Dark Wolf

A Carpathian Novel, Book 25

By: Christine Feehan

Narrated by: Phil Gigante, Natalie Ross

Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

In Dark Lycan, Christine Feehan journeyed into the heart of the Carpathians, and into the souls of two lifemates stirred by the flush of passion and the threat of annihilation. In Dark Wolf, the breathtaking story continues as the bonds of family are imperiled, and the fate of two lovers lies hidden in the seductive shadows between life and death.

Skyler Daratrazanoff always recognized the miracle that was Dimitri Tirunul, a man beyond any dream that had ever engaged her nights. But she was human. Vulnerable. He was Carpathian. Nearly immortal. She was nineteen. He was an ancient. Yet she held half his soul, the light to his darkness. Without her, he would not survive. Caught between the two warring species, Dimitri has spent centuries hunting the undead to keep his people free, and humans safe. He had survived honorably when others had chosen to give up their souls. But now, marked for extermination by the Lycans, Dimitri found himself alone, and fearing for his life. But salvation was coming…

No Lycan would ever suspect someone like Skyler to dare mount a secret rescue operation. A teenage girl. A human of untested abilities. But she had something no one else had. She was predestined for Dimitri - as he was for her. And there was nothing stronger for Skyler than her desire to see her life-dream come true. Whatever the risk.

©2014 Christine Feehan (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“After Bram Stoker, Anne Rice and Joss Whedon (who created the venerated Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Christine Feehan is the person most credited with popularizing the neck gripper.” (Time)

“Feehan has a knack for bringing vampiric Carpathians to vivid, virile life in her Dark Carpathian novels.” (Publishers Weekly)

“One of the best vampiric romance series on the market today.” (Midwest Book Review)

Dark Wolf is Sensual, Funny, and Marvelous

Skyler the young ( in both human and Carpathian therms), Lifemate to Dimitri decides to rescue Dimitri from his brutal imprisonment by the Lycans. She and her friends, Josef and Paul, make a plan to go and rescue Dimitri. Her sensual and psychic connection to Dimitri is so strong that she is able to find him when older Carpathians have failed. She has felt that the adults and the powerful in her world have left Dimitri to die. She and friends, who are all related to powerful Carpathian families, develop a plan to rescue him and hopefully, not start a war.

When Skyler, Josef, and Paul are wounded in the attempt, their powerful relatives suddenly know and come to get them. A war just might be started anyway.

The life lessons that one finds in the Dark Series are illustrative . The adult Carpathians and the Prince did not really forget about Dimitri and wanted to rescue him, they never included Skyler in their plans for this. However, in the end, they needed the “children “ to show them the way and in this vein have faith and trust in them. Dark Wolf is erotic when focused on the relationships between Lifemates. The beautiful and powerful sensuality only serves to underline the intensity of their “eternal” and matchless relationships.

The audio version is hands over fists better than the print version. It is wonderful to sit back and have a talented narrator read to you. Overall: This has become a favorite. The plot is new and fresh and mixes light hearted playfulness with somber far reaching themes.

I am never disappointed with Feehan’s Carpathian series.

A Stunning Gigante-Ross Production!

This book was long awaited by fans of C. Feehan's Carpathian series. Skyler, the heroine, was introduced to readers of the series when she was a young, terribly abused child. We've watched her grow up. We read about her meeting with her lifemate, Dimitri, way back in Dark Celebration. She was too young at the time (16 if I remember correctly) for Dimitri to "claim" her, but they have a telepathic bond and have been communicating, getting to know one another, since they met.

Circumstances have conspired to end their wait to be together. Dimitri is being held hostage by the Lycans, subjected to a torture that could end his immortal life. The Carpathian people are embroiled in negotiations with the Lycans, who have assured them that Dimitri is being treated well. Skyler, now 19 but with life experience well beyond her years, knows something dreadful is happening when Dimitri fails to respond to her telepathically. She and two of her young friends embark on a daring mission to rescue Dimitri.

As with most books in this series, the action is fast paced and more or less continuous. The romance in this book is possibly more tender than some of the relationships in previous books, but that's how it should be given Skyler's past. Dimitri did not come off quite as "cavemanish" as some Carpathian males do, and for that I was grateful.

I really enjoyed how they brought a good deal of the characters from previous books together in this book and gave them a part to play. It was almost like catching up with old friends.

But lets face it folks, the very best part of this audio book was the stunningly brilliant narration. Having heard both readers before, I was overjoyed when I saw they were narrating this much anticipated book. It sounded more like a performance than a narration. The switches from male to female reader was seamless and flawless. It was pure perfection from both of them. For me, their narration stole the show! Well done Phil and Natalie! Well done indeed!

Loved It!!!!

What made the experience of listening to Dark Wolf the most enjoyable?

This was another excellent book from Ms. Feehan and was brought to a whole new level of excellence by the combined narration of Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved that it was Skyar that saved the day.

Have you listened to any of Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross are both fabulous narrators by themselves, but when they work together it is just magical. I highly recommend listeners to check out other books that they work on together. You will not be disappointed.

Any additional comments?

It would be heaven if all of Ms. Feehan's books could be narrated by the combined talents of Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross.

Long awaited story was a little disppointing

Let me first say that the performance and editing was top notch. The story, I felt, not so much.

** spoiler alert ** I expected so much more for this book, it could have been so much more. It seemed like just an interim or filler book over all after anticipating this story for years. I'm sorry to say it was a little bit of a letdown. It was fun to see what young Carpathians are capable of, and some of the conversations were snappy and fun - but the most of the story and dialog was not edited well and the communication between Dimitri and Skyler was forced and not natural. Periods were stilted, overflowing and overblown. Constant battle scenes do not create tension, especially with long dialogs which is actually greatly annoying especially when something dramatic/traumatic was going to happen (example: the shield was collapsing) and they kept having these long winded discussions about other things - then he's going to die, we need to heal him (again long discussions about what this means/ how/where and why and the guy has been bleeding out like forever???). Love scenes between centuries old male and teenage female was not terribly sexy. I wonder if it's time to break from a series as I'm obviously not appreciating it to its fullest.

Amazing!!!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dark Wolf?

Field of flowers in the mountains

Which character – as performed by Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross – was your favorite?

I love side friendship and comedy Joseph brings

Feehan a huge let down...

Feehan is the queen of para romance, and I love the Dark Carpathian series, but i feel like lately she needs to be re-energized. Is she bored with her own plot lines? Because i am. Skyler & Dimitiri had no magic, barely there romance and far too many battle scenes. Skyler's character and conversations made me cringe. I kept rolling my eyes thinking, "no one would say that". In fact i turned it off 75% through the story. The characters interactions were stilted, dated and lacked any inspiration what so ever. What is up Feehan? I was annoyed with both these characters so much that I yelled at them at one point. Skyler's tortured abuse history is a great plot to add dimension but her behavior was unrealistic and immature-- the conversations between her character and her lover were frustrating. Dimitri played the dutiful warrior and his behavior towards Skyler was sickly sweet and disingenuous. This listen lacked the para-magic, intrigue and romance on all fronts. Not very well done, Ms. Feehan. Not at all.

Booooring

What would have made Dark Wolf better?

An infusion of originality, less of the "Annoyingly clever," Carpathian, it is the same old, filling the blanks, more of a new plot, more of a new fresh approach.

Would you ever listen to anything by Christine Feehan again?

Maybe, her panthers are still readable, except for the geographical booboos.

How could the performance have been better?

Their imitation voices make my heart cringe and love scenes were, well, embarrasing.

Any additional comments?

Give up the Carpathians, or have an appendix with the background.

long awaited book! thank you Christine!

A very good Read {listen}! I stayed up most of the night listening.It was well worth the wait. The book can stand alone, but if you have followed the series, you'll be totally happy.
Phil Gigante & Natalie Ross are very good.They rate a 10. They made the book even better. A reader can make a good book even better or ruin it.

Could have been better

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, I love the Carpathian novels!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gregori...I know this wasn't his story, but I love him!!!!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

For me...the narration was so bad. I didn't like how Skylar would sometimes have a slight english accent, then none at all. It wasnt consistent. The only male characters voices I could fully distinguish was Zev, Joesph, and Paul. The others sounded alike.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I dont think they could make a movie to satify my imagination.

Any additional comments?

I had been waiting on this story for years and wish I had actually read the book first. The audio really almost ruined the story for me.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!!

Christine Feehan is Brilliant!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the story from start to finish and ould not put it down. This is a GREAT Love Story with action, suspense and a twist. One of my top 5 favorites. ABSOLUTELY AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!!