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Review
Huge Midnight Breed fan right here, so I was very excited to jump into this story featuring Lazaro Archer – long time ally of the Order who has been through hell in this series.
At over 1000 years old, he is first generation Breed – one of the oldest of his kind. 20 years ago his life fell apart following the brutal and devastating slaying of his beloved mate, his sons and their mates and children at the hands of Dragos. His grief has dulled over the years, but he still carries a lot of guilt that he wasn’t there to protect them. Now, he is commander of the Order’s operation in Rome and keeps himself busy trying not to think about his past.
When he runs into Melena Walsh, the Breedmate daughter of a long-time friend, she starts to stir things in him that he hasn’t felt for years, and when he ends up saving her life, things start to get interesting. Melena has known Lazaro since she was a child, and has always hero-worshipped him a bit. Seeing him again now that she is an adult has her hormones jumping up and down in excitement, and when she recognizes that he feels the same attraction that she does, things start to get very intense, and all kinds of sexy!
It was so intense, so startlingly real, this thing coming to life between them.
But Lazaro is still nursing his guilt and refuses to consider the possibility of a relationship between the two of them. His anger at himself for being unable to resist Melena fuels some pretty hot sexy time…
“Damn you for making me want you,” he muttered thickly. His searing breath skated across her electrified skin like a lick of flame. “Damn you for making me want this…”
…and even with all of his anger, he can’t deny how she makes him feel.
She had done in less than a day what no other woman before her had managed to do in two decades.
She made him feel alive again.
Yes, it’s a VERY fast moving relationship, but it’s a novella, so it kind of has to be, and I was able to deal with it. And although the inevitable conflict between them is not an original one, Lara Adrian does it well, and I was happy to see Lazaro get his happy ending after all that he has been through. And Melena is a great heroine who shows a good amount of backbone in dealing with her man.
“Why are you pulling away from me now? Why are you acting as if I don’t mean anything to you?”
He held her gaze, his own haunted and filled with remorse. “Because it isn’t fair to you, letting you think I could ever be any kind of mate worthy of you.”
…
“I’d resisted the temptation for a very long time, Melena. And it was easy. Until I found you.”
I enjoyed getting to meet the boys in Lazaro’s crew in Rome, and with the intro given to the three warriors, I’m wondering whether they’ll appear in future books. If so, I’d be very happy with that! The dynamics between them are great, and they are three very different personalities with interesting backgrounds.
Jehan snorted. “He’s a legend in his own mind. Pay no attention to him.”
Sav barked a laugh. “Envy isn’t a good look for you, Highness.”
“And you may kiss my royal ass, peasant.”
This is a great addition to the series. It not only gives us a happy ending for a much-beloved character, but the little bit of action going on behind the scenes ties it in nicely with the growing anticipation over a new danger facing the Order.
I really enjoyed it – 4 stars.
For full series information, check out our Midnight Breed Series page.