A rumor has persisted in the vampire world of a dark slayer -- a woman -- who travels with a wolf pack and who destroys any vampire who crosses her path. Mysterious, elusive and seemingly impossible to kill, she is the one hunter who strikes terror in the hearts of the undead. She is Ivory Malinov. Her only brethren -- the wolves. Long ago betrayed by her people, abandoned by her family and cast out by everyone she held dear, Ivory has lived centuries without companionship or love. She has sustained her sanity by preparing ...
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A rumor has persisted in the vampire world of a dark slayer -- a woman -- who travels with a wolf pack and who destroys any vampire who crosses her path. Mysterious, elusive and seemingly impossible to kill, she is the one hunter who strikes terror in the hearts of the undead. She is Ivory Malinov. Her only brethren -- the wolves. Long ago betrayed by her people, abandoned by her family and cast out by everyone she held dear, Ivory has lived centuries without companionship or love. She has sustained her sanity by preparing for one mission -- to destroy her greatest enemy. That is, until the night she picks up the scent of a man, her unexpected salvation. Her lifemate. The curse of all Carpathian women. He is Razvan. Branded a criminal, detested and feared, he is a Dragonseeker from one of the greatest Carpathian lineages, yet he has been raised as its most despised enemy. Fleeing from his lifetime of imprisonment, Razvan seeks the dawn to end his terrible existence. Instead he finds his deliverance in the Dark Slayer. In spirit, in flesh and in blood, in love and in war, Ivory and Razvan are made for each other. For as long as they dare to live.
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It was a great story of a female overcoming all odds in this Dark Series
timaev
Nov 29, 2009
Worth the wait
I have finished the book, luckily with few interruptions from kids and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. It wasn't what I expected. Perhaps we over at Christine's community (found in her members section on her website) hyped it up with our theories and wishes.
All in all the book was well written and fascinating. I did have a couple problems with the fact that the 'big bad' was taken care of so easily and his 'essence' is still out there but it seemed too easy for me. I was also hoping to hear more from Razvan's daughter Lara as Dark Curse was her book and Dark Slayer follows it directly.
Ivory endeared me and annoyed me. I fully understand her need to want to protect her lifemate and support him but she seemed too quick to jump to battle stance. I understand she had been literally chopped into pieces and strewn over a field and she has had to fight every day of her life, it makes her strong of character. My problem with her is that she fails to consider what Razvan's sister and daughter/s have been through. They thought for years that he had betrayed them, used them and abused them. At the time these incidents occurred they were not aware it was not him but Xavier taking him over. Yes Razvan the soul may have been innocent but Razvan the body was what Natalya, and Lara specifically, had betraying them. They couldn't be expected to just say "oh OK all is good now, forgotten and forgiven" as Ivory seemed to think. Christine has written all of her characters to be so real you feel like you could sit, have a coffee and a conversation with one, but for all that Ivory had been through she was understandably closed off from emotions but as someone who knows what betrayal and torture feels like I would have expected her to have a little more sympathy for Natalya and Lara.
I also would have liked to see Tatiana and Brannislava wake up and see Razvan free of Xavier's corruption.
At the end of the day it's a good read. It veers off from what I expected and didn't fill me with the same emotions I usually get from one of her Dark Series books. I laughed with the characters and I cried when poor Gregori almost lost his babies and I fell in love with Razvan. Ivory, however, left me feeling indifferent. I have always admired most of the Carpathian men, albeit dated in their ways, and most of the women. Razvan is truly a S.N.A.G. He has accepted his lot in life with a calm and dignity rarely seen or read about. A few have described him as ZEN, but I think it's more than that really. He almost thinks he deserved it.
Ivory and Razvan make a very good pair, they complement each other and steady each other. I would have loved to see Ivory pledge her allegiance to Mikhail and the Carpathian people, but it's understandable that she didn't. And for her to be a little more accepting of the Carpathians suspicions. But I would definitely read it again, especially when I begin my re-read in anticipation of Dark Peril coming out in 2010.
