Dark Desire (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read the first two books of the series so far, and although I can say the writing is decent, the concept interesting... (which is why I gave it 2 stars rather than 1) the men and the Carpathian society are just Not a turn on for a woman who has respect for herself.

The writer throws a little bit of seeming 'rebellion' in, from the women who are 'lifemated' to the men - often unknowingly, btw, as the men can 'marry/lifemate' the women without their knowing, or perhaps even willing, participation in the act. But the 'rebellion' of the women doesn't get them far, and they either change their minds or the men ignore it. The Carpathian men claim their most basic instincts are to 'protect' the women, but the protect them like children, not like their equal partners. If the women don't want to do something that the men think would be good for them, they are usually forced to do it anyway with the mind powers of the men.

All in all I'm disappointed. It's a decent concept, but it plays on the stereotype that all women really want is a man to take them over and take care of them, so long as he 'loves' them, it's all right. I'm disappointed that authors are still writing women and men this way, and that many readers prefer it.

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Because of my previous experience with this series, I was a little wary about reading this book, but, for me, this book was a whole lot better than _Dark Magic_. Jacques is domineering, yes, but Shea can, for the most part, hold her own against him, since his will often seems to turn to putty around her. I really enjoyed the story itself, even though the human villain characters were once again like cardboard cutouts of Badness. The writing seemed less repetitive than in _Dark Magic_, where references to the main characters often involved the use of the same words, over and over again. Shea was in some serious denial, though - it seemed like it took her forever to realize that Jacques was not just a man with a serious blood disorder, even though he drank glasses of blood and survived for years with a stake through his chest. Still, this book was pretty enjoyable, and I think I'll try to find more books in this series that I can like as much, or more, than this one.

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