73 books like Kiss of Midnight

This book is gritty, hard-hitting, and beautifully written–blood, sweat, and tears on a page.

I loved this book because the author did not pull any punches! The main male character was broken, his life had been tragic, and he didn’t just magically morph into some perfect model hero. While yes, I both see and imagine vampires as capable of incredible, deep love and loyalty, I also see them as a distinct species with an alternate nature, possessing the capacity for raw, animalistic pain, deep anger (even brutality), and the ability to act from all three places. This author nailed this, and she did it with intelligent, intricate plotting and bare, relatable emotion. She also wields some clever wit and biting snark. 

I was sucked in from the first chapter, and I never wanted to put it down. This story gave me so much to think about, and it stayed with… show more.

This book encompasses the good, the bad, and the ugly—it is both powerfully real and beautifully raw!

We think with our minds, we feel with our hearts, but we exist within our souls. And this book pried every one of those open for me. It was so gritty and hard-hitting, so raw and uncut, so reminiscent of what it is like to look deep inside oneself, face both strengths and weaknesses, conquer fears and inner demons, acknowledge everything without pretense, then continue fighting to reach one’s potential.

Yes, this novel taps into all of this and more in an extremely well-written, brilliant tale about a kick-ass vampire huntress!  

There is so much grit and titillation in this book!

What a wicked, wicked imagination–I couldn’t love it more! This story has everything: a smart, brassy, relatable main character; a dangerous, cynical, hot male lead; and Celtic culture, the world of the Fae, so full of magic, mysticism, and elaborate history that the world-building alone weaves a mind-blowing tapestry.    

It’s gripping. It’s entertaining. It’s non-stop excitement, endless fodder for the imagination, and food for the soul. It’s dark. It’s funny. It’s just plain brilliant. 

Wow, wow, wow!

I’m not even sure what to say. *This* was the book that awakened and solidified Dark Fantasy & Paranormal Romance as the ‘stay in your lane’ genre(s) for me. The depth of emotion, the vivid imagery, the history, storyline, and worldbuilding–yes, yes, yes!

Christine took me on a journey into dark forests, terrifying worlds, crazy, almost animalistic passions (no, not just lust–angst, fear, rage, and love) that picked me up, dropped me in another universe, and kept me there until the final page. 

Any author who can make you gasp, hope, dread…feel the entire spectrum of emotions while reading a book…well, yeah, that’s the craft in a nutshell!

I wanted to be Elena! The chemistry was everything between her and the Archangel Raphael.

Not only does the book play with the trope of human and angel seduction, but there are vampires too!

Slow burn. Urban fantasy. Dark-edgy, hero. After reading this book, I became a Nalini Singh fan for life!

So, this was one of the first ‘adult’ books I read as a younger twenty-something, and it had me laughing out loud all the time.

Jane is hilarious, down to earth, and a great character. The book is the first book in a series of four books that document Jane’s growth into a ‘grown-up’. Not only was the humor spot on (Molly Harper’s humor is usually spot on for me), but the narrator brought all the characters to life in such a way that I was dying to get back to the story anytime we had to stop listening (I was buddy reading with my mom and sister for the first read through).

I’ve read this book over a dozen times, and I really think it’s because as Jane goes through the transformation from human to vampire, she builds her own family around her that accepts her, loves her, and… show more.

I’ve read this book three times, which is rare for me. I have such a daunting TBR pile that I rarely reread books. But as one of the first urban fantasy stories I ever read, it holds a special place in my heart, and every time I read it, I wish there were more.

The amount of world-building Mckinley achieves in a single, stand-alone book is phenomenal. Within the first few pages, I fell in love with the world’s history, the characters, and the social conflicts present in this book. The depiction of vampires and other magical races was so well done. When the book ended, I was hungry for more, which is why I keep coming back to this exceptional read.

I dove in not knowing what to expect but loving that this book met my expectations.

I enjoyed the immediate burn, with lots of it weaved into the story as I progressed through waves of suspense. Both elements made this a great surprise good read. This was one of the first books I picked up from this author and I’ve become a fan of more books by her.

Discovering Diana, the reluctant witch who must rediscover herself and her supernatural talents, makes this novel a page-turner of magick and mystery. And I loved how the weave of those two powers pulled in the romance between Diana and Matthew. An added spicy balance that mixes like a brew into the witch and vampire families that are here and from the Otherworld.

I am not a vampire fan, but the magick here is irresistible. It became rather addictive because the witchcraft spells were so illusory that I felt “invited in.” The vampire scenes were a bit nerve-wracking, creating real tension for me. Diana’s journey was perfect, as it kept growing with obsessive and fantastical suspense. I was in their witch-vampire world, which was as frightening as it was compelling. 

Vampire stories are out there–plenty of them. So many, in fact, that they are starting to bore me. What I find refreshing about these books is that the vampire part takes a back seat–it’s merely a circumstance that reveals the protagonist’s character when suddenly confronted with entirely different circumstances in her life, i.e., becoming a Vampire unplanned.

The protagonist remains true to her ironic and sarcastic self and is still insecure as a person even though she is now super-strong and fast. She learns over time to outgrow some of her less productive behavioral patterns, just as she likely would have as a human.