Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Sheep Book Review: Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian

Darker After Midnight, by PNR author Lara Adrian, is the tenth installment in the Midnight Breed series. Twists and turns abound in the newest edition, an all-around satisfying book for fans of the series.

Plot:
In the dark of night, a blood war escalates within the hidden world of the Breed. After existing in secret for many long centuries, maintaining a fragile peace with the humans who walk beside them unaware, a single act of retaliation has put the entire vampire nation at risk of discovery. It falls to the Order--a cadre of Breed warriors pledged to protect their own and humankind alike--to stop Dragos, the power-mad vampire at the center of the conflict, before his push for domination can explode into catastrophe.

At the center of the Order’s quest is Sterling Chase, once a morally rigid enforcer of Breed law, now a warrior fallen from grace, whose biggest battle is the one he wages against his own savage nature. With addiction beckoning him toward eternal darkness, Chase’s path to redemption has never seemed more out of reach--until he finds himself drawn to a beautiful young woman who may be something much more than she seems . . .

Chase has been in this series for a few books now, and the man has gone from one end of the character spectrum to the other. He's been in and out of so many situations and plot twists I was really looking forward to reading what Lara was going to do for him. And let me tell you, she hooked it up pretty good! Once the stoic, law-abiding Breed male with a respectful career, Chase has turned into a blood-addict and junkie who was down in the dumps and an emotional wreck. Such a strong man and a true leader, I was pulling for him the whole time. He takes some getting used to but by the end, DAMN the man will creep into your heart.

Tavia is a young woman who's about to get her world turned upside down. The life she thought she had has been taken away and now Tavia has to come to grips with the reality that vampires exist. Holding her own against men like the ones in these books is a challenge for any lady, but this girl holds her own which only made me further endeared with her. Smart and witty with some sass and spunk to mix it up, I liked her spunk and felt for the past betrayals and places she went as a character throughout the book kept me captivated.

A new breed is coming, and without giving away major parts of the plot-line let me just say that BIG changes are about to start taking place. I am very happy the author has decided to do this, with any recurring bad guy/gal you run the risk of overusing the same ideas. But when you can phase out one old idea to introduce new concepts and scenarios, then you have more material to keep me interested. Doing it well? Well, now that's the hard part. But Adrian makes it happen.

I'm not sure if our author is a fan of comics, but I swear parts of this book felt similar to X-Men movie flashbacks. But again, I enjoyed it. My only gripe would be the neat and tidy ending, I would have liked a little more step by step but got handed a nice bow instead. That aside, the rest is well-written, sexually charged and planned out to perfection. Old characters come back around giving the long time reader, like myself, some important updates in the plot-line and reconnecting with previous starting lineups.

If you've yet to start this series I will strongly recommend not picking up with this novel. Too much has gone on and you really need the full backstory to throughly enjoy the latest installment.

Getting 4 'I will bite your face if you take one more step' Sheep
KD

7 comments:

  1. I have really liked this series since it started. With a new direction coming, I am excited to see where the next installment goes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really enjoyed this book. I agree with the ending. If not for the new twists in the story it almost felt like the ending you would expect for the end of the series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, totally agree. BUT now she can keep it going with this new direction. Going forward with the new changes there will be a lot of characters that will be be both friend and foe. Lovein it still!

      Delete
  3. The cover is enough to make me want to read it. seXy. Thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I look forward to hearing what you think. Some major plot twists by the end. That's all I'm saying! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. hmm.. i'm almost done with my fever series. should i read midnight breed series first.. or immortal after dark series first.. or mercy thompson.. or.. or.. aaarrrggghhhh!!! so many series that i wanna read >__<

    ReplyDelete