Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Midnight's Kiss by Thea Harrison Series: Elder Races #8
on May 5th 2015
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm
In the latest Novel of the Elder Races, two souls who have long buried their passions are about to be consumed…
Ever since their scorching affair ended years ago, Julian, the Nightkind King, and Melisande, daughter of the Light Fae Queen, have tried to put the past behind them—and distance between them. But when a war breaks out between Julian and Justine, a powerful Vampyre of the Nightkind council, they find themselves thrown together under treacherous circumstances…
Kidnapped as leverage against Julian, Melly is convinced that her former lover won’t be rushing to her rescue. But when Julian gives himself up to save her, they both end up Justine’s captives. Armed only with their wits and their anger, Melly and Julian must work together to escape. But will they be able to ignore their complicated history, or will the fiery passion that once burned them blaze again?
Thea Harrison’s Elder Races series is fantastic. The series is paranormal romance with a new couple in each story. I have enjoyed every one I have read. Most of them have been 5 star reads for me and I wonder why I didn’t read them sooner. I was behind when the opportunity came up to review this 8th book in the series, Midnight’s Kiss.
I realize now, writing this review, that I read this book before book 7 and perhaps I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn’t accidentally missed that one. I felt a bit out of touch with the NightKind (Vampyres) since it has been awhile since I read about them in the story about Carling and Rune in book 3 (2012). The book I missed was about the Nightkind so I may revise my rating once I have read it. I did just read book 5 and 6, which were each 5 stars for me.
The characters in this story were not well-known to me. The couple ended their relationship two decades ago. I think with a little more effort they could have saved their relationship at that time if they had tried just a bit harder, so it seems silly considering how much they care about each other.
The two main characters are brave but I wish they were just a little smarter. It’s not that they are stupid; somehow I just expected them to have more resources given their roles. The romance was a bit too insta-love for me. It was reasonable since they had a past relationship, I suppose, but the time-lapse seemed incredible.
I also did not get the reasoning for the villains’ actions other than if they were trying to take over, like a coup. The Elder Races don’t function like a democracy. It seems more like a dictatorship with fights to the death, or family heirs, to become the ruler. Still, there are relationships and allies amongst the rulers, so even if a ruler died by assassination, I’m not sure the others would accept the one who killed them.[su_spacer]
This is an amazing series, which should be read in order, as with most urban fantasy. There are a number of novellas between book 6 and 8, as well which I need to catch up on reading. There is sexual content, some of it quite detailed and lots of gory action. I highly recommend this series, including Midnight’s Kiss, even though it is my least favorite in the series, it might be my fault for getting out-of-order.
About Thea Harrison
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Thea Harrison resides in Colorado. She wrote her first book, a romance, when she was nineteen, and had sixteen romances published under the name Amanda Carpenter. She took a break from writing to collect a couple of graduate degrees and a grown child.
Thea writes in a variety of genres, including the award-winning paranormal Elder Races series and the Game of Shadows novels, and is currently at work on various new projects in sci-fi fantasy, paranormal and contemporary romance.
She adores animals and currently resides with two small dogs that have very large personalities.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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I haven’t read this yet, but I read the previous book in the series. Honestly, the main pair of this one don’t have too many appearances in it. So, I’m not sure you’re missed much by skipping it except for maybe a little background on Julian’s relationship with Xavier and some griping between Julian and Melisande.
Thanks Samantha! I felt a bit dropped into it without much on these two characters. I didn’t know who Melisande was and I would have if I hadn’t missed book 7. For some reason, I didn’t connect with them as much as I usually do. Anne