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202 of 204 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fresh new vampire series, May 14, 2007
After witnessing a murder and barely escaping with her life, Gabrielle Maxwell does what any good and sane citizen would do; she calls the police. Upon their arrival, they find nothing that indicates anything violent happened outside the nightclub. While Gabrielle insists that she's not lying, she can't help but think she might be insane like her birth mother. The only thing that gives her hope that she is perfectly sane is the pictures she took on her cell phone as she was running away from the group of men who so savagely murdered a man right in front of her. When "Detective" Lucan Thorne appears on her doorstep, she has no reason to doubt his authenticity. Lucan Thorne is instantly attracted to Gabrielle and almost makes an irreversible mistake when he attempts to take her blood. Seeing the mark that shows Gabrielle is a Breedmate, Lucan knows that he can't take her blood, nor can he leave her to continue living the life she has. Only a handful of human women are marked as such and to take her blood would mean mating with her for life. The the leader of an elite group of warriors, the Breed only works to protect humans from vampires that have let Bloodlust overcome them and become Rogue. When it seems that the Rogues are somehow organizing their ranks and starting a war in the human world, Lucan is determined that Gabrielle won't end up in the middle of it. I was skeptical when I first picked this book up. There are so many new paranormal/vampire authors popping up, but Lara Adrian somehow kept it fresh with her new "Midnight" series. Throwing in a whole new twist on where vampires come from and what they represent, KISS OF MIDNIGHT is a promising start to a new vampire series. Kenyon and Ward fans should enjoy this series.
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125 of 125 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Derivative but still a great read, November 14, 2007
There's absolutely no doubt as to the readership to whom this book is meant to appeal - the commendation from J R Ward, author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, gives a big clue. This book is very, very similar to the Black Dagger Brotherhood and will no doubt be enjoyed by those who like those books; the similarities are very marked - a small number of warrior vampires live together in a compound and fight against strong and numerous adversaries. This is the first in the series and it's very akin to Ward's "Dark Lover" (in fact at one point the heroine describes the hero as her dark lover), in that the hero is the leader of the band of warriors, that he isn't looking for a romantic involvement and yet he discovers that a woman is linked to the vampire nation although she herself is oblivious of that fact. There are even mentions of a Red Sox hat, there's a computer expert vampire, a monosyllabic and weird vampire, the death of one of the six warrior vampires... the comparisons with the BDB go on and on. And yet this is a book in its own right and it has its differences. There are several good things about this book when comparing it to the BDB. The first is that the characters don't have silly names but just unusual ones - the hero is Lucan, we also meet Tegan, Nikolai, Dante, Rio, Gideon and Conlan. Secondly there aren't loads of odd words with extra letter h peppered throughout the text which I always found rather cheesy. Thirdly the sections dealing with the Rogues, those against whom the warriors are fighting, aren't as extensive (I always find myself skim-reading the Lesser sections in the BDB) and in this series the Rogues are vampires gone bad rather than a separate species. There are some aspects about this book that didn't feel as accomplished as the BDB. The characterisation felt somehow less authentic although it was hard to put my finger on why. Gabrielle, the heroine, was a plucky woman who seemed able to cope with an awful lot of scary information in one go, perhaps too much. Lucan's conflicted nature about not wanting a mate and being afraid that he's about to lose the plot from Bloodlust was perhaps overplayed in the book but was necessary for the suspense in the plot. And in some ways perhaps that's my chief disappointment with the story, that the overall idea on which this book hung didn't seem quite developed enough. It was a good read with some spicy scenes between hero and heroine, some fighting, lots of blood and gore and awkward relationships amongst the vampire warriors but somehow it didn't quite grip me as much as the BDB. However J R Ward's novels definitely improved as she got into her writing stride with them (with the exception of Vishous' novel) and I have hopes that Lara Adrian's books will equally mature as she continues the series. For those who like the Black Dagger Brotherhood this is a worthy read alongside that series. For those who haven't read that series, read this one first, and enjoy it, and then read the BDB and enjoy it too. For those who don't like the BDB this book probably isn't for you. Some people may moan about the similarities between the two series but I think there is room in this genre for other books of a similar type as long as they have their own individual differences as well and as long as plot and characterisation are well-written. This is a good start to the series and I have already purchased the sequel.
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56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
If I hadn't read the BDB series first, I would have liked it more, January 14, 2008
Gabrielle Maxwell is a successful photographer out for a night with her friends when her whole world changes. Gabby witnesses a murder outside a club--and it's not just any murder. Though she scarcely believes it, the attackers actually mauled their victim and appeared to be eating him. Snapping some photos with her camera phone for evidence, Gabby heads to the nearest police station. When the police don't believe her story, and instead encourage her to go home and rest. With the promise that a patrolman will visit later in the week, Gabby follows their orders. Lucan Thorne is the leader of a group of vampire warriors determined to protect their race from Rogues, vampires gone crazy with bloodlust who kill indiscriminately and without remorse. Lucan is about to attack the Rogues outside the nightclub when he sees the pretty girl in the alley snapping photos and running for her life. After dealing with the errant Rogues, Lucan goes to Gabby's house pretending to be a police officer so that he can erase her memories of that night. Little does he know that the innocent photographer has a bigger secret than witnessing a vampire murder... Kiss of Midnight was edgy and dark, which I liked, but again I'm going to have to go there. It's been said over and over again that Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series bears a striking resemblance to the vampire world created in JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood. And I like the BDB books better. Still, if you haven't read Ward's work and like vampire romances, then you should give this book a try. If you have already read the BDB books, I think it's next to impossible not to make the comparison between the two series. There are some differences, but the similarities are too close together for me to read what is essentially the same series all over again. Kiss of Midnight was good, but Dark Lover: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood (The Black Dagger Brotherhood) was better. I'll probably read the next book in this series, but only because I'm strung out for a fix waiting for the next BDB book to be published in June.
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