Ashes of Midnight (Lara Adrian Vampire series, 6th) [Hardcover]

Lara Adrian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2009

Hardcover edition of Lara Adrian's vampire series Ashes of Midnight. A woman driven by blood. A man thristing for vengeance. A place where darkness and desire meet...

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Dell; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1615231870
• ISBN-13: 978-1615231874
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,189,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lara Adrian is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Midnight Breed series, including Kiss of Midnight, Kiss of Crimson, Midnight Awakening, Midnight Rising, Veil of Midnight, Ashes of Midnight, Shades of Midnight, Taken by Midnight, Deeper Than Midnight and Darker After Midnight (available January 24, 2012). She is currently at work on the next novel in this seductive series from Bantam Dell Books. Visit Lara online at www.LaraAdrian.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Big let down *SPOILER WARNING*, January 12, 2010

By 

Beanbag Love "Beanbag Love" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ashes of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 6) (Mass Market Paperback)

What a disappointment! I loved Andreas from the other books but this story left a lot to be desired.

I'm sorry for spoilers, but I have to do it. There were so many problems with this book, it's hard to even outline them all. I only give it two stars because it's part of a series that has some really good stuff. Otherwise it might even have been a DNF.

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SPOILERS FOLLOW

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Okay, first of all -- the heroine supposedly blood-bonded with the villain months after the hero disappeared from her life (about 30 years ago). The villain is a true monster, although the heroine doesn't actually know that. She only knows he's a jerk who never sees her but about once every six months. But my question is, why in the world, when you know the man you love is still alive, do you blood bond with someone you don't love at all? Someone who may be a friend, but who definitely isn't the one you love? Blood bonding is forever. Not just a fifty-year or so sentence, it's forEVER. Or until one of you dies which, barring extreme circumstances, NEVER happens. So ... what was she thinking?

I had thought she had been forced into the blood-bonding with Roth. That's the only way I could accept what follows. But she wasn't. She went into it by choice. Made her bed, so to speak.

So, then we have the return of Andreas, the man she really loves and he's out for vengeance against Roth -- her mate. He attacks Roth's Darkhaven, killing everyone (yes, even family members, which is hypocritical because that's exactly why he hates Roth -- no matter that the villain doesn't care about them, it's still the same thing). Then he attacks Roth's country home, where Claire resides, killing all the agents who are there to protect her.

And somehow she's still not only attracted to him, but is totally shocked when Roth sends a death squad out to kill him after she calls her mate to "help Andreas". Lordy. What a dingbat. And Roth sending the death squad is proof positive to her that Andreas (the man she witnessed killing EVERYONE) is telling the truth that Roth is the actual monster. Yeah.

Okay. If you're still reading, I'm on to the next offense. They embark on a love affair! Yes! But Roth is a monster, you say. Yes, he is. But she has no real evidence that he is. Only Andreas's say-so and he's killed EVERYONE. As I said, if she'd been forced into the loveless blood-bond, or even if Roth had been abusive (not just neglectful), I might have been able to accept this. But I can't. He's a monster, but Claire made her bed with him and she's got to wait until he's dead...

...which is what Andreas is trying to bring about and she keeps trying to stop him! Because she's afraid Roth will hurt him. After she's seen him kill EVERYONE!

And after she's found out some info that convinces her Roth is indeed involved in something really ugly that's going to get a lot of humans and Breed killed, she pretends she can't feel Roth in Boston and runs away. Because she's afraid he might hurt Andreas. So ... run away from Andreas. Leave him in Boston. Where Roth is. So he can be blind-sided by an attack instead. Which he'd probably survive anyway because she's already seen that he can kill EVERYONE!

She finally decides she's going to help after she finds out about the dead Breedmates. Everyone has a limit, right? Sheesh. But now Andreas wants her to stay away. Luckily we're spared that hollow conflict and she helps anyway.

Which brings about the best part of the book which is probably the last 15%. But it's a long way getting there. And still the HEA leaves a bad taste in my mouth. A couple of TSTL adulterers live happily-ever-after with some vague future of spying or something. Whoopee.

I'm concerned about what Adrian has in store for Chase. He was basically taken out early on in this book and we didn't see or hear from him again. They said he'd be out for a week. Weeks later, and he's still MIA. I'm hoping she doesn't pull a Phury on him and make him the background guy who gets the tepid romance that nobody cares about. Or kills him off. He's not the lead in the next two books so ...

This was just so disappointing when Andreas has been a favorite of mine for several books and when I loved Veil of Midnight so much.

Lara Adrian has a lot of talent and I like her format where we get a lot of alone time with the hero and heroine. That's why when she hits a clunker, it's such a bummer. I've already read the next in the series, so I can tell anyone who agrees with this review and thinks they want to give up after this book that they shouldn't.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What happened? This is the worst one from the series., April 16, 2010

By 

Soraia Casal De Sa (Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ashes of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 6) (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't even know where to begin.

If you've been following this series since the first installment, I know you have to read this book. This has many important events concerning the future of the Order and the Breed plus an incredibly disturbing/exciting occurrence in the end. However, you shouldn't expect a good story for the main characters, this is by far the most disappointing couple's story yet.

When it comes to developments for the plot as a whole, this book is very necessary and leaves the reader curious about the warrior's future. But that's the only good thing about it.

I was so eager to read this book when I saw it would be about Andreas Reichen. The previous book brought alarming news about Reichen's Darkhaven and his good life in Germany. He's a character presented since Tagen's story and someone I had grown to like. A strong, intelligent and competent man. The way his ability was presented in Veil of Midnight created the expectation of something big - heroic even -, awe inspiring pyro powers.

Also, since the first book, Lara Adrian's story and writing had been uplifting remarkably. From a dull first book to a good third, a better one with the forth and a very good one with the fifth.

When Ashes of Midnight starts it seems that the expectation will be met, since Reichen is playing havoc in Germany, bringing revenge on everyone involved with the massacre at his house. But then, for reasons unknown to me, the author starts to paint Reichen as a weak individual, self-contempt and fear ruling him, nothing like the character we were presented in the past.

The heroine, Claire, is selfish, coward and naive to the point of stupidity. When she finally understands that the world is not a perfect place, her reaction is so absurd that I got the urge to slap her. Instead of stopping to think of something she could do to help, her first instinct is to hole up in a safe place with the guy she cares about and let others deal with whatever evil is lurking out there. What kind of heroine is that?

After the author manages to make you dislike both main characters by their actions and the book is close to its end, everything changes. Claire finally realizes she's being irrational and remembers, all of the sudden, to care about someone other than herself. A little later, Reichen becomes again the interesting male we saw in the previous installments, he apparently recalls that he's a strong willed man and that he can handle what's been thrown his way. Too little too late.

Their love story is bland. The complications they face are huge but you don't see either one really trying to overcome anything. They are so involved in their problems that a short scene of a 'date' and their heated moments are just boring. Even when they're fighting it lacks a spark.

The termination of the couple' struggle is something out of a nightmare (no pun intended). The whole concept is surreal, the idea is bizarre and so poorly explored that it ended in a bunch of non-sense about pitch dark places and flames while they slept. Really didn't convince me of a deep bond or anything as charming as Tess tries to insinuate in a conversation with Lucan.

Apart from the main characters, when seeing flashes of the problems the Order is facing, you get the impression the author either forgot what already had happened in the past stories or she simply decided the warriors would be brainless on this one. For instance, when the Order faces with a Gen One savagely killing humans in Boston, they don't even consider the information they came across since Rio's chat with Dragos, two books ago. I think strategists would always consider the worst case scenario instead of dreading to think about it. Anyway, for the first time in the series, the passages of Dragos' ploting were more interesting than what was happening with the warriors or the main couple. Not a good sign.

Really disappointed with this one.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 stars- ending is thrilling and a bit shocking as the stakes get higher but will sure to please loyal fans of this series, May 27, 2009

By 

Bookaholics Reviewer (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ashes of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 6) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ashes of Midnight by Lara Adrian
Paranormal Romance- May 26th, 2009
4 ½ stars

The thing I like best about Lara Adrian's Breed Series is that she doesn't take her readership for granted. Each time I read one of her books I learn something new and exciting. I only wish I knew more...but if she didn't drag it out it wouldn't be half as intriguing. In her latest installment, Ashes of Midnight we meet perhaps her most fearsome hero to date.

Riechen is a vampire bent on revenge. The attack and ultimate destruction of his family devastated him. As a result, the powers he had long tried to keep dormant resurfaced with deadly consequences. Reichen is a dangerous and unstable pyrokinetic. With nothing left to live for he hunts down Roth, the vampire responsible. The same vampire who seduced and stole the woman he loved.

Claire's relationship with Roth is an obligatory blood bond. One she never enjoyed. Bound by duty and honor but never love. An arrangement she agreed to while young and naïve. After Reichen broke her heart and when she foolishly trusted Roth.

When Reichen finds her on his search to destroy Roth, Claire and Reichen cannot help their mutual attraction. But to be together is to betray the sacrament of the blood bond. To make matters worse, Reichen can only think of justice, but each time he uses his powers he become less able to control it. Claire fears for his life but knows he will not give up vengeance.

It was a pleasure to read Ashes of Midnight. I was particularly fascinated to learn more about the blood bond. I enjoyed revisiting members of the Order and their breedmates as they played key roles in this story. Lara Adrian delves deeper into vampire society and slowly reveals more about: the Ancient, Dragos (the mastermind), and the new Gen Ones assassins infiltrating the city. Tantalizing glimpses which allude to but do not answer where the final story will lead. The only difficulty I had was that Claire was not as strong a female character as Lara Adrian's previous books in the series. Claire became tougher later in the book but I wish it had occurred earlier. Her personality made sense and was true to her character but I can't help liking the feisty/gutsy heroine. But this is still a book that is NOT to be missed. The ending is thrilling and a bit shocking as the stakes get higher but will sure to please loyal fans of this series, even as it makes you long for the next book.


Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club