Darker
After Midnight (Midnight Breed #10)
by Lara
Adrian
Genre: Paranormal
Romance
Publisher:
Delacorte Press
Release
Date: January 24th, 2012
My
Thoughts
Midnight
Breed is among the best Paranormal Romance series out there and you will always
get a great read when you pick up a Lara Adrian novel. Perfect clarity in writing, flawless
delivery, compelling characters, passionate, emotional, suspenseful, intrigue…
I could go on and on. Some novels in
this series will give you more action and some more romance. All are fabulous!
This
particular one, Darker After Midnight, resonated with me a little more than the
others. Both Chase’s and Tavia’s inner
struggles are closer to true life. Chase
with a harrowing addiction to blood (similar to a drug addiction) and Tavia
finding out where she thought she came from is a lie (akin to finding out later
in life that you were adopted, or your father isn’t really your biological
father). These are true to life
circumstances that we see every day.
Not to
say that we don’t get our dose of escapism with this novel because we do. We are still enveloped in a world of
otherworlders and a blood war between enemies.
Background on Midnight Breed
Series
For those
of you who aren’t familiar with the series, here’s a little background to give
you an idea of what to expect.
Midnight
Breed is a paranormal romance series that acquaints us with otherworlders called
The Breed. Blood-drinkers with a sensitivity
to the sun would make them akin to vampires, however they are part human. The Breed
lives among the human population with a select few acting as protectors and
enforcers of Breed law - The Order and the Enforcement Agency. The Order is a brotherhood of warriors that
protect Breed and humans alike against Rogue vampires (those who have succumbed
to the Bloodlust and kill mercilessly).
The Enforcement Agency protects as well but deemed to be the more
“civilized” of the two. At least this was
the case early in the series.
The Breed
race began thousands of years ago when a ship crash-landed on Earth bringing
with it biologically advanced blood-drinking warriors they refer to as the
Ancient Ones. They savaged, killed and
raped humans leaving genetically unique females known as Breedmates. Or so the story goes.
Most thought
all the Ancient Ones were dead, however it was recently discovered that one
remained. Dragos, a Breed male, has been
the enemy of The Order for the entire series.
Dragos has been hiding the last Ancient in his lab for decades running genetic
experiments and trying to create an army of Breed assassins for his own
ambitions and ideas of world domination.
The stories
in this series so far have been about fighting Rogue Breed and trying to catch
Dragos before he unleashes mass destruction upon the world.
Chase’s History
So let’s
talk about Chase and his role in the saga since this is Chase’s book. Sterling Chase (aka Chase, aka Harvard) came
to join The Order after taking his leave from the Enforcement Agency. Aware of Chase’s reputation as an esteemed
member of the Agency, a Harvard graduate and the fact that he was next in line
to be Director of the Agency, Lucan (the Order’s leader) wasn’t keen to accept
him at first since he wasn’t really like the others. However, they gave him a
chance to prove himself and he didn’t let them down. However, no one suspected his burgeoning
addiction for blood or the extent of his inner turmoil leading to the addiction.
At a
pivotal time in the war against Dragos, Chase’s struggles with Bloodlust came
to a head and he progressed quickly toward rock bottom for a Breed - turning
Rogue. Endangering the lives of the
brotherhood and the Breed, he was ostracized from The Order. The last novel left
off with Chase sacrificing himself for the Order by giving himself over to the
human police thereby stopping the police from charging the compound. Shunned by his brothers and half insane with
Bloodlust, he figured he had nothing to lose by accepting the blame and giving
the Order a chance to escape. An act of
tremendous heroics that led us into this novel.
Before
this novel, you either you liked Chase or you didn’t. On one hand, he seemed like a spoiled boy
from a rich and influential family, had the world at his feet, every
opportunity handed to him and could have anything he wanted. So why the pout? However, things are never really what they
seem on the outside.
Chase has
some seriously dark skeletons in his closet.
In love with his brother’s wife for years, shooting his nephew albeit
necessary, hiding how long his Bloodlust has really been going on to name just
a few. He spent his life living under
the shadow of all the ‘great and perfect’ Chase men. Trying to live up to the high expectations of
being perfect like his brother and father put a tremendous amount of pressure
on him. When he didn’t live up to it, his
father didn’t care because he had his other perfect son. Chase lived his entire live feeling inferior
and suffered deeply for it. Turning to a vice to relieve his suffering (a very
human thing to do), his addiction to blood started and quickly got out of
control.
Tavia
When we
first meet Tavia, she seems fragile with a mysterious ailment that ensures she
is heavily medicated at all times. If
she went too long without her medication, she would feet ill, feverish, start
to lose control and have panic attacks.
Not to give you the wrong impression though, Tavia is still competent
enough to hold a very high profile position as assistant to a US Senator and
it’s clear early in the story that she has good instincts and is far from
naïve.
Tavia has
no idea about otherworlders and as you can imagine is quite alarmed when she
finds out. At the same time she
discovers some disturbing things about herself and her past that rips her world
apart. After her initial meltdown, she
comes to terms showing incredible courage.
As we get to know her better, we see that she’s down to earth, kind,
understanding and very brave.
I found Chase
and Tavia to be exceptionally well suited for each other. Both are trying to cope with incredibly difficult
life-altering situations. First I
thought that it might be too much for them to actually help each other. However, it worked. Understanding the turmoil each was going
through actually gave them understanding and kindness that maybe would have
been missing otherwise. Their struggles were emotional and believable since they
were so true to life. And how did they
overcome them? With love, affection,
kindness and trust. Again, true to life.
Their
chemistry and passion for each other was mind-blowing and Chase’s…um...vigor
was quite impressive. I won’t be
forgetting those scenes any time soon.
New Possibilities
This
novel spent a good deal of time talking about Jenna and the vivid dreams she’s
been having. Ever since Jenna was
implanted with a seed from the last Ancient One, she’s been changing. Into what hasn’t been determined yet. Her dreams are leading to questions about the
history of Breedmates. Is this a
potential new direction for the future of the series? Can’t wait to find out!
There’s
very little I could say that I didn’t like.
Lucan was suffering from the stresses of keeping the Breed, the Order, and
the brotherhood and most importantly to him the Breedmates and children
safe. In his stress, he seemed to be a
wee bit testy. But that’s
understandable.
There
were no big surprises in this novel.
What was resolved was done so in a way that left us with a warm fuzzy
feeling.
Bottom
Line
As I said
before, Midnight Breed is among the best Paranormal Romance series out there
and you will always get a great read when you pick up a Lara Adrian novel. For me, Darker After Midnight is the best in
the series thus far. If you are considering
reading this series, do so from the start.
You will miss too much of the backstory otherwise.
Happy Reading!!
5 Bad Boys – Absolutely
Loved It!!!!
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