Christine Feehan, Dark Secret

Dark Secret

Christine Feehan

Jove, Feb 2005

ISBN: 0515138851

Rancher Colby Jansen demands that Juan and Julio Chevez leave her spread immediately and that she will never hand over her young step-siblings to them as they command. She detests the Chevez family for not responding to the request of her "adoptive dad" who never adopted her. He wanted to end his estrangement with his sons but they never went to see him before he died. They conveniently show up to take the blood members back with them to Brazil except for Colby whom they believe is tainted since her mom never married her biological Chevez father.

Accompanying the Chevez males are Carpathian siblings Nicholas and Rafael De La Cruz. They are both shocked that this slight, female mortal can block their mental attacks although she does get headaches from doing so. Rafael is stunned when he realizes that the feisty American is his soulmate that he has waited centuries to find. She refuses to have anything to do with him as long as he is on the side of her enemies, which loyalty demands he must be. As Rafael struggles to persuade his beloved they belong together, someone is stealing her equipment, vandalizing her machinery and escalating the assault on Colby, which her beloved will not tolerate.

DARK SECRET is a refreshing Carpathian tale that uses a different location to tell an entertaining story. Colby is a courageous mortal refusing to allow any harm to her step-siblings while battling against impossible odds. Her counterpart Rafael is typical of the Feehan alpha male, but knows he has met his perfect match in the feisty American. With a strong support group that further brings out the personalities of the lead couple, especially during the war of words and attrition, fans of the series will enjoy this fine gender battle.

Harriet Klausner