Customer Reviews

Parallel Heat (Midnight Warriors, Book 2)

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In the second volume of Knight's original new series, she picks up where she left off with characters from the first novel returning for a new adventure, new loves, and a new hero grappling with his own demons.

Marco McKinley had been assigned to Earth most of his life and was now coming to his place in time as a warrior and guardian to the newly married royals Jared and Kelsey. As a Madjin he was sworn to forego his own sexual urges and protect the royals. Unfortunately, one royal, Thea Haven, ignites a desire and a yearning in him that is beyond anything he has ever felt before. Little do either of them know that their recognition of "knowing" one another can be explained. In an alternate universe they were lovers, both bound together by betrayal and vengeance against the very royals Marco was now sworn to protect.

Thea thought once that her life was over once her cousin and king Jared took a human for a lifemate but now she has to contend with an overwhelming awareness of the very disturbing Madjin whose very presence is causing her to `change'. With Earth on the brink of disaster from the alien warmonger Antousians who want to annihilate the human race, Marco and Thea must first fight off their forbidden desires before they can band together to fight the real enemy.

Once again Knight explodes with another compelling page-turner that is a must read for fans she hooked with her debut PARALLEL ATTRACTION. As the saga of Jared and Kelsey continues, it is richly enhanced with the love between Marco and Thea while tossing in a few nibbles for one can safely assume as an upcoming book featuring a romance between Scott and the FBI blind linguist Hope. Although enough references were made to background events from the first book, this can be considered stand-alone but truly would be more enjoyable if read in order. Bottom line is this is one heck of a riveting sensual ride no matter what order it's read in.

Marilyn Rondeau - RIO, Reviewers International Organization

Just when I thought Deidre's Knights writing couldn't get any better-it did. She sucked me right into her next book--Parallel Heat--in a big way. Parallel Heat is the second of a continued futuristic romance series from Ms. Knight. The first book, Parallel Attraction held me spell bound until the end. I was curious to see if the second book would do the same. Well it did, and then some. Parallel Heat held me mesmerized, page after page, until I finished it!!! I couldn't put it down!!! Deidre Knight is a master storyteller, and she does not disappoint with Parallel Heat. We get to touch base with all the characters we loved from Parallel Attraction with the added element of Marco McKinley, a warrior and royal guardian jumping into the mix. And wow, wow, wow, what a fantastic book all these characters together produce!!!! It's action packed, full of fantastic gadgets, scorchingly romantic, enthrallingly well-written, and just one of the best darned books I've had the pleasure of reading in a long, long time (well, with the exception of Parallel Attraction). Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ms. Knight! All I can say to Deidre Knight is. when's the next one coming out!!!! Guys, don't miss this one!!!

Refarian rebels have been encamped in the Wyoming wilderness for years. Their exiled king, Jared Bennett, has finally taken a queen. This has inspired mixed feelings, as his new wife is human.

Thea Haven is crushed that Jared chose someone else. They were promised to each other while young children; Thea grew up taking their future for granted. Now a mysterious stranger has appeared. Marco McKinley is a member of an elite royal guard unit. A Madjin, he is sworn to protect Jared, his queen, and Thea. Something about Marco renews Thea's hopes for finding love, but he has a dark secret that makes taking a lover dangerous in the extreme.

While Thea and Marco struggle with their feelings, they are thrown into danger as a member of their small army is captured by the US Air Force, which believes the Refarians intend to do Earth harm. Far from the truth, they have been protecting Earth from a vicious enemy, one that is gathering for a deadly invasion.

Split timelines, war, love, and mystery move in intricate circles that threaten to devour everyone involved. If the Refarians can't stop their enemies, more than Earth will be lost. It'll be up to Thea and Marco to end the threat.

In a novel that eclipses the first, Deidre Knight creates a compelling cast of characters in a unique sci-fi romance. Readers of the first installment, Parallel Attraction, will find many unanswered questions cleared up. While there is still a bit of confusion here and there, this work shows a great deal of author improvement, suggesting a great deal to enjoy in future titles.

Note to readers: Least you begin to believe this author is lacking in originality with the characters' names, don't. They do have alien names, but they go by the closest Earth equivalents.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
8/1/2006

Marco McKinley is one of the Madjin, a sworn protector for the exiled king of the Refarians, Jared Bennett. The discovery of the mitres in PARALLEL ATTRACTION has opened up the concept of parallel, or alternate, universes. Marco is wildly attracted to Theo Haven, who is both a soldier and one of the D'Ashanian, but will the right choices be made in this timeline? And don't forget those pesky Antousians that the Refarians are at war with. Things are about to get hot in PARALLEL HEAT!

If you haven't read Deidre Knight's first book in the series, PARALLEL ATTRACTION, stop right here and go read it immediately. This is one series you don't want to miss, but it definitely should be read in order. The full depth and complexity of Ms. Knight's world becomes vividly apparent when reading this phenomenal series in order although she does provide enough of the back history to enable this to be a stand alone novel.

Deidre Knight truly demonstrates the full potential of combining science fiction and romance with PARALLEL HEAT. The continued development of Jared and his human wife, Kelsey, along with the sizzling hot attraction between Marco and Theo make this a sensual and stunning romance. However, the science fiction aspects are not secondary but are instead just as important as the romance in Ms. Knight's carefully crafted world. The notion of parallel timelines in which each choice could significantly alter the outcome is not necessarily a new one, but Ms. Knight's approach is as she cleverly interweaves the alternate realities into the storyline.

PARALLEL HEAT is a phenomenal tale that will resonate with readers. The artful blend of science fiction and romance is very well done, making PARALLEL HEAT perhaps the best of this genre. Deidre Knight writes a satisfying story while leaving the reader yearning for more.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I zipped right through this book. It had me captivated from page one. It's set in Wyoming, with a fascinating war between human and alien soldiers. Marco McKinly is assigned to protect Thea Haven and more than takes his job seriously--problem is he is so attracted to her he can hardly keep his hands off of her. The sexual tension will have you begging for them to get together. A great twist at the end!

This is what I look for in a good read. It left me with feelings of warmth and envy for the characters, who found their soulmates. There are alot of sensual encounters and they are so well done that you truly wish it could happen to you.

Marco McKinley is a warrior and royal guardian. He is the one from PARALLEL ATTRACTION who saved them all and left a letter for Jared and Kelsey, the king and queen of Refaria, he serves. I have looked forward to his story since the last book. He is a Madjin, a warrior who serves his king and protects him. He is attracted to Thea Haven, the king's cousin, as soon as he lays eyes on her. Now he has visions of holding her in his arms and more. But he knows he has never even met her.

Thea Haven is a warrior, she is also the cousin to Jared, she had always felt that she would marry Jared. She is having to deal with her feelings toward the new queen. When she meets Marco her world is turned around, his eyes, his touch, cause the fire of "Change" to tremble through her body. They are thrown togather because of the danger from the Antousians. They are shapeshifters who need human bodies to survive. They are headed for Earth and the Refarians are the only hope.

I love the romance, the sense of adventure and the nobility of the characters. I enjoy learning more about old characters and new ones, each book is complete but leaves us with a taste of things to come. Ms Knight has an exceptional imagination, serving us a virtual smorgasboard of characters and hopefully many more books.

Have you ever spent time at the bookstore eyeing up all the titles and not finding one that grabs you? Tapping your chin, thinking, you'd love to find a new author you could latch onto who's writing a series. Books you could look forward to - as if they were your next heartbeat.

THE MIDNIGHT WARRIORS SERIES has done that for me. The first book I purchased was the second in the series, PARALLEL HEAT. As soon as I began reading the pages, Marco McKinley and Thea's precarious love story and suspenseful plot held me spellbound. The alien Refarian base in the Grand Tetons and mitres chamber in the outreaches of Yellowstone whirled me out of my life and left me looking past the stars, searching and wondering what was going on out there and here on earth.

Marco McKinley, a shunned Royal Guardian, is a tortured alpha soul and Thea Haven - an intuitive and cousin to Refarian King Jared - feels she's in no man's land when her prophesized marriage to King Jared doesn't happen.

Earth thinks the Refarians are their enemies and wants to destroy them. Thea and Marco end up fighting together to protect their King and human Queen, bringing their love to an explosive climax - forbidden because she's a D'Ashani and he's a Madjin but whirling together, nonetheless.

Deidre Knight has me making a beeline to the shelf now. :) She's also awakened me to higher things. This is an author who does her research and makes the pages come alive.

Parallel Heat offers unforgettable characters of strength and passion.

Marco McKinley is a warrior and protector, yet he also possess special gifts that are two-edged. His duty and his intense feeings for the beautiful Thea Haven push him to the edge.

Thea Haven feels Marco's powerful presence and neither can stop the passion that explodes between them.

The plot and the wonderful characters kept me turning the pages.
If you enjoy paranormal romance, Parallel Heat of the Midnight Warrior series will leave you wanting more.

Parallel Seduction is already on my to be bought list. Deidre Knight is a rising star of paranormal romance. Read her series and find out why.

Pollyanna Williamson

Deidre Knight delivers her second tale in the Parallel series and it totally dazzles. Many of the first book tics of Parallel Attraction are gone in this her second novel. The flow is better. Questions are answered. Parallel Attraction wasn't an "easy read". Complicated premises never are, so it's hard for some "skim" reading to get into a detailed book. Now that "Attraction" has set the foundation, Knight is able to fly with the storyline carried over into "Heat".

We pick up where Attraction left off, Jared Bennett, the exiled king of the Refarians has settled his people in the wilds of Wyoming. He now has a queen, Kelsey, his love from the first book. Only Thea Haven isn't too thrilled Jared has a wife. She and Jared were promised to each other when they were but children, so she grew to womanhood thinking she'd one day be Jared's queen. Now another has taken her place.

Soon her life is complicated even more by the appearance of Marco McKinley. A stranger, a warrior, Marco is a member of a royal guard and sworn to protect Jared, Kelsey and Thea, while helping Jared regain his kingdom. Thea and Marco are soon shooting sparks off each other, but both feel they don't have the time for love while they are preparing for war on earth. Worse, Marco has been cautioned that his love for Thea could see him betray Jared. If this isn't trouble enough, a member of the Rafarians is caught by the US Air Force who believes the Rafarians are plotting to do bad deeds against Earth.

Again the novel is complex, compelling with a strong hero and heroine to match him. It's fast paced, with enough twists and turns to keep the reader turning pages. Many that were left with questions from the first novel will find these addressed in this book. So buckle up and enjoy another installment in Knight's Parallel world, which leaves you eager for Parallel Seduction in 2007.

Seldom does a second installment in a series live up to the promise of the first. The success of Deidre Knight's initial title in this series depended on building an plausible and consistent story realm, establishing an understandable concept of shifting alternate timelines, and populating the story's world with vivid and compelling characters, relationships, and conflicts. With this work done, Deidre Knight's second title, Parallel Heat, not only meets the bar set forth in Parallel Attraction--it exceeds it.

While Earth stands on the brink of war with the Antousian Aliens, Rafarian Soldier, Thea Haven, is still smarting from losing Jared, the Rafarian King she'd been promised to in childhood, to the human woman, Kelsey. With her heart and her pride still smarting from Jared's recent nuptials, Thea heeds the urging of her friend and comrade, Scott, and half heartedly seeks her solace in a local bar. There, she runs into Marco McKinley. Immediately her soul sparks a fierce connection with the dark, intense, and hauntingly familiar man.

When Thea and Marco McKinley lock eyes for the first time, an inexplicable yearning heat is ignited between them. Memory flashes of a fierce sexual union neither of them can recall torment the two strangers.

The Alien Warrior Marco McKinley came introduced in book 1, has spent his life sworn into chastity as a Madjin--a rare and dying group committed to the protective service for the Rafarian royal family: Jared, Kelsey, and Thea.

When Marco is afforded a fleeting glimpse of a dark and destructive parallel lifetime where he and Thea were lovers, he comes to fear that consummating his love for Thea could cause him to betray Jared, the king he has sworn to protect. Marco struggles against what he calls a "darkness" in himself--Marco is an empath, which is an unspeakable taboo in Rafarian culture. Marco fears that if he gives into his heart and makes a bond with Thea, she will become an empath too, and be destroyed because of it.

As events take turns for the worse,Scott, a high ranking soldier and friend to Jared falls into the hands of the US Air Force, who believes him to be an enemy.

The fated pair struggle against their overwhelming desires and conflicting emotions as they team up to pull Earth away from the brink of a war which could well destroy the planet.

Thea and Marco must battle their desires long enough to save their comrade, and save the Earth from the true enemy, another species of alien know as the Antousians.

While Parallel Heat is strong enough to stand on its own merits, as a second entry into the Parallel series, Deidre Knight dazzles her readers with right-on characterizations and expertly crafted scenes sultry enough to ward off even the deepest chill.

By topping the story off with a true cliffhanger ending, Knight successfully seduces her readers into yearning for more.