LynneC’s review of Deeper than Midnight (Midnight Breeds, Book 9) by Lara Adrian
Paranormal Romance published by  Dell 28 June 10

I’ve read this Adrian series from the beginning. It’s one of the few series I’ve stuck with, but I’m seriously thinking of giving up, unless it ends very soon. I’ve stuck with it a lot longer than I stuck with Kenyon and Ward, but that’s mainly because I’m a romance reader, and urban fantasy doesn’t do it for me. If it does it for you, I think you’ll love this one.

One of the advantages Adrian has over Ward and Kenyon is her heroines. They are grown-ups and you can tell one from the other. Although they do it in different ways, none of them take anything mildly. They will always take their own fate into their hands, and rarely in a TSTL way.

The start of my doubts came for me with Andreas Reichen’s book, Ashes of Midnight. I love the descriptions of Andreas in earlier books—a family man who cared for his Darkhaven and had values. But all that is thrown away in his book. He becomes a badass warrior and is indistinguishable from any of the other vampires in the series. He turns into the steroid-muscled stereotype vampire. And, consequently, merely a foil for the heroine. There aren’t many books I read for the heroines, but this is one series where that is certainly the case.

The plot to this is well thought out and works through, as long as you don’t think too hard. The plot holes are common to most of the vampire series out there, like how do they keep hidden in this world of records and passports and certificates, where the IRS can trace you halfway across the world? Never mind, they live in this huge mansion, communally, as is also frequently done in these books, and nobody bothers them. In Boston, though, I don’t really get a sense of place in these books.

In this one, it’s Hunter. He’s best described as a male version of Seven in Star Trek – Voyager. Part of a collective, who is finally free of the Borg, or in this case his master Dragos, and is finding his own way. And a virgin. Never been kissed. That is a fascinating setup, isn’t it? But a lot of that is wasted, because I never feel really connected to Hunter. His third-person narrative is always light, never really exploring what it feels like to be free and what his years of slavery had done to him. There’s no going deep here. But he is a badass warrior.

The heroine, more interesting to me, is Corinne, who has been away from home for 70 years, having been in captivity as a Breedmate. She has a son somewhere, but she doesn’t know where he is. At first, I worried that it might be Hunter who doesn’t know his mother, but later in the story it becomes apparent that the son is 13, if he’s still alive, so that’s a relief. I could have done with that information earlier. But even her angst isn’t really fully explored, especially when she discovers who sold her to the ultravillain, Dragos. I can’t imagine getting such information and then thinking “what I need now is really hot sex,” but that is how it comes across, because Hunter is struggling with his own problems and is hardly a tower of strength, psychologically speaking. So they get it on, and after a few brief introspections, decide they’re in love.

My other problem is with the violence. These books have grown increasingly more violent, so that they are less romances and exploration of character than a blood and gore fest. I mean, once you’ve read about one person’s throat being torn out, you get pretty blasé as time goes on and more people come under the fangs, so to speak. There’s far, far more violence than there is sex in this book, and, for me, that’s an imbalance. I want it the other way around, because I find violence much more disturbing and problematic than sex in a book. I want more exploration of character, I want to know just how people, however extraordinary, would cope with the amount of trauma these characters go through. And instead I get an action-filled plot with lots of blood and a little bit of sex.

So that’s why the book might be for you, although it wasn’t for me. Adrian writes well, that is, her style is excellent, polished, and easy to read; her females are interesting; and her plots are logical and rocket along at a pace that, at times, leaves you breathless.

I think I must be out of step, because recent paranormals I’ve read from mainstream publishers have all been like that. I want a romance and an exploration of issues, coping with the problems rather than hurtling into another adventure. I’m more interested in how it feels to be a vampire than how many people a vampire can kill without getting tired. Is it just me?

And the title Deeper than Midnight, what does that actually mean?

Grade: C

Summary:

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 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.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: