Midnight Breeds: Midnight Rising

Midnight Rising is book four in the Midnight Breeds series. I was really looking forward to this one since it's Rio's book, and he's been really sad since his mate, Eva, proved to be a traitorous bitch. So I was really looking forward to him finding his special someone and being happy again.

Midnight Rising takes place five months after Midnight Awakening and starts off in the Czech Republic. Our leading lady, Dylan, is on holiday with friends when she runs into something a little out of the ordinary. Dylan is a reporter and she can see ghosts. Not a la Sixth Sense but creepy enough in its own right. The ghost tells her that there's somebody up on that mountain that is in some serious need of saving. Dylan, against her better judgement, goes to investigate. It's there that she runs into a slightly Loony Tunes Rio. 

Rio has been hanging out in the cave that the Order discovered at the end of Midnight Awakening, They were looking for some Big Bad that was apparently buried there, and they were set on destroying it for good. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found, and they were left with a great, big empty cave that needed to be closed up in case any nosy humans got too close. Rio volunteers to blow the place up before he heads off to Spain. 

Needless to say, Rio doesn't have any plans on heading on over to his homeland. Rio's decided that he's had enough and spends the next five months working himself up to ending it all. He's just about to blow up the cave, with him inside, when Dylan stumbles onto the scene and sees more than she ought to. And being the nosy reporter that she is, she takes some pretty compromising pictures of both the cave and of Rio. 

It's then up to Rio to make that Dylan's pictures and article don't blow the entire Breed's cover. 

And so the story progresses from there.

I have decided that from now on I will have no expectations for this series. When I have low expectations, I'm blown away. When I have high expectations, I'm disappointed. 

The latter is exactly what happened in this book. I was so excited for Rio, and then it all fell a little flat. Maybe his HEA happened to soon? I hesitate to say this since I'll probably come off as an insensitive bitch, but I actually found Rio a tiny bit... whiny. I know that sounds awful, because the guy has been through a lot, but there were times where I just wanted to scream. It's like, stop feeling so sorry for yourself! 

I love a tortured hero as much as the next girl, but this was getting a bit much for even me. As for Dylan, I thought she was okay. I didn't really connect with her, which also diminished my enjoyment of this book. The story line is definitely still there, although this was probably the least action-packed book in the series so far. I think Ms Adrian is working up to making the new villain really bad. Won't take much, I think. This guy is already making the last bad guy, Marek, look like a wuss. 

But on a happier note, we did hear more from some of the other characters and we found out that Tess and Dante are expecting. That was one bright spark in an otherwise pretty angsty book.  

Midnight Breeds: Midnight Awakening

Midnight Awakening is the third book in the Midnight Breeds series by Lara Adrian. I have to admit, I wasn't really looking forward to this book. Initially, I didn't particularly like the main characters. Tegan, a Gen One vampire, needed a serious attitude adjustment, and Elise, a widowed Breedmate, needed to man the hell up. So, some low expectations in the beginning. But since I flat out refuse to skip books in a series, I sucked it up and read Midnight Awakening.

I was wrong. So wrong. This book was easily my favourite in the series. I had prematurely judged our leads. If it weren't for the fact that I'm absolutely anal about reading all the books in a series in order, I would have missed a lot. Because under Tegan's Dr Freeze persona was a really sweet guy, and under Elise's helpless female routine in the beginning was a woman with a spine of steel. 

That'll learn me for being judgey.

 We met Elise four months ago in Kiss of Crimson. She'd just lost her son, Camden, and was determined to get revenge on those who took his life. So she leaves her Darkhaven and goes all vigilante on the Rogue's minions. One night though, she bites off more than she can chew and is ambushed by a couple of bloodthirsty Rogues.And just guess who swoops in to save the day?

Tegan is absolutely gobsmacked when he realises what Elise has been up to since the last time he saw her. But Tegan's been through enough in his long life and this woman's apparent death wish is so not his business. He's all set to walk away and leave her to it. However, circumstances make this impossible and these two are stuck with each other in far closer quarters than either are comfortable with.

While the Order still operates out of Boston, most of this book took place in Berlin. We met a bunch of new characters and the overall story line of the series moved forward in a big way. Let me talk about the familiar faces before I get to the newbies.

Rio's mental state has not improved since Kiss of Crimson. In fact, it seems to have gotten worse. He's Breedmate's betrayal has made him a little bit crazy. Sterling Chase has joined the Order and transitioned from buttoned up, pompous ass to broody bad boy. Little bit worried about what's going on in his head. I'm pretty sure Elise and Tegan hooking up hasn't helped him revert to that nice guy we first met in Kiss of Crimson. We also see a little bit of Nikolai, the Order's weapons expert. This guy is so ridiculously yummy...

Now the new characters. The Order has recruited two new guys, Kade and Brock. We haven't really gotten to know them beyond the fact that these boys love nothing more than a good fight. Then we have Andreas Reichen. Whew... He's really super fine. He's in charge of the Darkhaven in Berlin and was kind enough to play host for Elise and Tegan while they were there.

I know I've been a little starry eyed about the hotties in this series, but that's not the only thing that the Midnight Breeds series has going for it  The story line is really picking up pace. The only reason I'm not going into more detail is that it would take me too long to explain properly, and I don't want to ruin the surprise. 

 

Midnight Breeds Series: Kiss of Crimson

Kiss of Crimson is the second book in the Midnight Breeds series and this is Dante's story. I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm going to say it again: Dante is hot!

He reminded me a little of Rhage from the BDB in that he's this utter player on the outside but a bit of a lonely soul on the inside. Dante has had these visions of his death from an early age, so he's been doing all he can to outrun his eventual demise. Basically, he lives a hard and fast life, just waiting for death to crash into him. After a nasty fight with a group of Rogues, it looks like Dante is going to meet his fate a little early. And he does, just not in the way that he expects. He staggers in all bloody and bruised into the storeroom of a veterinary clinic, looking for a place to hide from the Rogues.

Enter Tess. Tess is a vet with a way with animals. She's also got a Dark Past. This means that she's unwilling to let anyone get too close to her emotionally. She is utterly dedicated to her practice, which normally leaves her working late. So, she's there when Dante shows up and she is scared as hell. Here's this huge-ass guy decked out in leather bleeding all over her floor, and he's asking her not to call the police. What is she supposed to think? 

Tess agrees to help Dante, but their first meeting goes downhill from there. Dante, in desperate need of blood, bites Tess. What Dante didn't realise is that Tess is a Breedmate and he's unwittingly claimed her as his mate. This is so not what Dante needs just then.   

Further complicating matters is the fact that a drug called Crimson is being sold to young members of the Breed. This drug seems very benign from a human perspective, but has devastating effects on vampires. It gives them brief episodes of Bloodlust and, if taken often enough, can turn them Rogue. It's up to the Order to find out who's dealing Crimson and get the stuff off the streets. 

We meet some new characters in this installment of the series. Special Agent Sterling Chase is apparently as straight-laced as they come and he's keen on helping the Order get Crimson off the streets. However, we soon realise that he's not as cool, calm and collected as he'd like everyone to believe. He has a ginormous tourch burning for his widowed sister-in-law, Elise, and he's pretty much alone in his affections. Elise misses her deceased husband terribly and she lives solely for their son, Camden. 

I have two issues with this book. The first is superficial and the second is something that bugged me in Kiss of Midnight too. 

Firstly, not enough Rio and Nikolai! I really liked these two, so I didn't like that they were in the periphery. We did see Rio for a little bit, just enough to know that he is having some serious trouble adjusting to things after the explosion in Kiss of Midnight.

Secondly, there was a whole lot left unresolved. And these aren't cliffhanger issues. These are directly related to the current story. Tess lost two people she cared about. So, what happened to the grieving process? Same with Gabrielle. Her best friend was kidnapped with her. How did they handle the fact that Jamie was involved in something he wasn't supposed to know about?

Overall I enjoyed this book and I quite like the series. I just think that Ms Adrian kinda rushes her endings. 

Midnight Breeds Series: Kiss of Midnight

Kiss of Midnight is the first book in the Midnight Breeds series. It's also my first book by Lara Adrian. I actually really enjoyed this book and I'm really looking forward to the next installments in the series. Let me give you a quick breakdown of what the series looks to be about:

Vampires of the Breed have been living in secret among the human race for centuries. The Breed are pretty reliant on the human race for survival. Not only do they take blood from humans, but certain human females are genetically compatible in terms of baby making. These ladies are referred to as Breedmates. The term is pretty much self-explanatory. See, due to some kind of genetic mutation within the vampire race, there are only male vampires. That's why the Breedmates are so important. Without them, the Breed would go into extinction. So, with the exception of these few women, most humans carry on unaware of the Breed's existence. The vampires generally live peaceably with humans, except for a few who turn Rogue. Rogues are vampires who suffer from a disease called Bloodlust. Again, pretty self-explanatory. These Rouges are crazy. They kill indiscriminately and their actions threaten the entire Breed. 

This is where the Order comes in. These guys hunt down the Rogues before they can do too much damage and expose the entire vampire race to human scrutiny.
So far, this is the basic gist of the story. Kiss of Midnight is set in Boston, where we meet the gentlemen of the Order. Quick rundown of the guys. 

First, we have Rio. He is a super hot Spaniard who lives with his mate, Eva, in the compound. He's got this whole sophisticated, sex-god thing going on. 

Next, we have Dante. He is a super hot Italian. Dante prefers his leathers to anything too fancy-schmancy. He likes-no, loves- the ladies, and they love him right back. He also loves to fight, so whenever the Rogues are causing trouble, he is there looking for some action.

Third, we have Nikolai. He is a super hot Russian. Niko was born during the Cold War, which might explain his penchant for weaponry of any kind. Guns, bombs, you name it, he likes it.

  Then we have Gideon. He's the resident techie and he loves computers and gadgets. He's happily mated to the lovely Savannah. These two are nauseatingly happy with each other.

Tegan is the fifth member of the Order and he isn't what anyone would call a "people person". He's aloof, cold and distant. He's a very mysterious character. Not much is revealed to the reader, except that he has serious beef with the leader of the Order.

That leader would be Lucan. He is the very definition of the stoic, fearless leader. He and Tegan go way back. They're both Gen One vampires, meaning that they were the first vampires to be born to human females. This also means that they're super strong, and all kinds of badass. 

Kiss of Midnight tells the story of Lucan and Gabrielle. While Lucan is in charge of saving the world, Gabrielle is a photographer. Lucan has some serious commitment issues. He has no interest in finding a Breedmate just so he can follow her around like a lovesick puppy. Gabrielle isn't looking for anything either. She's always felt a little... cut off from everyone else. Her mother abandoned her when she was just a baby, and the woman was later institutionalised. So, Gabrielle's always had this fear that maybe one day she'd go crazy, just like her birth mother. And when she witnesses a murder that no one else saw, and with there being no evidence that the murder even took place, it seems to Gabrielle that what she's always feared is starting to happen. 

Turns out this was a murder committed by Rogues and Gabrielle was not supposed to see what happened, let alone take pictures at the scene. This is where Lucan comes in. He needs to make sure Gabrielle doesn't go around telling the whole world what she saw. Obviously, things progress from there.

I really liked this book. I won't lie though, I thought Ms Adrian could have spent a little more time on the action with the bad guys. I know this is a romance, so it's supposed to be about the romance. But I thought that both the Order and Gabrielle should have spent more time kicking ass. 

I liked Lucan, but he was just a little too serious for my tastes. I liked Gabrielle too. She wasn't completely helpless and she called Lucan out when he was being full of crap. I thought the end was a little bit rushed whereas the middle kinda dragged. It wasn't a bad kind of drag, it was maybe just lacking a teeny tiny bit of oomph. But I am seriously looking forward to the next book in the series, Kiss of Crimson. It's Dante's book and I just know it's going to be epic. Because, as I mentioned just now, Dante is hot and he likes to fight and f...