Customer Reviews

Midnight Rising

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Lara Adrian has really hit her stride! This is the fourth in her series about the Breed, vampires who battle the rogue members of their kind and who, one by one, find their mates. The first couple of books seemed to rely very heavily on J R Ward's "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series for ideas but it seems, in this book and to some extent in the last, that Lara Adrian has found her own voice. Yes, many aspects of the Breed's life seems like that of the Brotherhood but as Lara Adrian has explored her world more fully in these books they seem to have taken on more of a life of their own.

The hero of this book is Rio, scarred and wounded after the betrayal of his Breedmate Eva. Rio was meant to have destroyed a cave which contained the hibernation chamber of one of the Ancients in the middle of nowhere in the Czech Republic but as the story opens he hasn't yet done it. Several months have passed with Rio living in the cave almost like some kind of animal, suffering from the blackouts and mood swings as a result of his injuries in the explosion in the first book, trying to work up the energy to destroy the cave - and himself with it. Unfortunately for Rio the cave is discovered by a young American woman on holiday with some friends; not only does she discover the cave and see Rio, she photographs the contents. Rio desperately needs to do some damage limitation to prevent the photographs being shared with other people and the existence of the Breed perhaps being made known to the world. He tracks the woman, Dylan Alexander, but when he finds her he discovers things are worse than he had feared - she's a reporter and has sent the photographs back to her editor in America who has passed them on to some other people.

Rio realises all he can do is destroy the cave, kidnap Dylan and take her back to the Breed headquarters in Boston to get the other warriors to help to scrub the minds of the people who have seen the photographs before they are printed in the magazine. Things are even worse when Rio discovers Dylan is a Breedmate and that she has a very strong reason not to settle into the Darkhavens but to carry on her life in New York City. As Rio and the other warriors try to keep their secrets under wraps, investigate some strange murders and keep Dylan safe, things get very complex indeed.

This story was stronger on characterisation than some of the others in this series. Rio plays the damaged, wounded man very well - and he's also remarkably close-mouthed when it comes to secrets. Dylan, being a journalist, is full of questions, most of which aren't answered to her satisfaction. She is described very well so that we understand why she doesn't fear Rio as much as she might and how she is able to cope with and accommodate to the drastic changes in her life.

The other characters from previous novels are in this book, including Andreas Reichen in Berlin and Sterling Chase, the Enforcement Agent-turned-Warrior. However the vast majority of the pages focus on Rio and Dylan and their interactions; the 'baddie' in this book gets a few pages to himself but this isn't a distraction from the overall central plot - Rio's post-trauma problems and Dylan's life choice. It was a great read overall, probably the best in this series so far. I look forward to the next story, focusing on Nikolai, due to be released in December 2008.

Dylan Alexander is in the Czech Republic when she sees the ghost of a young woman who begs her to save him. She finds a cave with a stone coffin inside and glyphs on the wall. In the cave is also Rio a Breed vampire whose face is scarred due to a fight he got into with Rogues in Boston (feral vampires who drink human blood). A straightforward mission was compromised by the traitorous actions of his now dead wife Eva. He senses Dylan in the cave but isn't worried because when she leaves he will scrub her memory.

Rio destroys the cave, tracks her down and brings her to the Darkhaven in Germany; where Breeds and Breedmates live. He learns that she sent pictures she took out to her boss, relatives and friends. She shows him her mark and he knows she is a rare female known as a Breedmate. Dylan is having a hard time believing Rio, but at his Boston Order residence he tells her she must choose between living in a Darkhaven with a mate and having her memory scrubbed so she can return to her life. When she sees Eva's picture, she realizes his late wife is the ghost she saw and tells Rio. He goes into a rage and turns into his vampire form; forcing Dylan to believe. As they fall in love, they must find the Ancient vampire father held captive by a mad scientist experimenting on him and destroy them both.

Vampires, ghosts and breedmates seem genuine although it helps especially at the beginning to have read previous Breedmate tales (see KISS OF MIDNIGHT, KISS OF CRIMSON, and MIDNIGHT AWAKENING) to fully savor the supernatural goings on. The changing relationship between Dylan and Rio is wonderfully developed so that the audience appreciates each one as an individual and as a romantic couple. Fans of the series will appreciate Lara Adrian's latest romantic fantasy although the confrontation between good and evil sets up future entries more than it does plot closure.

Harriet Klausner

Rio is one of "The Order's" vampire warriors. The Order is group of fierce (all male) warriors, crossbreeds of otherworldly and human origins. Their only mission is to protect "The Breed." The Breed is all of the civilian vampires. This means The Order must wipe out all Rogues. The Rogues are vampires who have given themselves over to Bloodlust and become savage creatures. They are junkies who will do anything for their next fix of blood. But on top of the war on Rouge's and trying to hunt down the ancient alien vampire - a women has damaging evidence that could expose the vampires.

Dylan Alexander's only remaining family, her mother Sharon, cancer had returned. Sharon Alexander and her three best friends had planned a summer tour of Europe. Since her mother was in and out of the hospital a lot Dylan went in her place. Dylan works for a tabloid newspaper and since her impromptu vacation she is at risk for losing her job - the only way to keep it is to bring back a great story. Dylan and her traveling companions, Janet, Marie and Nancy, were in the middle of the Czech Republic when in the first time in twenty years she spots a ghost. After her companions took a break for a snack, Dylan follows the ghost up to a crevice high up the mountain. Inside the crevice she discovered it was actually a tomb. She had found her story, `Ancient Human Sacrifices Discovered in Dracula's Backyard!' - She couldn't write, all she could do was think about her mother's death. After hearing the folklore in town she decided to return to the tomb - she didn't expect to run into anyone...she was wrong.

In Kiss of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 1) Rio's Breedmate, Eva, betrayed The Order. She made a deal with Marek, the leader of the Rouges, to kill Lucien and anyone else but, they were to spare Rio. She gave them information and then whored herself to them to seal the deal - Rio was badly burned, almost died and is still scarred. Because of the betrayal Rio denounced her, and she was so upset that she slit her own throat. Hidden away in the tomb that once held the Ancient One he was haunted by her ghost. He had stayed behind to destroy the crypt (along with himself), but then she came and saw too much. Everything was set to explode but, due to starving himself he was unable to focus - then she returned and the hunger flooded him. Then she surprised him and got away...the hunt begins. This woman, like him, had known disappointment, hurt and betrayal in her life.

This book held my attention. I read it in one sitting - this book pulled me chapter after chapter without a break. The book has a good solid pace, and great flow. This was my favorite in the series.

~~There is an excerpt from Veil of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 5) at the end of this book.~~

The books in the series:
Kiss of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 1) - Lucan Thorne and Gabrielle Maxwell
Kiss of Crimson (The Midnight Breed, Book 2) - Dante and Dr. Tess Culver
Midnight Awakening (The Midnight Breed, Book 3) - Tegan and Elise Chase
Midnight Rising (The Midnight Breed, Book 4) - Rio and Dylan Alexander
Veil of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 5) - Nikolai and Renata
Ashes of Midnight (Midnight Breed Series) - Andreas Reichen and Claire Roth
Shades of Midnight: A Midnight Breed Novel - Kade ~ Coming December 29, 2009

I've read all the books in this series, and decided that this is the last one for me. My favorite and the only one I actually liked was the Midnight Awakening (book 3 in the series). Somehow that story really appealed to me and all the supporting characters and action involved made it an entertaining read. Midnight Rising didn't quite do it for me. Don't get me wrong, the storyline is not that bad and I do think that Lara Adrian is a talented writer. My problem is inability to connect with the characters and identical theme throughout every book.

Why does everyone have to be so tortured and unhappy? Dylan is dealing with her mother's cancer, and Rio certainly has a number of issues - and together they are one big soap opera with a ghostly ex-wife in tow. Enough with all the tortured souls! Don't happy people without a truck load of issues ever get together?

Also, every single book has the same formula, which is getting very old - they meet; like each other; know they can't be together but really want to; overcome that barrier and say their I love you's; and finally mate for life. The hero and heroine are different, the setting is a bit different, but other then that everything stays the same. And I know that the next book will be exactly the same.

If you can't get enough of the heart wrenching love story with a supernatural twist and a very happy ending - this series is for you. Otherwise, read Midnight Awakening, which is the best book in the series, and that will pretty much sum up the whole long story for you.

This is the book I enjoyed less in the series, in part because I think it was a little early for Rio's HEA.

Rio is the cavern of the Ancient to destroy it, but he plans to kill himself. There he meets Dylan, a reporter who is travelling with some friends of her mother instead of her, because her mum is ill. Dylan takes photos and sends them to her boss, starting problems.

The development of the Ancients plot is very interesting, but the relationship between Rio and Dylan didn't satisfy me. Although they make a good couple, it was very sudden. They didn't touch me as the previous couples. Also, the apparition of Eva in form of a ghost was a little unnerving.

There is also something that bothered me a little. Rio sometimes uses Spanish words or phrases, and some of them were incorrect. It's not something important to the story, but it's annoying when you know the language. It would have been better to have someone knowledgeable in Spanish check on them before publishing.

The previous Midnight Breed books were action-packed and intriguing. However I found Midnight Rising to be extremely slow moving.

SEMI-SPOILERS: The character of Dylan did not present herself as being even remotely likeable until the book was almost over! Initially what irked me was her playing the annoying game of 1001 Questions with Rio. Furthermore, Dylan made baffling decisions once she left the captivity of The Order and returned to New York. I kept asking myself: "If Dylan is supposedly so enthralled with Rio, then why doesn't she just tell him about the situation with her mother?? Why run off?" Then she turns around and has intimate relations with Rio whom just minutes before she was trying to run away from. Not a good look!

At any rate, I was only mildly interested in the main characters and their happenings until about the 90% mark when the action picked up... Slightly disappointed...Not necessarily a bad read just...slow...

I finished this book in one evening. It probably had nothing to do with the fact that I already mostly knew (and was sort of attached to) the characters or that the main 'hero' of this novel had so much to overcome.

Rio, one of the Breed warriors, was betrayed by his Breedmate Eva, in the very first book. Her betrayal nearly killed him; scarring his body and soul so badly that by the time the fourth book rolls around Rio is ready to end it all.

Before he can set off the explosives that would be necessary to destroy evidence of a cave crypt of an Ancient One (and seal himself inside) a woman enters the cave where he had been hiding and sees the glyphs on the wall, the human remains and the empty crypt. Unable to let her just walk away while knowing more than she should (especially since the woman is a journalist!) Rio follows her and eventually has to kidnap her. But containing the information and the woman he kidnapped (Dylan) is much more difficult than Rio had imagined.

Dylan's unique gift as a Breedmate allows her to see Breedmates who have died, who have something they want to tell her or want her to do. This isn't something that Dylan understands at first, never having learned about her potential as a Breedmate. The ghost of Eva actually led Dylan to Rio and helps Rio locate Dylan after she is kidnapped by Dragos (the villain!).

It was very easy to read and certainly furthers the main storyline plot. Can't wait to snatch up the next one this December.

This book is STILL just as great as the 3 that came before it. Rio makes such an interesting hero, seeing the trauma to his character from the first book, and the continued pain we witness in his character in books 2 and 3. I loved seeing how Lara Adrian resolved this issue.

I was totally blown away at how good this book was. Wasn't expecting much from the previouse reviews, but this was awesome. It starts off slow, although I think her books tend to do that, but then WOW. Some people stated they thought their relationship just started off to quick. Disagree. Dylan is thrust into this situation that is scarey and diffrent, but she can't help feeling this odd attraction to this man who has kidnapped her.
She is desprate to get home to her mom who is dying of cancer and the emotional interaction between her mom, oh man, very good.
Rio is a wounded man inside and out. Ava his breedmate who betrayed him in the first book is still unsure he even wants to live anymore because he feels so messed up. He meets Dylan who changes his views, but he fights his attraction because he feels he is to raw for someone like her.
But with her gentle love he finally realizes he is worth being loved. Couple good love scences to add to the mix was good and hot.
Overall a very good book, give it a chance it will be definatly worth it.

"Lara Adrian's Book #4, MIDNIGHT RISING is yet another tour-de-force read in her Midnight Breed vampire series for Bantam Dell (April 2008). In the Czech Republic, tabloid journalist, Dylan Alexander is on vacation hiking in the mountains with her mother's friends when she sees a female ghost beckoning to her. At the cost of possibly losing her job, Dylan is on the trip in place of her mother, who requested she go because she has terminal cancer. Dylan hasn't seen a dead person since her childhood and this ethereal woman leads her directly to a dark cavern and pleads with her to "Save him". By flashlight, Dylan sees hieroglyphics, a skull and an empty crypt and senses a strange presence and flees. The next day pressured by her editor for a tabloid story, Dylan returns alone to further investigate her discovery and while taking pictures she stumbles on a mysterious man lying on the cave's floor. Little does she know, Rio is one of the Midnight Breed, an elite band of warrior vampires, who protect both immortals and humans from evil Rogues that want to control the world. Rio had been charged by the Breed to seal the cavern months ago that formerly housed unspeakable evil. In his scarred and emotionally damaged state from being badly betrayed by his former wife, Rio is ready to end his life and had planned to seal himself in the tomb as well. However, when Dylan escapes with her camera of photos, Rio knows he must follow her and prevent her from showing them to anyone. When Rio catches up to Dylan and discovers she's already uploaded the photos to her boss in the U.S., he kidnaps her and takes her back first to the Darkhaven compound in Germany and then the Midnight Breed headquarters in Boston. Unbeknownst to Rio, Dylan bears the crimson teardrop-shaped mark of a Breedmate, the only human women that can mate with his kind. Can Rio save Dylan from evil forces they know little about and can Dylan heal his broken heart? With finely penned larger than life alpha heroes, riveting unique plots and to-die-for passion, Ms. Adrian is an author, who understands what readers are truly looking for in a great romance. Lara Adrian is a force to be reckoned with in paranormal romance and her star continues to rise with MIDNIGHT RISING."