Veil of Midnight by Lara Adrian

Author: Lara Adrian 

Series: The Midnight Breed (book #5) 

Previous in series: Midnight Rising 

Next in series: Ashes of Midnight

My rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis: What happens when two warriors clash? Renata cannot be bested by either vampire or mortal, but she meets her match in Nikolai, a combat addicted Breed warrior who will do anything to catch his quarry. Can these two reconcile their differences for a love that my save or consume them?

Review: An emotional story, a sweet hero and a formidable heroine.  

Adrian touches on several exceedingly dark issues in her complex and gripping plots, and this book is the darkest so far with references to pedophilia, human trafficking, breeding programs and experimentation. Nevertheless, this is all mixed in with an intensity of emotion, chemistry and connection between the lead characters. 

Niko is not the most intense or charismatic of the Breed warriors but he is definitely the sweetest and the one with the best-developed sense of morality. While some details of his back-story are provided, the focus is on Renata, and Niko’s character development is somewhat neglected.

Renata has overtaken Elise as my favorite Breedmate. Although she may appear cold in the beginning, her stoicism is completely in line with the harshness of her background and it is thrilling to see her innate compassion for others come to the fore as she learns to love and to be loved. On a side note, one of the aspects of Adrian’s series that I most appreciate is the fact that the mates have their own abilities, actively participate in the battle against the villains in the books and do not sit around waiting to be rescued.

The romance between Niko and Renata is another strong point in the book. They seem to have an immediate connection but are wary of taking it forward for their own reasons. However, they make a great couple once the obstacles are removed.

Unlike the other books in the series, there is more than one villain, each with their own diabolical agenda but Adrian is able to successfully merge them together into a unified whole.

The story is captivating with some seriously disturbing moments, and one or two twists and turns that advance the overall series arc, which makes me especially eager to read both Andreas and Hunter’s books.