"A refreshing Carpathian tale"

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 their nut 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 who they believe is tainted since her mom never married her biological Chavez father.

Accompanying the Chevez males is 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

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 25, 2005

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Summary

Rafael De La Cruz has spent centuries hunting vampires with his brothers, and with each passing year his capacity to feel emotions has grown weaker and weaker until finally there's barely been a memory left-until only sheer willpower keeps him from turning into the very abomination he hunts. But it'll take more than will to keep him away from the woman who is meant to be his and his alone...

For five years, rancher Colby Jansen has been the sole protector of her younger half-siblings, and with fierce determination and work she has kept her family together and the ranch operational. Now, the De La Cruz brothers are threatening that stability. They claim that her siblings belong with their father's family, not with her. Colby vows to fight them—especially the cold and arrogant Rafael De La Cruz. But Rafael is after more than her family—he wants Colby and will not let anything stand between them. After ages of loneliness, the raw desire to possess her overwhelms his very soul, driving him to claim her as his lifemate....