Customer Reviews

Possess Me at Midnight (The Doomsday Brethren, Book 3)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Shayla Black strikes gold with her third DOOMSDAY BRETHREN novel, POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT. Readers begging for more of delicious bad boy Ice Rykard are sure to be pleased at this superlative and sexy story which shows that even bad boys deserve love.

Ice Rykard has gotten his nickname honestly. Rock hard, ice cold, and totally focused is the name of Ice's game, but lately something has been happening to his mojo - and her name is Sabelle Rion. For months Ice has not been able to stop thinking about her, and the tension between them when they are together is more than obvious. Ice knows that a true privileged princess like his Bella has no business becoming involved with a deprived warrior like himself, but his heart refuses to listen. With Bella guarding the Doomsday Diary because her brother is unable to, and the Anarki and Mathias hot on their heels, Ice vows to keep her safe.

Sabelle Rion is the epitome of a lady. She has been educated and versed in the gentleness of her race, and being the descendent of Merlin doesn't hurt. Bella, however, doesn't care about all that - she just wants to live her life and help her brother, now lying in a coma, in his fight against the evil and vile Mathias. When the Anarki come calling, Bella trusts her life and her heart with Ice Rykard, the only warrior strong enough to keep her safe. Bella finds herself obsessed with this honed warrior but knows that Bram would never in a million years allow her to answer the call to mate with Ice. If Sabelle knows one thing, it is her duty - she just wishes that she could convince her heart.

If sexual tension and smoldering lust could be cut with a knife, then POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT would need to come with a machete. With each and every scene, the reader is treated to a plethora of emotions that range from despondent to fiery passion. Ice's feelings for Bella are so gripping and real - I could feel what he felt for her. Bella's love for Ice, while just as adoring and true, were a bit tamer but no less genuine. Had she shirked her duty to her brother and their race, I don't think I would have enjoyed her capitulation quite so much.

POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT has it all -- powerful magic, blazing passion to warm even the coldest heart, loyalty, and breathtaking honest to goodness love in a paranormal world that left me breathless. I have no doubts as to this book's amazing and wonderful charm - take a gander at POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT and see what I am talking about. You won't be sorry!

Please note: POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT is the third book of Shayla Black's DOOMSDAY BRETHREN series, and I highly recommend reading this series in order beginning with books one and two, TEMPT ME WITH DARKNESS and SEDUCE ME IN SHADOW.

Natalie S.

I was so excited for this book. From the first book there were little hints regarding Ice's pull to Sabelle and vica versa.
Thier attraction and pull to eachother is adorable and sexy. Just makes you smile. Ice is the outcast of the group, but a Warrior non the less. Bram, Sabelle's brother and leader of the Brethren, has disdain for Ice. He won't allow Ice to shake hands with Sabelle. Bram incounters a spell that has negative effects from the end of the second book through to the this book. When Bram's house encounters an attack from the Anarki the Brethren splits up to survive. Ice takes Sabelle and carries Bram to safety. On the run from the Anarki and Mathias, Ice and Sabelle learn more about eachother increasing their pull towards one another. Lucan is also chaising Sabelle, but for entirely different reasons. Lucan is lonely after his mate, Anka, survives an attack that leaves her confused about who she belongs with. Bram wants Lucan and Sabelle to marry for political gain. Sabelle is conflicted between duty and love. Ice is conflicted with his love and a long ago emotional wound. I loved this book, a page turner and a enticing love story.

As the fight against Mathias and his Anarki army rages around her, Sabelle Rion watches helplessly as her brother Bram, the leader of the Doomsday Brethren, lies dying in a cloud of evil. When the battle literally knocks on their door, Sabelle and the others must flee. Ice Rykard swears to protect Sabelle and the Doomsday diary she holds from Mathias' evil clutches, even if it kills him. Every day he loses a piece of himself by being so near to Sabelle and not being able to touch her the way he'd like to. Sabelle feels Ice's desire for her, but Ice is Bram's enemy and an unlikely match for someone of her station. Sabelle may have to choose between her heart and her duty as Mathias inches closer in his quest to obtain the Doomsday Diary, eliminating each Council member one by one in the process.

The tension between Ice and Sabelle in Seduce Me In Shadow was intense, but it's nothing compared to Possess Me At Midnight. Considered royalty in magickind, Sabelle is bound by honor to marry as per her station. Being a Deprived rather than a Privileged, Ice is no-where near Sabelle's station. As is the fate of so many lovers of different classes, Sabelle is torn between love and duty. Bram is surprisingly responsible for most of Sabelle's anguish. I was on edge wondering if true love would conquer all until the very end. Sabelle and Ice's dilemma is similar to those in historical settings who faced the same plight, but the addition of a ruthless wizard and some entertaining magic makes it very different. I love the angst and passion between Sabelle and Ice; it's tangible and often breathtaking. Possess Me At Midnight is another exciting chapter in the Doomsday Brethren's fight against a merciless and evil wizard hell-bent on gaining power.


Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Possess Me at Midnight (The Doomsday Brethren, Book 3) by Shayla Black
Paranormal Romance- October 29th, 2009
5 stars

This book was all I expected and MORE. Shayla Black really delivers the goods in her 3rd installment of the Doomsday Brethren. Although this series is very complex Shayla Black's clear writing catches your attention and keeps it! As soon as I began reading, I easily felt a part of the story. However, since there are an impressive list of characters and more being added in this latest book, new readers might want to read one of the prior books to help orient themselves first.

In this story the smoldering and forbidden passion between Sabelle and Ice is finally realized! And the interaction between the 2 is a sheer adrenaline rush !

Shayla Black does a magnificent job of creating a sympathetic hero with a dark past. Ice is a Deprived male and as such viewed as expendable even as he helps the Doomsday cause. Ice was especially vilified when he went on a killing rampage after his sister was murdered. I really admired Ice. As I came to understand him and sympathize the strong and fierce warrior he has become. Ice is honorable and misunderstood and driven to claim Sabelle even as he tries to protect her from his `tainted' origins. Torn between the overwhelming mating urge that knows she is the only one for him and trying to keep her safe Ice is the perfect tortured hero. Sigh!

Sabelle tries to fight against the deep attraction for Ice because any real connection to him is futile since she is promised to a Privileged male. It was great to read as Sabelle `grew up' and started to think about what she wanted besides her brother's wishes for political gain. She had to take the leap to trust and open herself to Ice. The only frustrating section for me is that Sabelle took so long to `surrender' to Ice. Really, why resist?!

We also find Bram overcome by a debilitating and lethal disease and Shayla Black reveals a dark side to Bram that was disturbing. Lucan is trying to recover from his severed bond with Anka but she keeps reappearing and tempting him. I was also tantalized by glimpses of Shock, the supposed enemy. He plays some key roles that made me wonder which side he really was on. And questions about the real powers of the Doomsday Diary and the murder/terrorizing of Council members are investigated. It is just too much tension. I can't wait until the next book! A whole year?! Please make it sooner!

Full of magic, intrigue and sexual tension this was an exhilarating read from start to finish!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

I have long awaited Posses Me at Midnight the third book in the Doomsday Brotherhood series containing Ice and Sabelle story. We join Ice and Sabelle as they run for thier lives from the evil Anarki army bent on capturing and destorying them. This is made difficult as Sabelle is carring the imfamous Doomsday Diary of Morgan LeFey and it can be detected when they use magic to move it. Ice is also carrying something important; Bram is Sabelle's brother and the leader of the Doomsday Brotherhood and he was cursed by the evil wizzard Mathias in thier last battle. Bram is covered with a black cloud that is keeping him comatose state and slowly draining the life out of him. Sabelle and Ice are also fighting an attraction to each other which is about to explode.
Ice is from the lower Deprived class but he has joined the Brotherhood to avenge his sisters death and he lives and breathes for revenge. One look at Sabelle and he is hooked but knows he can never have her and not just because her brother Bram would never allow it. One taste of Sabelle and even as he fights the natural urge Ice knows she's his mate and issues the call and waits, even expects to be renounced; will she or won't she?
I highly recommend Posses Me at Midnight; it is full of action, seduction,emotional turmoil, laughter, twists and turns, a surprise or two and a tortured hero I could( and have) fall in Love with. I would also recommend the first books in this series Temp Me In Darkness and Seduce Me In Shadow. I can't wait for the fourth book to arrive so I can devour it.
Zina Lynch- Z'Best Review

Shayla Black delivers an incredible book three in her Doomsday Brethren series, POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT.

Magical warrior, Ice Rykard, intense desire for a witch of Merlin's line, Sabelle Rion, kept me turning the pages on this one. To succumb to their lava-hot passion for each other threatens, not just them, but all of magickind (the wizards and witches that live in secret in the modern world). But try as they might, resistance begins to crumble bit by bit.

Black kept me on the edge of my seat with her mix of rich characters, dark suspense, magical intrigue, and of course hot passion. She never let up on the reason this reader picked up the book - for the romance.

FYI - for the reader new to the series, Black has brilliantly written POSSES ME AT MIDNIGHT so that a reader has all the info needed to enjoy the ride. But be warned - you'll want to get the previous two installments of Doomsday Brethren once you read this one.

I double dipped: Paperback to my keeper shelf, electronic copy to my Kindle.

Will duty win over desire when the mad bad Ice 'calls' to the empathic magekind 'princess' Sabelle to be his mate? Or will the soul mates have to give up their best chance at a happily ever after to stop the evil wizard who is cutting a swath of death and torture on the road to conquest of their magical race?

I wasn't overwhelmed by the previous two Doomsday Brethren, they were okay but I hadn't actually planned on continuing the series (so many books so little time:) But I am glad I gave the series another chance because of a recommendation by a forum friend, since this is by far the best of the Doomsday Brethren to date. I loved Ice, who still maintains his dangerous intensity even as we find out the truth behind his madness and the reason for his enmity with Brethren leader (and Sabelle's brother) Bram. With the sizzling undercurrent of attraction between Ice and Sabelle brought to the forefront and with so much past and present for the pair to work through Black manages to keep the tension and emotions high between the leading pair. The resolution to their dilemma is a bit telegraphed but still satisfying.

What I was less thrilled about - this is present throughout the series and was one of the reasons I wasn't planning on continuing with the rest of the books - the villain Mathias and his follows are just too evil and the results of the violence they revel in is truly distasteful. Personally I found it excessive and heavy handed. I really didn't need to be bludgeoned by the villain's evil and descriptions of brutally murdered victims as well as mentions of Mathias' penchant for rape/torture knocked down my rating of the book a bit.

From a series point of view Black moves the larger story arc along with power plays and council shake-ups as well as intriguing glimpses of several other of the Doomsday Brethren who are likely slated for books of their own.

The book started off kind of slow but it eventually picked up. Sabelle...not one of my favorite heriones but I can honestly say Ice is one of the most intense characters of any of the paranormal romance series. And the 1st sex scene...absolutely H-O-T and intense.

I'm not a total magic and paranormal reader. I mostly like contemporary romance. I really like this story. The characters were wonderful, especially the hero(WOW). If you like it hot and romantic, this is for you.

This is the 3rd book in the Doomsday Brethren featuring Bram's sister Sabelle and the intense warrior Ice. This starts off right where readers ended Seduce me in Shadows. The evil wizard Mathias is trying to take over the council in his next step to rule magic kind and then the human race. There is magic and action throughout this page turner but I found myself annoyed with Sabelle. Maybe the annoyance began in book 2 with her "remedy" for Lucan. Anyway, there were times when her insistence on not mating Ice frustrated me. She constantly questioned whether he wanted her or vengeance on her brother for an old slight that is revealed later. Ice knows after their first kiss that she is his mate. All magic kind learn their mates through touch or the first kiss and they all know that a mate will cherish and love them. So, when she is arguing about doubting his feelings and sincerity, I wanted to smack her. Mate call ring a bell?! Ice was a great hero and when readers learn of his past and his reason for being distant you'll want to take him in your arms and give him some good loving. We are given some clues to Bram's missing mate and more sighing looks between Lucan and his exmate Anya. Finally Sabelle gets her head on straight but thats closer to the end. Overall, I did enjoy this. The novel can stand alone as Shayla Black introduces the history from previous books without being heavy handed. There are moments when you fear the brethren are outnumbered but of course with Ice on their side they triumph in the end

Book blurb- evil Mathias and his ruthless anarki army are hunting for the doomsday diary. Sabelle must guard the book with her life and Ice vows to protect the beautiful witch with his life