Midnight’s Kiss by Thea Harrison

Midnight's KissNarrated by Sophie Eastlake

I have enjoyed this series since it began with Dragon Bound and Sophie Eastlake is a favourite narrator of mine, so requesting Midnight’s Kiss for review was a no brainer. While not every book in the series has been a rousing success, they have all been enjoyable and I haven’t reached series fatigue. One of the reasons I keep coming back is because the world is so rich and broad, with a variety of paranormal beings to serve as protagonists. Midnight’s Kiss features Julian, the King of the Nightkind demesne, and Melisande, the daughter and heir of the Light Fae Queen. Julian has previously been somewhat of a villain so I was interested to know what the author would do to “redeem” him.

*spoilers for Night’s Honor below. Be ye warned.*

The previous book in the series, Night’s Honor, features Xavier and Tess. While that book ended with their HFN/HEA, the story was only part way done. Midnight’s Kiss, of all the Elder Races books, is not one which stands alone well; at the very least, Night’s Honor is required reading.

Midnight’s Kiss picks up slightly before the end of the previous book. Justine is on the run after her attempt on Xavier’s life was foiled. Julian is hunting for Justine but is interrupted when he answers a plea from the Light Fae Queen, Tatiana, to help find her missing daughter. Melisande has been captured by Justine to lure and trap Julian.

Listeners will know that Julian and Melly had had a passionate liaison twenty years earlier. Their split was messy and there has been great antipathy between them ever since. Julian’s heart had been broken when he’d been anonymously sent photographic proof that Melly had cheated on him. They had a massive fight where she denied it (of course), but faced with the undoctored photographs, he remained convinced of her duplicity. I think Julian felt so strongly for Melly he was scared to trust himself and he doubted her sincerity partly based on her abilities as an actress (Melly is a famous Hollywood star).

Essentially this is (of course) a big misunderstanding and usually the “Big Mis” is one of my least favourite conflicts in romance. However, they were able to resolve matters relatively quickly in terms of actual time and there was so much action happening in the previous pages, it didn’t bother me all that much. The listener has to buy that Julian and Melly make the other’s heads basically explode and it has taken twenty years and an extreme captivity situation for them to be able to talk meaningfully with each other. I decided not to think about that too much and just go with it.

Julian is lured into chains by Justine to save Melly’s life and thereafter, Melly and Julian have to work together to escape, learn to get over the past and trust each other, recognise their true feelings for one another and capture/kill Justine and any other vampyre involved in her plot to overthrow Julian’s reign as Nightkind King. There is also something of a reconciliation between Carling and Julian.

It is always interesting to view a dispute from the other person’s perspective and here, listeners get a chance to see how challenging things were for Julian when Carling was at her most erratic and dangerous. But there is more to it than just a different perspective. I will say no more than that I felt enough happened that I was able to accept Julian as hero instead of villain (something I had been concerned about).

It’s a very busy book; the pacing is tight, the stakes (har har) are high and the action is intense. I thought the previous book was a little weaker in terms of plot, in part because the conflict regarding the Nightkind demesne is not resolved until this story is complete. But Midnight’s Kiss is exciting and romantic and it reignited my love of the series.

Sophie Eastlake has narrated all of the Elder Races books and so knows the world and characters well. As usual, she delivered the emotional connection between the hero and heroine, and the tense energy of the story with a skill that compelled me to keep listening.

I think if one were to sample the entire cast from the Elder Races series side by side, there would be some who sound remarkably similar. (If you count the novellas too, there are more than twenty-two heroes/heroines and a vast number of secondary characters, so this ought not be surprising). However, and fortunately for all of us, they do not all appear in the books together. In Midnight’s Kiss, the characters were sufficiently well differentiated that I was never in doubt who was speaking.

There are some very tense scenes where things are quite dire for Julian and Melly. While I knew (because it’s a romance!) that things would turn out okay, nevertheless, I was still worried for them and I’m sure a large part of that concern was a result of the narration. Ms. Eastlake brings a depth of emotion to her performance which helps me to experience the characters as “real”, no matter how fantastical the world is that they live in.

The chemistry between Melly and Julian is scorching and the sex scenes are earthy and a little raw. Julian is not really a hearts and flowers kind of lover and Ms. Eastlake conveys that brilliantly, with her pacing, tone and pitch.

I always enjoy Elder Races books on audio and Midnight’s Kiss was no exception.

Kaetrin


Narration: B+

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: Escalated fighting

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Tantor Audio

 

Midnight’s Kiss was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for review.

3 thoughts on “Midnight’s Kiss by Thea Harrison

  1. Agreed about the Carling / Julian conflict. This made me go back and revisit many books in the series. Really enjoyed it!!

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