Thea Harrison – Midnight’s Kiss

The eighth book in the Elder Races series, published May 5, 2015.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: a scene from the book, I like the body, not the face.



Ever since their scorching affair ended years ago, Julian, the Nightkind King, and Melisande, daughter of the Light Fae Queen, have tried to put the past behind them - and distance between them. But when a war breaks out between Julian and Justine, a powerful Vampyre of the Nightkind council, they find themselves thrown together under treacherous circumstances....
Kidnapped as leverage against Julian, Melly is convinced that her former lover won't be rushing to her rescue. But when Julian gives himself up to save her, they both end up Justine's captives. Armed only with their wits and their anger, Melly and Julian must work together to escape. But will they be able to ignore their complicated history, or will the fiery passion that once burned them blaze again?


The end of the previous book, Night’s Honor, laid the foundation for this book, when Justine kidnapped Melisande. Of course a cliffhanger like that, made me crave this book at once, so when it dropped on my doormat, I had to start reading it immediately. And I kept reading past my bedtime.

I have to admit, I did not really like Julian, the Vampire King, when he appeared a few times earlier in the series. Like when he banished Carling, and tried to kill her. And in the beginning of the book he is very arrogant to Melly, even though she is the one who saves them both. He just refuses to listen to her, but in the end, he has to admit he was so very wrong.
I was very pleasantly surprised by Melisande, who is not only the Light Fae Queen’s oldest daughter and Heir, but also a famous movie star in the human world. She was strong and resilient, and she used to watch MacGyver, one of my favourite tv-shows back then. And that knowledge sure came in handy while trapped in those underground cells Justine created.
Justine not only keeps them locked up, she has a whole army of starving Feral vampires down there, feeding them with humans she has snatched from the street.

If Julian would have known about it earlier, he would have swept it clean long ago, but it is impossible to chart all the tunnels and hideaways under the city.

After escaping Justine’s clutches (of course they do, this is not a spoiler) they will still have to find her, and fight her and her allies. Getting Evenfall and his people back, will not be an easy battle.


I really enjoyed this story, and Julian grew on me when he finally started believing Melly, and looked at a future again. He was tired of being the King, being under the scrutiny of the Council every day. Yes, he surprised me.
But I loved Melly, I think she is my favourite heroine in this series. She doesn’t give up, she keeps going, and I loved her interaction with the bikergang. She just vibrates off the pages. She is not brass and in your face like my favourite harpy, but she feels very real.
Julian gets help from not only the Light Fae, but also a Wyr and a Jinn, and that makes it even more interesting. I hope to see a Jinn book soon, I am intrigued with their hidden pasts, especially when the Outcast Jinn was helping the evil vampire Justine.

I am certainly looking forward to the next book. Meeting Thea Harrison in Berlin was certainly a highlight of the weekend.

10 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian