Rating: 
Summary: Unadventurous and bland
Review: Paranormal romance queen Christine Feehan's popular Dark series has struck a chord in the mass romance readers with her dark brooding Carpathian heroes pledging their loves and lives to their life-mates. Ms. Feehan decides to play the formula safe in her latest installment Dark Symphony that makes it hardly adventurous and a bland copy of elements found in her past novellas. Byron Justicano, a shape-shifting vampire is drawn to his destined lifemate, blind musician and heiress Antonietta Scarletti and swears his loyalty to offer his love and protection. A hidden killer lurks in the dysfunctional family and threatens to kill Toni's beloved grandfather. Could it be her cousin Paul with an intent to secure the wealth, Toni's assistant Justine or the ambitious Frank? Not that we care to know. Ms. Feehan bamboozles her way through this filmsy mystery of a plot with tedious repetitions while she focuses on Byron gushing mush to Toni who prefers their relationship on a sexual basis. The denouement of the killer comes abrupt and detached after cluttered chapters of spicy passion to make Toni surrender to love. Dark Symphony when stripped of its dark atmospheric plush is empty without any fascinating gothic details and flat-out predictable. It is neither a soaring adventure like Sherrilyn Kenyon's vampire-series Night Pleasures. Even the love between Byron and Toni seems grudgingly unconvincing without chemistry and acts of sacrifices. Ms. Feehan fashions her story in the same mold that is as ancient as her vampire race and is too comfortable with her series to evince any breakthrough. Dark Symphony is sadly a flat diluted sonata and love can definitely come in more interesting forms.
Rating:
Summary: Dark Symphony
Review: Feehan writes phenominally creative books and is worth adding to your collection. Dark Symphony is not one of her best books. The story just doesn't draw the reader in as her previous books have. It lacks the edgy exitement, drama, romance that made her books something you just couldn't put down till you finished one. Having said this about Dark Symphony, I will add that I am completely looking forward to her next book and will pre-order it as she is a very talented author.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Developments
Review: The other reviewers have done an admirable job of describing the plot and the characters here so it isn't necessary for another description. In terms of how this book is written it is noticably better in style and technique than her previous books. There are fewer repitions-muscular chests abound in the other books, fewer typos etc. Author Feehan adds more to the background of her world and unfortunately for new readers the Carpathian world is now so complex that this book is difficult to read without having read the previous books. Fans will enjoy the book and new readers will probably go looking for the previous books. The author's strong point is creating very interesting characters particularly if you are a fan of the alpha male type. I am concerned that the allusions to wizards and dragons might take this already over the top series higher over the top. When reading about fantasy worlds the observer always has to suspend belief but there is a point where even the most avid of fans will have trouble swallowing the premise. That said, Dark Symphony has a different feel and fleshes out some previous characters; it is a welcome addition to the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: The first dark book I have given an 1 star rating. Unfortunately this book was not my cup of tea. This book was the scarletti curse part 2. It did not feel a carpathanian book at all. I had a hard time finishing this book. It was boring. Byron the most boring carpathanian of all. Antonietta was a nynpho. Byron gets shot and is out for three days in a healing sleep. Which was corny in previous books the healing was for more damage done and by a vampire of massive power. Which this book was lacking. The only thing good was more background information on the species. It is good to be different but this book was so different from the others, that I did not like it. I could just say if it was your first book you could enjoy it, but if you are reading the series from the beginning, this book was a huge dissapointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing Changes to the Series Formula
Review: I fall in with the camp that enjoyed the changes Feehan has made to the characters in this book. I, too, have read the previous eight books in the series. I, for one, was beginning to get bored with the Carpathian alpha male thing - after living for centuries, after seeing one's friend find and struggle to learn to live with their lifemate, when was one Carpathian going to learn to court his love, to woo her, to get to know her BEFORE hitting her with the life changing, never see the sun again, beauty of the night speech? I thought it was great that Byron had learned from previous mistakes in his life, and so took the time to get to know his lifemate BEFORE introducing her to his way of life. Much like explaining sex to children, he answered her questions, letting her digest the information before moving on to the next revelation. I've always been a little uncomfortable with the strong female character being forced into the life - I like that Antonietta was allowed to use her intelligence, come to her own conclusions, and acceptance of Byron and Carpathians. I enjoyed even more that she was imaginative enough to take it in stride and enjoy her man all the more. I was very curious about how she was going to become a Carpathian and maintain her role in a large family. The resolution to the entire story was very satisfying. Those of you who prefer the formula Feehan established in the first half a dozen books probably won't find this as enjoyable. But if you like the basic idea of Carpathians, and are ready for a few changes (i.e., Byron is a warrior by choice not inclination), I think you'll enjoy this latest entry to the series. As always, I'm looking forward to the next one!
Rating:
Summary: Did her high school daughter help write this?
Review: I could not believe Dark Symphony was written by the same author as the other Dark series books. True, the themes are similar, and in this book we have what could have been very interesting characters in the blind, but talented Antonietta Scarletti, and in the handsome, but more thoughtful and sensitive Byron. The writing, however, is so uneven, and the descriptions and characters so cardboard, that I thought a high school student might have contributed to this book. The dialogue also is often stilted with so much American slang that I couldn't ever quite believe I was in a mysterious Italian castle with extraordinary individuals, rather than in a shopping mall. Where was her editor???
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: The story of Byron and Antionetta was boring beyond belief. The only parts I found exciting were the references to other Carpathians. I wasn't particularly enthused by Byron or his lifemate. They didn't spark anything in me. Ms. Feehan's last books were exciting because of the dominance and possessiveness of the male. In trying to add freshness to her story she lost the main formula and what makes the Carpathians so intriguing. Additionally, what the heck was up with the Jaguars or "Scarletti Curse". It was almost like she throw that one in for effects. I like the Scarletti Curse (the actual book not the one mentioned in Dark Symphony) and I have read it a few times. How come none of this was mentioned in that book? How come the curse is something different now? It made absolute no sense whatsoever, and I was left scrambling for the other book to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Also there was a lot of inconsistent dialouge between the main characters. One minute they are talking like two Victorian prudes and the next they are using everyday common language and slang. It was almost like there were two different books in one book. Overall the book was boring and slow, and not a good testament to Feehan or her Dark series. I haven't given up on her yet, but I am going to be a lot more critical about buying her purchases from now on.
Rating:
Summary: Dark Symphony
Review: This is the latest of her Carpathian books. It's right up there with all the others. It was interesting because the female character was blind plus being a "jaguar". This lead to interesting twists in the book. It was nice to meet other Carpathians from her other books in this one. I happened to pick up one of her books and made sure I got the others.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the others
Review: I've read every book in the Dark series, and I agree with the others who've mentioned that it's best to start with Dark Prince and work your way through. The books can and do stand alone, but you won't get a lot of what's going on if you don't have the background. Anyway, while I did read this book in a couple of days, I wasn't impressed. The story just felt rushed. Within the first few pages the heroine and her grandfather are kidnapped, and the hero saves the day. Instead of having a series of events that culminate in a single event, the entire book is like one climactic event after another. There's a double kidnapping, near death by falling object, stabbing, shooting, etc. Too much in too little space. For continuity's sake, read it if you're into the series. But try to borrow it from your local library or a friend...
Rating:
Summary: Boooring
Review: Dark Symphony definitely had a completly different feel than others in the Dark series. But that's not why I didn't like it. I'm actually glad that the format was different - it was time for a change in the typical characters and plots. It was just way toooooo boring. The plot moved very slowly, and I really didn't even care about what was going on. It was also repetitive, which I have noticed in other Feehan books. It seems like the same thing happens over and over again in different parts of the story.
It was part of the Dark series, so you have to read it if you've read all the rest. But hopefully there will be some improvements to the next installment.
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