Delivered from the darkness, a woman finds herself plunged into a passion that is DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT . . .

At eighteen, Corinne Bishop was a beautiful, spirited young woman living a life of privilege as the adopted daughter of a wealthy family. Her world was changed in an instant when she was stolen away and held prisoner by the malevolent vampire Dragos. After many years of captivity and torment, Corinne is rescued by the Order, a cadre of vampire warriors embroiled in a war against Dragos and his followers. Her innocence taken, Corinne has lost a piece of her heart as well--the one thing that gave her hope during her imprisonment, and the only thing that matters to her now that she is free.

Assigned to safeguard Corinne on her trip home is a formidable golden-eyed Breed male called Hunter. Once Dragos's most deadly assassin, Hunter now works for the Order, and he's hell-bent on making Dragos pay for his manifold sins. Bonded to Corinne by their mutual desire, Hunter will have to decide how far he'll go to end Dragos's reign of evil--even if carrying out his mission means shattering Corinne's tender heart.

Title: DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT
Author: Lara Adrian
Series: Midnight Breed, book 9
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Dell Books
Year of release: 2011, June 28
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Received a digital ARC for review via author’s assistant

First line:
The club was private, very much off the beaten path, and for damned good reason.

Memorable Scenes:
- hand-to-hand combat between Hunter and a Gen One assassin> awesome fight scene
- Hunter and Corinne's first kiss > TYPEREND for their romance; tentative, sweet and tender
- the fight scenes > Lara Adrian knows how to write breathtaking fight scenes

SPOILER WARNING:
This review may contain spoilerish information about the heroine, so if you don’t want to know stuff beforehand, I urge you to not read the review if you haven’t read this book yet.

Hunter is a born and bred killing machine by The Order's enemy but joined The Order instead when the chance was there. He’s seemingly emotionless, deliberate, logical, lethal and ruthless, yet he can also be tender, honorable and even compassionate.

Corinne Bishop was abducted and kept prisoner by the Order's enemy and rescued in previous book of the series. Her Breed talent is sonokinetic energy (sound manipulation). She’s defiant, stubborn and a survivor. There were moments where Corinne stubbornness in pursuing a certain something (spoiler: her son, his whereabouts and thinking he would welcome her and not be the killing machine she rationally knew he must surely have become) annoyed me and I wished she would listen to Hunter instead of clinging to hopeless hope against her better judgment. Yet without this part of her characterization a lot of strength in the emotional element of the plot would've been less strong and maybe even lost. And the way it played out towards the end of the book was brilliantly done and left me with a satisfied feeling.

DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT starts off action-packed and fast-paced with Hunter and Chase trying to find information on an Enforcement Agency operative suspected of being a mole for the enemy. The tone was set and I settled in for a thrilling read that took me from Boston to Detroit to New Orleans and back to Boston all the while the war with the Order's enemy is taken up a notch and the search for the enemy in order to eliminate him runs alongside the search of a mother for the child that was taken away from her at birth.

The way Lara Adrian continues the on-going plot by tying up loose treads and creating/setting up new ones at the same time and how all the subplots turn out to be connected in some way is just brilliant. It's the one constant aspect that I love in this series.

One element I missed in the first part of the book was the romance. This book is very plot-driven and it felt like the romance was sacrificed in favor of that in the first part of it. I felt the romantic connection being built between Corinne and Hunter but the all-consuming, steamy chemistry that most of the other couples in this series had, wasn't there in the first 10-15 chapters. Reading on I understood the reason for this, with both Corinne's tortured past that left her scarred both physically and emotionally and Hunter's upbringing that was void of emotions and filled with violence, this was the only way their romance could've been written and worked. And I need to say that in the second part of the book the romance took a more prominent place, which made up for the lack of it in the first part.

Not only the camaraderie between the warriors but the closeness and bond between the Breedmates is something that I love in this series and they're becoming more and more tight-knit with every installment. I also love that they don’t disappear into the background after their HEA (as it’s known to happen to heroines in other popular PNR series) with the occasional mention here or there. No, they stay in the forefront, crucial in the overall plot and help their mates in the battle against evil.

Sterling Chase's storyline has intrigued me from the moment he first appeared in this series in MIDNIGHT AWAKENING (book 3). Knowing his book is next is making me giddy as all hell. He's so volatile and on the brink of snapping and giving in to his rage, the lust for pain and the Bloodlust...I can't wait to read his journey to redemption and his HEA. I’m really trying to tone down my expectations for his book as to not be disappointed when they’re set too high but am slightly failing at it as I really, really look forward to it.

Fights, chases, action-sequences...next to the ongoing plot, the back-stories and the intriguing characters, they are the thriving force behind my love for this series. Lara Adrian writes action scenes and plots that resonate with me in a way like few other PNR authors on my shelves do. Even when I don’t click with the characters, which has happened in a few of the previous books, I keep coming back to this series and devouring the books the moment they are available because of Lara Adrian’s writing and the ongoing plot arc that just enthralls me every single time.

DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT was another great installment in a series that quickly became one of my favorites on my PNR shelf. Though the romance got off on a slow start and the plot was the more driving force behind this part, it was a very satisfying read and I was sad when I reached the last page and realized I have to wait till January to see where the cliffhanger type ending in the overall plot is going to lead us.

Favorite Quotes:
(Chase) He welcomed the agony of his wounds, the fiery kiss of deep pain that
made him feel alive. Just about the only thing that gave him any feeling at all. And, like a junkie, he pursued that feeling with reckless, desperate abandon.
Better than the alternative. Pain was the dark, wicked high that kept him from craving another, more dangerous mistress. Without pain, all he would have was hunger.

And then he was kissing her. Gently, unhurried, he brushed his lips across hers. His kiss was almost tentative, as though he didn't know how to take more than what she was willing to give him. As intoxicating as his mouth felt against hers, it was also sweet, the first time she'd ever been touched so carefully, so full of tenderness. That a formidable male like Hunter could possess such patience and restraint astonished her.

We were born to be his assassins. His Hunters, and nothing more."
"Hunters." The word sounded wooden on her tongue. "I thought Hunter was your name. Is it your name?"
He could see her confusion. Her frown furrowed deeper as she quietly processed all that she was hearing. "Hunter is the only thing I've been called from the day I was born. It is what I am. What I will always be."

At the crossroads of death and desire, a woman tastes a pleasure no mortal is meant to survive . . .

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.

Title: Taken by Midnight
Author: Lara Adrian
Series: Midnight Breed, book 8
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Dell Publishing (Random House)
Year of release: 2010, September 28
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Received from author for review
First line: Life . . . or death? The words drifted at her through the darkness.
Memorable Scenes:
- Scene where Brock comforts Jenna after upsetting news about her blood works > starting point of the romance story line
- when Jenna does something (can’t divulge for fear of spoilers) to Brock during the first love scene > wow...
- shower scene > wow x 2!

After a terrifying captivity in her Alaskan cabin with a creature straight out of any horror movie, Jenna Darrow is taken to the Order's compound in Boston because she could prove pivotal in the next step in their battle with their enemy. When she, reluctantly at first, involves herself in their battle she becomes the focus of more attention she signed up for as the Orders enemy gets her in his sight. Brock, who's been there for her from the beginning, calming and caring, has to do everything in his power to get her back to safety and keep her there. Amidst the battle with evil another battle rages between Brock and Jenna as something deeper develops between them that's hard to deny yet they both fight to not give into it. It's Jenna's stubborn clinging her need to be in control and independent against Brock's instinct to protect and soothe. When they ultimately do, their HEA is closure to a turbulent and emotional journey.

Jenna Darrow, like most of the other Midnight Breed heroines, is a heroine I really, really liked. She is fearless, strong and resilient. She thrives on having everything under control and seems unbreakable. She’s also tough, tomboy-ish and stubborn. Shrouding herself in an armor if toughness and anger she hides her vulnerability, loneliness and inner softness. Her need for approval and affection and always having to prove herself worthy makes her suspicious of the compassion and help Brock offers her. She doesn't want it because it makes her feel weak and needy and she abhors weakness. This also plays a big part in her reluctance to give into the feelings she's starting to have for Brock.

There were things that were disclosed about and happening to Jenna that I can’t name in this review because I know several people who read my reviews haven’t read the series yet and I would be spoiling but to me there were things that made me go: Wow...that's an unexpected twist...and there were things that I saw coming a little.

Then there’s Brock. He never really caught my attention in the other books other than the occasional banter with the other warriors, especially Kade and Chase, until SHADES OF MIDNIGHT where his and Jenna’s story is set up in the end and I totally understood that his book was coming next. Well, he definitely did make up for his low-profile in the previous books because I totally noticed him now, boy did I ever…
Brock is calm, soothing and steady. He’s honorable, sweet yet passionate and ruthless when people he cares about are hurt. His calm and laid-back demeanor hides an explosive and intense male. His unique extra-sensory ability/ESP talent is absorbing human pain and suffering. Because of something that happened in his past with a woman he’s is reluctant to admit to his growing feelings towards Jenna

The romance in this book was great! I loved how the relationship between Brock and Jenna built up slowly yet intensely and how their romance developed throughout the book. It fitted their characters perfectly. My additional thoughts to the first memorable scene I mentioned above is that it was a perfect display of Brock's compassion, tenderness and feelings towards Jenna and in-depth look into Jenna's character. They were both so undeniably drawn to each other and at the same time so reluctant to give in to their feelings but it never got angsty or whiney. I just can’t express how much I loved the romance in this book. And the love scenes just took my breath away…and make me wish for my own Brock!

I really can't wait for Sterling Chase's story, as Brock puts it: antagonistic, aggressive, volatile...unpredictable hothead *sigh* This member of the Order, formerly an Breed Enforcement Agent, caught my attention from the moment he set foot in the series, in MIDNIGHT AWAKENING (if I recall correctly), in most series I fall for a secondary character who hasn’t gotten his own book yet and in the Midnight Breed series it’s Chase.

But I must also admit that Hunter gets more and more intriguing too! Again in the Brocks words: "Impassive, inscrutable, unsociable, unflappable, stoic, detached, Hunter. Flesh-and-bone machine" and in the villain’s words: "Chillingly efficient. Coldly intelligent. Relentlessly disciplined, yet far from submissive."
The word that comes to mind every time I read about Hunter is emotionless, but I have also seen tiny, very tiny glimpses of emotion and compassion in Hunter, both in this book and in VEIL OF SHADOWS so I'm eager to meet the woman who's going to get under his skin! And his book is next! YAY! Though I'd love to have Chase's book first a little revelation in this books really made me look forward to Hunter's now!

I also desperately hope there'll be a story (full-length, e-novella, anthology short, I don't care...something please) on Gideon and Savannah. They are such a great couple and so wonderful together!

One thing I really loved in this book is that each and every member of the Order and their significant others made an appearance, some just in passing or only mentioned but some had a more prominent role in the plot and that was what I truly missed in the previous two installment and was so happy to see in this one again as it gave me the vibe of those early Midnight Breed books that I loved. I appreciated that this installment takes us back to Boston and the Order compound after the 2 previous books were set in Germany and Alaska. The strong point in this series is the Order and I loved going back to that base.

Now let’s talk about the plot! To me it was awesome! I suspected as much when I read the ending of SHADES OF MIDNIGHT but Lara Adrian really hit it out of the park with this one. As she's consistently done in the course of this series, she weaves a thrilling plot with twist and turns that are simply mind-blowing, answering some questions but to keep the balance she raises more questions at the same time, questions you know will be answered too eventually and not necessarily in this book.

I found one itty-bitty tiny thing weird in the plot and in the editing thereof. There’s a point early in the book where Brock overhears two Albanian guys talking about Jenna. They are not aware of him there and talk to each other in broken English. This didn’t make sense to me because why would 2 Albanians talk in broken English to each other when there's no one who can hear them? But this is really a very minor thing that has no bearing on my overall opinion of this book, which I loved and which is my favorite of the series so far.

I know many people compare Lara Adrian's books with Ward's BDB and find it falling short in comparison. I am not one of those people. To me the Midnight Breed series tops the BDB for several reasons and the most important ones to me are the Breedmates and their role in the overall story arc. Contrary to Ward's heroines the Breedmates don't quietly slink into the background after their book, never to be heard of again except for the occasional passing mention (don't blink because you'll miss it) in future books. No, Adrian's heroines stay in the fray of things and have an equal role in the ongoing story arc throughout the books. I love that they form a substantial part of the Order and are important in the battle against evil.

I loved that Lara Adrian picked up right after SHADES OF MIDNIGHT from the start, and praise her for not starting with a rehashing recap and diving straight in the new installment. Nonetheless, she offers enough background info to pull new to the series readers in and yet at the same time she stays away from repeating too much and keeps it moving forward for loyal followers of the series. Her way of recapping the events prior to this book within the storyline is excellently done. Without info dumps or lots of rehashing at the beginning of the book but cleverly incorporated in dialogues between known and new characters, adding small fresh nuances to it. This way she not only makes the series easy accessible for new readers to pick up on the plot but it’s also pleasurable for the loyal followers of the series. Thank you, Ms. Adrian!

If you haven't discovered and read this series yet, you're really missing out. It's a hidden gem amongst the avalanche of paranormal series on vamps that has a unique and refreshing premise and Lara Adrian is an author who in my eyes definitely holds her own in comparison with authors like Ward and Kenyon. With TAKEN BY MIDNIGHT Lara Adrian definitely proves worthy of the following she has and I hope she'll rake in some more. She's a talented storyteller who delivers books that are a perfect combination of romance, plot, character depth and action.

With TAKEN BY MIDNIGHT Lara Adrian had me at the edge of my seat with the plot, had me swallowing a few lumps in my throat and even made me cry a little with the characters and their emotions and had me sighing with the wonderful romance. Bring on Hunter, please!

Favorite Quotes:
Brock blew out a low curse under the punishing deluge of the shower. "If you're trying to make me feel better about all of this, feel free to stop anytime."
Kade chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. "I don't expect you'll be having any heart-to-heart talks with your new roomie, so this is me, showing you I care."
"I'm touched," Brock muttered. "Now, get the f#ck out of here and let me scald myself in peace."

He moaned against her wetness, a long purr of blatant male enjoyment that vibrated through her flesh and bone, deep into the heated center of her. Jenna's climax roared up on her like a storm. She shook with the force of it, crying out as the pleasure seized her and flung her skyward. She broke apart, sensation shimmering over her like stardust as she spiraled higher and higher, tremors of pure bliss shuddering through her, one after the other.
She was boneless as she floated back down to reality. Boneless and drained, even though her body was still pulsing and alive with sensation. And Brock was still kissing her. Still stroking her with his fingers, wringing every last quiver from her as she clutched his thick shoulders and panted with pleasurable little aftershocks.

She writhed beneath him as he moved atop her, slow thrusts of his pelvis that made her body weep with the need to feel him naked against her. Buried inside her.
"Brock," she gasped, all but lost to the passion he was stoking in her. "Gideon knows we're in here. There's probably a security camera trained on us right now."
"Tinted windows," he rasped, glancing up at her with a sexy grin that bared the gleaming tips of his fangs and made her stomach flip. "Nobody can see a thing. Now, stop thinking about Gideon and kiss me."

He wanted to shout his love for her, but the depth of his feelings had devoured his voice.

Back Cover:
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 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. . .

Alexandra Maguire is fearless, vulnerable, independent and courageous, and a loner. She's a female bush pilot who flies supplies to the Alaskan settlements but she’s also a Breedmate, who can spot a lie by touching the person speaking it. 9-year-old Alex and her father fled from the evil that killed her mother and brother. That was 18 years ago in Florida, now the evil is back to haunt her in Alaska.

Kade is one of the newer recruits to the Order. He has a wry sense of humor that contradicts his intense and quiet demeanor. He's the black sheep of his family but he's proud, strong, noble and lethal. His talent is that he is able to connect psychically with predator animals and direct their actions with his thoughts. Kade left Alaska a year ago to eagerly join the Order and when the Order sends him back on a mission there, he sees his hopes of never returning to Alaska crushed. His reason for not wanting to return to Alaska lies in the tension between him and his family, especially his father. Kade is seen as the reckless, prodigal son whereas his twin Seth is seen as the sensible, cerebral one, the favored son. But Kade's brother is a killer and Kade knows this and kept it a secret at the expense of the respect and favor of his family and father.

There is a lot of bloodshed in this installment of the Midnight Breed series and again not much Order interaction in the first half of the book, which again fed my feeling that it doesn't reach the level of the first few books in this series. Still I liked it a lot better than ASHES OF MIDNIGHT because I could connect much better with Alex and Kade as main characters than I could with Reichen and Claire. However, the romance between Kade and Alex wasn’t as mind-blowing hot as I wanted it to be and also I really missed the wonderful world building that Lara Adrian spoiled me with in the first installments of this series. Admittedly the second half was much better than the first because the second half contained more Order induced action whereas the first part was a lot of setting up. When Alex found out what the deal with Kade was, about the Breed and that she was a Breedmate, it brought more pace and action to the story. This definitely reminded me of the way the first book of the series, KISS OF MIDNIGHT, felt to me. The pace and build-up of these two books was very similar so I think if you really liked KISS OF MIDNIGHT you will also love SHADES OF MIDNIGHT.

Even if SHADES OF MIDNIGHT doesn't reach the mind-blowing level of KISS OF CRIMSON, MIDNIGHT AWAKENING, MIDNIGHT RISING and VEIL OF MIDNIGHT, Lara Adrian still managed to surprise me with her world building and plot arcs. As with all the other books, nothing in the plot goes as suspected or expected and surprising twists are integrated in every single one of them. Once again this installment has left me with questions, wondering where the overall plot is going, and after SHADES OF MIDNIGHT I am dying to read if my speculations about Brock and Jenna (Alex's best friend) are correct because after the things that happened in this book, Brock's story is going to be very interesting, to say the least.

It's a real pity that the book needed to build up momentum in the first part, because the second part was great and brimmed with action. I do hope Lara Adrian finds the momentum from the beginning in the next book because had that been the case in this one, it definitely would have gotten a much higher rating from me.


Rating: 7.0 out of 10

Jacket Copy:
A WOMAN DRIVEN BY BLOOD. A MAN THIRSTING FOR VENGEANCE. A PLACE WHERE DARKNESS AND DESIRE MEET . . .

As night falls, Claire Roth flees, driven from her home by a fiery threat that seems to come from hell itself. Then, from out of the flames and ash, a vampire warrior emerges. He is Andreas Reichen, her onetime lover, now a stranger consumed by vengeance. Caught in the cross fire, Claire cannot escape his savage fury--or the hunger that plunges her into his world of eternal darkness and unending pleasure.

Nothing will stop Andreas from destroying the vampire responsible for slaughtering his Breed brethren . . . even if he must use his former lover as a pawn in his deadly mission. Blood-bonded to his treacherous adversary, Claire can lead Andreas to the enemy he seeks, but it is a journey fraught with danger--and deep, unbidden desires. For Claire is the one woman Andreas should not crave, and the only one he's ever loved. A dangerous seduction begins--one that blurs the line between predator and prey, and stokes the flames of a white-hot passion that may consume all in its path. . .

ASHES OF MIDNIGHT starts around 3 months after we left Andreas Reichen at the end of VEIL OF MIDNIGHT, devastated by the loss of his family and hell-bent on revenge he seeks retribution for those who were taken from him. One by one he is executing the ones involved in the attack on his Darkhaven, slowly but determinedly working his way up the chain of command to the one who ordered the attack: his archenemy, Wilhelm Roth. And he is willing to take everyone down who surrounds Roth, until he stumbles upon his first love, Claire Samuels, who is now Roth’s wife and mate. He decides to use her to get to Roth, but doesn't know she and Roth live estranged and things are more complicated then they seem. Before long danger and loyalty are overridden by an all-consuming passion and love that never died when they went their separate ways.

Reichen is consumed by hatred and his need for vengeance. So much so that he has transformed into someone totally different from the charming, easy-going and rakish Berlin Darkhaven leader I met in MIDNIGHT AWAKENING, save for some rare occasions and those occurred well into the story. Reichen's Breed talent is pyrokinesis; he has the power to summon fire at will, from small fireballs to complete annihilating infernos. But this talent is taking over, every time is manifests, he is losing more control over it, however, he doesn't care because all he cares about is his revenge on Roth.

I still feel a bit ambiguous about Claire. She didn't impress me. She is described in the book as independent and spirited but I didn't get that vibe from her actions and she makes some strange decisions at some points in the story. Ironically, those were the moments she felt less bland and a little feistier to me. Despite the insecurity, at some occasions she showed that she could be tenacious and brave but these occasions were as rare as the ones where Reichen's charming personality would surface. Even Claire's Breed talent, dream walking, seemed bland to me for most part of the book. No, Claire is definitely not making the favorite heroines list.

Roth is a secondary character whom I disliked immediately but still he made more of an impression on me emotionally than Reichen and Claire could together. Okay, they were negative emotions because Roth is coldhearted, calculating arrogant and self-serving. But hey, negative impact is impact and better than no impact at all.

I have been a fan of Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed Series since the second half of the first book. I needed the first half of that book to get into the world and the story but from that moment on the warriors of the Order and their Breedmates reeled me in one by one and kept me hooked on an ongoing plot with surprises around every corner. Needless to say I was anxiously anticipating ASHES OF MIDNIGHT, certainly after the way VEIL OF MIDNIGHT ended. This could be nothing else but really good. As I started in the book the dedication in the beginning of it immediately caught my attention and I was even more eager to start:

To the phoenix that lives in all of us:
Strong, glorious, indestructible.

Well, unfortunately I can't be as enthusiastic about ASHES OF MIDNIGHT as I had expected, at least not with the first 3/4 of the book. And it has everything to do with the characters of Reichen and Claire and their story. Do not get me wrong; Lara Adrian knows how to write stories that are definitely set up well and there was nothing wrong with her writing. It was as engaging as the previous books but for me the emotional connection with Reichen and Claire was totally missing.

Reichen was so different in his own book from the way he was portrayed in the other books he appeared in. Of course I understand that something horrible happened to him at the end of VEIL OF MIDNIGHT but still it was such a radical change of character it didn't work for me. He actually started to annoy me at some point. Reichen is so consumed by his thirst for vengeance and at times literal blood-thirst that at some points in the story all I could think was: Oh come on and get it over with: kill Roth and feed on Claire already! This is not the way I want to engage and experience a hero in the books I read.

My disappointment also derives from the fact that with both the romance and plot arc in this book, Lara Adrian has deviated from the original concept and the way she has been setting it up over the first 5 books. She has gone in such a different direction, both romantically and with the world building of the Midnight Breed and I truly hope this was a one-time glitch. Elements of the world building that were set up in the previous installments are left behind and "rules" that were given to define the blood bonds between Breeds and Breedmates seem to be discarded seen as how Claire and Reichen's romance starts and develops. It think what least worked for me in all this was the fact that Claire was blood bonded to another Breed, Reichen enemy no less, for the majority of the book. In my opinion this definitely impeded the chemistry between Claire and Reichen and I was only able to enjoy and appreciate their chemistry and romance when that other bond was severed. My main issues are all linked with the background for their story and the fact that it doesn’t fit the world as is was established in the previous books.

There is also the ongoing plot arc, so brilliantly set up and then expanded with every next installment. In this book for me it came to a standstill with the exception of the very end (more about that later in the review). I left the Order at the end of VEIL OF MIDNIGHT involved in a battle against a formidable enemy with plans that shook up the entire Breed community and in this book there is little progress or development in this overall and ongoing plot. The plot definitely lost the battle for focus to Claire and Reichen's complicated love story and Reichen's quest for revenge. The ongoing plot being one of the things I truly liked and admired in the other books, it was only logical that this had to influence my opinion of this book.

ASHES OF MIDNIGHT really differed in vibe from the previous books in some other ways too. For example Reichen is not an active member of the Order, he is a German civilian Breed out on a solo mission of vengeance. Secondly, he and Claire already have a history whereas the other Breed males didn't have a history with their Breed mates prior to their story.

These were all things that one their own are not bad or negative. On the contrary; changes, focus on the romance and variety are good things and things I welcome in ongoing series but these altered elements were not in sync with the way Lara Adrian has been setting up this series and that is what bothered me and took away from my overall enjoyment of ASHES OF MIDNIGHT.

With every chapter I was hoping that Lara Adrian would make things right again and restore my believe in the Midnight Breed, that she would offer me an acceptable and believable explanation for the change-over she was pulling with ASHES OF MIDNIGHT. And with every chapter my hope was diminished, to the point that I was on the verge of profound disappointment. Luckily and to my utter relieve, the turning point did come, but only at the very end, in the last last quarter of the book.

From that moment on I truly believed that the phoenix had indeed risen from the ashes and made me a believer again. I do think it’s regretful that it came at such a late point in the book because in spite of the emotional, fast-paced and action-packed end, it was too little, too late to make up for the fact that Claire and Reichen just did not resonate with me for most part of the book and the deviation from the ongoing romance arc as it was set up in the other books.

However, it must be said that from the moment Claire and Reichen joined forces with the Order to find and bring down Roth, who is working with the archenemy of the Order, the story picked up in an impressive way. The pace picked up speed and the action kept me on the edge of my seat. I was getting back that familiar feeling of what I had liked in the previous books. And though it couldn't make up for the things I liked less in the book, I have to say that in that last quarter Lara Adrian brought everything together for me, even emotionally with Claire and Reichen. More, importantly she made up for the lesser focus on the ongoing plot arc by leaving me with a huge cliffhanger that has my heart pounding with speculations.

Quotes:
“If you were mine,” he murmured low under his breath, “I would walk through the fires of hell itself to keep you away from a man like me.”

(…) wrapped her in his protective embrace, giving her a hundred solemn promises that he was very eager to keep, and loving her with all the reverence and worship of a blood-bonded male who had stared hell in the face and now understood that he was holding heaven in his arms.

Kade shrugged, slanting a grin at Brock, the third member of their patrol. “You wanna see dead clubs, let me take you to Alaska. It’s pathetic, man. We’ve got more moose per square mile than women.”
“Is that right?” Chase grunted. “No wonder you jumped at the chance to get out of there and come to Boston last year. How many months of freezing your nuts off before all those moose start looking like prime pieces of ass?”

Back Cover Copy:
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...

The battle has intensified...Where the Order was first butting heads with the Rogues, vampires lost to the bloodlust, now it has been thrown into a more complicated battle with significantly higher stakes and an even more ruthless enemy who has been killing Gene One vampires (first generation Breeds) and creating a new army of vampires to take over the world. And in the midst of this intensified battle Nikolai, a member of the Order, is sent to Canada on a mission to warn a specific Gen One, Sergei Yakut, who is on the hit list and secure him as an ally for the Order. But when Yakut refuses to adhere to any warning or request and is betrayed and killed unexpectedly by one of his own it becomes a mission with ultimately a very different outcome than anticipated. A mission that involves not only the capture of Niko by one of the enemies and the abduction of a young Breedmate with an extraordinary talent but also new and unlikely alliances and a blood bonded romance between Niko and Renata, one of Yakut's personal guards.

Renata is sharp, lethal, courageous and stubborn. She lives one day at the time and has learned to be suspicious and depend on her instincts. Her Breedmate ability is to disable Breeds with a mental blast. But this ability is not without consequences on her.
Niko(lai) is cool as ice, nothing seems to bother him and he lives for action. He is protective, compassionate and laid-back but at the same time he's lethal and analytical with an exceptional Breed talent, inherited from his mother.

Wow, Renata was some heroine. She's a true female warrior. Hardened by the far from easy life she's had to lead. Unlike the previous heroines she is right in the center of the action. She's familiar with battle and fighting.
And Niko, I was drawn to his character from the first moment he appeared in the series and I must say I loved the story that Lara Adrian gave him. Not only his romance with perfectly matched Renata, but also the plots, both continuing and new, surrounding his love story.

I can't say this enough but with every book the plots get better and better. It's getting more and more intricate and Lara Adrian keeps adding surprising revelations and new questions to the mix. Both new and familiar/known players enter the battle and are set in place for the future. There are enough hints to where things seem to be going and I stress the word "seem" because with Lara Adrian you never know. Just when you think you have it figured out she throws something new and puzzling at you and you're back wondering what the plot is going to bring next. She has created a world that is expanded with every new book that is released.

I was completely mesmerized by this 5th book in the Midnight Breed series. Lara Adrian hit the right notes with me on everything: the plot, the romance, and the characters. She also manages give each individual book its own uniqueness and still holds on to the continuity of the ongoing plot.
With this book it was like coming home again and reveling in this amazing world of vampire warriors, their mates, their enemies, their allies and their battle to save both their own and the human world.

Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breeds-world can easily compete with the established order of authors in the paranormal, vampire romance genre. She distinguishes herself with an excellent blend of a perfect story arc that continues and gets more elaborate, great characters with depth and believable development and strong romances that appeals to every reader who has a romantic streak.

Quotes:
And deeper still, in a place that was all woman, with needs and wants she hardly dared to examine too closely, she craved a taste of Nikolai. She craved that more than she had a right to.

She could still taste his blood on her tongue, sweet and wild and dark, an electric tingle that spread all through her and lit her up from within.

He had his methods down pat: Deflect with humor. Disarm with nonchalance. Cut and run like hell at the first inkling of his own vulnerability.

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.

HE HAS RESISTED TEMPTATION FOR CENTURIES, A STONE-COLD WARRIOR WHOSE FROZEN HEART REFUSES TO THAW--UNTIL HER . . .

With a dagger in her hand and vengeance on her mind, Darkhaven beauty Elise Chase prowls Boston's streets in search of retribution against the Rogue vampires who took from her everything she cherished. Using an extraordinary psychic gift, she tracks her prey, well aware that the power she possesses is destroying her. She must learn to harness this gift, and for that she can turn to only one man--the deadliest of the Breed warriors, Tegan.

No stranger to loss, Tegan knows Elise's pain. He knows fury, but when he slays his enemies it is with ice in his veins. He is perfect in his self-control, until Elise seeks his aid in her personal war. An unholy alliance is forged--a bond that will link them by blood and vow--and plunge them into a tempest of danger, desire, and the darkest passions of the heart . . . .

In the continuing battle against evil, an anguished warrior of the Order and a Breedmate on a mission of vengeance find themselves fighting not only an evil Rogue, determined to dominate both Breeds and humans but also the feelings that bare their hearts for hurt and vulnerability.  Their collaboration leads to more than retaliation on the one responsible for their losses and in the process they gain something they never imagined wanting ever again...

Tegan is a Gen One (first generation) Breed, fellow founder of the Order with Lucan. Hardened through the centuries he doesn't care about anything or anyone.
He's crude, ruthless and has managed to turn emotional detachment into an art after the loss of his Breedmate.
But this all changes when he meets Elise Chase. Bit by bit she picks away at his cold demeanor and finds the man beneath. But his harshness and dispassionate behavior is just a façade, his way of protecting himself from any more pain and hurt. With her he's different, protective and even gentle.
Every time he tries to scare her away with his cold and blunt behavior, he discovers sides to her he can't but admire and he finds himself unable to keep fighting his feelings for her.
Elise too has known loss, losing both her mate and son to the Rogues. This has turned her into a woman bent on revenge against the ones responsible for her loss. A revenge that sends her straight into the arms of the coldest warrior of the Order.

Elise is a woman on a mission of vengeance. Like all the Breedmate she too has a gift. But her gift torments her. She hears human's thoughts to the extent that she physically suffers from them. We meet Elise in Kiss of Crimson (book 2) and now her story continues.
Tegan is nothing short of impressive. Tegan's gift is that of being able to tap into people's thoughts and feelings by touching them.
In many ways Elise and Tegan are very alike. Both trying to keep themselves detached from loss and pain.
The initial interactions between Elise and Tegan are intense and laced with underlying mutual attraction and sexual tension. When circumstances put them together the attraction and tension turns into full-blown passion and love. The chemistry between them is heartfelt and with every scene they have together you get wrapped into the raw emotions they both feel and fight against. Their struggle is really palpable.

The war between the Order and the Rogues, with the Darkhaven Breeds in the middle, rages on in this book, bringing it up yet another notch. It also brings us to other scenery, leaving Boston and taking the battle into Eastern Europe, Berlin, in a significant portion of the second half of the book.
The plot thickens and gets more and more intricate with twists to the plot and new characters added to the mix. Both characters and plot are able to fascinate and captivate.
We're allowed small glimpses of main characters of previous books: Lucan, Gabrielle, Dante and Tess. But the foundation for the next book is also laid in small glimpses of Rio in a few heart-wrenching scenes
Bits of history and background, nicely mixed and well dosed into the story, contribute to understanding the world of the Order, the Breedmates, the Breed and the Rogues.

Lara Adrian manages to give the recurring plot, the war against the Rogues, a new and unexpected twist in every book and again the cast of secondary characters from the previous book is expanded with some new intriguing characters. She does a great job of building up the world in a gradual but superb way, leading to a breathtaking finale.
The mix of love story and plot is perfectly balanced, blending together with little effort.  Adrian manages to keep the focus on Tegan and Elise despite the exciting and intriguing battle against the Rogues and their leader Marek. He is the personification of a depraved evil, malice seeping from his every pore. But the final pages of the book showed me that he's only the tip of the iceberg. I'm bracing myself for much worse evil still to come.

I must say that this series gets better and better with every book. Introducing characters and plots able to mesmerize me and keep me wanting more.
I closed this book craving the next installment, desperate to know where Adrian is taking us. One thing I do know for sure: It's going to be a journey full of delicious alpha warriors, strong and gifted females, passionate desire and unpredictable plots.
This book held me tightly in its grip from the very first page never letting go of me. Oh yes, I'm still hooked on the Midnight Breed and getting more addicted with every new book.

Quote:
He held her as though she was made of glass, every inch of her precious and breakable. A treasure he was unworthy of, yet determined to cherish.

He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling himself Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world--a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need--but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm . . . and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself . . .

One word: WOW!

This is the story of Dante and Tess. Dante, warrior at the core with a curse passed on to him by his mother, he has premonitions of death. As said Dante is a hardcore warrior, until he meets his Breedmate Tess. Meeting her shows him there’s more in life than just fighting, feeding and living to serve the Order.
Tess, fitting the Breedmates, feels different, isolated, left out from the rest of the world. As a Breedmate she also has a gift, that of healing. A gift she sees as a terrible curse and keeps hidden from everyone in her life. She is drawn to Dante but doesn’t understand why she is so attracted to him.

If you read my review of Kiss of Midnight (book 1) you know I had trouble getting into the book at first but that was seriously taken care of by the end of the book.
And Lara Adrian has continued her excellent work in Kiss of Crimson.
I was drawn further into this amazing world of Breed, the Order, the Rogues and the Breedmates.
In this book there’s all the more character building and a lot less of the endless descriptions Kiss of Midnight started with.
It was fast-paced, more intense from the very opening scene right through to the exerpt of the next book (Tegan’s!) at the end.


The war between the Order and the Rogues continues in this book in which the Warriors also have to fight against the distribution of a drug that turns normal Breed into Rogues.
The secondary characters were fabulous! There was the introduction of some characters of whom I’m certain will play a bigger role in books to come. I will not disclose too much about them for fear of spoilers but when you read the book, you’ll know who I mean.

I was hesitant after Kiss of Midnight, but with Kiss of Crimson Lara Adrian has really won me over and gotten me hooked on the Warriors of the Midnight Breed.
Tegan’s book is next in December 2007 and I’m truly looking forward to it, most definitely after reading the excerpt in Kiss of Crimson!

Quotes:

This close, the scent of her was inebriating and lush. He breathed in through his mouth, letting the spicy sweetness of her sift through his teeth, relishing the way it played across his tongue.

After Nico asks Dante if he would quit the Order for Tess, Dante answers: “I would quite breathing for her, if she asked it of me.”

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle Maxwell’s deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night—or this man— is what it seems. For when Gabrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she never knew existed—a realm where vampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

Lucan Thorne despises the violence carried out by his lawless brethren. A vampire himself, Lucan is a Breed warrior, sworn to protect his kind—and the unwitting humans existing alongside them—from the mounting threat of the Rogues. Lucan cannot risk binding himself to a mortal woman, but when Gabrielle is targeted by his enemies, he has no choice but to bring her into the dark underworld he commands.

Here, in the arms of the Breed’s formidable leader, Gabrielle will confront an extraordinary destiny of danger, seduction, and the darkest pleasures of all. . . .


This is the first book in the Midnight Breed series by Lara Adrian, debuting in paranormal romance. As Tina St. John she wrote medieval historical romances.

Lucan Thorne is the leader of a group of vampire (Breed) warriors, the Order fighting the Rogues, who are vampires lost to Bloodlust, becoming addicted to blood. The warriors from the Order, especially Lucan are treading the fine line of turning Rogue as well but they fight it with everything they’ve got.

Gabrielle Maxwell is a human destined to become a vampire’s Breedmate. She’s a very talented photographer but always the loner. Feeling different compared to the rest of the world.

I really had trouble getting into the story, into this world Lara Adrian created and I can’t exactly say why that was.
Maybe it was the lack of wit, which is something I appreciate so much.
Maybe it was because of the very descriptive writing style which left little to nothing to my own imagination.
There was something preventing me from getting pulled into this dark and intense world of Breeds, Breedmates, Rogues, Bloodlust, a brooding full-on War between vampires, betrayal and intrigue.

But luckily and thankfully the trouble I had getting into it completely disappeared when I was about the get to the midsection of it.
Maybe it was Gabrielle discovering what Lucan really was.
Maybe it was because the writing style got less descriptive and more fast-paced.
I was glad no matter what the reason because it proved to be well worth the struggle of the first 10 chapters.
Because Lara Adrian has created an unique and original world of warrior vampires. This concept of course isn’t new, think of Ward’s Brotherhood and Feehan’s Carpathians, but it really has a different twist. For example the Breedmate concept or the otherworldly origin of the vampires. These are new and refreshing approaches to well known concepts and Miss Adrian does a really got job on it.

I closed this book with very mixed feelings. As struggling as I was in the in the beginning, after being half through the book the struggling ended and now I can’t wait for the next one to know what will happen between the Order and the Rogues, and hopefully will catch another glimpse of Lucan and Gabrielle.
And of course I’m dying to know the stories of the other Breed Warriors, especially Dante and Nikolai.
Luckily I don’t have to wait long for Dante, because he’s coming next!
And for the ladies who love “bad boys with an attitude”: be on the look-out for Tegan!

So, in conclusion, after a wobbly start Ms Adrian delivered a nice piece of paranormal work.


Quotes

He shot a cold smile at the Rogues, his fangs stretched long in anticipation of the fight to come. “Evening, ladies.”

Maybe he hadn’t called to apologize or to explain his absence beacuse he physically couldn’t.
Right. And maybe she had checked her brain into her panties from the second she first laid eyes on him.