Taken by Midnight

TEST

Taken by Midnight is eighth in Adrian’s Midnight Breed series. As this is my first of the series, my review may be drastically different from one who has read all the books. Lara Adrian did an excellent job of making the world of The Order come alive to a first-time reader. However, if I had read the previous books, I think I would have gotten a little tired of all the required “catch-up.” A portion of the book was spent recapping the last seven books. Nonetheless, I still thought that the story stood well on its own. The plot was interesting and the hero and heroine had good chemistry.

It takes a few chapters for the story to really get going. Adrian spends a bit of time introducing us to a group of Vampires and their allies known as The Order. Their goal is to stop evil vampires called Rogues. In this book, The Order focuses on Dragos and his minions. Dragos is portrayed quite menacingly as a villain who doesn’t care who he has to kill to get the power he craves.

Jenna Darrow is a former state trooper who lost her husband and daughter in a horrible accident four years ago. She blames herself for their deaths because it was her idea to travel despite the icy roads. At the beginning of the story, an Ancient (alien vampire) feeds off Jenna for several days and implants a small device into her spinal cord. This concept was kind of odd, but isn’t really focused on in this book. The vampires that are members of The Order are offspring of the original Ancients. Jenna is rescued by the Order, and brought to their headquarters. They become increasingly interested in her as they notice the changes going through her body. Throughout the story, Jenna’s DNA and behavior become more and more vampire-like.

Almost immediately, Brock feels very protective of Jenna. He is caring while she is recovering from the Ancient’s attack and defends her presence to all the other members of the Order. Jenna gets to know everyone and becomes increasingly interested in their cause. She uses her connections with the FBI to aid in finding Dragos; I liked that she became a useful member of the Order. She fought well and proved herself capable of defending herself and helping others. While Brock and Jenna’s relationship advanced on a physical level, they also discovered that they make a great team on the battlefield. Adrian did a great job showing the development of the relationship on a physical and emotional level. The fact that they worked so well together was an added bonus.

I found both Brock and Jenna to be multi-dimensional characters with strong personalities. Jenna was a little annoying at first because she kept trying to escape the Order, even though they were healing her and trying to help her, but she recognized her mistake. I found her to be a strong and capable heroine, especially in the second half of the book.

I really enjoyed Brock as a hero. He wasn’t as pushy and overbearing as a lot of the Alpha heroes I have become used to as an avid romance reader. Of course, he was very powerful and not a pushover either. He has the power to literally absorb others’ pain. I thought it was very sweet that Brock was willing to take away any pain Jenna experienced without a moment’s hesitation. Brock and Jenna have a very sweet and passionate relationship throughout the story, and I look forward to seeing more of them in future novels.

There were a couple things that bothered me, however. First of all, Jenna is not a Breedmate (a woman that is able to blood bond with the vampires and bear their offspring). I’m not saying that a couple has to have children to have a HEA, but I couldn’t help thinking that Brock may someday want a blood bond with someone. I did not really like that Corinne, a Breedmate that Brock used to be in love with, came back at the end. I wasn’t really satisfied that she was completely out of the picture.

I also had a slight issue with the fact that we never really find out what Jenna is exactly. The Order determines that she has Vampire DNA, but her blood tastes human according to Brock. I found myself wondering what the implications would be if Jenna was to become a full vampire. I understand that this is a series, and this question will almost certainly be answered in the next book, but it doesn’t make me feel any less impatient!

I absolutely can’t wait to get my hands on the first seven books in the Midnight Breed series. Taken by Midnight has definitely piqued my interest in Lara Adrian’s work.

Grade: B

Book Type: Paranormal Romance

Sensuality: Hot

Review Date: 08/12/10

Publication Date: 2010/10

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

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