Simon Jäger

Ashes of Midnight
3.5 Stars

Synopsis:
Once a civilized Breed, Andreas Reichen is now a vampire consumed with the desire for vengeance and he will do anything to get it including using the only woman he has ever loved as a pawn.

Review:
An intriguing plot in terms of the overall story arc with an exciting twist at the end. However, the romance is weak and unappealing.

Andreas’s character has been building up over the series and I was eager to read his book but ended up being disappointed. To begin with, his character does a complete about face and transforms from a civilized and intelligent social creature into an uncontrollable and dangerous warrior bent on vengeance. This transformation is logical in terms of plot development but it takes some getting used to.

Andreas’s relationship with Claire is where the book takes a turn for the worse as their connection falls flat and fails to resonate. Their interactions are lackluster and borderline boring. The previous books emphasize the significance and strength of the blood bond, thus the fact that she is bonded to one of the villains, despite her claims to have loved Andreas wholeheartedly, undermines the romantic aspects of the story. It is a pity that Adrian couldn't find a way to work around this.

Speaking of Claire, her character comes across as selfish, vapid and disloyal. Some of her actions are extremely irritating and contradict her own internal dialogue. Moreover, the way in which she and Andreas ultimately resolve their issues comes across as absurd and uninspired.
To be honest, Roth’s character is far more interesting and impressive. He is manipulative, arrogant and sadistic – all of which make for one of the more compelling villains in the series.

The scenes between the other warriors and their mates, and the development of the Dragos storyline are some of the few saving graces of the book.

In sum, the world that Adrian has created is exciting and entertaining, which more than compensates for the unremarkable romance in this installment. Moreover, Andreas is not one of the core brotherhood of warriors, and he and Claire may not take a central role in books to come. For these reasons, I will continue with the series despite the failings of this one.… (altro)

This series just gets better and better AND BETTER! I loved the interactions between Andreas and Claire. The extent of deception that had kept them apart for 30 years and the intensity of what brought them back into each others lives was spectacular!! All the characters from the previous books are in this one. Not only are the warriors of The Order giving all they got towards defeating Dragos and his evil, but their Breedmates get in on the action too. They prove in this book that they are more than capable of helping to conquer the psychopaths that are determined to have world domain over both humans and breeds alike.
From the very first word to the very last, it is explosive and filled with treachery, intrigue, suspense and constant ACTION!
… (altro)