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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I really liked this story because it had a main character whom is not a Breed Warrior, he's a strong character and very likeable. This one stood out to me against the other books. Nice change of pace though.
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.
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.
Kurz-Meinung:
Inhaltlich möchte ich hier nicht viel sagen, da es sich bereits um Teil 6 der Midnight Breed Reihe handelt. Um die Hintergrundstory zu verstehen muss man die anderen Bände des Reihe gelesen habe. Wer sich nur für eine Liebesgeschichte interessiert, kann den Band aber auch ohne die Vorgängerbände lesen. Es wird vieles nochmal kurz angerissen.
Dieses Mal geht es um Reichen, den wir bereits aus anderen Bänden kennen. Mir persönlich lag sein Charakter nicht so. Warum kann ich nicht einmal genau sagen. Zum einen spielt sicher die Art und Weise eine Rolle, wie der Sprecher (Simon Jäger) den Charakter spricht. Ich bin eigentlich ein großer Fan dieses Hörbuchsprechers, aber den Berliner Akzent, den er Reichen verpasste, nervte mich sehr. Aber auch sonst wirkte Reichen auf mich irgendwie zu weichgespült und arrogant, obwohl er hier doch leidend, wütend und unerbittlich dargestellt wird. Irgendwie überzeugte mich das im Vergleich mit den Kriegern des Ordens nicht. An seine Seite wird Claire gestellt. Sie ist Roths Gefährtin, den wir ebenfalls schon aus dem Vorgängerband kennen und der Bösewicht dieses Buches ist. Natürlich ist diese Verbindung alles andere als harmonisch und das Zusammenkommen von Claire und Reichen wird sehr plausibel erklärt. Die Chemie stimmt zwischen den beiden. Claire ist allgemein eine sehr sympathischer Charakter – liebenswürdig, engagiert und loyal. Es machte Spaß von ihr zu lesen.
Der Band war spannend, da Reichen die ganze Zeit auf Rache aus ist. Seine pyrokinetischen Kräfte machen das ganze besonders interessant. Man fiebert mit, ob und wie er Roth stellt. Als dann auch noch die Krieger des Ordens mit ins Spiel kamen, packte mich das Buch noch viel mehr (auch emotional). Ich liebe diese rauen Krieger und ihre unterschiedlichen Charaktere und Fähigkeiten einfach. Sonst mag ich ja keine Vampirbücher aber Lara Adrian schafft es einfach mich zu begeistern.
Der Endkampf war wieder grandios. Die Geschichte um Reichen und Claire ist abgeschlossen, die große Haupthandlung der gesamten Reihe endet aber mit einem Cliffhanger, der mir echt Sorgen macht für den nächsten Band. Was soll jetzt bloß passieren? Ich hoffe es wird nicht zu düster.
Meine Wertung:
4 von 5 Sternen
Inhaltlich möchte ich hier nicht viel sagen, da es sich bereits um Teil 6 der Midnight Breed Reihe handelt. Um die Hintergrundstory zu verstehen muss man die anderen Bände des Reihe gelesen habe. Wer sich nur für eine Liebesgeschichte interessiert, kann den Band aber auch ohne die Vorgängerbände lesen. Es wird vieles nochmal kurz angerissen.
Dieses Mal geht es um Reichen, den wir bereits aus anderen Bänden kennen. Mir persönlich lag sein Charakter nicht so. Warum kann ich nicht einmal genau sagen. Zum einen spielt sicher die Art und Weise eine Rolle, wie der Sprecher (Simon Jäger) den Charakter spricht. Ich bin eigentlich ein großer Fan dieses Hörbuchsprechers, aber den Berliner Akzent, den er Reichen verpasste, nervte mich sehr. Aber auch sonst wirkte Reichen auf mich irgendwie zu weichgespült und arrogant, obwohl er hier doch leidend, wütend und unerbittlich dargestellt wird. Irgendwie überzeugte mich das im Vergleich mit den Kriegern des Ordens nicht. An seine Seite wird Claire gestellt. Sie ist Roths Gefährtin, den wir ebenfalls schon aus dem Vorgängerband kennen und der Bösewicht dieses Buches ist. Natürlich ist diese Verbindung alles andere als harmonisch und das Zusammenkommen von Claire und Reichen wird sehr plausibel erklärt. Die Chemie stimmt zwischen den beiden. Claire ist allgemein eine sehr sympathischer Charakter – liebenswürdig, engagiert und loyal. Es machte Spaß von ihr zu lesen.
Der Band war spannend, da Reichen die ganze Zeit auf Rache aus ist. Seine pyrokinetischen Kräfte machen das ganze besonders interessant. Man fiebert mit, ob und wie er Roth stellt. Als dann auch noch die Krieger des Ordens mit ins Spiel kamen, packte mich das Buch noch viel mehr (auch emotional). Ich liebe diese rauen Krieger und ihre unterschiedlichen Charaktere und Fähigkeiten einfach. Sonst mag ich ja keine Vampirbücher aber Lara Adrian schafft es einfach mich zu begeistern.
Der Endkampf war wieder grandios. Die Geschichte um Reichen und Claire ist abgeschlossen, die große Haupthandlung der gesamten Reihe endet aber mit einem Cliffhanger, der mir echt Sorgen macht für den nächsten Band. Was soll jetzt bloß passieren? Ich hoffe es wird nicht zu düster.
Meine Wertung:
4 von 5 Sternen
Ashes of Midnight by Lara Adrian: Ok I have to say I was a little disappointed that this was not about one of the warriors though he is almost one of them. I do like how the story is progressing with Dragos and the Ancient. I like how all the characters are important to the progression of the story and how you get little updates as they go along. I really am looking forward to the next book!
I think my favorite part of this book was that the hero of the book was not one of the Order. I really like how it took a character we have met a few times and made him the hero. I also love how he ended up tying in with the Order. Love these so much I have already started the next one!
I just wasn't feeling Reichen. Rio is still a tough act to follow...
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ashes of Midnight is a well-written story that integrates the complex world-building and plot development evident in the rest of Adrian's Midnight Breed series.
Having enjoyed the five other installments in Adrian's Midnight Breed series, I was excited to read Ashes of Midnight. I especially like Adrian's fresh approach to vampirism: that they are descended from the all-male Ancients, beings stranded on Earth from another planet. With each book I hold out hope of learning the story of how the Breedmates evolved since they are the only females capable of producing offspring with the Breed. Since each Breedmate possesses a variation on the same birthmark, I have assumed they must share a common genetic history, possibly even tied to that single Breed mission to Earth. Maybe someday we'll get a first-hand look at the Ancients' homeworld as well.
Previous novels in this series have dealt with the Order, a renegade group of vampires banded together under Gen One Lucan Thorne to stop Rogues, vampires who have gone feral and succumbed to bloodlust. Later, the Order takes on a new mission: to fight Dragos, another Gen One vampire bent on controlling the Breed and human world through any means necessary.
Every vampire possesses a paranormal trait inherited from his mother and Andreas Reichen is no different. Andre's pyrokinesis threatens to burn not only him, but everyone around him as he hunts down Wilhem Roth after the man ordered the killing of Andre's entire family. Claire's Breedmate ability is to dreamwalk. While Claire's willingness to use her ability is important to the plot, I think it would have strengthened the story if Claire learned to wield it aggressively, such as in taking control of another's dream instead of simply observing. Characters from previous novels frequently play a role in later series installments, so I hope to see this type of development for Claire in a later book.
Adrian elegantly rendered the strengthening reconnection between Claire and Andre, but also addressed the fact that Claire is technically still married to another man. I thought this was a nice twist on the Romance "fated mate" trope in that here was a couple that did not automatically find their happily ever after right away.
While not my favorite installment of this series, I still very much enjoyed Ashes of Midnight and am looking forward to the release of Adrian's next novel, Shades of Midnight, in Spring 2010.
Full review: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/08/review-ashes-of-midnight-by-lara-adrian/
Having enjoyed the five other installments in Adrian's Midnight Breed series, I was excited to read Ashes of Midnight. I especially like Adrian's fresh approach to vampirism: that they are descended from the all-male Ancients, beings stranded on Earth from another planet. With each book I hold out hope of learning the story of how the Breedmates evolved since they are the only females capable of producing offspring with the Breed. Since each Breedmate possesses a variation on the same birthmark, I have assumed they must share a common genetic history, possibly even tied to that single Breed mission to Earth. Maybe someday we'll get a first-hand look at the Ancients' homeworld as well.
Previous novels in this series have dealt with the Order, a renegade group of vampires banded together under Gen One Lucan Thorne to stop Rogues, vampires who have gone feral and succumbed to bloodlust. Later, the Order takes on a new mission: to fight Dragos, another Gen One vampire bent on controlling the Breed and human world through any means necessary.
Every vampire possesses a paranormal trait inherited from his mother and Andreas Reichen is no different. Andre's pyrokinesis threatens to burn not only him, but everyone around him as he hunts down Wilhem Roth after the man ordered the killing of Andre's entire family. Claire's Breedmate ability is to dreamwalk. While Claire's willingness to use her ability is important to the plot, I think it would have strengthened the story if Claire learned to wield it aggressively, such as in taking control of another's dream instead of simply observing. Characters from previous novels frequently play a role in later series installments, so I hope to see this type of development for Claire in a later book.
Adrian elegantly rendered the strengthening reconnection between Claire and Andre, but also addressed the fact that Claire is technically still married to another man. I thought this was a nice twist on the Romance "fated mate" trope in that here was a couple that did not automatically find their happily ever after right away.
While not my favorite installment of this series, I still very much enjoyed Ashes of Midnight and am looking forward to the release of Adrian's next novel, Shades of Midnight, in Spring 2010.
Full review: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/08/review-ashes-of-midnight-by-lara-adrian/