Pearl's World of Romance - Reviews with a Passion: Midnight Rising

April 16, 2008

Midnight Rising - Lara Adrian

12:29 PM |

IN A WORLD OF SHADOWS AND DARK, CONSUMING HUNGERS, DESIRE IS THE DEADLIEST WEAPON. . . .

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. But now an ancient evil has been awakened, and a stunning darkness is on the rise.

For journalist Dylan Alexander, it began with the discovery of a hidden tomb. Suddenly she is at 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 plunge her into his world of dark desire and endless night. Here she is powerless to resist Rio's touch, even as she uncovers a shocking link to her own past. Now Dylan 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 . . . .

Rio is a Breed Warrior ready to give up on everything and everyone, including himself, after over a year of futile attempts to recover from severe injuries to his body and mind after a betrayal that hurt not only him but also the entire Order of Breed Warriors he once embraced as his family. He is suicidal and full of self-hatred and doesn't care about anything anymore except for ending his sufferable life. But then a journalist stumbles into the assignment his fellow Warriors left him to handle, he has been dragging on for months and now because of her discovery he has to go after her to secure the secrets of the entire Breed. His life has purpose again.
Dylan Alexander is an unknowing Breedmate, Her reporter curiosity and Breedmate gift lead her to a story that will change her life forever. Having known rejection and solitude in her life she has learned to be independent and cares only about her mother whose weak health is threatening the fairly decent life she has managed to build. Until on a tour of Europe, the discovery of a cave and an extraordinary man starts a string of events she could never have dreamed up for the newspaper she works for.

Dylan is curious, cynical, smart and stubborn. She is used to handling everything on her own and taking care of her mother. But then she meets Rio, a man who fascinates her while she should feel revulsion, if not for his physical appearance then for his emotional deficiencies. Slowly Dylan starts to accept what she is, the world she belongs to and her feelings for Rio.

Rio is a broken man, both emotional and physical. Betrayal has left scars on both his mind and body and his past and present both touched me deeply. We met Rio in the first book of the series and he's been appearing in every following book. The disclosures of little bits of information on his recovery (to know from what I recommend reading the previous books in the series) held me until I could read his own story and have a chance to get the whole picture on Rio. I knew Rio was damaged from reading the previous books but it wasn't until reading his own story that I realized to what extent.

Both Dylan and Rio are proud and defiant and their story is set up gradually and carefully, which I found perfect because especially Rio had some issues to deal with before he could commit to his feelings for Dylan.
Despite the fact that the story is set up gradually and carefully, it's still written in a pace that kept me going back to the book every minute I could.

Again the secondary characters play their perfect roles, enhancing the story with their appearances and actions. Two new warriors who were briefly mentioned in MIDNIGHT AWAKENING were fleshed out a little bit more and prove to be some interesting characters. I hope Lara Adrian will write their stories too. Sterling Chase remains an enigma, and a very intriguing enigma too. For me he and Nikolai are the warriors whose stories I anticipate with the most eagerness. The agony of waiting for Niko's book (VEIL OF MIDNIGHT, Dec 08) has begun with the glimpses of Niko I had in this book, they only made me crave his book more!

I can imagine some readers will find this story the least of the books up until now and I don't agree with that. I think this book has the purpose of setting up a twist in the ongoing plot and Lara Adrian did a great job with it, without taking the focus away from Dylan, Rio and their feelings. For me the balance between romance, plot, action and characters was flawless and provided a fluent, fast-paced and captivating story as a result.
After reading MIDNIGHT AWAKENING I thought I knew where Lara Adrian was heading with the ongoing plot of the Rogues and other enemies of the Order but she again she has managed to surprise me at the end with some mind-blowing disclosures en I'm certainly curious as to where she is taking us next in this mesmerizing world she has created in this series.

In my eyes with the Midnight Breed Series, Lara Adrian has created an amazing world within the vampire romance genre that really stands out in the plot department. With every book more information is disclosed, more elements and characters are added and you get better acquainted with the existing characters. Each book is unique in plot, intensity and character development, despite the similarities that glue the series together and each main couple has their own issues and Lara Adrian provides each hero and heroine ways of coping with these issues and each other. The perfect mix of all these elements is what makes this series a keeper for me

Book 4 of the Midnight Breed was everything I expected it to be! Lara Adrian has been on my auto-buy list since the 2nd book in this series and with MIDNIGHT RISING she has only secured that spot more. With her fluent and accessible writing style and the fascinating ongoing storyline Lara Adrian pulled me deep into this enthralling world with its unique band of vampires, their mates, their allies and their enemies.

Quotes
"Dylan. Get away from the goddamn door."
"Why?"
I can smell you, Dylan, and I want to... taste you. I want you, and I'm not sane enough to keep my hands off you if I were to see you right now."

He drew from her with a needy intensity, his fangs grazing her skin, his tongue creating a demanding, delicious friction with each hard, wet pull at her vein.

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