Ashes of Midnight (Midnight Breed, #6) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Feb 27, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it really liked it

Shelves: vampire, owned-copy, interracial-romance, adultery, character-multi-ethnic-heritage, part-of-a-series, hero-i-liked, paranormal-romance, hot-and-steamy-romance, lovers-reunited

Well, I must say I was very pleasantly surprised with Ashes of Midnight. Because I have had a crush on Andreas for a while, I've been looking forward to this book, although this seems to be a least favorite of a lot of fans of this series. Veil of Midnight ended with things in an abysmal place for Andreas. His whole family was wiped out through an act of his enemy, Wilhelm Roth, who is highly placed in the Enforcement Agency. This book begins in medias res of Andreas' brutal quest for vengeance. Well, I must say I was very pleasantly surprised with Ashes of Midnight. Because I have had a crush on Andreas for a while, I've been looking forward to this book, although this seems to be a least favorite of a lot of fans of this series. Veil of Midnight ended with things in an abysmal place for Andreas. His whole family was wiped out through an act of his enemy, Wilhelm Roth, who is highly placed in the Enforcement Agency. This book begins in medias res of Andreas' brutal quest for vengeance. Andreas has the gift of summoning fire, and he uses it to devastating effect against his enemies. It's only a matter of time when his former love, Claire, ends up in his path. She's the breedmate (term for a wife/life-partner in the vampire world) to his enemy, and has been for thirty years. He left her because of his problem with the uncontrollable fire that wells from deep within him, and when he returned, she was married to Roth. Since then, he's stayed away, and lived the life of a playboy and leader of his Darkhaven in Berlin. But all that was taken away from him by Roth.

Andreas is a man driven by vengeance. The only thing that penetrates this thirst is the love he felt for Claire, which never faded. It puts him in an impossible position, because he won't give up his determination to kill Roth, even if Claire begs him to. Although I didn't always agree with the choices that Andreas made, I could see why he made them. That gave me a level of understanding for his actions. He was truly in a bad place. His gift of firestarting had unwittingly caused him to do something that haunted him with guilt, and he knew that every time he summoned fire, his ability to control this devastating force lessened, and his bloodlust got stronger. Even though he was murdering his enemies in a very brutal fashion, at heart, I could see that he was a good man. He'd just been driven over the edge by his enemy's actions. And he harbored no illusions that his own choices would lead to his own demise. His goal was to destroy Roth, even at the cost of his own life.

I actually ended up liking Claire quite a bit. Marrying Roth was a bad decision on her part, but with Andreas gone and her all alone in the world, she clung to Roth as her only security. She paid dearly for that, trapped in an loveless marriage for thirty years. When Andreas turns up again, she is faced with the horrible conflict of being between the man she loves and the man she owes her loyalty to. Although I thought she was a bit too trusting of Roth initially, I could see why. Claire was a very honorable, loyal person. She made vows and she wanted to keep them. Too bad she made them to the wrong man. That was clear, because she felt the same intense love for Andreas she had felt so many years before, even though he comes back into her life as a violent, enraged, and dangerous man. She's a gentle, but strong person. Her loyalty and steadfast love is the only thing that has the power to save Andreas.

The adventure in this story was really good. I loved the concept of Andreas having the gift of fire. It was very cool and cinematic. And kind of intimidating. He was literally so hot, he could incinerate anything that came near him. He could summon fireballs and make things explode. Very cool. I also liked that his gift had a cost to him. It was getting out of control, and it summoned an insatiable lust for blood. The conflict built to a very good climax, and I was very satisfied with the resolution (which has not been the case with most of the other books).

I thought the love between Andreas and Claire was very apparent. This book was also pretty steamy. Although I don't like adultery in books (to me Claire was married in every sense of the word, even though vampire marriage is different), I felt that they were in a tough situation, and Roth had manipulated both of them, giving them little choices in the matter. I didn't like the idea of Claire being blood-bonded to another man when I heard about this book, but I think Ms. Adrian handled it pretty well. It was clear that Andreas and Claire belonged together, and their bond was a much more powerful one than the bond with Roth.

Ashes of Midnight turned out to be my favorite in this series so far. I think that everything was pretty well done, and Ms. Adrian took one of my least favorite concepts (reunited lovers) and made a very good read with it. She has a good feel for mood and tone. Her writing is clear and strong, telling a fast-moving, interesting story in this book. I felt the urgency of the situation that the Order faces. The threat of the crooked politicians in the Enforcement Agency and the nefarious plans of Dragos. Things are culminating to a very dangerous confrontation with each book. I realized that I don't like all the foul language in this series, but I try to overlook it. I think that it ties into the dark, gritty vibe that Ms. Adrian is going for (even if it causes me more than a few winces when I read). This series just gets better and better in its execution. She tied everything together from the past books very well. It was good to see all the Breed warriors and their mates. I love how Renata fights with the men. She rocks! I think Ms. Adrian does a good job of integrating and involving the breedmates into the work of the Order, making them more than just chess pieces after their book is over. I respect her for that. I am excited to see where things go with the storyline. I look forward to reading Kade, Brock, Chase, and Hunter's stories.

Overall rating: 4.5/5.0 stars ...more

28 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2008 Holly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lara-adrian-midnight-breeds

When last we heard about Andreas Reichen, he had unleashed a fireball on his decimated home and disappeared. In Ashes of Midnight he makes his comeback in a BIG way. By the first chapter, Lara Adrian lets us know that the once carefree rogue is gone, and in his place is a merciless killer intent on revenge. He is determined to exact his fiery brand of justice on anyone who aligned themselves with the Darkhaven leader, Wilhelm Roth, and while lost within the destructive force of his pyrokinesis h When last we heard about Andreas Reichen, he had unleashed a fireball on his decimated home and disappeared. In Ashes of Midnight he makes his comeback in a BIG way. By the first chapter, Lara Adrian lets us know that the once carefree rogue is gone, and in his place is a merciless killer intent on revenge. He is determined to exact his fiery brand of justice on anyone who aligned themselves with the Darkhaven leader, Wilhelm Roth, and while lost within the destructive force of his pyrokinesis he sees Claire Roth as just another enemy.

Andre hid a world of pain beneath his roguish charm and at it's core was Claire Samuels. They had a brief but passionate affair that ended when he abruptly disappeared one day. Claire thought he had abandoned her after they had a falling out, but what really happened was that he was trying to come to grips with the fact that his previously untapped vampiric gift had emerged with devastating results. He doesn't want to inadvertently hurt her, so he stays away. Until events lead to him stalking her in the woods, chasing her down with fireballs. He unleashes a firestorm on Claire's security escort and sends her running for her life. When his rage cools, Andreas realizes that not only did Claire see him as the destructive monster he never wanted her to witness, he nearly killed her. Shame, guilt and anger eat at him, as does the Bloodlust. Every time he unleashes the fire his body demands blood, and in a fit of desire and anger he drinks from her. In one instant he has connected himself to her for all time, and in that moment he revels in it. Until he remembers that Claire is Breedmate to Wilhelm Roth and is bound to him by blood and vow.

Now both of them are on the run from the far-reaching tentacles of the not-so-honorable European Enforcement Agency and they head to Boston for aid. With Claire's dreamwalking ability and Andre's pyro, they are of big use to the Order, especially when Claire is able to sneak a peek at what her Breedmate is up to. Dragos is stepping up his plans for world domination and with Wilhelm Roth at his side they plan a big surprise for the warriors. A surprise that Andreas doesn't mean to survive. This battleworn vampire doesn't know how long he can contain the firestorm that rages within him and it's only with the aid of Claire that he has a hope of controlling the fire before it tips him over the edge.

Veil of Midnight came really close to boring me to tears and it's only saving grace was Andreas Reichen's story. The first moment he graced the pages in the Midnight Breeds series he grabbed my attention and I just knew he would be a bad boy of astronomical levels. Lara Adrian doesn't disappoint in Ashes of Midnight and she does a fabulous job of creating an extremely exciting and passionate story. She's finally shown me how well she can craft a tale and in my humble opinion I feel she escaped from beneath J.R. Ward's shadow with this addition to the Midnight Breeds series.

There is a lot of fiery imagery in this book and it helps that one of my favorite Stephan King novels is Firestarter. This book is like the last twenty minutes of the movie and I loved it. I raced through this book very quickly and it's the first Midnight Breeds book that I fully enjoyed. Perfect pacing and storytelling. Claire was a very supportive and determined heroine, and Andreas was a tortured and passionate hero. We get a few glimpses into the Order and it's ever expanding family, plus a few moments of idyllic bliss. Danika and Baby Connor make a brief appearance and Hunter also has some screen time. Another nice moment (for me anyway) was when the Order sent out the women on a little reconnaissance mission, trusting in their Breedmate abilites. That was a nice change of pace. Usually men in these type of books stick their women in a protective bubble, but in this book the warriors look to their women as useful and capable allies.

All in all, this was a very exciting addition to the series and I can't wait for the next book, Shades of Midnight to come out. It's going to star Kade and it looks like he's got some interesting psychic powers. Unfortunately I wont be reading about him for quite some time. His book comes out spring of 2010. But until then I will have to content myself with Andreas Reichen........and his fireballs. Enjoy! ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

May 29, 2009 Cindy rated it really liked it

Shelves: keepers

As we know from the end of the last book, every man, woman and child in the hero's Darkhaven has been wiped out. This book is about Andreas' journey of revenge and personal destruction. Along the way he finds Claire his lost love [and wife of William Roth, the man who gave the order for the destruction.:] The h/h and the action move to Boston and the Order uses the heroine's abilities to track down Roth and his ally Dragos [the chief villain that the Order has been pursuing for several books:].

T ...more

3 likes · Like · see review