Veil of Midnight

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Synopsis

Orphaned as a baby, Renata was kicked out of her group home at fourteen and had to learn how to survive on the streets. Some time ago, she and several others were scooped up by Gen One Breed Sergei Yakut for his sick vampire games. She alone survived thanks to Yakut recognizing her as a Breedmate and putting her psychic talents to use as his bodyguard. Renata would have tried to escape long ago except that she made a pact to protect Mira, a little girl who is also a Breedmate with an extraordinary talent and who Yakut is keeping prisoner. When Order warrior Nikolai shows up, looking for Yakut, she fells him with a psychic blast, just as she's been trained to do. But when Yakut allows Niko to stay a while, she gets to know him and finds an honorable man who isn't like the other Breeds she's known. When Yakut turns up dead, though, and Niko swears his innocence before being taken away by Enforcement, Renata isn't sure what to think. But when Mira is given to a local Darkhaven leader with a reputation for hurting children, she knows that Niko is the only one who might be able to help. She stages a daring prison break, after which they start falling for each other while making a plan to find Mira. But when Niko withholds vital information from her regarding Mira, Renata might not be able to forgive him.

Nikolai joined the Order long ago for personal reasons and is now a trusted member. With all Gen One Breeds now in danger from the deadly Dragos who has brought back one of the Ancients for his own greedy ends, the Order has been hunting them down to warn them. Gen One Sergei Yakut has been off the grid for some time, and Niko has been sent to track him down. In the process, he comes face to face with Renata, who is able to knock him out cold with one powerful psychic blast. However, when Yakut learns of the reason for Niko's visit, he allows the other male entrance into his domain, where Niko makes a grisly discovery. After consulting with the Order and realizing there isn't much he can do about it, he's about to go home until he finds Yakut's son consorting with a Rogue. Wondering what the male is up to, he follows him back to the compound only to find Yakut dead and himself charged with murder and sent to an Enforcement facility. Niko is shocked when Renata comes to his rescue, saying that she desperately needs his assistance with locating Mira. Niko isn't sure he can help, but finds himself so enamored with Renata, he can't say no. Together, they set out to get Mira back, but they'll have to confront Dragos himself and a deadly new bodyguard he created in order to succeed.

Review

Veil of Midnight is the fifth book in Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series. With Dragos having put an assassination plot in motion against all Gen Ones, the Order has been seeking these Breed males out to warn them of the danger. They've been having difficulty locating one of them, Sergei Yakut, so they've sent Nikolai to Montreal to see if he can get a bead on the Gen One. Niko gets a little more than he bargained for when he comes face to face with Renata, a powerful Breedmate acting as Yakut's bodyguard, who is able to lay him flat with a single, potent, psychic blast. Still it has the desired effect, drawing out the Gen One himself, who after hearing why Niko is there, begrudgingly admits the Order warrior into his domain. However, while exploring the compound, Niko discovers a house of horrors that makes him want to kill Yakut himself, and that gets him thrown off the property. Despite his personal feelings, after consulting with the Order, Niko is about to catch a plane back to Boston, but while trolling the back alleys of Montreal for his next meal, he happens across Yakut's son, consorting with a Rogue. Intrigued, he follows them back to the compound, only to find Yakut dead, something for which Niko is blamed and sent off to an Enforcement facility. Throughout all of this, Renata sensed that Niko was nothing like the man who'd basically held her prisoner, but when her captor is found dead, she isn't sure who to believe. However, when Mira, a little girl with an equally powerful talent, who was also Yakut's prisoner and whom Renata had vowed to protect with her life, is taken, she knows she only has one chance to get the girl back alive. She must break Niko out and hope that he'll help her find and rescue Mira. Along the way, Niko and Renanta begin to fall for one another, but if Dragos has his way, none of them will live to see another day.

Renata was left at an orphanage when she was a baby and never knew her parents. She lived there until she was thrown out at fourteen, after which she had to learn how to survive on the streets. Some time ago, she was scooped up from the back alleys by Yakut's people to be used in his sick games, but when he discovered that she was a Breedmate with a powerful talent, he kept her around as a bodyguard. Renata had little choice in the matter, but even if she did, she wouldn't leave, because Yakut also has a young girl in his possession. Mira has a power equally as potent as Renata's, and Renata has vowed to always keep her safe. When Niko shows up, she does what she's been trained to do, which is to fell any Breeds who appears uninvited. However, when Yakut allows Niko to stay for a short time, Renata gets to know him and senses that he's honorable and not like the other Breeds she's known. She wishes she could leave with him but knows she can't. Then when he comes back, her boss turns up dead. Niko swears he's innocent, but she isn't sure what to think. Not long after he's hauled off by Enforcement, though, Yakut's son gives Mira to the head of the local Darkhaven, and Renata is determined to get her back by any means necessary. Knowing she won't be able to find the girl on her own, she makes a plan to rescue Niko first, hoping he'll agree to help. As they work together, Renata can't seem to help falling for him, but when Niko keeps vital information from her to prevent her from going after Mira alone, she might not be able to forgive him. I really liked Renata. She's very independent and one of the most kick-ass Breedmates we've seen in the series so far, but at the same time, she's open to receiving help from Niko when she needs it and has a softer side that longs for a family to call her own.

After losing his brother in a senseless murder for which he blames himself, Nikolai joined the Order to hunt down his brother's killer, but it didn't bring any peace to his parents, who basically disowned him for it. He was sent by the Order to track down Yakut to warn him about the Gen One assassinations, but instead he gets knocked out by a psychic blast from a young woman. Later, at the compound, he has a moment with Renata, giving in to his attraction long enough to kiss her, but when he mistakenly believes that she's Yakut's Breedmate, he tries to put his desire aside. After making a grisly discovery, he confronts Yakut, only to be thrown out, but after finding Yakut's son with a Rogue, he follows them back, resulting in him being arrested by Enforcement for Yakut's murder. He's shocked when Renata comes to his rescue, and once he's recovered from the torture they subjected him to, she asks for his help in rescuing the remarkable little girl he'd met. At first, he isn't sure if he can, because his mission from the Order doesn't involve Mira, but soon he's so enamored of Renata that he can't say no. Together, they set out on a dangerous operation to get Mira back that turns into a confrontation with Dragos and his deadly assassin. Niko is an honorable guy who represents the best of the Breed. I like how he takes care of Renata and genuinely wants to help find Mira, too. His life undergoes some pretty significant changes by the end, but he takes it all in stride.

Overall, Veil of Midnight was a great read. I enjoyed getting to know Niko and Renata and felt they were very well-suited to one another. Their relationship developed nicely, leaving me with no real question that they'd be together for the long haul. Renata's love for and commitment to Mira was heartwarming and definitely reciprocated. I look forward to seeing Mira grow up to become the heroine of Edge of Dawn, the first book in the Midnight Breed: The Next Generation spin-off series. It'll be interesting to find out more about her powers. Ally to the Order and head of the Berlin Darkhaven Andreas Reichen goes through a heartbreaking tragedy that I suspect will dovetail into his story, Ashes of Midnight, which is the next of the series. After all this poor guy has been through he deserves an HEA. We're also introduced to an intriguing new character, Hunter, who will become the hero of Book #9, Deeper Than Midnight. Since Niko is on a solo mission and the majority of Veil of Midnight takes place in Montreal, far from the Order's Boston headquarters, the other members of the Order aren't as prominent, but all of them play supporting roles in some capacity. Readers also get brief sightings of the Breedmates of those members who are mated. I think what impressed me most about Veil of Midnight is how well-plotted it is. I was sucked right into the story from page one and my interest never faltered. It's an extremely well-constructed story that is not only self-contained but also very much advances the series story arc. More of Dragos's evil plan is revealed and we definitely haven't heard the last of him yet, so I look forward to finding out how the Order will defeat him, although it could be a while. I simply had a really good time reading this story and can't wait to continue with the series soon.

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Lara Adrian

Themes

Babies & Children
Tortured Heroines