Customer Reviews

Dark Legend (Carpathians, Book 7)

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I have read and own every single one of Christine Feehan's brilliant "Dark" series. I love Gregori and Savannah's stories in particular. But this story, of Gabriel and Francesca is, simply put, the best she's ever written. Gabriel is not your typical Carpathian, nor is Francesca.

Although Carpathian, Francesca has managed to fly "under the radar" of the all-knowing Carpathian males, including Mikhail, their prince, all of her life. After escaping in childhood from her homeland, she makes a life as an artist and philanthropist in Paris, by daringly shielding herself from the powerful Carpathian males. Gabriel, half of the powerful, legendary twins, who went to ground after a terrible batter, has awakened to find his world much changed. He meets Francesca upon rising and realizes almost immediately that she is his lifemate.

Their story is different from the other Carpathian tales in that Gabriel, while incredibly powerful, is not quite a domineering as some of Feehan's other characters. Also, he deeply loves his brother, Lucian, who has become a vampire, and is tormented by the idea of having to kill his brother. While I thought that Gregori was my favorite Carpathian so far, Gabriel leaves him in the dust lifemate-wise.

This book also sets up several intriguing new characters, who I'm sure will have stories soon.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I really think it's the best of the series.

This is the 8th story in Christine Feehan's Dark series, of which their are 7 full length novels and 1 novella. Even though the books are in a series, it is not necessary to read the others books prior to reading Dark Legend. The stories are written in such a way that they can stand alone. Though I would definitely recommend that you read the whole series. The world of the Carpathians is a fascinating place to visit. The Carpathians are a race of beings that are of the earth with special abilities that differentiates them from humans. (You'll learn more and more about the Carpathian people and their plight as you read the previous novels.)

The characters in Dark Legend are well developed and with an emotional depth that has the reader laughing and crying right along with them. Francesa is a strong heroine that has already decided the fate of her life and her world is turned upside down upon the arrival of her lifemate, whom she had thought was dead. Gabriel is a hunter whose only goal is to find and stop his identical twin brother, Lucien who had lost his soul by turning vampire. Gabriel loves his brother but knows if he doesn't destroy him that the world of humans and Carpathians alike are in danger. In the midst of trying to stop his brother Gabriel finds his lifemate Fancesa and has to deal with becoming a part of her life while protecting her from his brother at the same time. The book has many twits and turns. It is filled with romance, suspense, friendship, family, action, adventure, horror, love and laughter. This is a fantastic book that you won't want to put down. It is a great read that captures your attention from page 1 and keeps you enthralled to the very last page. It is a book that belongs on your shelf of keepers.

I have been hooked on the Dark series since the first book and have not been disappointed with any book. With each new one, Christine Feehan adds more and more to the stories, keeping readers enticed. This newest book tells the story of Gabriel, one of the legendary ancient twin brothers that have been mentioned in past books. I loved both Gabriel and especially Francesca, who despite everything was able to accept Gabriel and not overlook her duties as his lifemate. With Dark Legend we are introduced also to Lucian, Gabriel's twin and his seemingly dangerous foe, or is he? Lucian was captivating, and it was refreshing to see the protagonists overcome something other than vampires or human enemies. The question in the book was centered around the fact that Lucian may have turned, and if he did, how is his twin to deal with him? This dilemna added a refreshing change to the book, keeping you in suspense. Along with interesting new characters (who I hope we will see more of), Dark Legend was a great addition to the Dark Series. I cannot wait until the next book.

This is the latest in Christine Feehan's amazing Dark Series. The plot revolves around legendary Carpathian hunter, Gabriel and his evil vampiric-turned brother Lucien. The heroine, Francesca, is a carpathian woman who is Gabriels' lifemate. I was very touched by Christine's portrayal of Gabriel grieving for his lost brother, and the memories he had of Lucien. Gabriel and Lucien have an extremely close and relationship, which was heart-warming and unusual in a romance novel. Francesca's independance and self-asuredness, made her a likeable heroine. I really had a sense of these characters as individuals, with needs and desires and not just cardboard cutouts. (Please don't be offended) but, my only quibble at all with this book is that I never got the feel that I was 'in France' even though this book were set there. The characters talked and acted like American's and I would've like to seen a more European flavor to this novel.

Otherwise, I give it 5 stars for Gabriel alone! I can't wait for the next books and especially, Lucien's story!!

Gabriel, one of the legendary twins, awakes in a Paris cemetary after a couple of centuries of sleep. He is starving and worried because his vampire twin, Lucien, has risen before him. A young woman stops to help Gabriel, who has to fight not to drink blood from her for fear of killing her and condemning him to life as a Vampire. Instead he discovers that she is not only a Carpathian like him, but his lifemate as well. Now he not only has to defeat his twin, but keep his mate safe while he does so. The plot is further complicated by a young human girl who has been seriously abused, and assorted vampires who come hunting Gabriel's mate.

This story is even more sexually graphic than the other novels in this series, but the sex scenes don't interfere with the story -- as they have in some of the Carpathian books. The characters are well fleshed and charismatic, Feehan manages to make her people individuals when it would be very easy to let all of the couples in this series carbon copies of each other. If I had a complaint it would be that I didn't really get a sense that this story took place in Paris -- there was no French culture, no French places. It could just have easily taken place in Paris, California.

"Dark Legend" by Christine Feehan is the seventh instalment in the wonderfully original and erotic "Dark" series and it may just be the best one yet! With rich characters and a well-written and intriguing storyline, "Dark Legend" is a book you don't want to miss.

Gabriel, one of the legendary twins revered and feared by all Carpathians, awakens after two hundred years in the ground with a violent need for blood. As he wanders the streets of Paris he fears for all those around him, with the darkness inside him threatening to take over and turn him into the thing he has abhorred and hunted for his entire two thousand year existence, a vampire.

But when he runs into Francesca Del Ponce, a gifted healer who radiates goodness and light, her calming abilities give him the strength to fight his terrible hunger. Thinking that Gabriel is a homeless man, Francesca is determined to help him, but when she finds out what he really is, she selflessly offers him her blood. Once restored to his full strength, Gabriel realizes that he is seeing in colours and feeling emotions for the first time in nearly two thousand years. Which means that Francesca is his lifemate!

Overwhelmed by his discovery, Gabriel gets another shock when he finds out that Francesca is indeed a Carpathian, and an ancient one at that, who has managed to conceal her presence from her entire race for almost a thousand years. To Gabriel, it seems obvious that he and Francesca will now spend their lives together, but Francesca has other plans. After several lifetimes of independence, Francesca doesn't want an overbearing Carpathian male in her life. In fact, before meeting Gabriel, Francesca had already decided that these next few years on earth would be her last.

Obviously, this is utterly unacceptable to Gabriel, and he is determined to change Francesca's mind. And as time passes, Francesca begins to realize what an intense emotional and physical bond she and Gabriel share. Gabriel greatly admires Francesca's dedication to helping others in need, and when an abused and battered 14-year-old girl named Skyler arrives at the hospital, Francesca is determined to help her. Despite the childish objections by Skyler's doctor, Brice, who is in love with Francesca and doesn't want to share her with anyone, Francesca and Gabriel begin the process of adopting her.

But Gabriel is wracked with guilt, for he has now brought Francesca and Skyler to the attention of the undead and Gabriel's once beloved twin Lucian, the most powerful and ancient vampire in existence. Gabriel is determined to protect his lifemate and Skyler from all danger, which means he must continue to hunt and destroy the undead, putting himself in great peril.

Most of all, Gabriel knows he must destroy his twin, though he knows their fight will not be an easy one and that Lucian will probably take Gabriel to the grave with him. Feehan builds the suspense effectively, keeping readers riveted as she leads up to the final confrontation between Gabriel and Lucian, and a shocking discovery!

"Dark Legend" is, in a word, magnificent! It is filled with heart pounding passion and suspense, as well as a truly lovely romance. Gabriel and Francesca are a perfectly matched pair, and it is a highly rewarding experience watching them fall in love. So don't hesitate, "Dark Legend" has it all, so buy it today!

I absolutely love Christine Feehan's writing, especially her "dark" books. My favorites before this were Dark Prince & Dark Magic, but I must say that Dark Legend is even better. For a storyline to just keep improving is incredible. As you've read, this story centers around Gabriel, an incredibly powerful ancient and his lifemate, Francesca. These two characters have wonderfully strong personalities and compliment each other pefectly. The love scenes, as usual, sizzle (although sizzle seems to be a rather tame word). There are two other especially interesting characters here - one is Lucien, Gabriel's extemely powerful twin, who appears to have "turned" and the other is Skylar, a human child with strong psychic abilities. I look forward to reading more about both these characters, particularly Lucien. That's one of the best things about Ms. Feehan's books; you know there will be another fabulous character is read about in the future.

Christine Feehan has once again created a fantastic world of the paranormal and romance. Fans of the series will be very, very satisfied with the portrayal of a pair of legendary twins that have been alluded to in previous books. Lucien and Gabriel are vampire hunters of mythical status in the Carpathian community but they both disappeared in the mid-1700's and were presumed to be dead. It was also suspected that Lucien had turned vampire and that Gabriel was hunting his twin brother when the two vanished. Modern technology wakes both brothers when heavy machinery disturbs the earth in which they are resting. Gabriel is desperate to feed when he is found by a beautiful young woman who attempts to help him. Horrified that he will probably kill her in his need, Gabriel is then stunned to discover that upon taking her blood that he's found his lifemate. Francesca is the most interesting female character that Feehan has created to date. She is strong, independent, and like Desari (another ancient female in Dark Challenge) she has her own powers and most importantly has developed away from the Carpathian culture and vampires. Francesca knew as a young woman that Gabriel was her lifemate but believed that he had rejected her in order to fight to save their people. She has accomplished a great deal in her life and is looking to find affection if not love, age and then die. Naturally, Gabriel is having none of that and sets forces in motion to see that Francesca is bound to him in such a way that she won't seek the relief of the next life. This book is by far the best written with fewer repetitions of phrases, a more varied vocabulary, and the most powerful female lead to date. It should be noted that the Dark Series is for the strong of heart, the love scenes, battle scenes, and situations are intense without the extreme violence of Laurel Hamilton's characters. All in all, a very entertaining read.

I got hooked on Christine Feeham last fall and have been fascinated by her "Dark" series every since. If you haven't read anything by Ms. Feeham, each story follows the Carpathians, a race of people who are of the earth. For lack of a better way to describe them, I guess you could say they are prevampires. Each male Carpathian must find his true-life mate to continue his existence. If he can't find her there is nothing left except to end his life by facing the sun or giving into the urge to become a vampire.

In Dark Legend, Ms. Feeham gives us the story of Gabriel. Throughout her previous books, she has told the story of twins, Gabriel and Lucian. One has turned and the other has dedicated his life to tracking down his twin to keep him from destroying mankind. No one knows what has happened to the brothers. Now centuries later, we find out. Apparently in a fierce battle, Gabriel was able to trap is brother into a deep sleep in a cemetery. Things could have gone on like this for many more centuries but their resting-place was disturbed by heavy duty machinery. Now both have awakened with a terrible thirst for blood. Gabriel must track down his twin before he can do any damage.

Francesca Del Ponce was Gabriel's life mate. Instead of claiming her, he left her. Francesca leaves the Carpathians homeland has made a new life for herself afraid if she stays she will torment the others looking for their mates. She knows she must hide her existence since an unattached female has great value in her society. On her own, she has become a great healer. But after centuries of being alone, she has decided to end her existence. Now Gabriel must track his brother and convince Francesca that he is the one for her.

It is really hard to describe with any accuracy a book by Christine Feeham and do it any justice. There are so many little details that makes the "Dark" series fascinating and not enough space to fully flesh out the details and plots. If you like your romances with dark brooding heroes, strong women who can tame them, hot sex, violent fight scenes, and the unknown then you have to try a book by Ms. Feeham. You won't be disappointed.

Gabriel has been hunting his twin brother, Lucien, for hundreds of years. He never dreamed that his brother, who was the strongest of all Carpathians, could turn vampire, but he was determined to keep his promise to destroy him before he can ruin more innocent lives. Gabriel knows that he is not Lucien's equal, but he did manage to trick him and imprison them both deep underground for over a hundred years. But something woke him suddenly and Gabriel knew that Lucien was free. All Gabriel felt, though, was a relentless hunger, an overwhelming desire for blood that demanded satisfaction. Before he could find suitable prey, he heard a voice calling to him, soothing, calming, and offering him strength to control his craving.

Francesca Del Ponce was a healer and had dedicated her life to good and helping those less fortunate. Unbeknownst to the humans who surrounded her, Francesca was Carpathian, one of the few females who escaped the bloodletting many years ago. Francesca had separated herself from all other Carpathians and resigned herself to living alone. She knew that she had a life mate out there because she had seen him, but he had turned away from her without saying a word. That man was Gabriel.

Gabriel had no idea that he had caused so much anguish to his lifemate and he was horrified when he found out the truth. Still, he could not be denied and claimed Francesca as his own. For the first time in centuries he could see colors and feel emotions - feel fear... Because he knew that by binding Francesca to him, he had made her a target for his twin, Lucien, who was always watching, waiting for the moment to strike...

I simply loved this book. It is a wonderful addition to the Dark series and I think that Christine Feehan keeps getting better with each book she writes in the series. Gabriel was a very strong Carpathian male, but so sweet and tender with Francesca and he had many soft spots that made him endearing. Francesca was a very untypical Carpathian female and had discovered many wonders and accomplished much in her medical research and study over the years. She is no wilting violet, but she doesn't defy Gabriel over every little thing either, which was a refreshing change. The characters were great, the love scenes were hot and Gabriel and Francesca are simply perfect for each other! If you haven't read any of the Dark Series you are seriously missing out and, if you have, this is definitely a book that you will want to own - it's a keeper!