thebookdisciple
Written on Nov 12, 2018
Dark Challenge is book 5 in the Carpathian series and is the story of Julian and Desari. Desari and her family is the unknown Carpathians that Julian has been seeking. They are the family of Gregori that was lost long ago. They have no idea that other Carpathians still exist. Desari and her sister, Syndil, are powerful, which is unusual for Carpathian females because all of them are still fledglings!
Like the previous books, the story surrounds the lifemate bond between Desari and Julian. Desari is an ancient and had no idea of lifemates or even other Carpathians! Julian cannot believe he has found not only his life mate, but a group of unknown Carpathians. Desari has a beautiful gift-she can enchant with her voice. Syndil, Desari's sister, can heal the Earth. This little family has been traveling for centuries so Desari can perform. Julian obviously has no idea how headstrong his new mate is. She isn't going to give up her life and follow him blindly. She also refuses to leave her family because she feels her brother Darius is close to choosing death.
The plot includes lots of steamy scenes between Julian and Desari, several vampire attacks, and one dark secret that Julian must face. I found the ending a bit of a let down. All this build up of the vampire Julian had to face and it just took maybe a page or two. Whomp Whomp.
Sean Crisden is one of my favorite narrators so when I saw that he performed this book, I snagged it fast! He is a brilliant narrator!
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: fated mates, vampires
- Triggers: Syndil was raped; the attack is explained but not detailed. She suffers from PTSD
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes
The Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward, The Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter, The Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh...then you will probably like Dark Challenge!
See full review on The Book Disciple