Monday, July 11, 2016

ARC Review ~ Midnight Soul by Kristen Ashley


SYNOPSIS

Against his will, Noctorno Hawthorne, an undercover vice cop, finds himself embroiled in magic, mayhem and parallel universes. Too late, he meets an amazing woman only to find shes’ destined or his identical twin in another world.

And things aren’t going great there.

Noc is recruited to help save that world.

What he doesn’t know is his destined love resides there.

Franka Drakkar wears a mask. A mask she never takes off to protect herself n a world of malice, intrigue and danger.

When Franka meets Noc and he discovers her secrets, convinced she carries a midnight soul, having shielded herself from forming bonds with anyone, she struggles with accepting his tenderness and care.

When Noc meets Franka, over wine and whiskey, her mask slips and Noc knows it’s her — only here — and he has to find a way to get her to come home with him.

And then make her want to stay.

REVIEW

"We balance worlds"

And so The Fantasyland Series concludes with our world hero Noctorno Hawthorne and the otherworld enigmatic Franka Drakkar. This pairing came as a surprise. As we know from Broken Dove, Franka was a traitorous wench who did what she did for the one she loved.  That right there shows a different side to her. She portrays this persona of being dubious but in her heart, she's a protector. Franka must do what she does to protect the people who are most important to her. Her inner circle is none and she has that way for a reason and that reason is revealed as the story progresses.

"You comin' home with me?"

Noc in and out of our world is a protector. He takes things for what they are but in Franka, he sees more than what she reveals. A friendship is formed wether Franka likes it or not and it's only the beginning of their courtship. Whiskey and Nocs informal insistent demeanor becomes what Franka didn't know she needed. As each go on to their own adventures, it's not without each other in mind. When Noc proposes an adventure to Franka, it's a deal to great to pass up so as the setting goes, Franka is introduced to our world. Their relationship and chemistry comes easily and when one calls the other out, it's not without it's merit. Either for one to open their eyes or for laughter or to get the other going.

"I'll cut tomatoes for you"

Past characters come and go and a little side story is developed(with one of my favorite our/otherworld characters)that will bring a smile to your face(at least it did to mine). Everlasting friendship is formed and that plays a huge role between characters. There are characters that I felt that we could have known more about but didn't come to fruition. We are left with a tease and my conclusion is that maybe later down the road we will get a story on them. *Wishful thinking* I love to see how a title of a book works with the story and once Midnight Soul is revealed, it works perfectly.
*side note* You will come to learn and love the character Josette. Keep her in mind because she is another huge factor for Franka's happiness.

Kristen is known as "The Queen of Epilogues" and she still lives up to the name. All and I mean ALL of her epilogues have made me shed tears. This epilogue is one of the best and it will definitely is one of my favorites.

Midnight Soul is an endearing, heartwarming, humorous and tearful finale to one of the best series that Kristen Ashley has written. I do believe that Kristen has magic within her. The way she tells a story. The way she creates worlds and characters to make her readers fall into her magic is one that I will happily be under her spell each and every time.





ADD IT TO YOUR TBR STACK ~ Goodreads

PURCHASE LINKS ~ iBook Amazon Nook Google Play Kobo



Kristen Ashley grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana, and has lived in Denver, Colorado, and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.

Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multigenerational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland, and Kristen grew up listening to the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon, and Whitesnake. Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music and love was a good way to grow up. And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.

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