In the eighth book of the Dark/Carpathian series, Lucian Daratranznoff—a two-thousand-year-old Carpathian warrior—has finally found his lifemate. Instead of approaching her, he stalks her from a distance to learn all about her and eventually saves her life when she’s injured in the line of duty.
Jaxon Montgomery is a tough-ass human cop with commitment issues. Her evil Special Forces stepfather, Drake, is obsessed with her and has killed everyone she’s ever loved and cared for, including her parents and brother. She does her best to avoid people, to keep an emotional distance, because she’s so worried Drake will kill them. Then she meets Lucian.
I loved Lucian, and he’s my favorite of the Daratranznoff brothers! He’s different than most of the other Carpathian males since he doesn’t try to take over or change Jax’s life. He appreciates her strength and approves of her need to fight the bad guys. He was very patient with her and didn’t rush their relationship. Though he’s a lot older than her, obviously, they have both led horrific, depressing lives, and their pasts made it easier for them to connect with one another.
I liked Jax for the most part, but I didn’t like that she was often in denial about her relationship with Lucian and that vampires were real. She made a lot of foolish choices. Her vulnerability and toughness often clashed with no middle ground. She kept pushing Lucian away, but kept trying to protect him as well.
Other than the typical head hopping, repetition, and flowery prose this series is famous for, I enjoyed the characters and the overall plot. It’s one of my favorites in the series.
5 Stars ( )

This is the first Carpathian review that Im writing actually enjoying it. I love everything about this book. I'll be honest i skipped a few sex scenes and i didnt love how the ending wrapped up all quick in total feehan fashion. however the relationship between jaxx and lucian is one of the best in the series. theres real compassion, real fighting. real compromise. I enjoyed this one ( )

I need to re-read this one to give it a proper review, but remember not being crazy about this one.

Lucian, one of the legendary ancient Carpathian twins, has spent the last several hundred years pretending to have turned vampire in order to keep his beloved twin (Gabriel of "Dark Legend") from turning vampire himself, knowing that Gabriel had a lifemate out there somewhere. And now that Gabriel has found his other half, Lucian feels his mission has come to an end. For the years he has spent hunting and killing the undead have left a stain of darkness on Lucian's soul, and he has grown weary of his endless colorless and emotionless existence. But Gabriel's lifemate, Francesca, insists that she knows of Lucian's lifemate, and that this woman desperately needs Lucian's help. Christine Feehan writes one of the most complex series in paranormal romance. If you haven't tried one of her books, grab one and I really feel you'll be searching for all of them. Ms. Feehan has it all in her books--paranormal, excitement, sex, suspense, gorgeous leading men-everything. ( )

Mixed feelings on this one. I really liked Lucian as a character, but he had the typical communication issues. His lifemate was almost as dense as Alexandria, and almost as reckless as Tempest. Despite that, the plotline was pretty interesting. We like that Jaxon's a fighter, but we wish she was smarter about it. The book also includes the most epic level 'I told you so' ever, so that's worth something. It does not push forward the series story arc very much.

This is Lucian and Jaxon's story. ( )