Sandy’s review of Chasing Midnight by Susan Krinard
Historical paranormal published 1 Oct 07 by HQN

Griffin Durant despises the animal within him. In all the years since the war and the fiery deaths of his parents and older brother, he has become the epitome of a gentleman of high society in 1926 New York. He takes the responsibility for his younger sister seriously, has kept the wolf in him at bay and teaches Gemma the same so that she will some day marry well and live a human life.

He has an ongoing fight with pack leader, Gareth Sloan, who wants Grif to become a member of the pack so that all werewolves in his area are under Sloan’s thumb and leadership. However, Grif has done well as a lone wolf all these years, taking care of what is his and massing a fortune in the process. Because of tragic events in his past, the one thing that has eluded Grif is happiness, and until he meets Allegra Chase he’s never known what has been lacking in his life.

Allie Chase vows she will never go back to her former life, a life full of pain in a wretchedly deformed body, imprisoned in a room where friends and family ceased to visit. She is now a vampire with a life of freedom, thanks to her patron, Cato, and has a life full of friends, fun, and laughter. It is also a life that has to be sustained by blood, which she takes from the dregs of society, but she is more than happy to make that exchange for the new life she’s been given. Meeting Griffin Durant has thrown her into confusion, however. Vampires usually feel no emotion, but Durant frustrates her with his Victorian attitude, amuses her with his morality, and drives her insane with lust when she’s near him. Befriending his sister has garnered her another friend, but she is determined to stay as far away from Grif as she can get. But fate has a mind of its own and they are being thrown into each other’s path no matter how much they fight not to do so.

Together they investigate the disappearance of their friends Malcolm and Margot, the further Grif and Allie dig into this mystery, the more complicated things become between the werewolves and vampires, heading toward a war that it seems only Griffin and Allegra know would devastate them all.

When I realized this book takes place in the 1920s, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. The ’20s and succeeding decades are not my favorite times to read about. But the more I read, the more engrossed I became in these characters’ lives and the more I wanted them to overcome their issues and be happy. Especially Griffin. He is the more tortured of the two main characters, trying to deny his origins and what he is while also passing that attitude on to his sister.

The scene where he tells Allie about his past, in achingly painful and sorrowful detail, is one of the best scenes in the book. It is so full of emotion the reader feels his pain right along with him. The few times Grif shifts into his werewolf are tense and harrowing, I would have liked to see more of them. However, the love scenes are both at first teasing and then very intense when passion flares between Grif and Allie and are simply wonderful.

There are also two secondary love stories that are quite nice, and they too are fraught with conflict and emotion and are resolved satisfactorily so you aren’t left hanging. I’m happy there isn’t too much of the ’20’s lingo and everyday life used to a very large extent. For me, that’s what made this book much more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.

Grade: B+

Blurb:

By day, Allie Chase lives among the artists and eccentrics of 1920’s Greenwich Village, in search of adventure. By night, she haunts the city’s back alleys and seedy speakeasies, driven by a more primal hunger.

Here, amid the glitz and unrestrained morals of jazz-age society, even a vampire can fall prey to the temptations of the flesh. One look into the golden eyes of the dashing Griffin Durant, and Allegra knows she’s not dealing with just a man….

Though their kinds have been enemies for centuries, Griffin has never encountered a vampire as independent, uninhibited or eager for his touch as Allegra. Yet their love is threatened by a jealous vampire master, and a race war seems inevitable. Griffin and Allegra must struggle to stay out of harm’s way and hold onto their dream of an eternity of passion.

Excerpt.