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Deeper than Midnight
Lara Adrian
Paranormal Romance
Midnight Breeds/Book 9
Dell/June 28, 2011
*Spoilers for Previous Books
From Goodreads ~
At eighteen, Corinne Bishop was a beautiful, spirited young woman living a life of privilege as the adopted daughter of a wealthy family. Her world changed in an instant when she was stolen away and held prisoner by the malevolent vampire Dragos. After many years of captivity and torment, Corinne is rescued by the Order, a cadre of vampire warriors embroiled in a war against Dragos and his followers. Her innocence taken, Corinne has lost a piece of her heart as well--the one thing that gave her hope during her imprisonment, and the only thing that matters to her now that she is free.
Assigned to safeguard Corinne on her trip home is a formidable golden-eyed Breed male called Hunter. Once Dragos's most deadly assassin, Hunter now works for the Order, and he's hell-bent on making Dragos pay for his manifold sins. Bonded to Corinne by their mutual desire, Hunter will have to decide how far he'll go to end Drago's reign of evil--even if carrying out his mission means shattering Corinne's tender heart.
I will say that this series continues to keep me entertained. It's not my favorite PNR series but it is very solid in that I can always find something I like about each book. One thing that Adrain continues to provide is that camaraderie of not only the males but the females as well. Once their story is told, the hero and more importantly the heroine don't exit stage left, never to be heard from again. They become an active part in the fight against the enemy Rogues and Dragos. The males are still very protective but they are smart enough to listen to their intelligent mates.
The romance between Hunter and Corinne starts out awkward. Hunter was raised in Dragos' lab as an assassin. He knows nothing of love, physical or emotional. He is learning to care about others since becoming one of the Order's warriors. He's still unsure of his growing feelings for Corinne but trusts his instincts when it comes to her safety which puts them on the run. I liked how Hunter is portrayed as a protective male who is simply carrying out his orders. Then we see how he starts thinking beyond his orders to what he feels for Corinne. That felt real to me, the change that he goes through as he falls in love with Corinne.
Corinne Bishop has been through hell and survived. Kidnapped nearly 75 years ago and kept as a prisoner by Dragos' for experiments and breeding, she is slowly making her way back to some type of normal life. First, we know Corinne is a strong woman to have survived the horror she went through and not end up insane. But what I never felt I knew was why she fell for Hunter other than him saving her and continuing to keep her safe. If it had been one of the other warriors to take her home and keep her safe, would she have fallen for him? I'm not sure.
As mentioned the story also includes the other warriors and their mates which I really enjoyed. You see how their relationships continue to grow in relation to each other and how Hunter has fit into all of this. I would say the romance and the Order's fight against Dragos are the two main story lines with Sterling Chase and his fall from grace a powerful secondary sub-plot. His book is next, in hardcover no less, so it's not surprising that the setup for his story would have a strong presence.
Deeper than Midnight continues the ongoing series story arc, giving the reader more information about Dragos and a need to find out what will happen to Sterling Chase aka Harvard. I do wish I had felt more belief in how Hunter and Corinne's romance developed. Since I wasn't all that crazy about Corinne, the balance of the romance and the secondary characters worked well for me.
Rating: B+
Books in this series ~
Kiss of Midnight
Kiss of Crimson
Midnight Awakening
Midnight Rising
Veil of Midnight
Ashes of Midnight
Shades of Midnight
Taken by Midnight
Deeper than Midnight
Darker After Midnight (January 24, 2012)
Wow, Hunter's story already. I remember when he was introduced, and how curious I was about his character. I'm glad that his story was worth reading, and that the series is still holding up for you.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been following this series for a while, but I can't believe that Sterling Chase's story hasn't been told yet!! It's next? Good thing. I'll look forward to your review.
Hils ~ Yeah, it's been a few books, 3 or 4 since he was introduced.
ReplyDeleteHarvard is finally get his book and hardcover! It's suppose to be the last, then a spin-off series so who knows what that might bring.
Hmmm, this series is one that I never got into. Haven't even started! I have a few books sitting in the TBR pile though...
ReplyDeleteOkay, you mentioned that Corinne was kept for breeding. Did she actually ever had children? Cos seriously... awkward ^_^;
Glad to hear you're still enjoying this series. I've read the first two and I enjoyed them. Can't wait to read the third, I've heard a lot about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so embarrassed over how far behind I am in reading your blog, Leslie. I'm hoping to be better at keeping up with my blog role now that the girls are back in school. Anyway, I'm skimming through some older posts and I had to comment on this one because I read it in July, I think.
ReplyDeleteI think I liked Corrine a bit more than you, but I still agree with your B+ review. I also completely agree with your sentiment that this isn't your favorite PNR series but that you're always entertained and you always seem to find something you really like about each book. That's the same for me!
I'm looking forward to Harvard's book, too! Especially after what happened in Deeper Than Midnight!!! Right, Leslie?