Deeper than Midnight (Midnight Breeds # 9)
by Lara Adrian
Paranormal Romance
DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT is the ninth book is Lara Adrian’s popular Midnight Breed series. I am thrilled to say that Ms. Adrian still does a fantastic job at keeping things fresh in the vampire Breed world. I noticed that some other readers did not feel the romance between Hunter and Corinne as much as previous books. And this is what I think on that matter....
Going into this book, I knew that DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT would not be as steamy as say, Kade’s book SHADES OF MIDNIGHT just based on the fact that it’s Hunter’s book. Hunter is a Gen One, one of the most powerful and rare members of the Breed. In addition to that, he was taught that emotions are a weakness and that loving someone can only bring on bad consequences. He was birthed for the sole purpose of killing, never to experience love or any other type of emotion. Hunter is cold as ice and the embodiment of neutrality, feeling neither pleasure nor pain when in combat. Taking all this into consideration, I felt that Ms. Adrian did a great job opening Hunter up in a way that stays true to his assassin personality as a cold and merciless killer, but also balancing that with a more gentle, loving side that we witness with Corinne and occasionally with little Mira.
In addition to that, Corinne Bishop has lived through hell and is now getting another shot at life. Now, she has a future. But early on in this book, Corinne isn’t thinking about what lies ahead for her. Instead, she is remembering all the abuse she endured at the hands of her captor, Dragos. Her first priority is to return and see her family whom she hasn’t seen for more than seventy years. And once she does, she realizes that not everything is what it seemed to be. After that whole debacle, she has another issue pressing on her, and that is the mission of finding her lost son whom she birthed while captured.
So falling in love isn’t on Hunter or Corinne’s agenda at all. Corinne is mourning the loss of her past life while Hunter deems himself unworthy to be loved at all. And I think this is why people didn’t think the romance was potent enough in this book. It’s because neither character hoped to fall in love during this mission. But, thankfully, it happened on its own and Ms. Adrian does a fantastic job showing Corinne’s trust in Hunter in key points in the story. For someone who has been a victim of sexual abuse, Corinne is much more hesitant in dealing with her feelings for Hunter and it’s understandable.
The Bessie music scene is probably the most notable instance where Corinne first shows her interest in Hunter. She converses with him, asking him what kind of music he likes and it showcases the beginning of a romance between the two, where Corinne trusts someone else enough to be in her life.
Along with the great romance, Ms. Adrian writes the best action scenes that I can remember reading! I noticed this from the very first book, KISS OF MIDNIGHT and in each subsequent book, Adrian kick ass! Fast-paced and very detailed, I feel like I’m watching a movie whenever the warriors make others eat steel. I love the grittiness of it!
And then there’s her overall “voice” that I absolutely loved as well. Adrian writes with such fluidity that I don’t feel like I’m reading. She’s a fantastic wordsmith where she is able to put words together that can either make your jaw drop with twists and surprises or make you swoon with delicate words of love.
