Ashes of Midnight

Ashes of Midnight is the sixth book in Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed series. It follows Andreas Reichen, an ally of the Order, who headed up a Darkhaven in Berlin that was decimated in the previous book, Veil of Midnight. After losing all the people he cared about, Andreas went on a vengeance spree, hunting down everyone who had anything to do with the murders. The last person on his list is Wilhelm Roth who he’s certain ordered the hit. Roth happens to be mated to Andreas’s former lover, Claire, who Andreas hasn’t seen for three decades, but whom he’s never quite stopped loving. Andreas has a devastating pyrokinetic ability that he has struggled to control ever since it emerged, but he’s basically allowed it free-rein while show more hunting his enemies. When he finds Claire at her country estate outside Hamburg, his ability and his killing of all her Enforcement Agency guards frightens her, but a part of her is happy to finally see him again. At first she doesn’t believe that her mate could have done all that Andreas claims, but it isn’t long before she realizes the truth and allies herself with her former lover. They must go on the run to escape Roth and end up turning to the Order for help. The Order is more than happy to take them in since Andreas has assisted them many times in the past. Once in Boston, though, Claire’s blood bond with Roth tells her that he’s close by, and as she uses her psychic ability to dreamwalk with him, she discovers that he might be in league with Dragos, their greatest enemy. Although Claire begs him to give up his vendetta, Andreas is determined to find Roth and kill him, even if it means his own death. When he won’t listen to reason, Claire insists on using her connection to Roth to help them find him. But what none of them knows is that Dragos, with Roth’s help, has set the ultimate trap for them that could lead to the demise of nearly everyone in the Order. And even if they make it out of the enemy’s lair alive, Andreas’s pyro could kill them all if he goes nuclear.

We first met Andreas, I believe, in the third book, Midnight Awakening, as the leader of the Berlin Darkhaven, which housed many of his family members and close friends. All of them were killed when Wilhelm Roth turned Andreas’s friend/mistress into a Minion and sent her to infiltrate the Darkhaven. Now he’s out for blood. Thirty years earlier, Andreas met Claire and they shared a torrid love affair. Andreas loved her and was considering taking her as his Breedmate, but his pyrokinetic power unexpectedly surfaced when he was attacked. Unable to control it and worried that he might harm Claire, he ghosted her and hasn’t seen her since, but he never stopped loving her. Now she’s mated to Roth and may be the one person who can lead him to his enemy. At first, he’s rather angry with her, perhaps in part, because he thinks she might side with Roth, but even after he frightens her and kills her guards, she’s unexpectedly kind to him. Eventually she sees Roth for the monster he is, and helps Andreas escape. Then they head to Boston to take refuge with the Order. He and Claire reignite their passionate affair, but even when she asks him to give up his quest for revenge, he can’t let it go. He knows he must see it through to the end, even if Roth or his own pyro ability kills him in the process.

I’ve loved Andreas since he was first introduced. He’s such a strong leader who cared for all his people, which is why the decimation of his Darkhaven was so heartbreaking. He’s all alone in the world until he reconnects with Claire and the Order takes him in. Then he finds a new sense of family. My only complaint about his character is that he’s spent three decades worried that his pyro ability might get the best of him. After it initially went out of control, he finally managed to tamp it down, until his family was murdered. Since then it’s been out of control again and getting worse each time it surfaces, but in the end, he just kind of finally does get a handle on it. It almost seemed a little anticlimactic and too simple of a solution that made me wonder why he couldn’t have done it before. I think maybe I was expecting that Claire would have some affect on him getting it under control, which wasn’t really the case. Otherwise, I really liked Andreas.

After her parents were killed while working as doctors overseas, Claire was raised by her grandmother. As a college student, she went abroad to study in Germany. There she was attacked and rescued by Roth who informed her of her status as a Breedmate, but since he was already mated at the time, he merely took her under his protection. Later she met Andreas and fell madly in love with him, but he eventually ghosted her. Heartbroken, she and Roth, whose Breedmate had just been killed, turned to each other, and although it was never a love match, she agreed to be his mate. Ever since, though, they’ve basically been living separate lives. She knows nothing of his dirty dealings, so when Andreas shows up in a rage, killing her guards and setting things on fire, she’s a little frightened. However, since her love for him is still alive even after three decades apart, she wants to help him. After using her dreamwalking ability to contact Roth, she realizes that he’s not the person she thought he was, and fearing that he might try to kill her, she gladly throws her lot in with Andreas. Together, they go on the run and meet up with the Order in Boston. Fearing that Andreas has a death wish and might get killed if he continues searching for Roth, she begs him to stop, but to no avail. When she can’t convince him to let it go, Claire instead volunteers to use her blood bond with Roth to try to ferret out his hiding place. But they don’t realize Roth has managed to trap them until it’s too late. And even if they can get out of it alive, they still have to contend with Andreas’s out-of-control pyro. I really liked Claire. She may have made a bad decision when she chose to mate Roth, but in all fairness, she didn’t know what a monster he’d turn out to be. I like that her love for Andreas never died and that she was willing to help him even before she knew the full truth.

Because I liked Andreas so much and was so heartbroken for him after everyone in his Darkhaven was brutally murdered, I was really looking forward to Ashes of Midnight. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I finished it feeling like there was a little something missing for me. I think part of it was that the relationship dynamic between Andreas and Claire was different at the beginning because of her already being mated. Granted it’s a loveless union, but I felt like it put some distance between them initially in spite of their history together. Once they reach the States and spend a little time alone together, I could feel their connection much better. Your mileage may vary, but I didn’t necessarily consider it cheating when Andreas and Claire made love and she shared her blood with him before Roth was out of the picture. This is mainly because Roth was a no-good, rotten scoundrel who just wanted Claire to get back at Andreas for a petty grievance, and it was clear that he cared nothing about Claire and actually wanted to kill her. The other part of the story that I struggled with is the conflict that keeps Andreas and Claire emotionally at arm’s length. Even after they’ve technically broken Breed law to be together, Andreas keeps insisting over and over—at least in his own mind—that he can’t let himself get too close because he fully expects to die on his mission to kill Roth and also because he fears his pyro might hurt Claire. It all felt kind of repetitive, which frustrated me a little. In spite of all this, I did like Andreas and Claire as a couple (I’m always a sucker for second-chance romances) and look forward to seeing more of them in future books of the series. All the members of the Order and their mates put in appearances, which was great. The ending was also pretty strong, with an exciting showdown, and some interesting new developments in the greater series story arc that should make for intriguing storytelling in the remaining books. So all in all, despite a few small missteps, Ashes of Midnight was a good addition to the series. show less

This picks up right where the last book left off. Andreas Reichen returned to his Darkhaven to find his entire family had been slaughtered and his human lover, Helene had been turned into a minion. Now he's back, he's mad, his power has resurfaced and he wants revenge. He's a man on a mission: to destroy the person responsible for his tragedy - Wilhelm Roth. To see justice served, Andreas won't let anything stand in his way, not even Roth's mate, Claire. The only problem is, Claire was once Andreas' one and only love. Will he use her to get to Roth and can he stand by and let her become collateral damage?

Claire Roth has been mated to Roth for over three decades, but she never forgot about Andreas. When he shows up one night looking for show more Roth, she's shocked to find Andreas is indeed alive and that he's hunting down her mate and why. As she struggles to comprehend how she could be mated to someone accused of such cruelty, she agrees to follow Andreas to find some answers. It soon becomes clear that her mate isn't who she thought he was, and now the hunter has become the hunted and Claire is caught in the cross fire.

Andreas has had several appearances throughout the series, and I find him to be a very likable character. I always thought he'd make an excellent warrior if he decided to join the Order. As a Breed male he has a special power, which he has tempered for most of his life. It was that destructive power that drove him away from his once lover, Claire, out of fear of inadvertently hurting her. As his lust for vengeance mounts, so does his power and it threatens to consume him.

This story was action-packed, the rekindling of their love was at times heartbreaking. I'm also noticing a steady trend of the male drinking from the female at some point so that when things go south, he'll be able to sense her and come to her rescue. I suppose in a way this predictability is necessary, since it's around that time in every story when the breedmates use their special abilities to aid the Order, while getting into a bit of trouble. This installment also pushed the story along and brought a new disturbing development to light, so I'm already eager to get the next book. show less

Gesandte des Zwielichts ♦ Lara Adrian | Rezension

Gesandte des Zwielichts setzt an den Geschehnissen um den deutschen Stammesvampir Andreas Reichen aus dem vorherigen Band Gefährtin der Schatten an und ich wollte wirklich wissen, wie es um ihn steht. Doch was ich dann lesen musste, war furchtbar langweilig.



Enttäuschend und nervig

Ich gebe zu, dass es für AutorInnen paranormaler Liebesromane eine schwere Aufgabe ist, eine wirklich überzeugende Romanze aufs Paper zu bringen. Gerade dann, wenn der Weltenaufbau sich noch immer entfaltet, mysteriöse Verkettungen gelöst werden müssen, und nebenbei wird mensch mit den Handlungen einer gefühlt hundertköpfigen Besetzung gefüttert, die sich darum drehen, herauszufinden, was die bösen show more Buben vorhaben … und all das auf rund 300 Seiten.

Es ist fast unnötig zu sagen, dass die Romanzen darunter ein bisschen leiden könnten und es eine Art „Hau Ruck“ – Aktion unerlässlich ist. Doch bei diesem Band hat mich dieser Fakt überhaupt nicht gestört. Da der romantischen Teil so unglaublich langweilig und irrelevant (für mich) war, habe ich hier kein Tränchen verdrückt, dass diesem Part nicht allzu viele Seiten gewidmet wurden.

Für mich war Andreas in den letzten Bänden immer eine sehr interessante und tolle Figur. Er war wild und einnehmend, und es hat mir das Herz gebrochen, als er alles verloren hatte. Doch war sein Selbsthass ab einem bestimmten Punkt im Buch für mich einfach unerträglich. Es war einfach too much! Ich habe mit seiner Figur wirklich mitgelitten und nach der Tragödie wollte ich nichts Wichtigeres, als dass er glücklich wird. Doch der Weg dorthin war anstrengend für mich. Zumal ich auch mit Claire einfach nicht warum geworden bin.

Claire hingegen hat für mich überhaupt nicht funktioniert. Diese Frau hätte ich ständig einfach nur schütteln können. Könnte es jemals jemanden geben, der so dumm und idiotisch ist wie sie? Dieses ewige Hin und Her um Vertrauen hat mich echt auf die Palme gebracht und ihr gesamte Art war so verzogen und hochnäsig. Unabhängig von dem, was sie mit ihrem Gefährten Wilhelm Roth durchmachen musste, wollte ich nicht, dass sie am Ende glücklich wird. Denn allein die Tatsache, dass sie einfach losläuft und ihren Noch-Gefährten, auch wenn er ein absoluter Arsch ist, betrügt, ohne auch nur einen Gedanken an ihn zu verschwenden. Claire war für mich ein Ich-bezogenes-Miststück!

Fazit

Gesandte des Zwielichts war für mich fast Zeitverschwendung. Einzig die Nebengeschichten, also das Weiterspinnen des roten Fadens im Hintergrund, und das Erscheinen der anderen Stammeskrieger und ihrer Gefährtinnen, war für mich wirklich interessant. Ansonsten kam ich aus dem Augenrollen nicht mehr heraus.


This review was originally posted on The Art of Reading. show less

Roth was certainly an antagonist… his justification for a decades-long grudge against Andreas is flimsy AF and thus he comes across as particularly untethered from sanity. Which isn’t actually what I think the idea was hahaha.

I did like Andreas and Claire, though. The forbidden aspect of her being bonded to someone else added a twist to this bonding format that was interesting.

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 show more 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. show less

With the way that VEIL OF MIDNIGHT ended I thought that this would be Andreas Reichen's story. I wasn't quite prepared for the depth of evil that is put forth in this book. It is bad enough that Dragos’ is a psychopath bent on world domination but you add in Wilhelm Roth and the evil just pours out of the pages. I can see that things are going to get much worse both they get better and that worries me no end. I would hate to see any of the current characters killed. I have come to enjoy each couple as they get their happily ever after and all the glimpses that I get with each new book. Ms. Adrian makes you feel like you are part of the Order’s family. You grow to care about what these people are going through and the danger that show more they are always in. I wish that there was a better path for all these people. I feel like I do when I read Lora Leigh’s Breed series. There is this evil that is hanging over both group’s head. The more they try to escape the stronger the evil seems to become.

Andreas is a playboy that has never let anyone close to him. He has never taken a mate. When he loses his family and Helene he really does lose an important part of himself. He is a strong, honorable man that has a terrible talent that he really hasn't learned to control. He also has an enemy that he has no real idea how he came to be. It was wonderful to get a look into Andreas' past. He has gone through a lot of pain and anguish. His need to seek vengeance on Roth is almost his undoing. I was glad that he found Claire and he pulled him back from the cliff he was teetering on.

Claire is a stubborn, strong willed woman. She has lived a quiet life of doing charity work and being eye candy for her mate Wilhelm. She is also a dreamwalker. For all her intuition she is still naive where her mate is concerned. She has no idea what Roth has been up to since before she became his mate. One of the things that I loved about her is that she doesn't hesitate to take an active role in taking Roth down once she learns how evil he really is. It is a little sad that she doesn't have more confidence in Andreas and in herself. So much of the problems between the two could have been avoided if they had just been more willing to communicate.

This is a complex story with the overall plot advancing as well as the plot for Andreas and Claire’s story. Dragos is really a demented individual that thinks he is smarter than everyone else. That is the mark of a serial killer I guess and yes that is what Dragos is down to his very expensive shoes. I was disappointed that the Order didn't catch him in this story. He deserves a slow and torturous death at the hands of the Breedmates that he has held captive and abused. It will be interesting to see what happens in later books. show less

Este era um dos livros mais esperados desta serie. Desde que apareceu nesta serie que tive um intenso desejo de conhecer a história de Andreas. Ele era uma personagem que se apresentava envolto em mistérios e que pareciam que nada o conseguia abalar e talvez por isso a minha curiosidade foi amplificada. Com esta livro veio-me à memória o título de uma musica muito conhecida, com certeza que muitos conhecem um dos temas mais famosos de Britney Spears “Oops! I did it again.”, pois é verdade, Lara Adrian conseguiu fazê-lo de novo. Não só veio trazer-nos mais um pouco de conhecimento acerca do seguimento da série, como também nos presenteou com um romance incrível e cheio de obstáculos.
Esta foi uma história que me deixou show more bastante satisfeita e que acabou por ultrapassar as minhas espectativas. Andreas acabou por se tornar numa personagem muito marcante e a autora acabou por o enaltecer ainda mais com o seu misterioso poder pirotécnico, que acabou por dar ainda mais acção no decorrer do enredo. Quanto a Claire, apesar de no início parecer uma personagem apagada em demasia ao lado do protagonista, foi aos poucos demonstrando aquilo que valia e surpreendendo bastante com actos corajosos e que acabou por ser a responsável pela principal descoberta do livro.
O final acabou mais uma vez por me deixar demasiado curiosa, parece que algo de muito importante e perigoso está por acontecer. Sinto-me um pouco apreensiva para aquilo que o próximo livro nos trás e a espera parece demasiado grande para conhecer a continuação. A vontade que a autora mostra em nos trazer um cenário um pouco mais sombrio parece-me uma forte aposta que acredito que não será esbanjada.

Por último deixo um breve excerto que me parecer demasiado doce para não o mencionar. Este acabou por ser um dos meus momentos favoritos do livro:
“…recostou-se na cama com ela e envolveu-a no seu abraço protector, fazendo-lhe promessas solenes que estava desejoso por cumprir e amando-a com toda a reverencia e adoração de um macho vinculado, que olhara o inferno de cara e agora percebia que estava a segurar o céu nos braços.”

http://viv-omundoencantadodoslivros.blogspot.pt/2013/01/quinta-essenciaopiniao-c... show less