Lynne Connolly’s Review of Ashes of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 6) by Lara Adrian
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Dell 26 May 09 

Andreas Reichen was one of my favorite characters in the Midnight Breeds series. I loved the laid-back German vampire, head of a Darkhaven. I was gagging for his story, since (spoiler alert for Veil of Midnight) at the end of the last book he was bereft in the worse possible way, and Adrian spared us nothing. Men, women and children were killed. What a prospect for the next book!

But Andreas would have been the same person, wouldn’t he? In Ashes of Midnight he behaved like a completely new character. He was a walking, talking revenge machine and I saw none of the subtleties of character Adrian gave us in previous books. It would have been a great book if we’d started with a brand new character, but I wanted Andreas’s book, not this person, whoever he was.

Andreas’s talent is pyromancy, that is, he can set things on fire and turn himself into a kind of vampiric fireball. I got that, and I loved that he suffered because of his gift. Every time it happened it took something from him.

Claire I didn’t really get. I resented that she’d taken him away from the woman we’d seen in the previous books about Andreas, the brothel-keeper and mortal. I would have liked Claire and Helene to have swapped places, and then Andreas to have found his fate with Helene, but at the beginning of this book Helene has gone and we have Claire, a woman who bound herself to Andreas’s enemy out of what looked perilously like a rebound. Blood binding, I thought, excluded everyone else, but while still bound to Roth, Claire was able to hook up with Andreas. A bit wtf for me.

The story perks up once they get to Boston and the rest of the boys. Adrian has created some memorable characters in this series, and they weren’t just paraded out, they all had roles and a definite reason for being there. I love the geek and his lady, and if Adrian kills her off, a la Wellsie, I will stop reading. Just sayin’.

Neither Claire nor Andreas seemed particularly German. Claire was born American, but she’d lived in Germany for 30 years, and Andreas was German born, but he thought and spoke like an American. I didn’t really get a feel for Germany in this story, either. I would have liked a bit more local color but all I got was forest, which wasn’t named, but may have been the Black Forest.

I do appreciate the lack of gimmicks in the Midnight Breed series. No brand name dropping, no strange spellings that seem to make a perfectly serviceable word into one that means more or less the same thing but is spelled differently, and with much stronger heroines. Claire excepted. She was called strong and independent, but I didn’t see any of that in the character in the story.

The cliff hanger at the end of the book is a good one, but I don’t feel the same “got to get this” compulsion that I did at the end of “Veil of Midnight.” I really looked forward to this book, and while it is a good one and worth reading, it isn’t the one I was looking forward to read.

Grade: B-
Read more reviews of this series by following its tag.

Summary:
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A woman driven by blood. A man thirsting for vengeance.
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A place where darkness and desire meet…
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As night falls, Claire Roth flees, driven from her home by a fiery threat that seems to come from hell itself. Then, from out of the flames and ash, a vampire warrior emerges. He is Andreas Reichen, her onetime lover, now a stranger consumed by vengeance. Caught in the cross fire, Claire cannot escape his savage fury-or the hunger that plunges her into his world of eternal darkness and unending pleasure.
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Nothing will stop Andreas from destroying the vampire responsible for slaughtering his Breed brethren . . . even if he must use his former lover as a pawn in his deadly mission. Blood-bonded to his treacherous adversary, Claire can lead Andreas to the enemy he seeks, but it is a journey fraught with danger-and deep, unbidden desires. For Claire is the one woman Andreas should not crave, and the only one he’s ever loved. A dangerous seduction begins-one that blurs the lines between predator and prey, and stokes the flames of a white-hot passion that may consume all in its path. . . .
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

		Kade’s book is next, lucky #7 – no date as yet

Limecello’s review of No Rest for the Wicked (Immortals After Dark, Book 2) by Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance released by Pocket Star Books 31 Oct 06

This is the second book of the Immortals After Dark series, and I enjoyed it. After reading the first, I was wondering how Ms. Cole would go from vampires being the ultimate enemy, to making one her hero. It works.

Kaderin the Cold Hearted was cursed, or blessed – it all depends on one’s perspective -to feel no emotions after she watched her sisters die. She’s sent to kill a vampire, something she’d do for free, but finds that she can’t end him. Sebastian Wroth is the vampire, and it turns out that Kaderin is his Bride – his fated mate, that will bring Sebastian back to life. His heart starts beating again, and he’s got purpose.

It just so happens that the Talisman’s Hie is just about to begin – an immortal’s “Amazing Race,” with a fabulous prize. Kaderin has also won it for the past millennium, which is still impressive even though it takes place only every 250 years.

Kaderin has more reason than most to hate vampires, and Sebastian has never had much luck wooing the ladies. As a human giant, well over 6 feet tall in the 1600s, and a warlord with three brothers, he had little time for dalliance between fighting the Russians. Now, however, he’s determined to win his Bride. Sebastian in fact, joins the Talisman’s Hie, the first vampire to do so, as a way of courting Kaderin. No, he doesn’t think one shouldn’t directly compete and take away what your girl wants as a way to win her. Of course, all these supernatural creatures are different from humans. He has a really cute pet name for her too – Katja.

This is basically how the book goes – Kaderin hasn’t felt emotions in 2,000 years, and Sebastian has finally found his Bride. To say they’re both emotionally stunted would be an understatement. They work on their feelings while completing the tasks Riora, the goddess of impossibilities, sets them on. Very clever, using one thing to set off the other.

I liked this book, but my favorite character actually wasn’t the hero or the heroine – it was Bowen MacRieve, and I felt so bad for him. There were some uncertainties in the end, but it ended happily.

Grade: B-

Summary:

A vampire soldier weary of life… Centuries ago, Sebastian Wroth was turned into a vampire-a nightmare in his mind-against his will. Burdened with hatred and alone for ages, he sees little reason to live. Until an exquisite, fey creature comes to kill him, inadvertently saving him instead.

A valkyrie assassin dispatched to destroy him… When Kaderin the Cold Hearted lost her two beloved sisters to a vampire attack long ago, a benevolent force deadened her sorrow-accidentally extinguishing al of her emotions. Yet whenever she encounters Sebastian, her feelings-particularly lust-emerge multiplied. For the first time, she’s unable to complete a kill.

Competitors in a legendary hunt… The course will take them through ancient tombs and catacombs, seeking relics around the world, and the prize for victory is powerful enough for Kaderin to change history and prevent her sisters’ deaths. Sebastian competes as well, and begins winning-her. But when forced to choose between Sebastian and reuniting her family, how can Kaderin live without either?

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

Read Sandy‘s review.

Read Limecello’s and Gwen’s review.

Coming next:

Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark, Book 5) , coming 20 May 08!

Limecello’s review of Dark Needs at Night’s Edge (Immortals After Dark, Book 4) by Kresley Cole
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Pocket 29 Apr 08

The fourth book of the Immortals After Dark series did not disappoint. I’m also beginning to think Ms Cole unearths something twisty in me, because my favorite heroes that she writes are the crezzies. Conrad Wroth is teetering on the brink of insanity. Actually, he’s mad as a hatter. He’s killed more that one can count, and he has all of their memories. That’s a lot of memory for one head. Too much.

He’s imprisoned in a haunted house, and unfortunately, only he can see Néomi Laress, the ghost that resides there. She’s excited because he’s the first person who has seen her in 80 years. He doesn’t want to interact with her because he thinks she’s the last and final step into madness.

Néomi is something of a bad girl, as she’s a burlesque dancer turned ballerina who thrived in the 1920s. Prohibition didn’t affect our girl’s partying at all, not just because she lived in New Orleans. She’s a happy person, and a great foil for Conrad, who didn’t have the cheeriest of experiences even before he became a vampire. Still, Néomi has substance and depth. She knows that life isn’t always sunshine and butterflies, and it often takes real effort to be happy. Her past also helps her reach out to Conrad, and for him to open up to her.

I liked Néomi well enough, but I really liked Conrad. He’s a character you definitely empathize with, and feel for. He’s been betrayed on all sides, but underneath what he’s become, he’s still a good man. Conrad is extremely tortured, so all his bad deeds are rather easily forgiven.

This book embodies what I enjoy about series, because characters you met in the previous books make cameo appearances and help the plot along, but they don’t overtake it and outshine the hero and heroine. There’s the perfect blend of catching up with “old friends” but the distinct sense that the story entirely belongs to Néomi and Conrad.

Poor Néomi and Conrad seem to have more obstacles than most, yet it all ends well. Their interaction has the perfect amount of give and take. They’re both strong characters, who slowly bend to meet in the middle. A very enjoyable read.

Grade: B

Read Gwen’s review here.

     Summary:

     A RAVEN-HAIRED TEMPTRESS OF THE DARK… Néomi Laress, a famous ballerina from a pas century, became a phantom the night she was murdered. Imbued with otherworldly powers but invisible to the living, she haunts her beloved home, scaring away trespassers-until she encounters a ruthless immortal even more terrifying than Néomi herself.

     A VAMPIRE WARRIOR CONSUMED BY MADNESS… To prevent him from harming others, Conrad Wroth’s brothers imprison him in an abandoned manor. But there, a female only he can see seems determined to drive him further into madness. The exquisite creature torments him with desire, leaving his body racked with lust and his soul torn as he finds himself coveting her for his own.

     HOW FAR WILL HE GO TO CLAIM HER? Yet even if Conrad can win Néomi, evil still surrounds her. Once he returns to the brutality of his past to protect her, will he succumb to the dark needs seething inside him?

     Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

Read Sandy’s review of Book 3.

Coming next:

Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark, Book 5) , coming 20 May 08!

Gwen’s review of Dark Needs at Night’s Edge (Immortals After Dark, Book 4) by Kresley Cole
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Pocket 29 Apr 08

This series is just getting better and better with each book. I read the ARC of this book and I understand there may have been changes by the time it got to final printing. I can honestly say, I don’t think it needed any changes – it was excellent as is.

The hero and heroine of this book, Conrad and Néomi, were wholly likable, believable, and sympathetic. I liked and believed in their relationship. I liked and believed in the challenges to their being together. I read romance novels to get into the heads of other people (albeit fictional ones) and see how they deal with life and love. I totally got that from this book. We crawl up inside them for a good long look and it’s wonderful.

I think what I liked best is DNaNE is very much a character study of a very flawed hero. Conrad is quite literally mad for much of first part of the book. He’s only a bit less mad by the end, but he’s dealing with life better because of an amazing woman. I love that.

What came in second in my “what I liked” was I’d be sitting there reading and wondering how the hell were the h/h were going to make it. The hurdles to their love and to a life together just seemed insurmountable. And it’s all resolved in a believable manner. Cole does a tremendous job suspending disbelief.

A third thing i liked was the secondary characters are important to the book’s plot, driving key elements of the story.  They’re not just visits with old friends from books past. That is a nice change to what I frequently see in series romance. In addition, the house where most of the action takes place is as much a character in the book as the characters themselves.

If you’re a fan of this series you canNOT miss this book. For those of you new to the series, this one stands alone just fine. I highly recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance and paranormal romance. It’s very paranormal, though, so if that’s not your bag, you may not like it. Though it is an excellent character study and you’ll be missing out if you don’t read it.

Grade: A

     From the back cover:

     Bestselling author Kresley Cole continues her seductive Immortals After Dark series with this tale of a vampire shunned even by his own kind and a beautiful phantom, bound together by a passion they cannot resist.

     A RAVEN-HAIRED TEMPTRESS OF THE DARK… Néomi Laress, a famous ballerina from a past century, became a phantom the night she was murdered. Imbued with otherworldly powers but invisible to the living, she haunts her beloved home, scaring away trespassers — until she encounters a ruthless immortal even more terrifying than Néomi herself.

     A VAMPIRE WARRIOR CONSUMED BY MADNESS… To prevent him from harming others, Conrad Wroth’s brothers imprison him in an abandoned manor. But there, a female only he can see seems determined to drive him further into madness. The exquisite creature torments him with desire, leaving his body racked with lust and his soul torn as he finds himself coveting her for his own.

     HOW FAR WILL HE GO TO CLAIM HER? Yet even if Conrad can win Néomi, evil still surrounds her. Once he returns to the brutality of his past to protect her, will he succumb to the dark needs seething inside him?

     Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Read Sandy’s review of Book 3.

Coming next:

Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark, Book 5) , coming 20 May 08!

Quack and ye shall receive.

Meljean Brook has agreed to give TGTBTU an exclusive excerpt from Demon Night, available February 5.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Word around blogland is that it is as awesome as Demon Angel and Demon Moon. Brace yourself fangirls, we have the first FOUR chapters!!!! It’s okay, only two weeks until you can get your hands on the rest.

If you haven’t yet been introduced to the world of The Guardians, you can start here. And you can check out her updated “Primer” that will help you get up to speed on her amazing world and awesome characters.

Enjoy the excerpt (that means click here )!

And when you are done, go check out Book Binge where Holly (our often guest reviewer) has a review up of Demon Night.

Lawson’s review is now up for Demon Night!

Sandy M’s review of Into the Darkness (Dark Realm, Book 1) by Delilah Devlin
Contemporary Paranormal Romance published 26 Jun 07 by Avon Red

I love my vampires, and this new series by Delilah Devlin has some of the sexiest and lustiest vampires around. I liked the different take on the age-old vampire legends in this series. There are The Born, those born as vampires, and then there are those who are turned just like we’ve always read about before. These turned vamps are chosen by The Born when there is a need for more of their kind and those chosen are willing participants. None of that willy-nilly turning against someone’s will just for the blood and gore of it. And the virgin vampire part of the story is different also.

Natalie doesn’t know she’s a vampire, and then when she accepts what she is, she has to learn to be a vampire, how to control her feeding and her sexual urges while still deal with her human emotions and vulnerabilities. The hero, Rene, is not a vampire and has no desire whatsoever on God’s green earth to become one. No how, no way. I loved his attitude! He tries so hard not to want Natalie. He knows if he keeps going back to her she will eventually bleed him dry and he doesn’t want to die, especially in that manner. That virgin bond is something else.

What I liked just as much as the main story is the story of Nicolas and Chessa, both vampires, but Chessa refuses to be pulled back into the vampire world she’s fought so hard to stay away from, while Nic is immersed in that world doing his duty to protect other vampires from those who have gone rogue and are on a killing spree. Nic is my favorite part of the book. There’s just something about him. His mysteriousness, his sarcasm, his sexiness, his pursuit of Chessa, which turns to hurt and betrayal, even though Chessa herself wants him and she won’t admit it. I’m glad to see this couple is being featured in the next book of the series, Seduced by Darkness, to be released next month. I just want more of Nic. He’s the type of vampire I long to read about.

Then, of course, there’s the vampire sex. I’ll flat out tell ya, it’s hot in this book and there’s a hell of a lot of it. When the sex scenes are written like these, they’re a pleasure to read. They’re consistent with the characters. Natalie is new at being a vampire and new at sex, so things don’t always go well for her. Nic and Chessa are old hands at the vampire thing and having Chessa deny any feeling toward Nic makes their scenes all the more dynamic. Everything flowed naturally throughout the book and I never felt the sex overshadowed or drowned out any of the story or any of the characters.

Grade: A-

From the back cover:

Natalie Lambert’s life has changed in the space of weeks–and she has no idea why. Her parents were murdered, she has her first taste of sexual desire–and she feels out of control, afraid, desperate to understand her changing world. She flees to New Orleans, hoping to lure the murderer out of the dark and bring to an end the trail of dead loved ones. Instead, she’s attacked by crazed birds, swarmed by locusts, and saved by a Cajun cop who awakens all her latent desires.

When Rene Broussard rescues a virgin vampire, he ends up in her bed and becomes hers for life in one lusty bite. Rene awakens the vampire within Natalie, and she awakes the passion within him. Together, they fight the evil threatening to destroy The Born vampires amidst the horror of Hurricane Katrina while they discover a treasure of love they can share for all eternity.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Seduced by Darkness (Dark Realm, Book 2), coming from Avon, 26 Feb 08

Sandy M’s review of One Bite Stand (MacKenzie Vampires, Book 4) by Nina Bangs
Contemporary Paranormal Romance published 1 Jan 08 by Leisure

I always seem to jump the gun when reading an author I haven’t read before and when it’s the latest book in a series that I haven’t read before. This time I jumped to the conclusion way too soon I wasn’t going to like this book after getting through the first chapter. It was almost a little too quirky for me. The character names, the idea of the storyline, and the humor wasn’t what I expected. Okay, maybe the Woo Woo Inn should have given me a clue. It didn’t take long, however, for Ms. Bangs to shoot my attitude down. I ended up having a whole lot of fun with this gang at the inn, quirkiness and all.

Since I love paranormals, I really enjoyed all the different characters in this book, from vamps to gargoyles and so much more in between. My favorite character was Declan. Just because. He’s a vampire; he’s a loner who needs love; he’s sexy; he’s not afraid of his feelings. He also was able to see past Daria’s “ugliness” because she’s a harpy and that’s what they live for, even though she wasn’t as ugly as other harpies, much to her dismay.

Daria was also a terrific character, a strong, stubborn woman who definitely can hold her own in a fight and lets Declan know in no uncertain terms she won’t walk away like a good little girl while he takes care of the boogeyman. The secondary characters were just as interesting, especially Ganymede and Sparkle, an unusual pair if I ever saw one, but they kept me laughing. The baddies of the story are right up there on the evil scale. Fenrir is the baddest of them all, and it takes everything all these characters have to save the universe from his evilness.

So once I jumped on the laughter train and didn’t look at the goings-on as silly as I originally had, I was very satisifed with this read. It was fun instead of silly. It pulled everything together at the end quite nicely. I never felt confused since this is Book 4 in the series, although it has made me curious about the prior books where I’m sure some of these other characters were introduced and maybe have books of their own. I look forward to reading them all.

 Grade: B+

From the back cover:

He’s a big, bad vampire looking for a one bite stand.  She’s a big, bad harpy looking for her ticket to the underworld.

Harpies don’t get callbacks. That’s why Daria’s job as night manager of the Woo Woo Inn is the opportunity of several lifetimes. Where better to prove that in the snatch-and-dispatch business she has CEO potential? So what if she doesn’t really fit the corporate image. So what if she has to nurture her inner bitch to compete. And triple so what if she’d rather take Declan Mackenzie to bed than on a one-way, all-expense-paid trip to Tartarus. His sexy blue eyes and hard male body lure her into deep and dangerous erotic waters. With a monster eating guests for its midnight snack, cosmic troublemakers cooking up chaos, and Declan making serious moves on her, this looks like a lot more than a…

One Bite Stand

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: