Tag: Midnight Breed Series

Review: Taken by Midnight by Lara Adrian

Posted December 8, 2010 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Genres: Paranormal Romance


Casee‘s review of Taken by Midnight (Midnight Breeds, Book 8) by Lara Adrian.

In the frozen Alaskan wilderness, former state trooper Jenna Darrow survives an unspeakable breach of body and soul. But with her narrow escape comes an even greater challenge. For strange changes are taking place within her, as she struggles to understand—and control—a new hunger. To do so, she will seek shelter in the Boston compound of the Order, an ancient race of vampire warriors whose very existence is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the most mysterious of them all is Brock, a brooding, dark-eyed alpha male whose hands hold the power to comfort, heal . . . and arouse.

As she recovers under Brock’s care, Jenna finds herself drawn to the Order’s mission: to stop a ruthless enemy and its army of assassins from subjecting Earth to a reign of terror. Yet in spite of their resolve, a purely physical relationship without strings soon binds Brock and Jenna together with a desire fiercer than life and stronger than death itself—until a secret from Brock’s past and Jenna’s own mortality challenges their forbidden love to the ultimate trial by fire.

I thought this was one of the better books in Adrian’s Breed series. Instead of Breed + Breedmate = lurve, Jenna was a human. Well, sort of human. In the previous book she was held captive by the Ancient and he put some kind of parasite or equally sci-fi strange thing in her body that has attached itself to her spinal cord. All of a sudden she’s not quite human. Her ability to heal is faster, she can hear things she shouldn’t, she can run faster and leap tall buildings in a single bound. The thing is, she doesn’t like it. All she wants to do is go back to her old life.

Brock has felt responsible for Jenna since the moment the Order found her on the verge of death in her cabin. Since bringing her back to the compound, Brock has stayed at her side using his gift to block her pain. When she wakes up and freaks out (which is putting it mildly) he is there to take the brunt of her anger and pain. The weird thing is he doesn’t mind it. His feelings for Jenna are bewildering, especially since she isn’t a Breedmate.

As the days go by, Jenna’s natural fear of what is happening wears off and her desire to help kicks in. As she gets to know the Breedmates, she realizes the enormity of the task they face. Finding missing Breedmates is something she thinks she can help with, using her years of experience as a cop. As she begins to help, she also opens up to Brock which is something that she isn’t ready for. It’s something that she hates herself for as a matter of fact. Since the night that her husband and daughter were killed in a car accident, Jenna has blamed herself. She believes that she has no right to happiness.

There was definitely forward momentum in the series as a whole. I’ve been reading the series since the first book came out, so I really appreciate how far it has come. I think that Adrian has continued to make it interesting and has kept the reader guessing. That’s important when you have a series that has as many books as this one.

What I liked about this book was that Brock didn’t let the fact that Jenna didn’t have a Breedmate mark effect his love for her. He loved her. Period, end of story. Sure, there were drawbacks, but Brock wouldn’t let that get in his way of being with Jenna. He also helped Jenna overcome her past. How can you not love a guy like that?

4.25 out of 5.

This book is available from Dell. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

The series:

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Review: Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian

Posted January 22, 2010 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Genres: Paranormal Romance

Casee‘s review of Shades of Midnight (Midnight Breed Series, Book 7) by Lara Adrian.

In a frozen wilderness steeped in darkness, the lines between good and evil, lover and enemy, are never black or white but drawn in Shades of Midnight.

Something inhuman is stalking the frigid Alaskan wilds, leaving unspeakable carnage in its wake. For bush pilot Alexandra Maguire, the killings stir memories of a horrific event she witnessed as a child and evoke in her the inexplicable sense of otherness she has long felt within herself but never fully understood . . . until a darkly seductive stranger with secrets of his own enters her world.

Sent from Boston on a mission to investigate the savage attacks and stop the slaughter, vampire warrior Kade has his own reasons for returning to the frigid, forbidding place of his birth. Haunted by a secret shame, Kade soon realizes the stunning truth of the threat he faces–a threat that will jeopardize the fragile bond he has formed with the courageous, determined young woman who arouses his deepest passions and most primal hungers. But in bringing Alex into his world of blood and darkness, Kade must confront both his own personal demons and the even greater evil that could destroy all he holds dear.

I didn’t really like Ashes of Midnight. It split the series off from the core of the series which is the Order. Even though I didn’t like Ashes of Midnight, I really enjoy this series. I like where she’s taken the series and look forward to seeing how it end. And there is an end in sight. I really hope that Lara Adrian doesn’t go the whole “this series is open ended” route. That would be really disappointing.

Alex is speshal, but she doesn’t know it. She’s a Breedmate, a woman that is revered by the Breeds and protected at all costs. Breedmates have unique psychic gifts that can easily be explained away if the woman in question doesn’t know what she is. That’s the case in Alex’s situation. She has always been able to detect when people are lying. It’s an uncanny ability that she has just accepted about herself.

When Alex goes to deliver goods to the settlements in the Alaskan bush, she walks into a nightmare from her past. A family of six that she has know for years have been brutally murdered. By something that’s not human. Alex recognizes it right away, but doesn’t know where to turn.

Kade was sent to Alaska by the Order to check out the murder of the family and see if it’s Breed related business. Being from Alaska, he’s the obvious choice to send. When Kade meets Alex, he knows she’s different in some way, but he can’t figure out how. It doesn’t take much investigating for Kade to know that it’s more than a Rogue on the loose in the bush. Now he needs Alex’s help. Then he’ll scrub her memory. Yeah, I didn’t like that very much.

Kade finally figures out (d’oh) that Alex is a Breedmate. He wants to do the right thing and leave her alone, but he just can’t. He thinks he’s cursed b/c of his gift and that he would hurt anyone that was stupid enough to love him. He’ll just stay with Alex for a little while.

The story was good, but it wasn’t captivating. I thought Alex fell for Kade too fast, but then isn’t that usually the case?

3.25 out of 5.

This book is available from Dell. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

The series:

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Review: Veil of Midnight by Lara Adrian

Posted February 17, 2009 by Casee in Reviews | 4 Comments

Bound by blood, addicted to danger, they’ll enter the darkest—and most erotic—place of all.

A warrior trained in bullets and blades, Renata cannot be bested by any man—vampire or mortal. But her most powerful weapon is her extraordinary psychic ability—a gift both rare and deadly. Now a stranger threatens her hard-won independence—a golden-haired vampire who lures her into a realm of darkness…and pleasure beyond imagining.

A combat-loving adrenaline junkie, Nikolai dispenses his own justice to enemies of the Breed—and his latest quarry is a ruthless assassin. One woman stands in his way: the seductive, cool-as-ice bodyguard, Renata. But Renata’s powers are put to the test when a loved one, a child, is threatened and she’s forced to turn to Niko for help. As the two join forces, as desire fans the flames of a deeper hunger, Renata’s life is under siege by a man who offers the exquisite pleasure of a blood bond—and a passion that could save or doom them both forever.…

Hmm.

I’ve been reading this series from the beginning. I liked the first book, but wasn’t exactly wow’ed by it. I really liked the second one and think that they’ve successively gotten better. Yeah, that stopped with this book. I didn’t really care for it. The hero was hot of course. It was the heroine I didn’t really care for. Not that I didn’t like her, she just wasn’t my cuppa.

Renata is a Breedmate, a woman that very valuable to the Breed race. Breedmates are human women that have a psychic gift that make them special and the ability to mate for life with a Breed. When she and a group of other human women are kidnapped by a powerful Gen One vampire, Renata exchanges her freedom for her life. Since she’s done that, she’s a virtual prisoner of Yakut’s. The only thing that keeps her from escaping is Mira, a child that Yakut uses to control her. When Nikolai comes to warn Yakut of the conspiracy to kill all Gen One vampires, Renata briefly hopes that he can help her and Mira escape from their hellish prison.

Nikolai is surprised by his attraction to her, especially considering that she seems to be the Breedmate of Yakut, whom he can barely tolerate. When he’s turned over to the Enforcement Agency, the last person he expects to come to his rescue is Renata. His illusions that she actually came for him are shattered when she explains that Mira has been kidnapped and she needs his help to get her back.

I didn’t really care for the romance between Nikolai and Renata. They mated b/c Renata wanted her wounds to heal faster. Even though there was attraction between them, I wasn’t really feeling the connection that Adrian has made so clear in the previous books. The most interesting part of this book for me was the continuation of the storyline and the attempt to destroy all the Gen One warriors. The furthering of the plot is really what kept me interested in the book.

I was especially intrigued by Hunter, a Gen One that was made in a lab specifically for the army that a psycho Breed is trying to make. I am really looking forward to seeing where this story goes.

3.5 out of 5.

This book is available from Dell. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Other books in the series:

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Review: Midnight Rising by Lara Adrian

Posted April 3, 2008 by Casee in Reviews | 5 Comments

Review: Midnight Rising by Lara AdrianReviewer: Casee
Midnight Rising by Lara Adrian
Series: Midnight Breed #4

Publication Date: 2010-09
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 356
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

In a world of shadows and dark, cosuming hungers, desire is the deadliest weapon...
For journalist Dylan Alexander, it began with the discovery of a hidden tomb, thrusting her into the center of a gathering storm of violence and secrets. But nothing is as dangerous as the scarred, lethally seductive man who rises from the shadows to draw her into his world of dark desire and endless night.
Fueled by pain and rage over a shattering betrayal, the warrior Rio has pledged his life to the war against the Rogues. He will let nothing stand in his way—least of all a mortal woman with the power to expose the entire vampire race. For an ancient evil has been awakened, and a stunning darkness is on the rise. Suddenly Dylan is powerless to resist Rio’s touch, even as she uncovers a shocking link to her own past. And now she must choose: Leave Rio’s midnight realm, or risk it all for the man who has shown her true passion and the infinite pleasures of the heart. . . .

Wow. This series gets better with each book. I’m really excited to see where Lara Adrian is taking this series.

The reader first meets Rio in Kiss of Midnight when he is brutally betrayed by his Breedmate, Eva. After almost being killed in an explosion, the ugly truth of her betrayal comes out. Shortly after, Eva kills herself while at Rio’s bedside. For months Rio can barely control his rage. It’s only with the help of Dante’s Breedmate, Tess, that Rio is able to see past the anger that is changing his life.

When the Order finds out that an Ancient, the first known vampires of their race, was entombed they race to the mountains near Prague hoping to destroy the tomb before it’s discovered. What they find is shocking and horrifying. The crypt is empty, the Ancient gone. Barely able to comprehend what it means, Rio offers to stay behind to seal the cave by blowing up the entrance. Only Rio knows what he really intends…to seal himself inside as well.

Five months later, Dylan Alexander comes upon the cave after being led there by a ghost. Able to see ghosts since she was a small child, Dylan had hoped that her affliction had ended since it had been years since she had last seen one. She can hear them, though they can’t hear her. What Dylan finds in the cave is enough to give her hope that her journalism career is not completely in the toilet. Little does she know how the course of her life changed the second she stepped foot in the cave.

After Dylan takes pictures of the cave and of him, Rio knows that he has to seal the cave, then go after Dylan to remove her memories of the cave and him. That’s much harder than he first thinks b/c of all the people Dylan has been in contact with. It doesn’t exactly help the situation that he has been virtually starving himself for the last five months, nor that he’s physically attracted to Dylan. After what happened with Eva, it’s the latter that surprises Rio the most.

Considering that only a year had past between Eva’s betrayal and Rio meeting Dylan, I was wondering how Adrian was going to pull this off. She pulled it off quite nicely. Though Rio cared about Eva, they weren’t blood bonded. Rio loved her in his own way, while Eva was obsessed with Rio. Dylan is the first woman that he ever confides his past to. Not only that, but she doesn’t judge him for what he has done.

The places that this series can go with the evil that now exists in this series is virtually endless. While Marek (Lucan’s brother) was definitely evil, it would have got boring after awhile. What we learn has been going on in the last 50 or so years makes me even more excited for the next book. Lara Adrian definitely continues to keep it fresh.

4.5 out of 5.

Series order:

Kiss of Midnight
Kiss of Crimson
Midnight Awakening
Midnight Rising

four-half-stars


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