Kissing Midnight (Fitz Clare Chronicles) [Mass Market Paperback]

Emma Holly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2009

Edmund Fitz Clare has kept his vampire nature a secret from his family-and Estelle Berenger, the woman he loves. But a vampire war threatens to expose him and destroy all he holds dear.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Emma Holly lives in Minnesota where the winters are long and people will use any excuse to warm up. According to Emma, humanity’s best inventions are hot showers, the printing press, coffee, chocolate, and bicycle shorts for men. She can be reached at [e-mail] or P.O. Box 2591, Minneapolis, MN 55402-0591.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425223396
• ISBN-13: 978-0425223390
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Emma Holly is the USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty very hot romantic books, featuring werewolves, faeries, and just plain extraordinary ordinary folks. Her favorite things are reading, coffee, long daydreamy walks, plus whatever show she's currently infatuated with on tv. She loves sinking into the worlds of her stories and hopes you do too!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get ready for a HOT June, July and August!, June 3, 2009

By 

myotherself (U. S. A.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Kissing Midnight (Fitz Clare Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

SYNOPSIS:
Edmund Fitz Clare is an upyr, a vampire who can change into a wolf, but a much more compationate type upyr than most might expect. He longs to care for humans and have someone care for him and so adopts three children from an orphanage. These three are not related in any way but have formed a bond within the orphanage and Edmund cannot bare to separate Graham, Ben and Sally. He takes them all to be his adopted children. As he is taking Sally to school for her first day he asks a fifteen year old girl, Estelle, to help Sally adjust to school. This is how the story of a most unusual family begins. Years later Estelle's parents are killed and she goes to live in the Fitz Clare household. Edmund has always been attracted to Estelle but has never shown this attraction to make sure he doesn't influence her unduly. Estelle is now 25 and has decided to move into her own apartment. Now she and Edmund will allow their true feelings to show.

OPINION:
This is Emma Holly writing at her best. The story takes place in London in 1933 so the atmosphere of the book is different from the usual "vampire tale" and makes it very interesting. Instead of chapter numbers or titles, each chapter is called by the location name where most of the action takes place. I really enjoyed that because London is one of my favorite cities in the world to visit. I loved the way she made these characters come alive and made even the most unusual traits for Edmund and his natural son, Robin who is also an upyr, seem plausable. The dynamics within the Fitz Clare family are fully explored. The politics among the different elders within the upyr factions are covered. Ms Holly takes the time to set up this new series very well. And I found out at the end of the book just WHY that set up had been so thorough......because this book is a cliff hanger. It is not a standalone book unless you never want to find out what happens to Edmund after his confrontation with the rogue upyrs.

This book contains a lot of sexual situations. There is sex between many different couples during the course of this story playing out. These scenes are written very well by Ms. Holly and their number makes much more sense to me now that I know this is a continuing saga. Edmund and Estelle are a wonderful couple and there are all kinds of hints throughout the book that we haven't seen anything yet. I'm thinking that Estelle, Graham and maybe even Ben will find that they have all been drawn to each other for many reasons. The character of Sally got on my nerves a little because she is such a spoiled brat but I'm hoping situations will make her grow up very quickly.

RECOMMENDATION:
Highly recommended if you enjoy very sensual novels, if you enjoy vampire or shapechanger novels or if you just love Emma Holly's writing. Thank goodness "Breaking Midnight" will be out in July and "Saving Midnight" will be out in August. Looks like we have a really hot summer to look forward to. It's a shame that I have so little patience though. I'm already running various possible scenarios in my mind and I have only just finished reading the first book in the trilogy.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars - This 'Midnight' spin-off is more erotic than Holly's earlier shapeshifting vampire upyrs, June 13, 2009

By 

melindeeloo (sb,ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Kissing Midnight (Fitz Clare Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

Kissing Midnight, like all of author Emma Holly's recent paranormals is firmly on the erotic side of PNR moreso than Holly's earlier Midnight series (Catching Midnight, Hunting Midnight, Courting Midnight ).

So, as you can garner from the mixed reviews, whether you will enjoy Kissing Midnight largely depends on whether you like a bit of sex with your story or a bit of story with your sex. Kissing Midnight falls in the later category and provides sensual parity for pretty much all of its characters: leading man wolfshifting upyr Edmund, his love Estelle, all Edmund's adopted children - and all the vamp background characters except poor Robin (Edmund's biological son) who is the only one going through a dry spell. Even though there are hints of nautiness (foster - so not actual - siblings do the taboo), for Holly the sensuality level (as opposed to the sensual density) is a degree or two milder than her last couple of erotic paranormals, all menage or BDSM (except for one light bondage scene) or MM is offscreen. Most of the couplings are intense and frantic, but Holly varies her sensual language so that even with the large number of love/lust scenes they don't end up feeling repetitous.

My reading tastes generally fall more on the steamy side of mainstream than the erotic, but while I would have preferred a bit more story, I did really like wolf-shifting upyr Edmund - you'll remember him and few other characters from the earlier Midnight books. Edmund is centuries old and very sweet and vulnerable in his love and protectiveness for his adopted human family and in his persuit of the young woman Estelle who has called to his heart since he first met her as teen. While Estelle has lived with Edmund's family after the death of her parents, Edmund doesn't pursue Estelle until she is of age and out of his house, so unlike some other readers this didn't bother me. Let's face it if you actually stop suspending disbelief, a relationship with someone older than your great-grandparents is squicky whether you be 15, or 50, so I try not to let in too much reality when I read vamp romances.

The story itself is very simple, some power hungry vamps are using one of Edmund's foster sons to manipulate Edmund into taking out his vampire queen former lover. But despite the simplicity I liked the build up of all the conflict, the (for Edmund) frightening transition and the cliff hanger ending enough that I might consider reading the next book- although I strongly suspect that with the way things end for Edmund the next book may be up outside of my sensuality comfort zone, so I will likely prescreen it before deciding. The trilogy continues in Breaking Midnight and completes with Saving Midnight).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fanfreakingtastic!, June 2, 2009

By 

Looloo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kissing Midnight (Fitz Clare Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have always been an Emma Holly fan, if her name is on it, I will buy it. So speaking as a die hard fan I will tell you that I feel like this series is a whole new wonderful direction for Ms Holly and I loved it! Kissing Midnight has been a wonderful addition to her Upyr series while having it's own identity.

The previous reviewer gave you the synopsis so I won't do that. What I will tell you is that not only is this a love story between a man (well an Upyr) and a woman it's a family love story. The moments between Edmund and his children as well as the siblings relationship really tug at my heartstrings and those moments are so poignant that it sometimes brings tears to my eyes.

That's what I love about Ms Holly, she brings the spice but she also brings the emotion. I couldn't put Kissing Midnight down (which made for a long night for me). There are very few books that give you a glow after you've read them but this does and left me breathless and waiting for her next book. Brava Ms Holly!