Dark Ghost

I’m not even sure where to begin….

OK. Let me start by saying I picked up the Dark series when Dark Fire was brand new. I DEVOURED every single book in this series I could find after that. And that was in the days before ebooks were readily available. Christine Feehan showed me what a romance novel could really be like and I was captivated. That being said, this book was horrible. And I DO NOT say that lightly. I’m not a fan of harsh reviews and I detest author bashing because authors of this caliber put in every ounce of their blood and soul into each book the produce. Unfortunately, i don’t believe this was the case with Dark Ghost.

Repeated words/phrases… like EVERYWHERE. Someone do a search of “but still” and count the number of times it comes up. Gorgeous. The number of times he says her name “just like that.” I have no problem with a heroine thinking a man is out of her league then setting out to win him anyway or things of that nature, but this went on and on and on and when you think she’s gotten it, she starts it again. I mean it was like the book was written in pieces or whole scenes added after the book was finished to increase word/page count. I’m fairly certain the author couldn’t be bothered with proofing her work before she turned it in because, if she had, she’d have fixed so many problems. Simple things like the repeated words and phrases. I have to wonder if the editor even read the book. That’s seriously not overstating the problem. There is no movement in the story whatsoever. More than half the book is exposition or introspection. Not only that, but it’s the same introspection and exposition. Over and over. Ms. Feehan has always had a problem with repetition but this is by far the worst example. Even if it were a stand alone book, it wouldn’t work. But this is part of a long running series and I think it died after the Mage section of the series ended. It’s like she ran out of ideas or other places to go. Nothing sense has progressed the series and this book certainly didn’t. The only thing it did was not finish itself. There was no resolution other than a warrior found his lifemate. Literally more than six hours of listening as they sat in a cave and discussed the same drivel over and over. There was a lot of sex but even that wasn’t good. I don’t mind chapters of sex if it’s good sex. This wasn’t. And, honestly, what had to be two full pages of describing how her climbing shoe fit? I get she did her research, but really???

All in all, I wish I could make myself ask for a refund, but I don’t do that. It’s not fair to the authors. But I don’t think stories like this one are fair to readers and fans of an author or the series she created either. Overall, I can not recommend this one. Until I see some significant improvement in the critical reviews — those that read like they’ve been written by readers who actually want to like the series — I will not be purchasing another Dark book.