Lara Calladine had a childhood that was pretty horrific.  Tortured endlessly, the only thing that kept her sane was her relationship with her aunts.  These same aunts helped her escape her abusive parent at risk to their own lives.  Now an adult, Lara is a leading expert on ice caves and has returned to the place where she escaped from so long ago. She knows she is near; she felt it to her bones once she stepped on the mountain. 

Nicholas De La Cruz is also seeking information about his past.  An older vampire, a Carpathian, Nicholas longs for the time when he was able to be with a woman and not desire her blood.  On a mission to see the prince, Nicholas has this one thing left to do and then he is going to meet the sunlight at dawn.  Fate has other plans, however, because Nicholas meets Lara in the moonlight and his destiny now has a new ending.

As many questions that were answered in Dark Curse, many were left unanswered.  The reason for the low birth rate amongst Carpathians was explored and the cause was finally identified.  Lara was more than heroine in Dark Curse – she is the reason the Carpathians have a chance at life once again.  Nicholas and Lara’s love story starts out in pretty much the same way a lot of Feehan’s hero and heroines do.  Close to turning pure vampire, Nicholas had given up and as such was a bit ‘unmanageable’.  His desperation at being alone was more than evident and his finding a mate a stroke of luck.  Lara’s character was strong and passionate.  She was courageous and stubborn. She was one of the best heroine’s this enigmatic series has ever seen. 

The annoying use of the Carpathian language aside, Dark Curse was an amazing book.  Dark and compelling at times, it was exactly what I hoped it would be.