Narrated by Kaleo Griffith
Christine Feehan’s Dark series is one of those guilty pleasures that you would not necessarily admit to your empowered women business executive friends. It features powerful men who have lived centuries, looking for their “lifemate”, losing the ability to see color and emotion, while they fight vampires and protect mankind. And, oh yeah, they drink blood, have medieval attitudes about women, and believe that their job is to protect the valuable future mother of their children.
In the mountain ranges of Carpathia lives a race of beings that resemble vampire myths – they are sustained by ingesting blood, are burned by the sun, and sleep best underground. But the Carpathian males only turn into the evil vampires (totally evil creatures that live to kill and enjoy only others’ pain) when they are not saved by finding their one true mate and, in their despair, they are lured by the dark rush of killing.
So why do I like these books? I am a sucker for some of the biggest lures in romantic novels – the existence of “One True Love”, confident but tortured men who need a woman to save them, women who successfully stand up to medieval men and show them strength and humor, an extended family who would do anything for each other, and finally, the concept that children are the cherished future of a race. But the author can take the reader on some dubious paths as she gets to all of these concepts. Not all readers will make it; some will leave in disgust when faced with the Carpathian making decisions for their mates, holding them captive, and claiming them as lifemates with ancient words that bind them together for eternity without so much as consulting the woman first. It can feel like stalking, bondage, or abuse. The only thing that keeps these plots balanced and working is the reader/listener’s willingness to believe that the heroine is fighting for equal rights in the relationship and is strong enough to get the ignorant man’s attention, and therefore change the entire dynamic.
This brings me to this particular Carpathian tale, Dark Melody
In Dark Melody (Book 12), Corrine Wentworth’s whole life is dedicated to music and the protection of her family unit, which is composed of her unborn baby and her emotionally fragile and dependent sister-in-law, Lisa. The brutal murder of Corrine’s husband and the subsequent discovery of her unplanned pregnancy is further taxing her damaged heart. The doctors have told her it is likely that neither she nor the baby will survive. In an effort to distract her, Lisa has taken her to a concert featuring the phenomenal band Dark Troubadours with their lead singer, Dayan. Dayan is a Carpathian male who instantly knows (as the Carpathians do when they see or hear their life mate the first time) that Corrine is his soul mate. She is captivated, scared, and resistant to any further complications in her short life. Dayan, being one of those dominant centurions, sweeps all objections aside and takes over her life.
Dark Melody is one of Christine Feehan’s less robust efforts. The storyline was repetitive (she feebly objects, he sends her to bed or house arrest, she faintly protests, he shuts her up with kisses, she halfheartedly complains, he puts her to sleep… you get the picture). When you combine this plotline with another female character, Lisa, who is selfishly dependent (albeit with good motivation: she was abused as a child), the story was just too unbalanced.
I have said before that Kaleo Griffith’s strength lies in his narration of alpha male characters. His Carpathian male voice is suitably dark and hypnotic and you truly believe that this man could talk you into anything. However, he continues his trend of making his female characters sound needy and weak. It was appropriate in this case – Corinne has heart failure and is facing certain death. She is in denial about her baby’s future, her sister-in-law’s problems, and the existence of evil. So she probably has every right to sound frail. But remember when I said that the only way to balance these males is with a determined female? Griffith’s breathy voicing of Corinne combined with Feehan’s decision to pen a weaker heroine, clearly illustrates a lack of that needed balance. Even when the dialogue finally tries to even that score with, “Perhaps you might have asked me what I might want…I believe that a decision this big should have been made with me, not for me.”, by that time – two thirds into the book – Corinne is already such a puny character that she doesn’t provide him with any believable challenge.
I had some trouble returning to this audiobook in order to finish the story. I did not like the characters, or, after a certain point, the narrator. I actually went back to my kindle versions of other books in the series to try to determine if I actually did like the series. I really did enjoy other Dark series entries – Dark Prince (Book 1) and Dark Guardian
Victoria
Narration: C
Book Content: D
Steam Factor: For your burning ears only
Violence: Escalated Fighting
Genre: Paranormal Romance – vampire
Publisher: Harper Audio
Dark Melody was provided to AudioGals for review by Harper Audio.
Narration: C
Content: D
Violence: vampire battles
Steam: keep your earphones on
