Feehan, Christine. Dark Prince. New York: Leisure Book, 2005.
I've mentioned it before, but it's been a while since I've reviewed this kind of book. I like vampire romance novels. The smuttier the better. Ironically, I'm not an Anne Rice fan. I am a complex creature.
Anyway, I gave up books with a blush-factor of over 2 for the school year. All the Laurel K. Hamilton's went in a box under the bed so I wouldn't be tempted by trashy reading. However, in the middle of the wedding preparations I happened to mention to Ryan's aunt that I had a thing for Laurel K. Hamilton. It was a busy time, I forgot all about it. Christmas comes around and I've got this largish gift bag from said aunt. Inside were a number of fun things including the first two novels in 'The Carpathians (Dark) Series,' of which this is the first.
I had every intention of leaving them on the stack for summer reading. *sigh* Best laid schemes of mice and men, and all that. It went agley. I got stressed out and the next thing I know I'm nose deep in the vampire smut, blush factor 4. Oh well, we all have our guilty pleasures and this is mine.
This is my first exposure to Christine Feehan. She's developed an interesting take on the vampire myths. Particularly that the actual vampire is a degenerate outcast of a separate species called the Carpathians. These Carpathians subsist on human blood and have unlimited lifespans, but are not undead. Over time the males lose their ability feel emotions and eventually suicide or turn vampire. Their only hope for survival is to find their lifemate. This is complicated by the fact that Carpatian women have slowly lost the ability to produce female offspring and most humans are not psychically capable of being lifemates.
However, if they do find their lifemates they regain their feelings and ability to survive. The relationship is...ahem...intense.
In any case, it's a pretty well thought out premise. My only real complaint is a tiny niggling thing. I.e. there are an awful lot of people in and around the Carpathian mountains that seem to speak fluent English. Like I said, it's a small thing, but it was noticable.
This was a fun book. It's not a mind-bender, but it's very good at what it aims to achieve.
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