Review - Dark Melody by Christine Feehan

ISBN 13 - 978-0843950496

Ms. Feehan's Carpathian series has already captured the hearts of thousands of readers across the world and I've found myself slowly reading through her books. The latest one I plucked from my tbr shelf is Dark Melody.

The Carpathian's are a rare breed who have found their numbers are dwindling due to the lack of females born to their women. As a Carpathian male grows older he slowly loses the ability to see in color, to feel anything other than the darker emotions and if he does not find a life mate he eventually faces the choice of death, or becoming a soulless vampire. Those who change into vampires are then hunted down by other Carpathian's as they are a threat not just to their kind, but to humanity as a whole. However with a life mate at his side the male stays a true member of his people and continues to protect his people and especially his mate. These are men who are not to be argued with and are used to the more submissive nature of their females than they are the head strong ways of human women.

Over the years the Carpathian's have discovered that certain human woman, with psychic abilities, have the potential of becoming the life mate of a Carpathian male. They are able to survive the change if their gifts are strong enough, and become the life mate of one male, binding him forever to the light, offering the hope of new children for the race.

Dark Melody follows the story of Dayan, lead guitarist of the Dark Troubadours, a band made up of Carpathians, and his destined life mate, a psychic woman, Connie Wentworth. However all is not smooth sailing, when he meets Connie instead of finding a woman to match his strengths and with the ability to survive the change, he discovers that Connie is dying of an enlarged heart. That, in itself, he could fix with the change, healing her as he brings her over into his dark world through three blood exchanges. But for one small detail.

The secondary heartbeat he hears.

For Connie is pregnant, six months, with a daughter whose psychic gifts match if not exceed Connie's. And his love, his heart, the light in his darkness, had accepted the fact she will die with the birth of her daughter...

Ms. Feehan skillfully blends the strength of a warrior male of the Carpathian people, with the fears and love of a mother prepared to give up her own life in order to let her child live. Her writing is masterful, tempting the reader to stay up late at night (I have the shadows under my eyes to prove it) in order to finish the book.

If you have a love of Paranormal Romances, with a touch of the exotic, then I strongly recommend Dark Melody. I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 rating.