Breed series by Lara Adrian---Kiss of Midnight and Kiss of Crimson

Prepare for seduction as Lara Adrian unleashes a dark new breed of vampire . . .

Part human, part otherworldly, the Breed has lived among humankind for thousands of years, maintaining a tentative peace built on secrecy, power, and the dark justice carried out by the formidable warriors of the Order.

But now, a blood war within the race is set to ignite. Vampires are going Rogue in startling numbers, feeding without discretion, killing humans in the streets. It is up to the Order to stop the spreading threat of Rogue domination--and in so doing, each of the warriors will be forced to confront private demons, darkest secrets, deepest fears. Some will know triumph, some will know loss, but each warrior can count on one thing: Love, when it finds him, will often come at the worst possible moment, with the least likely woman . . . and it will bring each of these powerful males to his knees.

I have been reading this series by Lara Adrian lately. I read Kiss of Midnight several months ago and apparently forgot to do a "My Thoughts" on it. Having finished Kiss of Crimson last week and starting Midnight Awakening this week I thought that I would do a mini review on the first two books in one post followed individual reviews on the rest of the series.

Midnight Breed Series
BOOK 1

Dell Books ~ 432 pages
ISBN: 978-0-553-58937-5
First printing: May 2007

Available formats:
Mass Market Paperback
Bookclub Edition Hardcover
E-book

From the back cover:

INSATIABLE DESIRE. ENDLESS SEDUCTION. ONE TOUCH IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle'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 kind--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:

Gabrielle is a photographer trying to break into the Art world. She has a few very close friends and no family. One night after the opening of her Art Showing her friends drag her out to a club. Leaving early, she witnesses a brutal attack on a man in an alley and starts snapping pictures with her cell phone. The police thinks she is crazy, so she is a little surprised when Lucan shows up at her door questioning what she saw that night dreadful night and requesting to take her phone down to the station.

There is an intense pull between these two. And Lucan has given himself the task of making sure no harm comes to this startling beauty, especially once he finds out that she has been stalking several Breed and Rogue locations. Gabrielle also has the mark of a Breedmate. Very few women carry this mark, but those that do are made especially for the Breed.

Kiss of Midnight really sets up the story line for the rest of the series. You are introduced to the major players of the Order and the Rogue leader. I guess this could be the reason it moved slowly for me or it could be that I was also reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There were a lot of things happening in Kiss of Midnight... betrayal, forgiveness, and the uncovering of a long held secret.

Rating: 4 stars

KISS OF CRIMSON
Midnight Breed Series
BOOK 2

Dell Books ~ 416 pages
ISBN: 978-0-553-58938-2
First Printing: June 2007

Available formats:
Mass Market Paperback
Bookclub Edition Hardcover
E-book

From the back cover:

BONDED BY BLOOD AND DARK SECRETS, THEY ENTER A PLACE OF DANGER AND INFINITE PLEASURE . . . .

He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling himself Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world--a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need--but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm . . . and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself . . . .

My Thoughts:
Kiss of Crimson started out with a bang, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next.

Dante seeks a safe haven in the clinic that Tess runs after being attacked down by the river. Tess falls asleep at her desk and is awakened to Dante's not to subtle attempts at finding anything to help him. She walks in on him and knows that she should be calling the police but that part of her that wants to help heal can not turn away from him.

Dante realizes too late that Tess has the mark of a Breedmate. Now he has irrevocably bound them together, forcing her into a position that she may not want.

Dante is on the trail of a drug dealer and it leads right back to Tess. The drug Crimson is proving to be lethal to the Breed and someone is distributing it at the Raves that these young Breed frequent. The Order must get the drug producer and dealer before Boston is infested with more Rogues than they can handle.

In Kiss of Crimson we are showed a little more of the warriors Tegan and Rio. Tegan is the warrior that everyone makes a B-line to avoid. Rio experienced some very tragic stuff in Kiss of Midnight. I can't wait to really delve into these two warriors and find out how they will be healed of their demons.

Rating: 5 stars
(Fall 09 Challenge)