GENRE: Romance / Paranormal
PUBLISHED: Dell Book, 2008
WHY THIS NOVEL: part of series
The back blurb:
“Fueled by pain and rage over a shattering betrayal, the warrior Rio has pledged his life to the war against the Rogues. He will let nothing stand in his way – least of all a mortal woman with the power to expose the entire vampire race. But now an ancient evil has been awakened, and a stunning darkness is on the rise.
For journalist Dylan Alexander, it began with the discovery of a hidden tomb. Suddenly she is at the center of a gathering storm of violence and secrets. but nothing is a dangerous as the scarred, lethally seductive man who rises from the shadows to plunge her into his world of dark desire and endless night. Here she is powerless to resist Rio’s tough, even as she uncovers a shocking link to her own past. Now Dylan must choose: Leave Rio’s midnight realm, or risk it all for the man who has shown her true passion and the infinite pleasures of the heart…”
Midnight Rising is a tightly plotted and fast paced story. There were only two small things that made me go “huh?” but aside from that I enjoyed reading this novel. After discovering that an Ancient is still alive in Midnight Awakening and missing, in Midnight Rising the Breed warriors are hard at work searching for him. There are two short scenes where the reader learns more about what’s going on with the Ancient; knowledge the warriors have only at the end of Midnight Rising. What struck me with these scenes is the question they raise: clearly the Ancient is evil but what about his captors and the way they treat him?
I liked Dylan, the heroine. She’s described as a smart person and thankfully she acts like it. I trust her to count 1 + 1 together and not arrive at 3,173. I also liked Rio. Despite his treatment of Dylan at the beginning (see next paragraph), I see him as a honourable person. Although he’s determined to end his life, he owns up to the mess he made (let Dylan discover the tomb because he didn’t blow it up right away) and doesn’t just leave and let the other warriors deal with it.
The beginning of the romance in this novel is not an easy one. Right away, it has one point against it because it begins with the abduction of the heroine by the hero. As a captive romance it relies heavily on the readers willingness to belief that a captive can fall in love with the abductor. The captive plot doesn’t last for the whole novel, although it’s difficult to say when it really ends. After Rio discovers that Dylan is a Breedmate (really hate that word), his behaviour changes even though he can’t let her go right away. Apart from the captive plot line, the credibility of the romance is made even more difficult because – and that’s what I count as a second point – the whole story lasts just a few days (7 days with the last chapter one week later).
Adrian goes to some lengths to make the reader believe in the romance despite these two points against it.
- abduction isn’t Rio’s first choice to keep Dylan from spreading the news of her discovery
- There are some touching scenes between Dylan and Rio, most notable probable when it’s about Dylan’s role in Rio’s life. It worked like a “up the OMG-factor to make the reader not think about the plausibility of falling in love with your abductor in just a few days” device for me.
- One thing that surprised me a bit later in the story I see as compensation for Rio taking Dylan captive at the beginning. Of course, this also makes it possible for the climax to happen the way it does and takes care of the couple’s way to their HEA, so viewed cynically, the compensative effect is just an added benefit of the external plot’s progress. But it accomplishes three different things with one move, and that’s not bad.
- I also had the impression that the ghost of Rio’s ex-wife, Eva, helped to reduce the problems with the credibility of the romance. It’s again a three-for-one deal, in that it’s also tied to Dylan’s gift (each Breedmate has a special gift) and the external plot.
- I see Dylan’s treatment as a captive in contrast to the Ancient’s treatment. There is a difference. (I also think that’s one reason why the reader gets to read the scenes with the Ancient.)
So, on the question of the credibility of the romance, I think Adrian did a good job with it despite two points against it. If I can swallow that someone falls in love in a total and complete, this-is-forever kind of way with another person 1.) in the course of a few days and 2.) when this other person is something the someone didn’t even know existed before meeting, then I can suspend the rest of my disbelief to go the whole way and believe this can happen when the someone was taken captive by the other person at first. At least, when I have the impression – like I did with this novel – that the author is aware of the problems. Of course, more time would have helped the romance but it would also have slowed down the external plot and maybe weakened it there instead (which is probably what made me enjoy Midnight Awakening less).
Final thoughts:
- Funny thing I noticed when I read the abduction scene again for this post: when it’s 5 a.m. in Boston, it’s 11 a.m. (= already day time) in Berlin, not the other way round.
- Do all the novels in this series have to end the same way?
Would I recommend this novel? Yes
Would I read this novel again? Yes.
Grade: 4+ / 5
Paranormal Reads Over The Weekend: Adrian, Cole, Ione
6 AprVeil of Midnight by Lara Adrian
paranormal romance; Dell 2009; “Midnight Breed” series #5
Veil of Midnight on Lara Adrian’s website
I like this series and Veil of Midnight is probably my favorite novel in this series so far. It was only near the end that I thought the story faltered (a bit). Interestingly enough, for a romance novel, I thought the action and suspense part better developed. There are quite a few twists and turns, and in the beginning, it doesn’t look all that good for Nikolai and Renata. I liked this “edginess.” By comparison, the romance seemed a bit underdeveloped. Nikolai and Renata appeared to be in love mainly because of a vision and some blood drinking.
I think the new development (Hunter) interesting and I’m looking forward to reading Andreas’s story, Ashes of Midnight.
Verdict: I liked it (4/5).
* * * ~ * * *
Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
paranormal romance; Pocket 2009; “Immortals After Dark” series #6
Kiss of a Demon King on Kresley Cole’s website
Oh, how could I forget how much fun this series is? Really, I think this series funny, tongue-in-cheek, and clever at the same time.
My favorite part in this novel: the heroine, Sabine. She has the best lines and just cracked me up. I loved her character and her unapologetic behavior, and really, she has a point: she was raised to value different things. I liked this clash between “good” and “evil” and how sometimes “evil” can be just what is needed.
I loved Rydstrom’s bafflement and bewilderment about Sabine and how his world and his priorities got turned upside down by her. And I really like that the world in this series is so “alive” – stories seem to be everywhere but they don’t necessarily are sequel bait.
Kiss of a Demon King is one of my favorite entries in this series. When does the next one in this series come out again?
Verdict: I really liked it (4,5/5).
* * * ~ * * *
Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione
paranormal romance; Grand Central 2009; “Demonica” series #2
Desire Unchained on Larissa Ione’s website
Desire Unchained is a novel full of interesting ideas and it’s an action-packed novel. It’s fast-paced and because there’s a lot going on, sometimes it seemed too busy as in all the interesting ideas didn’t get played to their fullest because the next thing was just around the corner. While this isn’t necessarily bad, more like a matter of taste, there’s one thing I thought the lack of time/pages mattered: Shade’s “special gift.” To me, it appeared to be there more to up the kink than really integrated well into the story.
Runa and Shade face near unsurmountable odds and there’s a lot of high and low in their relationship. Overall, Runa and Shade make a well matched couple. Gem’s and Kynan’s story continues in Desire Unchained and they have a scene that nearly had me teary-eyed. I liked the darkness in this novel, the glimpses of other characters, Wraith especially, and I thought the three brothers had a nice dynamic to their relationship.
I’m looking forward to reading Passion Unleashed.
Verdict: I liked it (4/5).
Tags: "Immortals After Dark" series, "Midnight Breed" series, "Demonica" series, book comment, Kresley Cole, Lara Adrian, Larissa Ione, paranormal romance