Fall of Night by Lara Adrian

 

Breed warrior Micah is one of the Order’s best, his reputation for cold justice and lethal skill rivaled only by that of his formidable father, Tegan. So, when a mission Micah’s leading in an off-limits area called the Deadlands goes terribly wrong, leaving him the sole survivor of an apparent Atlantean attack, he won’t rest until he has answers...and vengeance for his fallen team.

Phaedra thought it was only a dream, a hideous nightmare. Yet somehow, she had been transported from her life in Rome to a stretch of barren forest when it suddenly lit up with unearthly fire, obliterating everything in its path—including the fiercely handsome Breed warrior she’d encountered in the dream. Or so she believed, until their paths cross again and Phaedra finds herself, and her Atlantean people, at the center of Micah’s wrath.

With tensions between the Breed and the Atlanteans already edging toward war, and another powerful nemesis growing bolder by the day, uncovering the stunning truth about what happened in the Deadlands will force Micah and Phaedra to work together in an alliance forged by fate and an undeniable desire neither of them can resist. 

I've been waiting for this book for SO LONG! Unfortunately for me, and all the other Midnight Breed fans, Ms. Adrian has spent some time the last few years writing other books, which are also amazing, but not about my Breed warriors. So, I've been sad. That sadness ended today! Or rather, ridiculously early this morning.

Fall of Night is the story of Micah, son to Tegan and Elise. I was super excited for this one, because Tegan is my absolute favorite from the original order. I do really enjoy a romance where two characters are forced together, but neither one of them really WANT to be together. This was Tegan and Elise's story, and had such a sweetness to it, that I'm forever in love with them. As for Micah, we have seen literally nothing of him until this book, so I was really excited.

What I wasn't expecting was to see Phaedra as his true love. We met Phaedra in Midnight Unleashed, which is a novella set after Defy the Dawn. Phaedra runs a women's shelter in Rome and takes in Tamisia when she is banished from the Atlantean colony. This is definitely I series where I do not recommend skipping the novellas. Some of them aren't necessarily essential to the story line, but others are. And they are all fantastic, so that's reason enough to read them. 

I loved the pairing of Micah and Phaedra. But I would have loved more backstory on Micah to get a better understanding of who he is and how he was shaped. We know that he is constantly trying to live up to the example his father sets, and feels like he isn't worthy. And like Tegan and Elise, Micah and Phaedra were thrust together against their will, and fought the chemistry that was so evident between them. When they eventually succumb, we can really see why Phaedra is the perfect mate for Micah. His mission that went wrong, thrust him in to a deep darkness and he needed someone as strong as Phaedra to match him. Someone who could take his pain, because she had some of her own, and help them both heal. 

I also loved that we got some more back story on the Atlanteans. It's pretty clear that while Opus Nostrum needs dealt with, Selene, the Atlantean Queen is going to play a HUGE role in the series conclusion. (My friends and fellow book readers know that I called romantic pairing in the final book when I read Defy the Dawn. I am SOOOOOOOO EXCITED that I was right, because that is going to be an epic story. If you want to know, you can check it out and preorder here.)

I'm insanely sad that there is only one more book left in this series. I discovered Kiss of Midnight on a Barnes and Noble bookshelf 12 years ago. I was fortunate to be able to binge the first seven books in the series and I began my love affair with Lara Adrian. After that, I read everything she had published previously and she is now a "1-click" author. The Order have been my friends and companions for 12 years, and it will gut me to say goodbye to them. But I can't deny that I am counting down the days until King of Midnight. I love the beautiful symmetry of the series starting with Lucan, and ending with his son Darion.