Customer Reviews

Dark Melody (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 10)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Dark Melody should also be called Dark Reunion, because many old friends from the previous "Dark" series finally came together to aide Dayan and his pregnant,dying lifemate, Corinne. This book arrived at my house yesterday and I finished it last night. It was everything I expected in a "Dark" book and more. The humorous interaction between the male Carpathians made me chuckle. The determination of the heroine Corinne to live long enough to give her baby a chance at life pulled at your heartstrings. Although all of the "Dark" books are well written, these characters had that something extra that had you rooting for them throughout the whole book. I must admit the secondary heroine, Lisa, with her inability to grasp reality made me want to shake her silly. Especially when because of her,she,Corinne and her baby, and even Cullen (from Dark Fire) were put in mortal danger. You rejoice that Cullen finds love again(even if it is with Lisa). The only bad thing about finishing a Christine Feehan "Dark" book, is having to wait until the next one comes out. But I suppose I can go back and reread the series from start to finish again. It will be like revisiting old friends.

Dayan, lead guitarist of the Dark Troubadours is a Carpathian male struggling with the beast within. Seeing his family one by one find their lifemates leaves him feeling very much alone. Knowing that he must find his lifemate soon, he and Cullen Tucker, a human,(from Dark Fire) are traveling incognito, staying one step ahead of the human hunters, while Dayan searches for the one woman who will make him complete.

Lisa Wentworth and her sister-in-law, Corrine enter the bar where Lisa heard Dayan will be playing, a treat that Lisa wanted to give her sister who has followed The Dark Troubadours for years. Dayan jamming with the local band playing for the lifemate he has yet to meet is stunned when Corrine walks in the door bringing colors and emotion to his dark and gray life. Troubled by the knowledge that his lifemates heart struggles to beat; knowing that her damaged heart will make their coming together a challenge, Dayan is forced to stall his natural instinct to claim her, her heart unable to handle the emotional turmoil. The demon within roars in denial when he discovers she is pregnant with another man's child, placing her in even more danger as her heart struggles to sustain life for the two of them.

Danger lurks everywhere in this emotion packed story as Dayan and Corrine work to find their way to becoming the lifemates they are destined to be. Corrine and Lisa are stalked by The Morrison Center who is targeting them since Corrine is a psychic; they were the ones who murdered her husband just after she got pregnant. Equally as dangerous is Corrine's pregnancy, an almost certain death sentence. Corrine does her best to hold on to life, determined to save her child even at the expense of her own life, while Dayan is equally determined to save her life and the life of the precious daughter that she carries.

Dark Melody tells the tale of deep familial love, the terror every mother feels when the life of her unborn child is in danger, the courage to carry on under the most trying difficulties and the love that allows true lifemates to beat even the most daunting odds. Ms Feehan has you on the edge of your seat in her latest Carpathian story. You will be terrified by the killers stalking the foursome, praying as they work to save Corrine and her child, crying as Dayan and Corrine face the very real possibility of her death and cheering for Darius, Gregori and Shea, the Carpathian's greatest healers to reach Corrine in time to save her and Dayan. Be prepared to stay up all night reading to the dramatic end of Dark Melody.

Christine has done it again ! The Carpathian's are a breed of people that are being hunted by fanatic's who believe that they are vampires. They are not vampires, in fact they hunt the vampire to keep Human and Carpathian's alike safe.

This is Dayan's story. He has finally found his lifemate but she has a heart condition and is dying. To make matters worse, she is pregnant. He is put into a position that no other Carpathian has ever been put into. He must put his lifemates health and happiness above all else, but there is a baby to consider. He cannot save her life without possibly killing the child. The story line is powerful and gives insite as to just how compasionate these Carpathian's really are. I also recommend that you read her other books as well. There are alot of other characters in this book and their stories were told in previous books.

In comparison the Feehan's previous novel, "Dark Melody" is a vast improvement. My biggest point of concern over this series is the eventuality that the author will run out of ways to bring the counterparts together. "Dark Melody" provides a new twist. Rather than concentrating on the evil menace of those who have embraced vampirism, the focus is on the couple themselves and how to overcome the physical ailments that Corinne has. Corinne, while psychic, has a very weak heart. It's tough enough to support her own system, but throw in a pregnancy and you have yourself a heady mix. It is heartwarming to see Dayan try to overcome his need to bond Corinne to him as his lifemate and still hold her best interests. In this case the bonding itself could destroy Corinne.

The one major weakness in this novel was a secondary character, Lisa. She is Corinne's best friend and sister-in-law. She is ultimately a weak, needy character that I had a hard time understanding. Her own selfishness causes pain to others and she doesn't appear to have learned her lesson by the end of the story. Instead her needy codependence is enabled by a marriage to Cullen. I can't even begin to imagine how she would deal with Corinne's change and inability to be with Lisa 24/7.

Dark Melody Readers Review

Dayan is a lead guitarist of the Dark Troubadours and a gifted musician. His voice and the gift of music enthrall the listeners. Women adore him, but he lives in a world void of feelings and emotions. World of black and gray. Living in hope that he will meet her, the one that will bring him out of the darkness into the light. His life mate. When Dayan finds himself playing with the local band, his friend and traveling companion Cullen Tucker wonders why.
Corrine Wentworth loves music. She is a music writer and a musician in her own right. A very talented person with powers of her own. Telekinetic powers. Her dear friend and sister-in-law talks her into going to the local club for some fun. A fan of the Dark Troubadours, she is taken by surprise to see Dayan, the lead guitarist playing with the local band. What surprises her even more, is the attraction she has toward Dayan, and his very personal interest in her.
For Corrine things have not been easy to say the least in the last year. Her husband has been murdered. She is now a widow and pregnant. The pregnancy that may very well cost her, her life.
Now that he has found her Dayan is determent to keep her safe at all costs. With determination, born of desperation and love, he will not let even death take her away from him. The Carpathian healers come together to help Dayan and his life mate, and their unborn child.
I found this "Dark" book very emotional. A true love story, with mystery and suspense, even a touch of humor at times. The characters are strong and very real. The author's style of writing brings the characters to life, so much, so that the reader is experiencing the feelings and emotions along with them. The story line flows and grabs the reader's attention to the end.
This is a long awaited book for this reader, and I was not disappointed.
A wonderful creation, a treat for lovers of paranormal romance.
I highly recommend this book. Find a comfortable chair, your copy of Dark Melody, and a box of tissues, then sit back and enjoy. Happy Reading!

Dayan has walked through the darkness for centuries, waiting for the one woman that would bring him to the light. He has wrote thousands of songs, singing to her, trying to beguile her to coming to him. When he finally finds her, he is shocked by who she is and what she's been through. In all his years of exsistence, Dayan never considered the possibility that his lifemate would come to him dying and pregnant with another man's child.

Corinne Wentworth only has one more mission in her life before she dies. And that is to give her baby life. That is all she wants to do, until she meets Dayan. She has always been a person who embraces life, and she is determined to spend her remaining time left with Dayan.

Although it seemed as if some of the passages were redundant of her other books, I was touched by the story of Dayan and Corinne. I have waited for this book to come out for a long time, and I wasn't dissapointed. The courage that Corinne had will touch the reader, and the ordeal that they go through to save her and her baby's life brought tears to my eyes. I understand why the other reviews are critical of this book, but I don't agree. Each of Feehan's books have their own unique characters all centered around the same thing...being Carpathian. I don't think there was any way this book could have been better than it was!

Dark Melody is the reunion book. I have awaited this book with anticipation and dread. I feared that this book would not measure up to the older ones that I felt were Christine's best. Dark Melody was pure reading pleasure.

Dayan is lead guitarist for the Dark Troubadours. His voice seduces and mesmerizes all who listens. He is at a bar playing a melody that is dark and moody. His hunger and overwhelming yearning are poured forth into his song for he is calling to her. His lifemate. He despertely needs to be saved for the darkness within is growing enormously strong.

Corrine Wentworth enters the bar and immediately changes Dayan's bleak world forever. Yet, despite the fact that Corrie has telekenetic powers, she is pregnant and dying. Dayan cannot risk saving her until her child is born for her heart is too weak. At any moment, death could claim her.

Desperate to save her and himself from the darkness within, Dayan summons the rest of the healers together.

I loved reading about the reunion between Gregori and Darius. Gregori (my all time favorite) displayed awesome power as he tried to save Corrie and her child. It felt like the older Dark books where the all powerful males (Gregori, Mikhail, Jaques, etc.) joined together during times of peril. How I missed reading about them! I only wished that Mikhail was there.

This reader hopes that more reunions are planned for future Dark books. Those earlier Dark books have a special place on my bookshelf.

This was actually my first read in this series and i have been hooked ever since...i have gone back and ordered all previous books..the way she depicts the carpathian males is very yummy!!!!
enjoy..you will not be disappointed!

I don't know how I missed reading this one until now (OK, so I had something called "life" get in the way).

As other's have said, it should be called "Dark Reunion" because you get to catch up on so many characters from previous books. It also gives you an idea of the time line (like only weeks have passed sence Dark Fire instead of years, as I had thought).

As someone else also said, it's light on the sex, because, well the heroine is just too sick! But it IS heavy on the interpersonal relationships and the character development. Dayan is so devoted, and as others have said on Amazon, we read romance books to see actions in men that we don't see in our own. And it ain't just sex, it's things like loyalty, devotion, caring, compassion, understanding etc.

And 'sides, I love babies. So this story gets 5 stars because it was such a pleasant read and a nice 'catch up' with so many of my favorite characters.

At the age of four, he was forced to flee the Carpathian Mountains with five other kids, when their village was nearly razed down the ground by the Ottoman Turks, and many humans and Carpathians alike were massacred. Many centuries later and his group has remained together and formed a band called the Dark Troubadours, with him playing lead guitar. Now as typical of the males of their race, he has lost his ability to see in color and feel any emotions, and his family is the only thing that kept him from succumbing to darkness and becoming the undead. Never has it occurred to him that it is his love of playing and the haunting melody that he is able to produce that would eventually lead him to his lifemate for while jamming with a local group in a bar, in walks his salvation.

Corinne Wentworth has always kept her life private. Born with the extraordinary gift of telekinesis, only two people are aware of this ability - John, her husband who also had a psychic gift, and his sister Lisa. Six months after John was murdered after disclosing his ability to the wrong people, Corinne is also targeted by her husband's murderers and carries the burden of a weak heart that has plagued her since birth, and the knowledge that she's pregnant and likely to die giving birth. So why is she so drawn to the musician who talks in a strange way and claims that she's his lifemate when she has always shared so little of herself with other people? What is the mesmerizing pull that makes her want to spend her remaining days with him?

DARK MELODY is by far the most emotional in the Dark Series. Unlike the other books where the hero immediately binds the heroine early in the story, Dayan actually held back in fear of Corinne's health, worried that her heart condition will worsen even by a few hours of separation. I thought it was so wonderful how he controls himself and ever so ready to make the ultimate sacrifice should she lose her battle and die. The fact that even at the eleventh hour he was leaving the decision to Corinne and was ready to follow her into the next life made for some really tender moments. As for Corinne, I didn't think that she was weak regardless of her physical condition. I thought she was a woman who lived life to the full, did her best to understand Dayan's world without resorting to hysterics, and basically embraced everything and everyone that came with Dayan. And in the end, we do get to see her exuberance and full acceptance of her fate with Dayan.