Dark/Carpathian #33
“You are willing to sacrifice yourself for me, but not for your lifemate. Do you have any idea why?”
Elisabeta Trigovise
If you’ve read the other books in the Dark series, then you’ve met the main characters of Dark Illusion. Julija Brennan first made an appearance in Dark Legacy. She was found by the Carpathians when they raided the lair of Sergey, a master vampire. Isai Florea is one of the ancient Carpathians from the monastery that was introduced in Dark Promises.
Isai does not make a good impression when he first drops in on Julija, literally. When he realizes she’s his lifemate (the woman who shares his soul), he reacts violently to her apparent rejection of him. He, in turn, rejects her. However, before they can completely turn their backs on one another, they have a mission to complete.
Julija has never had an easy life. Her upbringing as part of a High Mage family, enemies of the Carpathian species, gives her every reason to fear Isai. She is on the run from her family and has only one friend, Elisabeta, a female Carpathian that was held captive by Sergey for centuries. Julija’s goal is to destroy the book that would give her family access to spells that could be used to destroy entire species.
As Isai gets to know Julija and her past, he comes to realize that things aren’t as clearcut as he initially thought. He helps Julija begin to work through the physical and psychological trauma that she had endured since childhood, but he never actually apologizes for his initial actions.
As a change of pace for the series, vampires are not the main threat in this book. Instead, the mages take center stage. The mages have been a lurking threat through much of the series, so it is very satisfying to have them as the main antagonists. However, other than through Julija’s recollections and battle scenes, there isn’t much interaction with them.
The fight scenes are quite different from previous books because of the difference between fighting Mages and vampires. The spells slow down the pacing, and I preferred it when they weren’t written out. Hopefully, a short-hand or alternate language is developed if Mages continue to function as primary antagonists. I also found the use of crossbows to be an odd choice, given how long they take to reload, even with preternatural speed. Christine is excellent at keeping fight scenes unique, and she definitely managed that nicely in this book.
Overall, this is a solid entry in the Dark series. New forms of old enemies emerge, and another ancient finds his lifemate.
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