Review: Midnight’s Kiss by Thea Harrison

Reviewer: Holly
Midnight's Kiss by Thea Harrison
Series: Elder Races #8
Also in this series: Dragon Bound (Elder Races, #1), Storm's Heart (Elder Races, #2), Serpent's Kiss (Elder Races, #3), Oracle's Moon (Elder Races, #4), Oracle's Moon (Elder Races, #4), True Colors (Elder Races, #3.5), Lord's Fall (Elder Races, #5), Kinked, Lord's Fall, Kinked (Elder Races, #6), Pia Saves the Day & Peanut Goes to School, Dragos Takes a Holiday, Night's Honor, Night's Honor, Dragon Bound, Midnight's Kiss, Dragos Goes to Washington, Shadow's End, Pia Does Hollywood, Liam Takes Manhattan, Pia Does Hollywood, The Chosen: A Novella of the Elder Races, Planet Dragos (Elder Races, #9.8), Planet Dragos (Elder Races, #9.8), Lionheart (Moonshadow, #3), Spellbinder
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: May 5th 2015
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 304
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating:

In the latest Novel of the Elder Races, two souls who have long buried their passions are about to be consumed…
Ever since their scorching affair ended years ago, Julian, the Nightkind King, and Melisande, daughter of the Light Fae Queen, have tried to put the past behind them—and distance between them. But when a war breaks out between Julian and Justine, a powerful Vampyre of the Nightkind council, they find themselves thrown together under treacherous circumstances…
Kidnapped as leverage against Julian, Melly is convinced that her former lover won’t be rushing to her rescue. But when Julian gives himself up to save her, they both end up Justine’s captives. Armed only with their wits and their anger, Melly and Julian must work together to escape. But will they be able to ignore their complicated history, or will the fiery passion that once burned them blaze again?

The Nightkind demesne hasn’t held much appeal for me to date. Though I enjoyed Night’s Honor and looked forward to Julian and Melly’s story, the politics didn’t intrigue me as much as the other demesnes. As it happens, Julian and Melly were wonderful, and so were the Vampyre politics.

Julian and Melly had a heavy love affair twenty years ago. Though they weren’t together long, both were in deep. Until Julian received irrefutable proof that Melly cheated on him. She denied it, but he didn’t believe her. It’s been long enough that they should both be over it, but neither are. Anytime they’re together all they do is fight. So it’s a shock to them both when Melly is kidnapped by Justine, a Vampyre looking to advance her position, and Julian offers to trade himself for her.

Of course, the Vampyre who took Melly takes Julian and refuses to release Melly, but that wasn’t really a surprise to either of them. What is a surprise is how quickly their attraction to one another rears its head considering their trapped in a dungeon together. They have a lot of emotional things to work out between them, but that means nothing to their bodies.

As they work together to get free from their prison, they also have to work through the anger and sense of betrayal they both feel. Melly knows she didn’t cheat on Julian and, though they were together for only a short time, their connection was deep enough that she was devastated he didn’t believe her. Juliana has what he thinks is nonconvertible proof of her betrayal, and hates that she won’t admit it.

I was concerned all they’d do is fight during the course of the book, but that wasn’t the case. Sure, there’s an underlying sense of anger and betrayal in their interactions, but they also opened up to each other, laughed together and worked together to get free and to clean up the NightKind Demesne. They were well-rounded characters and their romance was well told.

Even the NightKind politics were intriguing. I enjoyed getting to know Julian better and seeing situations from his perspective.

Harrison never disappoints.

4.25 out of 5

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