Adrian, Lara. Kiss of Midnight. (New York: Dell, 2007). ISBN – 9780553589375.

Main Characters: Gabrielle Maxwell and Lucan Thorne

Related Works: This is part of Lara Adrian’s The Midnight Breeds series. The first book in the series is Kiss of Midnight - the story of Lucan Thorne and Gabrielle Maxwell. Kiss of Crimson, Tess Culver and Dante’s story, is the second in the series. The third is Midnight Awakening, the story of Tegan and Elise Chase.

Description from book:

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle Maxwell’s deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night – or this man – is what it seems. For when Gabrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she never knew existed – a realm where vampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

Lucan Thorne despises the violence carried out by his lawless brethren. A vampire himself, Lucan is a Breed warrior, sworn to protect his kink – and the unwitting humans existing alongside them – from the mounting threat of the Rogues. Lucan cannot risk binding himself to a mortal woman, but when Gabrielle is targeted by his enemies, he has no choice but to bring her into the dark underworld he commands.

Here, in the arms of the Breed’s formidable leader, Gabrielle will confront an extraordinary destiny of danger, seduction, and the darkest pleasures of all . . .

My Thoughts:

I’m getting a bit addicted to this world of tortured vampires that Lara Adrian has created. In Kiss of Midnight, Lucan Thorne is one of the oldest, first generation vampires who is having trouble fighting the lure of Bloodlust. He is the leader of the warriors of the Order, but seems very alone, very self-contained. Along comes Gabrielle. She witnesses a murder committed by vampires. Lucan ensures that there is no evidence of the crime, so that the police are quite skeptical of Gabrielle’s story. Lucan gets close to Gabrielle to get the photos that she took of the incident on her cell phone. He is drawn to her – and can’t get her out of his mind.

Eventually, he realizes that Gabrielle is a Breedmate. This means that Lucan cannot allow himself to drink from her. If he did, he would be bonded to her for life. This is something that Lucan does not believe he can do, especially given the dark demons that he continually battles. Of course, Gabrielle refuses to stay away from Lucan. Eventually, she must move into the home of the Order because she becomes a target of their enemies. Living in such close contact, Gabrielle is able to break down Lucan’s defenses, and they become bonded mates. However, Lucan and his brethren are facing danger – from Lucan’s own brother.

I am so enjoying this series. I love the characters of Lucan, Dante, Tegan, Rio, Gideon – and their mates. I am definitely looking forward to Rio’s story – which has not been published yet.

Read first January 2008.