Oh my God, Oh my God, OH MY GOD!  She almost made it all the way through an entire 
book without one torrid sex scene.  For Christine Feehan, that's some kind of record or 
something.  Last time she tried that was the second book in the series, and she only made 
it half way through the book that time.  Of course, she WAY more than made up for it in 
the last five chapters or so, not to mention the entire book was riddled with sappy 
sentimentality enough to win it a spot on the shelf next to the ipecac. Still, what a 
strenuous effort, to have to write an entire novel without copious amounts of the 
horizontal mambo.  I think I just might have to be proud of her.  
 
     This latest installment of Ms. Feehan's "Dark" series centers around the last member 
of the band of "lost children", Dayan.  When he finally encounters his true lifemate, not 
only is she human, but she is fighting for the survival of her unborn infant (by another 
man) against the faltering tick of her own weak heart.  

     This book in many ways does reflect Ms. Feehan's willingness to listen to her fans 
and try new things, not necessarily straying from her set formula all together, but 
adding interesting twists and turns here and there.  I mean her heroines do still mostly 
resemble a high brow church ladies get-together, minus the veggie platters and fat-free 
salads.  Especially in this book, as so many of them show back up for cameo appearances.  
The heroes are still the same, dominant, arrogant, and well...men.  However, she's took a 
bit of a chance making the biggest villain in this book, not a vampire, not a human 
activist, but a potentially fatal heart disease compounded by pregnancy.  I also noted 
that her heroine acknowledged as passing allegiance to a higher faith when she mentions 
to Dayan to leave the vampire in God's hands, that he'd done all he could for the 
villain.  That was a surprise.
 
     Now I wouldn't hold my breath for Ms. Feehan to make any major deviations from 
formula.  For instance, I know patients with Down’s Syndrome who possess many of the 
qualities she creates in her heroines such as sweet temperament, kindness, loving, gentle 
nature, open-hearted, and child-like innocence, but developing a mature relationship with 
such a character could prove quite a challenge, even for a Carpathian.  Nor would I 
expect any of the future heroines be the self-reliant, babe-with-an-attitude types. (It 
really was amazing how Jax went from best of the best cop, to helpless mush when Lucien 
showed up.)  Still, if you're a fan of the series, this book is a nice addition to your 
collection with a couple pleasurable surprises and a rather large reunion you might 
enjoy.  Cheers folks, and good reading.