Sunday, January 8, 2012

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Darker after Midnight


Lara Adrian As a child, Lara Adrian used to sleep with the covers up around her neck, afraid she might become the midnight prey of deadly vampires. Later on, under the influence of Bram Stoker and Anne Rice, she had to wonder if her fear wasn't actually something else: a secret desire to walk in a darker world, to live a dangerous and sensual dream with a man of seductive, preternatural power. It is that twining of fear and desire that fuels Lara's own fantasies today, and the idea that she explores in her New York Times bestselling Midnight Breed series of vampire romance novels from Bantam Dell Books.

With an ancestry stretching back to the Mayflower and the court of King Henry VIII, Lara Adrian lives with her husband in coastal New England, surrounded by centuries-old graveyards, hip urban comforts, and the endless inspiration of the broody Atlantic Ocean
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 Darker after Midnight, Book #10 of the Midnight Breed series
Author:  Lara Adrian

Synopsis:   
In the dark of night, a blood war escalates within the hidden world of the Breed. After existing in secret for many long centuries, maintaining a fragile peace with the humans who walk beside them unaware, a single act of retaliation has put the entire vampire nation at risk of discovery. It falls to the Order—a cadre of Breed warriors pledged to protect their own and humankind alike—to stop Dragos, the power-mad vampire at the center of the conflict, before his push for domination can explode into catastrophe.

At the center of the Order’s quest is Sterling Chase, once a morally rigid enforcer of Breed law, now a warrior fallen from grace, whose biggest battle is the one he wages against his own savage nature. With addiction beckoning him toward eternal darkness, Chase’s path to redemption has never seemed more out of reach. But when his eyes meet those of Tavia Fairchild, a beautiful witness who identifies him at the scene of a mission gone terribly wrong, Chase finds himself drawn to the woman—and convinced she is something much more than she seems.

Pulled into a vortex of intrigue and danger she can neither resist nor understand, Tavia is uncertain whom to trust. And while everything sane and logical warns her against getting close to Chase, she cannot deny that the handsome, deeply haunted male stirs something primal and ravenous within her. But even as she surrenders to her cravings, nothing can prepare her for the shattering truth of who—and what—she truly is.

As the Order’s enemy mobilizes for the battle of the ages, Dragos and his Minions unleashing a hell on Earth like nothing ever seen before, Chase and Tavia are thrust into the heart of the violence. With time running out and the streets running red with the blood of innocent lives, both Breed and human, together Chase and Tavia must find a way to defeat Dragos once and for all—or die trying.


Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
I’ve been following the Midnight Breed series from book one.  After each installment I  wait impatiently for each new release, sit down to read them, enjoy every word, and yet, book after book, wanted nothing more than for Chase to find his HEA.
Darker after Midnight is Sterling Chase’s book, and while I felt like I had been waiting for it forever and was afraid that I had put too high of expectations on it, I should never have worried… this book was fantastic – everything I was hoping for and SO much more.
After the climactic end of Hunter’s book, I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world Chase’s book would turn out.  How would he get himself out of that mess, how would he redeem himself to his brothers after everything he put himself and them through in the last few books, how in the world would Lara be able to resolve all of that in one book, etc.  All of those questions were answered, along with a multitude of other little holes from the series I didn’t even realize were there.  Lara packed so much into this book it was a non-stop thrill ride of epic proportions and I never wanted to get off.
Darker after Midnight brings to light so many things about the Ancients, about Dragos, about different members of the Breed and their mates that while it’s Chase’s story and he’s our hero, this book is the fireworks display of the Midnight Breed series and in my honest opinion, the very best book of the bunch.
Lara wrapped up the main series beautifully at the end of Darker after Midnight and supplied an amazing segue to the new books in the series – which sound a bit like spin offs with the younger generation as our heroines and heroes.  Mira’s book is due up next and I cannot wait for its release.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Darker after Midnight 5 skulls and feels like that isn’t even adequate for the gift of this book.  We recommend it to everyone – Paranormal Romance lovers, Urban Fantasy readers, anyone who loves fast paced, action packed, intense reads with gripping characters and spectacular storylines woven into a phenomenally crafted world.  If you haven’t started the Midnight Breed series yet, we highly suggest that you bump it up to the top of your TBR list and get started today.

Darker after Midnight:

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