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Midnight Reckoning (2012)

by Kendra Leigh Castle(Favorite Author)

4.2 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Forever

series

Dark Dynasties

review 1: This story is about Ty’s blood brother: Jaden, a Cait Sith vampire and Lyra, the only child of the Alpha of the Thorn werewolf pack. Lyra is the heir, but since she’s a ‘weaker’ female, she can't be Alpha of pack. So her Dad wants her to marry an appropriate male to be leader. Lyra isn’t a typical wolf, but her family is and that’s what drives her crazy. She should have known that her pack wouldn’t be happy with her spending time with Jaden and been a lot more secretive about it. When it all comes out in the open, the pack and Lyra’s reactions make very emotional reading. Cats and dogs usually can’t get along. But Jaden and Lyra manage it. Jaden acts like a typical cat. He just walks into a town of wolves without a care. But guys do a lot of crazy... more things for a girl. His calm focus in battle is cool. No wonder Lyra’s dad wants him to train her for the Proving. The whole vampires are untrustworthy bloodsuckers, while werewolves are barbaric animals is typical of real life. It’s interesting how people can believe the worst about people or cultures when they have no impartial experience or evidence. Putting the actions of a few onto the group as a whole. I like how Jaden & Lyra's story is added onto, and continues Lilly & Ty’s storyline. Having Lily’s new Lilum Dynasty join forces with the Thorn wolf pack (and possibly other wolf packs) is a great move. The wolf/vamp relationship is a great way to get the two cultures to work together. But I can see the misuse when other vampires find out about the exchange of abilities. Lily makes a great ‘big sister’ to Jaden, who needed a positive authority in his life after having been on his own for so long. I love the librarian. The pride’s history is interesting. I’d like to hear more. And I was completely surprised at the ending. It was very refreshing. But there was too much ‘head’ thinking between sentences in the conversations. Fave scenes: Lyra discovering her tattoo, Jaden saving Lyra from being abducted and ‘Don’t eat the Cat’.
review 2: Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Another solid strong female character and a few twists made this novel an engaging read.Opening Sentence: On a night when only the thinnest sliver of a crescent moon rode the sky, at a time when even the most adventurous humans had fallen into bed and succumbed to sleep, a solitary cat padded in and out of pooled shadow as he made his way across the deserted square in the middle of town.The Review:Midnight Reckoning is the second novel in the Dark Dynasties series. This is a great series if you want strong female characters and unpredictable twists to the story. It has been a couple months now since the events of book one, Dark Awakening. Jaden is beginning to settle into his new life but he can’t quite get over an encounter that he had while in Chicago a few months ago. Her name was Lyra Black. She is a werewolf and now she is in vampire territory… (of course, werewolves and vampires do not get along) Jaden’s territory and he wants to know why. She leaves without an explanation and her necklace. Jaden risks venturing into werewolf territory to return Lyra’s necklace, even though such a feat could mean certain death.Lyra wants nothing more than to be Alpha of her pack. Growing up the daughter of the current Alpha, she sees what the pack needs to change its ways. She wants to move the pack to a more modern way of thinking but as a female her pack will always see her as weak and inferior unless she can win The Proving. Whoever wins this test of might will be chosen as the next Alpha. Lyra has thrown her name into the contest which her father thinks will be the death of her. She only has one month to get ready for The Proving.Jaden who was once very much the dark and brooding type completely changes when he is with Lyra. There is a lot of heated tension between the two because of their differences. I did wonder how their situation would turn out with so much at stake for Lyra. I was satisfied by the conclusion.Lyra is a tough cookie who just wants to save her pack. She knows the pack will not evolve if her cousin becomes its leader. She’s afraid pack rulings will become even stricter towards the women of the group.Midnight Reckoning sets up another dark and life-altering book with a few hints of humor. I enjoyed the twists as they came along, in my mind I kept seeing events taking place a different way and when they happened I was much more pleased by being wrong.The novel is told in the third person jumping from each other’s point of views. The pacing kept me wanting to read from one chapter to the next, if it wasn’t the action that was going on it was the tension between the two characters that kept me divested in the storyline.As a whole, I really enjoyed this world and how it is the next step in building a dynasty. I hope that everything I like about this series so far returns in the next novel, Shadow Rising.Notable Scene:That was when she saw it, a fast-moving shadow flying over the ground toward Jaden, whose back was turned. It passed several feet from her, and the breeze it kicked up from its rapid movement carried with it the scent of ancient death–the scent of vampire. Lyra reacted instinctively. There was no thought as she sprang forward, her body shifting in midair to become the sleek, muscular form of the wolf. When her paws hit the ground, she leaped again, pushing forward with all her might to try to reach Jaden before this interloper did.Though what followed happened in seconds, in her memory Lyra would always see everything in slow motion: The way the shadow finally began to look like a man when it reached Jaden, the way Jaden turned, ready to fight, his coat flying around him and his eyes ablaze with unholy fire. She saw the blood burst from Jaden’s chest, saw the shock and fury on his face, and then she slammed into the attacking vampire full force. They rolled together, Lyra snarling and snapping, looking for a purchase with her teeth and claws.She bit down hard on a fleshy upper arm, heard a banshee-like wail of pain just as a foul taste flooded her mouth. The vampire ripped the arm away and fled with a feral hiss, tossing Lyra aside as though she weighed nothing. She stayed loose, allowing herself to fall, to roll harmlessly when she hit the ground. Still, she was thrown with enough force to knock the wind out of her.It took a few precious seconds for her to drag in a breath, longer to stagger to her feet and make sure that the new vampire was gone. But he was… though she could smell him on the light breeze, lingering. Fear, anger — retreat. Lyra showed her teeth in the direction it had gone, staking her claim on this territory–this man.FTC Advisory: I purchased my own copy of Midnight Reckoning. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. less

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