Customer Reviews

Shades of Midnight: (The Midnight Breed, Book 7)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Too often it seems that a series will start losing it's steam after a while but that hasn't happened with Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series. I was looking forward to the release of "Shades of Midnight" but was a little apprehensive about how I was going to feel about it since I knew it would be about Kade and I didn't feel like I knew him very well so I wasn't sure if I'd get into the story line or not. However, I was VERY pleasantly surprised. It started out with a bang and never got slow or boring. Once I started reading I could NOT put it down !! I thought the story flowed very well, the romance was very believable, Kade was smoking hot and I really liked Alex too. Oh, and did I mention that Kade is HOT, HOT, HOT !!

Like the previous reviewer I liked the change of scenery (set in Alaska), I also liked getting a chance to revisit the previous characters that I've come to know and care about. In the next book I hope we get to see a little of all of them (I especially miss Dante and Lucan and their mates).

I thought Lara did a great job of developing the main characters and the romance. I have really enjoyed reading this entire series and can't wait for the next book. Lara, thanks for weaving yet another very interesting and fun story. Keep up the great work.

This may be the very best dramatic and dark vampire series out there! It is one of my top vampire series ever. I cannot say enough about the skill of this author! There are never any jarring changes to the series (I quit reading one author because of such changes)and the plot and characters never disappoint! The story line thread from book to book is exciting and makes you want the next in the series to be immediately available upon completing each story. The love story for Kade and Alex is as intense and hot as the previous romances, and the setting is beautifully described, especially if one is familiar with Alaska or similar landscapes in Canada and the U.S. The setting adds an additional element of danger and excitement. Tegan's story was my favorite, but now shares equal honor with Kade's story. There is such intimate detail about Kade's family, especially his twin, and the other characters in Harmony that brings an almost three dimensional feeling to the entire story. I was very touched by the insights into the Ancient's mind. I don't want to be a spoiler, but I will say that for the first time I felt a human connection to the Ancient and sympathy for him. It is the first time we have really been given insight into an Ancient's thoughts. The scene with the Ancient and Jenna was very moving and introspective. I cannot wait to see where this new Jenna thread will lead. I enjoyed the expansion of the brother like relationship between Kade and Brock and the kinship between all the warriors. I like Hunter more and more. Another thing the author does extremely well is the integration of the new mates and warriors into the Order; and the continuous development of the Order warriors we already know. I really enjoy the humorous, stress relieving dialog between the warriors. I will now wait very very impatiently for the next book.

I'm well aware that this review is going to be a minority opinion, but as much as I've enjoyed Adrian's Midnight Breed series, this particular book and the lead characters in it just didn't excite me as much as the previous novels.

Alexandra Macguire is an Alaskan bush pilot that flies into remote areas of the frozen north to deliver goods and medicine. On one such flight, she stops at the home of friends only to find an entire family slaughtered in a brutal and bloody fashion. A fashion that shakes her down to her soul and reminds her all too clearly of the loss of her mother and brother, and of a flight of another kind altogether - the cross-country escape from a madness a child's mind could never comprehend.

As a Breed warrior and recent addition to the ranks of the Order, Kade is sent back to his family's stomping grounds on a mission to find out what's behind the mindless slaughter, but he's ridden by the fear that his twin is responsible for the deaths of innocents, and guilt from decisions in his past, decisions to flee Alaska and his family, make him ultimately culpable. What Kade finds first is Alex, and while she stirs a fire in his blood that would keep him warm on the coldest of the Alaskan nights, what they stumble across together could destroy everything - and everyone - in the end.

I was truly looking forward to delving into this story. I liked the setting, and I really enjoyed...in a disturbed but impressed way...the beginning, but then for me, Shades of Midnight sort of sputtered out. Adrian is extremely talented and she's given us six books with vibrant characters, tense plots, and a growing and deepening arc of good vs. evil - with fangs and guns. This one didn't quite match those in either plot or character, and one of the most disappointing aspects of this one is that by the end I didn't care very much for Kade or Alex, and didn't get any sense of true lasting emotion between them. Alex started out strong and seemingly independent (she's a bush pilot in the Alaskan wilderness!), but she seemed to backslide when faced with horrifying memories of her past and just never seemed to regain that strength to stand on her own. Kade was very disappointing. I'm sorry, I don't know if it was the fact that he ran from his family instead of dealing with his brother a year ago, or that he spent most of the book beating himself up about it that really turned me off. Hell, maybe it was the fact that I couldn't help but sympathize with the humans who lost loved ones and family members BECAUSE Kade kept his mouth shut and flew the coop instead of doing what he should have done. What he went to Boston to help the order do. Kill rogues. Whatever it was, I didn't find him to a very worthy Breed.

And the story had some major flaws for me as well. Most notably, by book seven of a series, I would have expected the overall arc, the theme that holds all the books together, to be tightening and getting more tautly defined as the battle between good and evil creeps closer and closer to a head, but in this one, the story thread of Dracos was...dare I say anemic?...and the scenes with the ancient were at times tense and interesting, and at times a confused mess that didn't make much sense. I DID like seeing the Breed males I've come to know and care for, but they ended up being too much of a non-factor to leave much of an impact. There were quite a few other issues I had with the book, as well.

By the end, I was left with a general feeling of ambivalence. Maybe a little disappointment. I didn't dislike the book, by any means - regardless of my complaints, Adrian tells a good story. It just wasn't the story I was expecting, and I didn't like it as much as I've liked all the others. It's not a BAD story - not at all. It was just...sort of "Meh."

In Shades of Midnight, Kade, one of the newest warriors in the Order, is sent on a mission in Alaska - his homeland - to investigate a possible rogue activity after a slaughter in a small community called Harmony. Alex is a pilot who moved to Harmony along her father running from their dark past only to stumble upon a danger greater than before. When Alex and Kade get together, the spark is almost instantaneous and they have to help each other to solve the mystery of the murders as well as to face their own ghosts.

The Midnight Breed series and I have a weird relationship. It started weakly with the first book, then it grew on me a little with the second, really caught my attention on the third, convinced me to addiction with the forth. When I got the fifth book, I was completely smitten with the whole Breed situation and feeling like I knew every warrior in the Order. Then the sixth came out and the relationship fell apart, I broke up and thought I would never look at it again. I felt betrayed and disappointed. Following the advice of others, I decided to give it another chance with this seventh installment, Shades of Midnight, and the love is definitely coming back.

Lara Adrian hadn't given much attention to Kade so far, so there was almost no information about him - or Brock, the other newest addition to the Order. In this book we got to know Kade well, understanding his origins, his gift and his way of thinking. He's not as scarred as Tegan, Lucan or Rio, but he has his own problems and a great sense of honor which makes him a charming character. Alex is a great match for him since they share similar fears and can help each other overcome their pasts. Although there isn't much to really like about Alex, there's nothing to make you dislike her either. Neither of them is a remarkable character but along with a well written story they make a good book. The story is simple, easy to read, great ambience in the Alaskan wilderness and, though it has more gore than usual, it also has more cheesy romantic lines than the others.

I still think Veil of Midnight is the best in the series so far, but Shades of Midnight definitely beats the first and the previous one. Let's see if the addiction comes back with the next of Lara Adrian's series.

This is Kade's story

Kade is a Breed warrior that has been with the Order for about a year. He left his Alaskan home behind and some terrible secrets behind with it.

Claire Maguire is a bush pilot that lives in Alaska. On one of her routes, she finds carnage in the little section of the town and every one is dead. The killings remind her of something she witnessed when she was a little girl in Florida. Claire who is also keeping a horrible secret from her past, makes her afraid that maybe her nightmare followed her to Alaska.

Kade comes to Alaska on behalf of the Breed to investigate the murders since they seem like it might be a possible rouge vamp. The only witness is Claire. Kade immediately finds himself drawn to Claire and her to him. The only problem with that is that Kade is there to do a mission - not to fall in love.

I really liked this book. The first 100 pages were hard to get into but once I was in - I was hooked. I loved the love story. I liked both Claire and Kade. Claire is independent and smart which Kade finds irresistible. I also like that Kade didn't fight the love he felt for her once he realized that was what it was. Sometimes in the "Midnight Breed Series" the male seems to fight it because they don't want to be tied down. Kade didn't want to be tied down either - but once he realized he loved her - he didn't hold back and neither did she. The book is definitely worth the read.

I am sorry but this book felt forced. It had no drive or the electricity like Ms. Adrian's other Breed books, and I have read them all. Kade just did not do it for me. He definitely did not sit up there next to other Breed men such as Lucan, Tegan (whom I love), Rio and Andreas. The book started out okay but it just did not have the essence that her earlier books did. Alex was as dumb as a bag of rocks and Kade was a dull as a butter knife. Where was the hot vampire that I found in her other books. In the book, I did like reading of Tegan, Brock and Hunter....now there is a story with Hunter! He reminded me of Lucan and Tegan. As someone else stated, two third through the book and it started going downhill. The last 100 or more pages absolutely dragged and seemed to dwell on Kade and his father's grief. It was like a bucket of cold water is thrown on you and there is no way you can get that passionate feeling between Kade and Alex back for it the book dwells on dealing with grief. I read to escape and there was no escape here. I escaped in the beginning but I was soon back on earth too soon and that was before the book ended. Highly disappointed. I gave it one star because both hero and heroine just did not have it nor the story. I hated to do it but the book just did not compare to her other books.

I enjoyed this installment. The prior two installments had me concerned over where the series was headed. But, this one was the shot in the arm that I think the series needed. I was hesitant to purchase this book because I really didn't feel connected to Kade, the main character. Though he was introduced in earlier books, his character had not been explored in any real detail. But, this story gives us quite a bit of Kade's backstory and endears the reader to both him and his mate, Alex. This installment, unlike the last couple of installments, did a lot to advance the series overall. I'm now interested in reading the next book. The story moved quickly, had tons of suspenseful moments, a good dose of romance and interesting characters. When I started this series, I was new to paranormal romance. I have now read this entire series to date (note to publishers: keep those free e-books a-coming, they really do pay off) and have read other authors in the genre. So far, Ms. Adrian is still my favorite. Her characters are interesting, the world she has created with the Breeds has seemingly limitless opportunities for a good story and I appreciate her writing style. I give it four stars instead of 5 because I'm not sure how good it would have been as a stand alone novel (Ms. Adrian does a great deal to explain what has happened in the earlier books, but viewing this book objectively, I think I would have been kind of lost with some of the references from earlier books. I suspect this will become increasingly problematic as the series continues to evolve.) Plus, I'm getting a little tired of the whole angst ridden male who thinks he's not good enough for the female that he can't seem to keep his hands off of. "I'm no good for you, but I must have you..." Uh huh. In that sense, the story is a bit predictable. But, overall, I enjoyed this book.

What a great addition to the series. I have a new favorite member of the Order! I have to admit this one wasn't as gut-wrenchingly suspenseful as some of the others, but in some ways that's a good thing. I think I could relax and enjoy it a little easier, instead of sitting on the edge of my couch waiting for the next horrible obstacle. Either way, it's a great series and I hope she keeps them coming. Can't wait to see what happens with Jenna (and Brock?). One thing I like about this series, as compared to some others, is that the villains add a lot of suspense to the story, but we don't necessarily have to spend a lot of time reading from their perspective. Leaves more time for the love!

This is the 7th Book and the series is still great. What refreshing change! Thank you Lara Adrian for keeping the plot, characters, and chemistry strong. I have read lots of reviews about this series being an imitation in some ways of JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood and not nearly as good. I DISAGREE STRONGLY!!! Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood had annoying vocab words to remember, all the unnecessary h's, and dark and twisted parts (regarding lessers and all that s&m junk)that I had to skip because it was not necessary to the story. I liked: the world building, normal words, adventures, over all plot, and most of all characters much better in The Mindnight Breed Novels. There is plenty of action, romance, and laughter. It was well worth the wait for the lastest book! And, that is very hard to say about most pnr and urban fantasy series lately where most writers depend on readers being hooked on the previous books of the series. Trust me, I've read most of the pnr and urban fantasy out there and this is worth buying and staying up late to read!!!

So here I am all excited that Shades of Midnight was released, I rush out to buy it, read the first four chapters---then put the book down for 2 1/2 weeks. Truthfully I was reluctant to pick up the book again. Eventually (due more to my need to finish books I have started then anything else) I made it to the end. Overall, it was good: well written, several of our favorites made an appearance (Teagan, Brock, Hunter)-- but all that was outweighed by the sheer nothingness the book seemed to be about.

Kade needed a story of his own. I get that. The Ancient needed to be "fleshed out" more, I get that too. But everything else seemed to be unnecessary. Okay, now we get introduced to Brock's heroine and she has a super-cool new "ability", but other than that, nothing much happens. And that is what irrates me the most...waiting for something that never seems to come. Whatever...we are all biding our time to the inevitable showdown between the Ancient (do we really think he won't show up again?), Lucan, Dragos and Hunter. Hunter you ask? Think about it and you know that it is coming (or at least I hope it is).

Either way, read it or not--agree with me or not--Lara Adrian is an excellant author with a talent for making characters jump off of the page...these characters simply didn't jump as high as they could've.