Dark Symphony (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 9)

This storyline was amazing enjoy all the twists and turns but mostly the difference characters learning about them on to the next booy

This book is great! For once, we didn’t have any vampires terrorizing people in this book and it’s a nice breather I didn’t know I wanted. This book is a very interesting mystery with fascinating Italian family dynamics. The mysteries consisted of who’s trying to kill Antoinetta and her family, who the shape shifting jaquar is, who’s stealing their family treasures and several more side mysteries. It was all so fascinating and had me enthralled and guessing at every turn. So much fun! I can totally see this adapted as a movie as an intellectual funny mystery.Byron and Antoinetta are a cool couple. I like how calm and capable Byron is. She’s the one who steals the show though. She is blind due to an accident as a kid and became such a strong woman who runs the household family and can maneuver around very well even with her handicap. She’s very loyal. I like how she accepted Byron so easily and didn’t protest or freak out too much about his Carpathian ways.This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. I can see me reading this again.

"Dark Symphony" is the most Gothic novel in Christine Feehan's highly original Carpathian series. Carpathians are a unique race of beings, originating in Romania's Carpathian Mountains, who have existed since humans first inhabited the earth. They are definitely not vampires. They are, however, a different race than man, gifted with the ability to change shape, fly, and move faster than the eye can see - and also able to communicate through both telepathy and language. Acquiring sustenance from human and/or animal blood, they do not kill or turn people into vampires. Carpathians mate for life but since the females rarely live to adulthood, and their childrens' mortality rate is high, not many males are able to find a female suitable for a lifemate....or any female at all. The women provide the light to the males' darker side. After 200 years Carpathian males lose all human feelings, unless they have a mate. The race is dying out and many males, having lived for centuries without wives, often choose to end their existence or turn rogue, (vampire), in despair.Byron Justicano, a Carpathian male, left his homeland to repent for betraying his best friend and to heal, in body and in spirit, after having been captured and tortured by humans and a vengeful vampire. He is an artistic, talented being who works with gemstones and creates beautiful jewelry. One night, while in Italy, he hears Antonietta Scarletti's music, which brings light to his dark world of exile and pain. He stays near her to listen to the soothing music of hope, which she brings to his life when she plays the piano. He knows that in Antonietta, an accomplished concert pianist and composer, he has found his lifemate at last. Byron easily meets her and soon becomes a trusted and beloved companion. He is determined to court her slowly, so that she has time to accept him and understand who and what he is. He wants her to choose him, and his way of life, of her own free will. Carpathian males have been known to take a more forceful approach to wooing their mates.Antonietta was blinded as a child in a terrible explosion that killed her parents. She is a strong, independent career woman, heir to the Scarletti fortune, who assists her grandfather in running the family business. They live together with other members of the Scarletti clan, cousins, spouses and children, in a beautiful, palazzo by the sea, complete with gargoyles, secret passageways, and a mysterious killer jaguar. There, in Palazzo della Morte, age-old family secrets are hidden from the outside world - secrets which are every bit as implausible as those of the Carpathians.Byron saves both Antonietta and her grandfather from kidnappers and almost certain death. She begins to turn to him more and more for assistance, as she and her family are threatened by deceit, poisoning and finally, murder. Someone is stealing ancient family treasures and trying to kill the Scarlattis.I really enjoyed the characters of Byron and Antonietta. The development of their relationship makes for some wonderfully romantic reading. However, other Scarlatti family members are some of the most obnoxious fictional folks I have met in a long while. There were instances when I wished someone would murder them! The plot has some unusual twists and surprises, which makes this novel just as unusual as Ms. Feehan's earlier ones.JANA

Dark Symphony was an okay read. This series was hard to get into with the Dark Prince, then I started to enjoy it with Dark Desire. As the series went on I was noticing I enjoyed most of every book so I have continued to read them. This book was hard to get through.I do not enjoy the Jaguar people being thrown in with the Carpathians. The Jaguars were briefly mentioned in the beginning of Dark Dream. I knew once they were mentioned eventually there would be more of them. However, I was not expecting to spend an entire book about them. This leads me to believe other books are going to focus on them more and that disappoints me. I feel like the Jaguar should get their own series for people that would enjoy them.I wished Byron had been introduced more in the prior books. He was a background character in Dark Prince and a subtle character in Dark Desire, but then nowhere in the books in between. I was saddened to read that he and Jacques hadn't mended fences since Dark Desire.This book throws in a very large handful of new characters where prior books will typically throw in just a couple. This book is also the first to have a liniage tree in the beginning. This liniage tree was probably thrown in because of all the new additions to the story.What I did enjoy about this book was that the female was blind and didn't let that stop her from living. I loved that aspect of it. I also enjoyed the nephew. He made me laugh a lot since we never get to see young male Carpathians. He truly makes you see what the males start out as and then reading the books you see what they have become. Its hard to picture any of the adult males acting like a child and having fun. I definitely enjoyed that portion of the book.I do feel like this is a necessary book to read in the series if Feehan does continue to encorporate the Jaguars into the series and I have a strong feeling she does.

The poorest of the ‘Dark Carpathian’ novels I’ve read so far. Dark Symphony is number 9 of the series and I found there wasn’t a lot of chemistry between the main characters nor did I care too much for the story. I’m finding as these novels are progressing that it’s like Feehan is running out of ideas with the Carpathian characters and is starting to branch out with new species etc, which can get a bit confusing. I plan to carry on reading the rest of the stories but I just hope she doesn’t lose what made me enjoy & want to read these books in the first place.

Awesome. She has been in a terrible accident that has left her blind and scarred, the only thing she has left is her music which thrills thousands. He has been lonely for so long and her music reaches out to him, holding him spellbound. When the two meet what will happen? Especially as her family had always made her feel ugly and unwanted. I loved this book in particular because our imperfections are always in our own eyes. Others do not really see them. A terrific plot and wonderful hero and heroine, who fight for what they want. I replaced my hard copy with this as it was looking a bit shabby from constant re-reading

Having read the Dark Prince, I thought I knew what to expect delving into another Carpathian novel... found the same elements, but very much more. The characters are multi-dimensional in a way that I didn't expect, the plot had enough twists and turns to keep me reading till the wee hours of the night (hated myself the next morning when I woke at dawn, of course :P), and I never really thought that I'd fall in love with and relate so much to a blind protagonist who is absolutely stunning despite her human flaws. Byron also isn't perfect--although I wouldn't complain!--which adds to the "believability" of such a surreal, dark, and delightful piece. Ready to tackle the next Carpathian book--in no particular order. :)

this about the story of Antonietta Scarletti and Byron justicano joining. she is descendant from the jaguar race and her family is plagued by secrets and murder. when she is converted to carpathian her sight is restored but very disorientating as she has not used her sight in years (since an explosion when she was young which killed her parents). she is also a great composer of music on the piano.

I'm speechless. It just gets better and better. A slightly older woman - even better. So let's read of a 65 year old.. Can one survive conversion.. Surely yes and improvements come forth in each book.. In nurture and healing and letting the Carpathian race grow ... Very slowly...