DARK MEMORY (Dark/Carpathians 37) by Christine Feehan-dual review & excerpt

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 3, 2023

Safia Meziane has trained since birth to protect her tribe, the family she holds so dear. All along she told herself the legends she was raised with were simply that. But now, she must call upon all of her skills to fight what lies ahead. Evil has come to their small town on the cost of Algeria, evil that Safia can feel but cannot see.

She is terrified she will not be able to protect the ones she loves. As her family’s “chosen one,” she has always believed she would face this task alone—until her family reveals she has been promised to a warrior who will join her. An outsider. A Carpathian. . . .

Petru Cioban is one of the oldest Carpathians in existence, and he has spent all that time without the soothing presence of his lifemate. For two thousand years he has waited for this woman to be reborn, only to find her in the sights of a monster he has fought before, a vampire risen again to finish a battle started centuries ago.

Now, Petru must face his greatest enemy and his greatest shame. He has no hope that Safia will forgive his betrayal once the memories of her past life return to her. But he will not make the same mistake again, even if he has to sacrifice everything for the woman who has claimed his immortal soul.

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Sandy’s REVIEW: DARK MEMORY is the thirty-seventh instalment (33 plus 4 novellas) in Christine Feehan’s adult DARK CARPATHIAN erotic, paranormal romance series focusing on a group of powerful warriors known as Carpathians. This is ancient Carpathian Petru Cioban, and Safia Meziane’s story line. DARK MEMORY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

SOME BACKGROUND: All Carpathian males must find their lifemates before they turn vampire or greet the dawn. Without a lifemate, the males no longer see in color, feel pain or experience emotions. A lifemate is the light to their dark. She is the keeper of his heart and the keeper of his soul. As the unmated Carpathian male ages, the darkness begins to envelope his soul, eventually turning the male vampire or forcing him to greet the dawn.

Told in several parts from dual omniscient third person perspectives, once again leaning strongly on the Tarot cards, DARK MEMORY follows the building relationship between Petru and Safia. Thousands of years earlier Petru found his lifemate, a five year old child, then lost her to a vampire’s madness. Fast forward to present day Petru has been told his ‘lifemate’ is alive in the current timeline, a woman who is very aware of the vampire’s existence. Safia Meziane has been trained in the ways of killing vampires and demons who escape from behind the gates of the Underworld, gates that are guarded by three powerful and ancient Carpathian women. When Petru comes face to face with his lifemate, he will discover that the danger is already present and he must claim our heroine before it is too late. What ensues is the quick building relationship between Petru and Safia, and the potential fall-out as Lilith was determined to take control

Safia Meziane has been trained to kill with a magical sword; to take down a vampire, a demon and all sorts of evil that threaten the lives of her family and friends. With the aid of Aura, an ancient Carpathian, a female whose duty it is to guard the gate to the Underworld, Safia is more than aware of the coming war, and the man that is about to take control of her world.

As per usual, there is a large ensemble cast of colorful, powerful and often dangerous secondary and supporting characters: many of Safia’s extended family and friends; Carpathian ancients Nicu Dalca, and Benedek Kovac, Tomas, Lojos and Mataias, as well as Lilith who commands the demons, the vampires, the mages from the Underworld; and a not so surprising Master vampire

DARK MEMORY continues to focus on a new series arc, one that now follows a form of reincarnation; the Tarot cards that tell the ancients of the existence of a mate, gate keepers, demons and demon slayers, hellhounds and the Underworld, as well as the woman in charge. The arc also renegotiates the death of a lifemate; the scarring of a Carpathian, and vampires that continue to work with someone else. The slow building, action-packed premise is intriguing and captivating but also familiar with a very prolonged fight scene; the romance is insta-lust to love, provocative and intense; the characters are charismatic and determined.

Barb’s REVIEW:  Dark Memory by Christine Feehan is the 33^rd book in her fantastic Carpathian series.  I absolutely loved this book, as Dark Memory was fascinating and thrilling from start to finish.   Dark Memory continues the story of the remaining 4 ancients to find their Life-mates, Petru is the hero in this book, with Benedek and Nicu still to come in future books. We meet at the start, Safia Meziane, our heroine, who is an important member of her family, who live in Algeria.  Safia has trained her entire life to defend against demons, to protect her family, as she is a demon hunter. Safia worries that she will not be able to protect her family, as she is the ‘chosen one’; she is very independent, devoted to her family, and has extraordinary abilities to fight evil. She can sense the evil coming, she learns from her grandfather that she is not alone; since years ago,  she was promised to an Ancient Carpathian warrior, who will join her, with some other warriors to help in the battle.

Petru Cioban, our hero, is one of the oldest Carpathians, knowing that 2000 years he found his life mate, who was still a child, only to have lost her to the evil vampires under control by Lilith. Petru waited all these years for her to be reborn, and is determined to get there in time to help her fight another evil battle, but this time he will do anything to keep her safe.

Even though Safia, senses her life mate on his way, she manages to stop an early attack, using her ability to control animals/insects, as well as mind control others (vampires/hounds). As soon as things escalate, Petru and his group (Benedek, Nicos, Mataias, Tomas, Lojos) appear and they stop the onslaught for now; but evil Lilith is even angrier and will bring everything she has soon.   Lilith and her demons, hellhounds, vampires will use everything to kill Safia, Petru and all the family.  Can they survive?

Petru and Safia get to know each other, and in a short period, they both know they were destined to be together.   Petru was wonderful with Safia’s family, and together they all made plans on how to defeat this horrific evil. Petru marveled at how Safia had amazing mind control abilities, and knew she would always want to be able to use her powers when needed; and he easily worked closely with her. I got a kick out of Petru teaching Safia how to shift into a small bird. I love that Petru was sweet and caring, giving her time to accept their bond; I loved Petru and Safia together, as they were so good.  I did like that Safia near the end, would be able to read the cards, letting the other 4 men know they do have life-mates.

What follows is an exciting, intense story line where both Safia and Petru were in constant danger, with lives on the line.  Dark Memory was a pulse-pounding, edge of your seat thriller, that kept me unable to put the book down.  Safia and Petru were such an amazing couple, not to mention all the wonderful members of her family, who would join the battle against evil.  Dark Memory was another masterpiece by Christine Feehan. If you are a Dark/Carpathian fan, you need to read this book.

Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author multiple times over with her portfolio including over 70 published novels, including five series; Dark Series, Ghostwalker Series, Leopard Series, Drake Sisters Series, the Sisters of the Heart Series and Torpedo Ink. All of her series have hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list as well. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature (PEARL) in 1999. Since then she has been published by various publishing houses including Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards since Dark Prince.

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