birth and not much more. (We meet a few jaguar women in later books that show they don’t all take orders)
Oh ….. and for readers of Christine’s books, if Antonietta surname rings a bell, then it’s because of a different book she wrote (it’s about a cursed family) yes it’s her ancestors, but no you don’t have to read it.
The scarletti curse.
I read every book in this series, some of them a couple times. I like the way she is expanding it
Dark Symphony the 10th book in the Dark series by Christine Feehan was a nice change of pace. There wasn’t any vampire’s or vampire hunts. In this book Byron finds his lifemate, Antoinetta Scarletti, a famous musician. What this book lacked in vampires it made up in family drama. Family can’t live with them, can’t get rid of them! Dark Symphony almost had a clue (the game clue) like feel to it. Someone is trying to kill off Antoinetta and her grandfather. The whole time I was reading this book I was like it was Professor Plum in the Study with the Poison lol.
I liked Byron. I enjoyed that he courted his lifemate for months. He gave her a choice on becoming like him. He respected her and he was very sweet. He took his time and was good to her and her family. So I have to be honest when I say I feel Byron got a little jipped when it came to his lifemate Antoinetta. Just sayin’! Antoinetta was older, with grey streaks in her hair, blind with scars on her face and around her eyes, fuller figured, and she has taken a number of lovers. Now don’t get me wrong I liked Antoinetta, but really did she have to think of and bring up the fact that she has had other lovers to Byron. Antoinetta was likable and she had her sweet moments but it kinda bugged me that she just planned to take Byron as a lover and then get rid of him too.
At the half way point their relationship picked up and Antoinetta grew on me. Her and Byron did have a lot of passion and there was a maturity to their relationship that was nice. Almost all the drama in this book centered around Antoinetta’s annoying family and my GOD her family was something. I wanted to slap her cousin Tasha so many times I lost count. I did love her grandpa Don he was a cutie. I loved Josef in this book. The things he did had me laughing so hard. The rap for Prince Mikhail…… PRICELESS!! I would love to someday see Josef get his own book, because he is so different and eccentric I would love to see what kind of lifemate he would get! A good read and a nice addition to the series.
Feehan fans, especially fans of her Carpathian books, will enjoy this one
Great book
all of her books captivate me