Paranormal Book Review: Lara Adrian's Kiss of Crimson

On the heels of my previous entry, I’m reviewing Book 2 in Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed Series, Kiss of Crimson.  In my last blog, I reviewed Kiss of Midnight, Book 1 in the series which features the romantic, suspenseful tale of the Order’s leader, Lucan Thorne, and his breedmate, Gabrielle Maxwell. In this book, we get a glimpse of several other breed warrior vampires like, Dante, Tegan, Rio, etc... And each are alluring characters, which have hints of turmoil in their immortal lives – ones which make us readers beg to know more.

With the knowledge from Book 1, Kiss of Midnight, we know that the breed vampire warriors are able to mate with human females that bare a birthmark of a crescent moon and star. These breedmate women are powerful woman, who usually don’t know they’re breedmates. Breed warriors and breedmates can bond together and live an immortal life. They bond by a sacred ritual known as a blood bond. The ritual is conducted when a breed warrior takes the blood of a breedmate and then vice verses. The blood bond connects the two irrevocably until one mate dies. It’s a bond deeper than any mortal marriage as truly is forever.

For Book 2, Kiss of Crimson, Adrian chooses breed warrior Dante to be the hero and thank god she did. The first few chapters blew me away...seriously. While out on patrol one night in the streets on Boston, Dante is ambushed by rogue vampires. Almost blown to pieces, Dante suffers from gunshot wounds, burns, a concussion etc… and nearly loses his immortal life. After jumping in the river and floating down stream, he comes across an animal clinic where he seeks refuge. While waiting in a back storage room at the clinic, Dante is discovered by the owner, Tess Culver. She’s terrified at the gruesome scene of Dante, beaten, bloodied, and barely coherent.

What’s so great about Kiss of Crimson is Dante, during this perilous time, bites Tess to save his life and after taking her blood, moments later; he finds out that she’s a breedmate. And now half of the blood bond ritual is complete. I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, Lara Adrian is a master at storytelling. In Book 1, she defines the rules of being a vampire breed warrior, breedmates, the sanctity of blood bonding and everything that goes with it. And just like that…poof, she breaks her own rule.

Dante doesn’t know Tess is a breedmate but once he’s takes her blood, he not only senses her through their blood bond, but he’s smitten. Poor Tess hasn’t a clue about Dante, but she can’t help feel an eerie attraction to a man she hardly knows. It doesn’t hurt that Tess sees Dante as a huge, gorgeous, Italian man with a menacing yet seductive presence. Can you say double yum? I promise he’s as delicious as he sounds. What I’ve highlighted here is only 2 maybe 3 chapters. This entire book is mesmerizing, riveting from every angle starting with Dante & Tess’s untimely introduction, to a drug called Crimson which is being mass produced by an evil, diabolical breed warrior, Mareck (Lucan’s bother). The drug is terrorizing the breed community as its turning innocent breed vampires into blood lusting rogues.

Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed Series is the bomb. And in my opinion, Kiss of Crimson is the book that catapults the series into the best-selling stratosphere. On the Mina Burrows KilloMeter, I give this book a 5. Yes, a five. That’s how much I loved it and it’s a testament to how much I adore Adrian.

Until next time…read Kiss of Crimson.

Mina B.