I actually had my doubts as to whether he was going to let her get away, silly male! These two characters were great together; it definitely had some emotional tension, the plot was good, and the conflict was entertaining. This is a novella, but that didn't take away from it being a good story.
Lara Adrian’s MIDNIGHT UNLEASED is an excellent addition to the Midnight Breed series. Breed Gen One vampire Trygg is partnered with Atlantean Tamisia (Sia) on a mission to stop the dealing of Red Dragon. This PNR is suitable for adult audiences. It takes place in Rome.
Lara Adrian continues to do a wonderful job with her character development. Sia and Trygg have both gone through a lot in their lives. They are both very different, and they seem like an unlikely match. I like that Sia really understood Trygg. She sees more than the former Hunter. Sia is not the type to back down and Trygg is stubborn; it made for some interesting confrontations. I appreciated their chemistry and banter.
I enjoyed the plot. It was clever how the characters end up working together. The story was exciting with interesting twists. I like that incidences from previous books in the series had relevance in this story. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
Six weeks ago, Tamisia (Sia) was banished from the Atlantean colony where she helped rule as council member; trusting the wrong man earned her a lifetime on Earth. Now she finds meaning in helping run a shelter for women and children in Rome, with fellow Atlantean Pheaedra. But when a deadly Breed Order operation causes the death of one under her care, Sia decides to take action.
Trygg, a dangers Gen One Hunter assassin who prefers to work solo, is obsessed with bring down the human responsible for distributing the deadly Red Dragon drug. When his mission crosses paths with the beautiful Sia, his emotions start getting in the way of his job. As much as he tries to avoid her, Trygg seems destined to tangle with the Atlantean.
Sia, who was introduced in Defy the Dawn (Midnight Breed #14), put her love and trust in Elyon, who was a traitor and still loyal to the evil Atlantean Queen. This resulted in the deaths of two Atlanteans and the colony was quick to blame Sia, banishing her and placing her under the protection of the Breed leader, Lazlo. Trygg also has trust issues, first from his youth as a Hunter under Dragos, and then when he was used by another who he thought loved him. This makes a relationship difficult to say the least - with two people both weary of the world and unable to trust one another. Yet, they cannot fight attraction and their mutual backgrounds seem to draw them closer rather than push them apart.
Midnight Unleashed is another good Midnight Breed novella that carries the same basic romantic premise as so many before it. It starts with a main couple who can’t stand one another. He’s rough and alpha, she’s tough yet feminine and tender. They are attracted but don’t like that they are. And then, in a matter of days, all hesitation melts away and they just know they are meant to be.
“It was as if she’d been waiting for this all her long life. Waiting for this man to awaken her and make her feel truly alive.”
They are in love - the kind that will last an eternity. If you are good with the basic premise than I highly recommend Midnight Unleashed, and the series in general.
The bottom line is that I liked Sia. I liked Trygg. I think I would have enjoyed their story more had it been longer; more fleshed out. They had sex once and spent like less than three days together, and they are in love. My issue is a personal taste one, and that is I just can’t get into the quick to love stories anymore. It’s not that they are even some pre-destined pair. They just fall head over heels immediately, and know they will spend an immortal life together. Forever. I don’t fault the author; it’s actually well done, albeit short. I found the hunt for the bad guy an interesting story, but was a bit disappointed with the conclusion. Note: while this story is listed as book #15.5, book #15: Claimed in Shadows, has not yet been released.
In the end, I enjoyed reading Midnight Unleashed, but on a personal note, I have hit my max on the “quick to fall in love” stories. A novella is a short space, and trying to create a forever relationship in such a short time can be challenging. Ms. Adrian continues to move the entire Midnight Breed series forward, and I look forward to the next full-length romance.
My Rating: B- Liked It, but I had a few small issues
Review copy provided by Inkslinger Blog Tour
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
The new generation of Breeds are not doing it for me. These novellas are really starting to get ridiculous in terms of pacing and an actual plotline.
This was a continuation of events in Midnight Untamed (#14.5). Chiara, our dim-witted heroine, is in danger from people who want her as a Breedmate and in payment for her dead shitty ex-husband's debts. We have one plot moppet, which shows up just for one scene in the beginning and then in the epilogue. Scythe, a Hunter-type of Breed, is tasked with protecting Chiara back in her home and luring the bad guys so they can be dealt with once and for all. Scythe cares deeply about his boner; it takes up about a third of the book, all the feelings he has about his boner. Boner, Boner, Boner. Chiara is also mad with horniness that comes from being sans kid duty, in mortal danger, and cooped up with a virile walking boner Breed. The bad guys finally come out to play in the second to last chapter and are dealt with in about 5 pages. Also within those 5 pages, Chiara figures out her power (that is part of the basic world building of the MB series from the original set of books).
This was just bad in world building (vineyard in Italy, but it could be a farm in the middle of Iowa for all the descriptions), the Rome office of the Order can't be bothered to help out (which goes against the original Order members' pledge), and I didn't find an iota of chemistry between Chiara and Scythe, although there was ample chemistry between Scythe and his boner.
Overall, a very weak effort in the MB series.
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Read for COYER Summer Reading List 2017
Woke up on Friday morning thinking this convention is too long. I think if I go in the future I will just do the weekend pass and not the full convention because boy howdy was I tired. Not jet-lagged, just tired from being around so many people. I did breakfast but skipped the early morning author signing. First panel I went to was completely chosen at random - Path of Responsible Representation hosted by YA authors Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra (they write as a team the YA series Tiny Pretty Things). I liked this panel because the writers gave concrete examples of what to look for and what to avoid in works with diverse characters.
The next panel was The Worlds of Regency and Georgian Romance with authors Valerie Bowman, Anna Bradley, Eileen Dryer, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Julia Quinn. I was not impressed this panel or the questions. The panel kept going off on different tangents that had nothing to do with the topic. I left a little early to get in line for the next author signing event, but I don't think I missed anything worthwhile. A quote from Julia Quinn sums this panel up - "Who wouldn't want to marry a duke?" Real deep there (sarcasm font).
I then went to the 1001 Dark Nights Sparkler. I had one goal going into this event - meet Lara Adrian and get her to sign my personal copy of The Midnight Breeds Series Companion. She did and was lovely - and surprised to see someone having a companion book. I got a pic with her too. Day made 10x over. The organizers wanted the attendees to talk with each author there and ask them an "either/or" question, then fill out a card for a chance to win something. I didn't care about winning whatever prize because, once again, the room was too small for the amount of people inside. I left soon after meeting Lara and went for lunch.
Next author panel I went to was Seasoned Romance, Vintage Love with Karen Booth and Morgan Malone. Another diversity panel, but this one was about older characters and ageism. This trend of having older characters is making a small, but noticeable comeback thanks to self-publishing. The idea of older characters also work with other diverse characterizations such as race, sexuality, and religion (for example, a m/m featuring 40 year old men). There is a FB group called Seasoned Romance that connects authors with readers. Also, the FB group made a GR List of romances with older characters (heads up: there is a lot of Kristen Ashley's books on this list). They were giving away free books from authors in the FB group; I picked out Killer Countdown (Man on a Mission #6) by Amelia Autin and Midnight in Legend, TN (The McClains of Legend, Tennessee #1/ Ladies of Legend #1.2) by Magdalena Scott. I really enjoyed the conversation.
Last author panel for me was Shifters Between the Sheets with authors Molly Harper, Paige Tyler, Robyn Peterman, and Eve Langlais. I wanted to go to at least one paranormal panel, and this one was fun and funny; the ladies are not only fans of the subgenre but of each other's works. The questions were basic, but the answers were varied and experiences were talked about; each author came to writing books and paranormal genre from very different backgrounds. It was a great way to end the last day of panels.
I started to go to the Avon signing event, took one look at a line that was snaked five times around the door to the event, and said to myself "hell no" and went up to my room to relax. Soon I went out for dinner and when I came back, Twitter and the RT app were lit up with many unhappy attendees. Turns out the Avon event started 35-40 minutes late and some people were in line for a hour or more before the scheduled time. Again, there were also complaints of overcrowding and someone almost fainted. I'm so glad I skipped the event.
I went to the late night party, Magnolias and Moonshine, but didn't stay long. There was just nothing there to hold my interest. I did a quick turn about the room and then left. If you ever go to RT, feel free to skip the evening parties - they are more work than reward.
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