About the Book:
He’s one human caught in a tangled maze of theft, politics, magic, and blood. In other words, it’s just another night.
Benjamin Vecchio escaped a chaotic childhood and grew to adulthood under the protection and training of one of the Elemental world’s most feared vampire assassins. He’s traveled the world and battled immortal enemies.
But everyone has to go home sometime.
New York means new opportunities and allies for Ben and his vampire partner, Tenzin. It also means new politics and new threats. Their antiquities business is taking off, and their client list is growing. When Ben is challenged to find a painting lost since the second world war, he jumps at the chance. This job will keep him closer to home, but it might just land him in hot water with the insular clan of earth vampires who run Manhattan.
Tenzin knew the painting would be trouble before she laid eyes on it, but she can’t deny the challenge intrigues her. Human laws mean little to a vampire with a few millennia behind her, and Tenzin misses the rush of taking what isn’t hers.
But nothing is more dangerous than a human with half the story, and Ben and Tenzin might end up risking their reputations and their lives before they escape the Midnight Labyrinth.
Print Length: 382 pages
Publisher: Elizabeth Hunter
Publication Date: November 7, 2017
ASIN: B07583KBQP
Midnight Labyrinth was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. Ben and Tenzin far exceeded my expectations and when it comes to Elizabeth Hunter, my expectations are high. Why? Because she's damn well worth it! Everything she writes is phenomenal. Elizabeth Hunter is, by far, one of my all-time favorite authors. She has writing skills that just draw the reader in from the very beginning. When I was originally approached to review the ARC of A Hidden Fire (Elemental Mysteries, Book One) in 2011, never did I expect as much literary power to come from within the pages of a brand new author and every single book I've read from Elizabeth Hunter since then carries that same power. I have been mesmerized by her books from the very beginning.
Ben and Tenzin have moved away from Gio and Bea (who make a cameo - well, their voices do) to New York. When Ben happens upon a distraught museum patron and learns that in a sequence of three paintings previously owned by her family pre-WWII, one was lost. Ben can't help but jump at the chance to help a damsel in distress. Tenzin is wary about the story surrounding the painting but she's all for the excitement involved in figuring out where the painting went. What starts out being a good deed, however, may prove to be Ben and Tenzin's undoing.
I'm a bit behind in the Elemental World (working full time and getting college degrees tends to do that to person) but I'm glad I was able to read Midnight Labyrinth. Despite that, I fell into the book headfirst, not having read the previous Legacy novellas, and I wasn't disappointed. I know I missed some key information by not being up-to-date in the series but I still left the book completely satisfied - well, not completely satisfied - I wanted more, but that's just me being greedy and has no reflection on how I actually view the book. The book was exciting, frustrating, engaging, and down right awesome.
This novel continues the world building, character introduction & development, and back story (as deemed necessary). None of these criteria are overwhelming or lacking in detail. All of Elizabeth's novels reach deep within my emotional center and manage to trigger reactionary responses. These types of books are my favorite. The emotions don't have to always include tears; it is just the ability to invoke proper emotional responses to scenarios being played out.
Everything about Midnight Labyrinth just works. The novel is interesting and draws the reader in from the start. The writing is fluid and cohesive, never becoming wordy or confusing. The pacing of the story is excellent and isn't too fast, slow, or boring. The main and supporting characters are well written, developed at the proper speeds, and likable.
I highly recommend anything and everything from Elizabeth Hunter.
My Rating:
No comments:
Post a Comment