Kiss of Midnight
3,5 stars
I am aware that this is a highly praised book here on GR, and most of my friends loved it. Yet, I don't feel the hype.
A couple of years ago, I joined the paranormal romance bandwagon. I added many books of the genre to my TBR and claimed it was my absolute favourite genre.
However, as I stand before you now, I have to admit that I got tired of PNR. It's just so repetitive, the structure and the plot are always the same, with a few slight variations.
PNR basic plot points:
1. Boy (vamp/werewolf/etc.) meets girl (different from the average human in some way) and they feel an instant attraction to each other.
2. They get it on.
3. There's someone/something threatening the woman, who (surprise!) is an enemy of the guy she slept with.
4. The guy feels the need to protect her and keeps denying that he likes her, even though he wants her (body and soul).
5. There are three to four (or more) sex scenes between the danger and stuff.
6. In the end, they declare their love for each other and live happily ever after, because the mighty guy killed/avoided whoever was standing in the way of their love.
You'll find that this model fits in a lot of PNR books of today. Of course, there are some than don't fit the mold, and I've had the pleasure of reading a few.
For me, "Kiss of Midnight" was just more of the same, with a few interesting additions.
More of the same:
- There is a brotherhood of vampires that fights evil creatures corrupted by bloodlust, the Rogues, for a living, in order to protect human kind. (Sound familiar to you? Black Dagger Brotherhood?)
- Gabrielle, the heroine of the story, is a Breedmate, and therefore has always been different from the rest of the humans.
- "Midnight Breed" is a series where each and every Breed warrior will be featured and find their mates. (Also common in recent PNR series)
New stuff:
- Vampires descend from aliens.
- Breedmates can be identified by a special birthmark, and they have a unique genetical combination that allows them to bear the Breed's children.
- The Breed consists only of males.
- The Breed's traditions and rituals.
Final notes:
The book wasn't entirely bad. I struggled with it and thought about giving up a lot during the first half. However, I enjoyed the last half very much, because that was when the Breed's habits and life were more thoroughly explored.
I have to say that Gabrielle got on my nerves very often, and the same applies to Lucan, always torturing himself. Also, they were always horny! They went at it like f**king rabbits.
Gabrielle and Lucan's romance was just not believable to me. Things happened too fast for my taste. But they did end up being quite cute as a couple.
Even though I stated that this series copied many of the actual PNR tendencies, I also mentioned it had a few original ideas. Because of that, I'd like to read the next book, "Kiss of Crimson". I'm curious to see Dante getting his HEA and, mostly, I'm dying to know more about the Breed and the way its society is structured.
