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Review
4 stars!
Midnight Breed book #14. Honestly, there’s not a lot of series that would hold my attention for this long, but Lara Adrian manages to keep this series interesting, exciting, and beautifully, passionately romantic, with a wonderful mix of old and new characters and an overarching storyline that provides a great tie-in but doesn’t overwhelm the individual storylines of each book. Zael and Brynne are little-known characters that we have seen briefly in recent books, and I loved that Adrian paired them together, creating a link to the earlier stories but at the same time giving us something new to revel in.
Zael is an Atlantian warrior (Atlanteans being fairly recently identified as the race that spawned the breedmates), and has also been recently identified as the long-lost father of Dylan. He left the Atlantean world hundreds of years ago, no longer wanting to serve his megalomaniac Queen, and since then he has shifted between the human world and a secret Atlantean community. He has recently become known to the Breed and helped them out on a mission, which brought him into contact with Brynne.
Brynne is a rare female member of the Breed, the result of a genetic experimentation cooked up in Dragos’ laboratories (making her the half-sister of Tavia). Her life has been upended after a rogue mission helping the Order cost her the job that was her whole world at a Breed/human law enforcement organisation; and when strikingly gorgeous Zael re-enters her life, quickly followed by a deadly attack by bad guy organisation Opus Nostrum, her life will never be the same again.
Right from the very beginning, I loved the interactions between Zael and Brynne. He wants her, and he makes no secret of that fact, and his smooth arrogance, effortless charm and heartfelt declarations make every little flirtation absolutely sizzle.
“Every time I look at you, I see the same desire in your eyes that I feel burning me up inside.”
Brynne wants him just as much, but she doesn’t allow people to get to close to her, guarding a terrifying secret that she reveals to nobody. But when the brutal attacks continue across the world, Zael and Brynne end up working together on an important mission on behalf of The Order, and sparks fly!
“When was the last time you let a man hold you?” he demanded softly. “How long has it been since you let a man make love to you?”
“That’s really none of your business.”
“Wrong.” His mouth curved, but that smile was anything but friendly. It was masculine and carnal, and it sent liquid heat curling through every fiber of her being. “You make it my business last night, Brynne. You kissed me like you needed it more than your next breath.”
She scoffed. “I was intoxicated, remember?”
“You’re not now, and I think you want it just as badly as you did last night. You want me. You want this, but you’re too hard-headed or terrified to admit it.”
“You’re insane.”
“Am I?”
The chemistry is intense and the sexy time is steaming as Zael and Brynne give in to their passion for each other, but more than just sex, Zael is determined to make Brynne his and I love his no-nonsense approach with her as he pushes his way into her life, forcing her to confront her feelings.
“Wanting you this way is the last thing I should be doing, Brynne. But I’m not going to stand here and lie to you by pretending there’s nothing between us.” He caught her face in his palms. “I’m not going to stand here and let you lie about that either.”
But just when she starts to let him in and strong feelings begin to develop, they find themselves in a terrifying situation as their mission brings them to the secret Atlantean community, and right into the path of a new and unexpected danger.
This was a really great read. It sucked me in from the beginning and the mix of action, intrigue and the beautifully heartfelt romance kept me hooked all the way through. I loved Zael and Brynne as characters, and I loved the chance to catch up with pretty much all of the main players from previous books. The overarching storyline continues to build in intensity and complexity, and I’m really excited to see where the series goes from here.
I loved it – 4 stars.
For full series information, check out our Midnight Breed Series page.