[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of A Taste of 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.

 A Taste of Midnight, Book #9.5 of the Midnight Breed series

Author:  Lara Adrian

Synopsis:   The Great Awakening approaches . . .
A shimmering holiday gala lights up an ancient castle in the Scottish Highlands, but beautiful widowed Breedmate Danika MacConn feels alone in the crowd. Even among the friends and festivity of the Darkhaven celebration, she can’t forget her lost love, a fallen warrior of the Order. Her brief return to her mate’s homeland has become treacherous after rejecting the advances of a dangerous Edinburgh crime boss with a taste for blood sport. As Danika seeks to expose the vampire and his dark trade, she discovers an unexpected ally in his forbidding, enigmatic henchman, Brannoc, a man who exudes heat, danger, and dark menace—and seems somehow achingly familiar. Bran has his own reasons for wanting to keep Dani out of his employer’s business . . . and his own secrets he means to keep buried. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a woman who tempts the wildest part of his Breed nature—especially when that woman is Danika MacConn, the one woman capable of bringing him to his knees.
Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
While Taste of Midnight is a novella, it felt robust like a full novel and I was fully captivated from the first page to the last. 
A Taste of Midnight is the story of Danika, Conlan’s Breedmate widow and Malcolm, Conlan’s old best friend from Scotland. 
Under very unusual circumstances the two are brought together again and realize that the love that Mal had for Dani all those years ago never died, and while Dani loved Con very much, she always wondered what it might have been like if she had married the other guy. 
The romance was steamy, the action intense, the dialogue engaging… and all of this in a Short, not a full length novel. 
I will make a bold statement and say that I actually enjoyed A Taste of Midnight more than Hunter’s entire book, and I cannot wait for Chase’s book in Darker after Midnight. 
LITERAL ADDICTION gives A Taste of Midnight 4 1/2 skulls and would recommend it to everyone, especially Midnight Breed fans and followers.  While this novella can be read as a stand alone, we highly suggest reading the 9 books before A Taste of Midnight to get the full impact of the story.

A Taste of Midnight:

 

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Burn the Night

Jocelynn Drake The oldest of three kids, Jocelynn grew up and continues to reside in the Cincinnati, Ohio region.  She started writing when she was 12, spending all of one summer re-writing the story of Robin Hood in the battered remains of a notebook.  While life has brought many changes and surprises, the love of writing and a good story has been a constant.  When not writing she can be found buried in a good book, wandering through the woods with her camera cradled protectively against her body, traveling to interesting locations or relaxing with her family.

 Burn the Night, Book #6 of the Dark Days series

Author:  Jocelynn Drake

Synopsis:   The Great Awakening approaches . . .
After eons in exile, the naturi have broken their chains and now roam the Earth bent on revenge. It is the sworn duty of Mira, the Fire Starter, to protect the nightwalker race—though even she may be powerless to withstand the horrific onslaught. As Mira and her brave lover, the vampire slayer Danaus, stand ready to do battle, thousands of winged shapeshifters darken the skies. The war of ultimate extermination has begun, and the battleground is Mira's home turf.
The humans don't yet recognize the doom descending upon them. And the nightwalkers will surely perish unless they unite with outcast naturi who claim to want peace. But these unexpected "allies" are the same demons who have long worked for Mira's destruction—and in these darkest of days the lines between friend and foe will blur treacherously before the bloody end of all things.
Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:

I have been in love with the Dark Days series since I first picked up the initial installment and devoured it in a sitting.  To say that it was bitter-sweet to be holding the final book of the series would be an understatement. 

After putting off reading it over and over again trying to prolong ‘the end’, I finally sat down with Burn the Night and braced myself for a whirlwind of emotions…

Burn the Night is unique, in that you don’t get the book from just 1 person’s point of view.  It switches from Nyx to Mira, and by doing so, gives more indepth looks into secondary supporting characters such as Rowe, Danaus, and more.  I’ve read several reviews from people who didn’t like this, I thought it was unique and refreshing and utterly enjoyed it.

So much happened in this book; every time Mira turned around she had a new challenge to overcome, and as a reader, the journey with her was intense and exciting. 

After having invested 5 books with the characters of Dark Days, it was wonderful to have appearances from just about everyone and be able to immerse myself in their lives one last time.  Over the course of the series, and especially book #5, I found myself softening somewhat towards Rowe.  Miraculously, after finishing Burn the Night I actually kind of liked him. J

Danaus and Mira are one of my favorite Urban Fantasy couples, and this book was so sweet, so captivating between the two of them, I forgot how angry I was early on in the series having had to wait so long for them to finally get together.

Overall, Burn the Night was a wonderful end to an amazing series, and I sincerely hope that Jocelynn has some spin off series planned because while she wrapped everything up beautifully, the thought of leaving this world behind forever is utterly depressing.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Burn the Night 5 skulls and would recommend it to EVERYONE!  The Dark Days series is one of my absolute favorite Urban Fantasy series ever and I think that all Urban Fantasy and Paranormal lovers should experience this series and the amazing world Jocelynn created for us.

Burn the Night:

 

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Sterling

Dannika Dark was born on a military base in the U.S. and traveled the world before she was 9. Now she is rooted in the south but her head is planted firmly in the clouds. "Sterling" is the first book release of a series for this indie author. When she is not writing, she enjoys a great sci-fi or fantasy movie, heaps of chocolate and unleashing her dark side.

Sterling is the first book in an exciting new urban fantasy series which follows the journey of Zoe Merrick's claim to immortality and her own identity. While this new world of Breed holds more dangers, it also holds more possibilities

Sterling, Book #1 of the Mageri series

Author:  Dannika Dark

Synopsis: Zoë Merrick leads a less than ordinary life. Late one evening, she crosses paths with a man who brutally attacks her. In one shattering instant--a stranger with a knife alters the course of her future.

Unconscious and covered in blood, Zoë is found by a man named Adam. She undergoes a physical transformation, and strange new abilities begin to surface. Without hesitation, he takes her under his wing and an unexpected friendship forms between the two. Unable to return to her former life, Zoë feels lost.

Serendipity leads her to Justus. He is handsome, arrogant, and not entirely human. Justus gives her the truth she has longed to hear--that she is a Mage. He offers her answers and protection, as a young Mage cannot survive on their own. Forced to trust him, she must come to terms with accepting her new life and identity.

When her immortal freedom is threatened by the one man who has a right to claim her, Zoë learns the price of freedom...and the value of loyalty.
Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:

Sterling kept popping up in my recommended list on Amazon and I finally decided to give it a shot.

Immediately from the get go, Dannika throws the reader into her unique fantasy world where literally everything you thought you knew is thrown out the door and reinvented in a smart new way. In true Urban Fantasy fashion, the book begins with some very dark moments which not only serves to set the scene, but helps to draw you in as a reader and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The scene unfolds fast and furiously while you are introduced to the heroine and her first hero and get the first taste of the mystery and surprises that exist throughout Sterling.

The world is fresh, unique and compelling and I enjoyed revamping my paranormal glossary for the sake of the Mageri series. What do I mean by this? Dannika's Mage are not what you've come to expect the word to describe. Instead of magick users, the Mageri Mage are energy manipulators, and an integral part of the Breed - the supernatural world that exists alongside humans.
The characters were identifiable, lovable and/or despicable (depending on the situation as appropriate), and complex, lending to an enjoyable journey from introduction to discovery and through every aspect of their evolution.

My absolute favorite part of this book was the dialogue though. Dannika has a gift for gab and the one-liners and witty comebacks had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

My only complaint about Sterling is that even though I finished the book and thoroughly enjoyed it, I STILL don't know who I want Zoe to be with. LOL. She has some incredible guys in her life, each incredibly unique and special in their own way, & I couldn't cheer for her to be with anyone in particular because Ioved them all. :)

I'm very excited to see where Dannika takes us with Zoe, Adam, Justus, & Simon in the world of the Breed and the lives of the Mageri and can't wait to see what book #2 has to offer.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Sterling 4 skulls and would recommend it to all Fantasy lovers who ate looking for a unique read with smart sassy characters and amazing dialogue.

Sterling:

 

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Helpless

Scott Prussing was born in New Jersey, but was smart enough to move to beautiful San Diego as soon as he received his Master's degree in psychology from Yale University. 
In addition to writing, Scott enjoys hiking, riding his bicycle near the beach, and golf.

Helpless, Book #3 of the Blue Fire Saga

Author:  Scott Prussing

Synopsis: 

Helpless is the third book in the Blue Fire Saga, a paranormal romance series filled with passion, danger and suspense.

Our Review [By LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha – Michelle L Olson]: 

Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I’m a huge Scott Prussing fan.  I have read and reviewed almost everything that he has available currently in multiple genres, and I was very excited to read and review the 3^rd installment in the BLUE FIRE Saga after devouring Book #2, Deathless.

While I enjoyed Helpless, I felt like I was missing something when all was said and done.  The detailed imagery and story building I’ve come to know and love from Scott wasn’t there to the degree it had been in his previous books.  Call it the curse of high expectations… 

I can only assume that due to deadlines and his need to get the book out by the holidays he didn’t spend as much time on the book as he had the others, and therefore it ended up being shorter and not quite as detailed?  I can’t go into specific areas where I felt there could have been more because of spoilers, I’ll leave that for my personal communication with the author, but what I do want to say before I launch into my formal review pieces are that my comments should in no way stop you from reading Helpless because it was a very good book -  it just wasn’t as good as the first two in my personal opinion, but that is MY personal opinion.

O.K, a lot of things developed in Deathless (Book #2), and Helpless picks up right where Deathless left off.  Leesa is learning about herself with the help of her new friend, Rave and Stefan still have an uneasy alliance, Leesa’s family is almost thoroughly healed, and other than the supernatural elements, each day of Leesa’s life is like any other normal college student. 

There is danger lurking however, and nobody knows exactly what the intention of these nefarious characters is, nor do they know exactly whose life their actions will affect.    

Again, because of spoilers I need to keep my review vague, but suffice it to say that a few different battles are fought – both literally and metaphorically, things are resolved with some personal sacrifice and collaboration, and while all is generally right with the world at the end of Helpless, there are still several unknowns lurking that could cause an uproar in a heartbeat.

Helpless has considerable action and some really sweet romance.  It is also a major growth book for Leesa – her character goes through a lot of changes in this book on the road to becoming who she is destined to be.  While I didn’t find it quite as exciting or surprising as I found Deathless, it was still a solid installment to the Blue Fire Saga, and a necessary book on the road to the story evolution.   

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Helpless 3 1/2 Skulls and recommends it for anyone who started the Blue Fire journey with Breathless - both Young Adult and Adult Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance lovers who want a light-hearted, unique Paranormal read.

I’m very excited to see what Scott has in store for the next book of the Saga, as there are a lot of things that we have yet to learn quite enough about…

Helpless