Midnight Conquest by Arial Burnz

By: Unknown on Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Title:  Midnight Conquest
Series:  Bonded by Blood Vampire Chronicles #1
Author:  Arial Burnz
Published:  May 31/11 by Mystical Press
Length:  510pgs

Format:   ecopy
Genre:  paranormal romance
Shelf:  review
Rating:  ★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Masked in a Gypsy guise, Broderick MacDougal hides his vampiric identity while seeking to destroy the man who slaughtered his family. When an old Clan rival ensnares Broderick in a trap using an enticing widow, he is compelled to discover if she is bait or an accomplice, and the cinnamon-haired beauty is his next conquest.

Widow of an abusive husband, Davina Stewart-Russell clings to the only image that gave her strength during those dark times--the Gypsy rogue who stole her heart as a youth. After nine years, she is finally face-to-face with him again, but reality clashes with fantasy as she is confronted with Broderick's passionate pursuit.

When Davina's past returns to haunt her, Broderick is forced to reveal a dark secret worse than anything Davina thought possible. The challenge before them has fatal risks and neither of them is prepared for the sacrifices expected for the sake of eternal love.

Reader Advisory: This story contains explicit love scenes, described using graphic and direct language. This story also contains explicit, nail-biting scenes of violence and domestic abuse. (Don't worry...the bad guys get it in the end!)

My Review:

There is an intensity to Burnz’s writing that keeps you coming back for more. You can almost feel shades of darkness emanating from the story. It melds with the storyline to create a rather unique appearance overall. I found myself trying to puzzle out the ending well before I got there. That said, by about half way through the novel I was hooked and thoroughly enjoying myself. Burnz’s vivid descriptions paint this world for you in a way that you can’t help but picture.

The characters in this novel were definitely one of a kind. Burnz develops each individually, creating a varied cast, allowing someone for each reader to identify with. The dialogue in this story definitely threw me for a loop at times. There were individuals who spoke as if they were in medieval Europe, and others who sounded as if they should be in modern day North America. This made it rather difficult to stay fully immersed in the storyline.

As a whole, this was a rather enjoyable read and a good introduction to the series. I’ll be continuing on to see what happens next.

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