Customer Reviews

Midnight Sins

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Midnight Sins takes Eden's wonderful mix of suspense, steamy romance and a world filled with paranomal entities, and gives it even more depth. Capitalizing on the cast Eden started developing in Midnight Sins, she add some new faces but it is really the additional 'fleshing' out of old her characters that bring this world and the story to life.

This time our hero is Todd Brooks, the human police detective in Hotter After Midnight, who was kept in the dark about the paranormal overtones of his last case by his truth-shy werewolf partner Colin and his Captain, McNeal, who is also more than human. But Todd got an eye opening glimpse of Colin shifting at the end of the last story, so that when they try to keep the supernatural details pertaing to their the latest serial killer case from him yet again, Todd demands the truth.

Our heroine is luscious Cara Maloan, a succubus who has sworn off sex until she meets Todd. Somehow she can't resist him, especially when she discovers that Todd is immune to her 'demon' mind control and she realises that what she has with Todd will not be another meaningless romp with a 'sexual puppet'. So, though Todd is drawn by lure of Cara's addictive scent, he is fully able to hold his own against a woman he desires like none he's met before. So what's the problem? The killer's victims are men found naked and bound and drained of their life force with a sex-demon's mark on their chest and Cara's the only succubus in town.

I loved Todd as he adjusts to the discovery that there is so much more to the world, it something he's always sensed and it turns out that Todd also has 'a little extra'. His relationship with Cara sizzles, even as he struggles to try to fit what he knows in his heart about Cara with the evidence that keeps popping up to cast suspiscion on the lovely demoness.

It was great to have the supporting cast back - really that's half the fun of reading a series. And though the starring pair Colin and Emily only have minor roles and we get more of the back story and a bit of resolution for McNeal and the Medical Examiner Smith - who also had her own traumatizing paranormal eye-opener in the last book- to reward us for our return journey to Eden's world. But the most enticing encore was for powerful, dark and sexy Niol. Eden does a great job of setting Niol up as the bad boy star for the final book in this trilogy. I can hardly wait for his story, Midnight's Master.

Eden's Midnight series and shorts set in the same world
Hotter After Midnight (book 1)
Midnight Sin's (book 2)
Midnight's Master (book 3)
When He Was Bad "Wicked Ways" - shapeshifter
Everlasting Bad Boys "Spellbound" - witch & demon justice dealer

Detective Todd Brooks just got a rude awakening on his last case about the existence of monsters. He saw his partner turn into a werewolf and fight another monster to save a woman who had been kidnapped. In that case, his captain and partner had been keeping secrets, and his guess is that it was about the monsters.

He's working a new set of grisly murders, and it looks like a sex demon is doing the killings. Cara, a night club singer is a prime suspect since she is a succubus. But as he's working the case, he's fighting his attraction for her.

Cara had sworn off sex, feeding from the energy from her shows. But that was until she met Todd. He's like nobody she has met before. After her alibis clear her, she helps the detectives find the murderers.

I read the first book in the series as well as an anthology by Eden, and this was her best work to date. It was an engrossing mix of fast action, suspense, mystery and romance. I liked the characters and the book pulled me in.

If you are on the hunt for more books like this, check out my list of paranormal romance favorites...

http://www.amazon.com/Paranormal-action-romance-must-reads/lm/R214ESW3HL12HM/ref=tag_lag_rb_munk_lmfull

(copy and paste into your browser window)

When Atlanta detective Todd Brooks meets beautiful Cara Firon, suspect in three murders, she doesn't look like a monster to him; quite the reverse. However Cara knows that, as a Succubus, she would be considered a monster by most humans, including her former lover who tried to kill her. But Todd's world is beginning to open now he's seen his partner turn into a wolf, something Todd has tried to push to the back of his mind since that event.

Cara's alibis check out but Todd can't leave her alone and it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to frame her for the murders. What is the motive? Who is doing it? As Todd learns about the dangerous underworld of the 'Others' and of the power that his succubus demon has, he has to start re-evaluating much of what he used to know about the world and about the people with whom he worked.

This was an enjoyable story with the murderer not clear until almost the end of the book. I liked the way that the author described Todd's gradual learning of a new side to the world in which he lives and the glimpses into the relationships and lives of some of the other characters. The central romance was rather more a love-at-first-sight story with both characters having to learn to trust but it was still an enjoyable journey with them.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009

Plot Summary: Nightclub singer Cara Maloan smells like sugar and spice to Detective Todd Brooks, but that's how a succubus, or sex demon, lures her prey. Cara may be all blond hair and soft curves outside, but inside she's a full-blooded demon who can use her skills to give pleasure, pain, or death. Todd suspects she may be a serial killer who leaves her victims tied down, naked, and dead. Cara knows she's innocent, but she's also the only succubus in town, and the real killer is determined to make her life a living hell by framing her for the crimes.

This story is a fun, effortless read with nicely balanced romance, mystery, sex, and supernatural elements. The cast of characters keeps things interesting, and my only regret is that our hero is human. It's like watching a guppy try to swim with the sharks, and Todd Brooks's lack of powers doesn't turn me on. However, he's perfectly convincing as a horny, frustrated cop who won't budge an inch. No one managed to drag me into their world emotionally, but I enjoyed the story from beginning to end.

Cara's angst didn't quite translate for me, but I found her premise interesting. She starts the story as a sex demon who has sworn off sex, which isn't really a valid proposition for her kind. Maybe I'll decide to stop breathing too. Lucky for her, she meets yummy Detective Brooks soon after, and once he rules her out as a suspect, they're bed hopping in no time.

I'm not sure why, but this book isn't listed anywhere as being in a series, and yet it is. Start with "Hotter After Midnight" if you want to read these in order. It's not strictly necessary though. I had no problems starting with "Midnight Sins" since each book focuses on a different couple. Like a lot of series, I found myself more interested in one of the side characters, demon bad-boy Niol, and it looks like his story is up next in "Midnight's Master" set for June 2009.

This is the second book of three dandy reads by C. Eden. The
character of Det. Todd Brooks is introduced in Hotter after Midnight (Great Read Alert). The plot is a nice twist on the unlikely pairing of a demon (Cara Maloan) and a human. Fun Sex scenes involving a pool and various evil lends just enough structure to make this a compulsive read. And, great returning characters from Hotter After Midnight also lend a smooth transition into this story. No spoiler alerts! Just buy the 3 books and enjoy!

Detective Todd Brooks is sick of being in the dark on cases, sick of feeling like his partner...the partner he saw turn into a wolf in an agonizing cacophony of broken and reshaped bones and limbs, doesn't trust him. And he's still not sure how the heck that guy Niol tossed him across the room without seeming to lay a hand on him. He's haunted by what he's seen but he's struggling not to let it affect his work. So what if he's gotten a little testy from the burden? When a new murder case drops into his and his partner Colin's lap, evidence points hard towards the sexiest woman Todd's ever seen and he instantly wants her - bad. He should have guessed that's all is not what it seems, and as murdered men keep popping up, the suspect who every instinct inside Todd is screaming is innocent falls under closer scrutiny and Todd finds out she's got a few secrets of her own. Like the fact that she's a sex demon, for one, though Cara prefers the term succubus, and thanks to Todd no longer accepting being kept in the dark by his partner and Captain, he's already realized that the most likely perpetrator of the deaths of several of Atlanta's human male population is a succubus. Problem is, they're territorial, and Cara's the only one in town. Maybe he shouldn't have slept with her after all...

I truly enjoy Cynthia Eden's writing style and her ability to put together a rousing suspense novel ripe with fantastic paranormal aspects. I think she has a near adept-level ability to wend stunning sexuality, heat, and emotion into a conflagration that sets pages on fire. I love this world she's created for her Midnight trilogy, a world in which Others such as demons, shifters, vampires, and witches work and play side by side with humanity with most humans being none the wiser. In the first book of the trilogy, Hotter After Midnight, I also thoroughly enjoyed the lead characters and their relationship, as well as the development of the mystery and suspense, and thought those two aspects worked well together.

Midnight Sins wasn't quite as effective in that last area, unfortunately. We first met the good detective in that first book, Hotter After Midnight, and to be honest, I didn't like him very much. Todd's a bit too quick to fire on that temper of his and he has a tendency to walk very loudly while carrying that big stick. He struck me as stubborn, close minded, opinionated, long on ego, and not so long on intelligence. Admittedly, that impression improved when he got his own book, and his character developed along nicer paths as soon as he got a look at Cara, the succubus with the heart of gold, a sex demon who's given up sex because it leaves her feeling empty inside.

To be honest, I thought the plot of Midnight Sins was a little stronger and more comprehensive than Hotter After Midnight, the danger more personal, and the motivations of the perpetrator more believable. The development and arc of the plot overall was good. I just had some difficulties warming up to Todd as a character, and I wasn't totally sold on the relationship between Todd and Cara. I did enjoy Todd eventually, and I think there was a lot of progress in his character from the previous book through to the end of this one. There were several scenes, one with Colin in particular, in which Todd's lack of prejudice and his ability to adapt quickly to a major paradigm shift became a very nice character trait.

That left, however, problems for me between him and Cara. Their relationship was sexy, it was sultry, it was hot, but it didn't have a whole lot of narrative surrounding its development (it was more like 'I see, I want, I have'), and it didn't offer much beyond superficial motivations for their hook up. Cara's smokin' hot (she's a succubus, so that sort of goes without saying) and Todd's drawn to her almost compulsively, and in Cara's case, she can't mind mojo Todd when he's awake and that appeals to her. It just didn't strike me as much of a solid foundation for a long lasting relationship. Obviously, they get to know each other better as the book progresses, but I never quite got the sense of a love match, so much as a lust match.

Other aspects of the book were very appealing, though. I thoroughly enjoy when books in a series include characters previously featured, like Todd's partner, the wolf shifter Colin Gyth and his lover Dr. Emily Drake, the monster doctor, from Hotter After Midnight. As Todd's partner, Colin was in several scenes with him, but there were also one or two that featured Colin and Emily alone and I thought the continuity and solidity of character definition between the first book and this one was particularly well done with them and also with the Medical Examiner Smith and the guys' Captain, McNeal.

Despite not being totally enamored of the foundations of the relationship between Todd and Cara, by the end they did fit pretty well together, and the story surrounding them was enjoyable. I'm very much looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy, Midnight's Master, to spend some time with my favorite character of the entire series so far, the level ten demon Niol. I love that he has his own book and I can't wait to read it. 3.5 Stars.

Originally reviewed on One Good Book Deserves Another.

Cynthia Eden has mixed a few genres to come up with this interesting paranormal romance/crime series. Her supernatural world is populated by all kinds of beings, and yet - just as with the first book - she does an excellent job of explaining her world without making us read information dumps. The second book follows a serial killer investigation and the developing relationship between police detective Todd Brooks who was in the first book, and supernatural Cara Maloan, who we met only briefly before. Cara is a succubus and hates it. She is also the number one suspect in the investigation. I preferred the first book a little more, and this was mainly because the fact the heroine was a succubus made the story a little too much about sex.

I enjoy the world the author has created. It's a world where supernatural creatures live their lives much like humans, and where they commit crimes in much the same way. This is as much a murder mystery as it is a paranormal romance, and while aspects of the crime are supernatural, they still must be investigated the same way a human crime would be. I have to admit I knew pretty early on who the killer was, but it seemed like maybe this was the author's intention.

I liked both the hero and the heroine and the conflict in their relationship (Cara's the prime suspect in the serial killer case, and while Todd doesn't want her to be, he has to prove it before he can give up on it). Cara is strong and Todd wants to go on protecting her even though she insists it isn't necessary. My only gripe is that the sex took over a bit too much of the story. This is on the more explicit end of the paranormal romance scale - not erotica, but certainly not a series for conservative readers.

The first book in the series was very good, and I did prefer it to this one, but then I think I prefer the shifters to the succubi. I liked the shifters the author created, and there's not as much that interests me about beings who live off sex. The crime part of the first book was more compelling, and the danger to the heroine was much more real, more threatening in book one. I missed some of that tension in this one.

I would like to mention the terrible editing. In a number of places there were words missing from sentences. Then towards the end when they were talking about the killer, they used the hero's name by accident! I couldn't believe this wasn't picked up somewhere in the editing process - it was a pretty big mistake!!

Gripes aside, I picked this up one evening with the intention of reading a couple of chapters, and ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. This series has an interesting concept, and I am looking forward to reading the next one

The homicides are horrifying because they look somewhat innocent as if a tryst of two consenting adults left one behind tied to a bed. However, the victims all men may have appeared ready for a wild night of tough love, but somehow their essence is sucked from them leaving them dead with not a scratch or any evidence of foul play except for the corpse.

Police Detective Todd Brooks leads the investigation into the serial sex murders but has no clues until amidst the clothing of a victim is found the ID of Cara Firon. Todd brings Cara to the station for questioning. To his shock the men trip over each other to accommodate her; more stunning is he is the worst of those ready to her bidding. Cara tries to control her succubus pheromones with little success as the humans covet her, but she finds it more difficult controlling her desire for the human cop suspecting her as a serial killer.

This fast-paced paranormal romantic police procedural works because the two key elements, the murder investigation and the existence of supernatural beings seem real as each side enhances the other leading to an entertaining whodunit. Todd is superb as he is a no nonsense professional working a difficult case that bewilders him, but his biggest confusion is how the testosterone back in the station has overflowed once Cara enters; he kicks himself because he is no better than the others though he conceals his tent pole better. Cara is an excellent prime suspect who can't help but bringing out the male in the men. Cynthia Eden provides a delightful urban romantic investigative fantasy that sub-genre fans will relish and want more in this milieu.

Harriet Klausner

Loved this novel of Cynthia Eden's Other series. Great character development and story line. The romance is very, very steamy and well written. I recommend the whole series and that you read them in order if you like gritty, straight forward paranormal crime and romance.

Looking for sex? Lots of hot, M/F paranormal sex? Check out "Midnight Sins" by Cynthia Eden and that's what you'll fin. You'll also find a pretty nice plot with suspense and action too. I think this is the second book in her erotic paranormal series, but you certainly don't need to have read the first as I haven't...yet.

Cara is a succubus - that's a female sex demon to be precise. She NEEDS sex energy to live much like vampires need blood, but she's so very tired of only taking so she currently works in an Other night club in Atlanta, feeding from the humans 'playing' there as she sings. Then a series of murders take place that put Cara in the spotlight. And as soon as she lays eyes on handsome Detective Todd Brooks, Cara is hard-pressed to stick to her 'no-sex' vow.

Todd can't believe how attracted he is...to a possible serial killer no less. As soon as Cara's cleared of the crimes, he hotfoots it to the club in an effort to mitigate the hardline he took when Cara was a suspect. But this killer keeps trying to throw suspicion on Cara, and when Todd discovers the killer is a sex demon, will he still believe in her innocence?

Yes, this plot's been done before, but never in quite this way. There's a selection of possible suspects, a red herring or two, and a veritable smorgasbord of sex too. I enjoyed it and now I've got to go look in my stacks of 'to be read' books to see if I can find more by this author in this world!