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Shades of Midnight

Lara Adrian

Published 2010        337 pages

Summary (from the book jacket)

Her sanctuary has become her blackest nightmare...

Something inhuman has let itself loose in the Alaskan, leaving a wake of unspeakable carnage. For bush pilot Alex MacGuire the wreckage is especially chilling - Alaska is the place she fled to after the brutal murder of her family.

Alerted to the Alaskan slaughter, the Midnight Breed send Kade to quell the danger and ensure Alex does not learn the truth behind the attacks. And soon Alex will be tested by the threat of otherworldly evil, and by her unexpected desire for Kade, a man she should fear but who has become her seductive guide into an erotic realm of blood and darkness.

The Review

Shades of Midnight is the seventh book in Lara Adrian’s bestselling Midnight Breed paranormal romance series. Each book in the Midnight Breed series features a new hero and heroine so books can easily be read out of order, as stand alone romances without too much difficulty. However there is also a long running story arc threaded loosely throughout the entire series meaning that the books perhaps work best when read of a whole. If you are new to the Midnight Breed books there is a basic explanation of the world and its background in our review of Kiss of Midnight (the first book in the series.)

Seven books into the series, Shades of Midnight holds no great surprises. Established Midnight Breed fans have come to expect hot heroes and hotter romance delivered against a backdrop of exciting rogue vampire hunting action – and author Lara Adrian doesn’t fail to deliver on any of those counts. This time its Alaskan vampire warrior Kade’s turn to find his Breedmate, which he does while on a mission to investigate a suspected rogue vampire attack in an isolated bush community.

Alex is a realistic heroine. She’s strong and capable, yet vulnerable too. As a survivor of a Rogue attack when she was a child, she knows that horror lurks in the darkness, but years of rationalising away what she’s seen means that the discovery of the vampire world and her place in it come as something of a shock. Her undeniable attraction to Kade and a spate of killings in her remote community once again expose her to the dangers of the vampire world but rises to the challenge with equanimity – proving herself to be a good match for Kade.

Kade is everything readers have come to expect from a Breed warrior, a strong alpha male fighting for the survival of his species (and his own soul) as the darker, vampire side of his being exerts its influence upon his nature. Sent to his Alaskan homeland by the Order, he must confront his family and his own wild nature, before he can complete his mission. His mission turns out to be increasingly dangerous when Kade realises that the Ancient vampire the Order has been tracking is loose in the Alaskan wilderness.

The Alaskan setting provides an interesting change of setting for the story and while there were a couple of moments when I wondered if the story wasn’t about to head into 30 Days of Night territory, the action and mystery parts of the plotline drive the story forward at a good pace without overwhelming the romance elements of the story.

With its sexy romance and alpha male hero Shades of Midnight is a satisfying read for romance fans. Its strong heroine and thrilling Rogue hunting backdrop means it no shortage of appeal for fantasy fans too. All-in-all this book is another great instalment in the Midnight Breed series and sets readers up nicely for Taken by Midnight – where it looks like the Order will have some entirely new Ancient induced vampire menace to deal with… I can hardly wait!

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