Thank you, Lara Adrian

Great Moments from last night's reading
Book: Kiss of Midnight
Author: Lara Adrian
Spoiler level: medium

I am continuing to be pleasantly surprised by Kiss of Midnight. I mean, there are certain formulaic elements to it, but I'm not reading it for artistry or originality, I'm reading for thrills of various kinds, and goddamn if it doesn't TOTALLY DELIVER. I am inhaling this thing.

The heroine, as Sula pointed out in Friday's commentary, is a whole lot stronger than a BDB heroine, the obvious comparison here, and she's absolutely right. The heroine is interesting and complex and a little screwed up. And she has a real life. And while she has had plenty opportunities to fight the person who would help her and run into the arms of the villains, she hasn't. In fact, there were a number of times when I was like, uh-oh, I see where this is going, but then it didn't go there. Thanks, Lara Adrian!

I also love the way the hero is on the edge of 'bloodlust' addiction here, and the heroine has her own addictive pattern. Really well done.

Moreover, the villains are not merely crazed killers or age-old vendetta-driven freaks. They're led by a man with a plan. And he has a point--why shouldn't the vampires enslave the humans for food, the way we enslave and feed off cows and pigs? That cow and pig thing isn't in the book, that's my own addition. But I mean, the vampires here are faster and stronger and more perceptive. What the hell are they waiting for? I appreciate a villain who has a decent master plan. Don't get me wrong, I'm not rooting for the bad guys. I don't want to be vampire food. Well, not unless the feeding is preceded by a scenario, oh, like this:

She felt as if his every sense were trained on her alone. As if there were only her, only him, and this burning thing that existed between them. Had existed, from the moment he first showed up on her doorstep.

"Ohh," she gasped as the breath left her lungs in a slow sigh. She sagged against him, reveling in the feel of his hands on her skin, caressing her throat, her shoulder, tha arch of her spine. "What are we doing here, Lucan?"

His low growl of humor hummed beside her ear, deep as night. "I think you know."

"I don't know anything, not when you're doing that. Oh...God..."