Midnight Embrace

Rating:
Summary: Vampire Light but not less filling...
Review: An enjoyable light read if you like a change from the hardcore blood and guts vamp stories. For the most part predictable, it was still interesting enough to keep me turning the pages to find a couple twists I hadn't necessarily expected (that in itself says alot, as a bookseller and avid reader, I have no problem putting a book down if I don't like it). The supporting characters were not fleshed out as well as they could've been, but enough that they served their purpose for the story. As it was, the main characters were likable (or not as the case may be) and had enough strength and depth to make this book exactly what it was; an enjoyable light vampire romance story.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but pretty forgettable
Review: Analisa, close to death from an epidemic, is saved by some means she doesn't understand. Swept from her hospital bed to a grand gentleman's house and given every luxury she could want, she wonders why the house's owner, Lord Allesandro de Avallone (Lord Allesandro or Lord Avallone? Ashley seems to think that these titles are the same, though they are not) has given her all this. And why Allesandro avoids her, seeing her only for a few minutes at night and is never around during the day.

And then one night when she's caught in the forest in a rainstorm, she stumbles on his secret lair, finding him close to death after an attack from another vampire. Without giving her any indication of what's going on, he feeds from her in order to live. And from then on, she knows that he is a vampire.

And from then on, this book is pretty much like A Darker Dream, though with the addition of an evil vampire villain and a housekeeper instead of a butler who knows Allesandro's secret. The housekeeper is in love with him - a rival for Analisa? Well, not really, though Ashley tries to make it appear so at one point. But other elements are indeed the same: the vast luxuries, Allesandro's frequent attempts to send Analisa away or to abandon her himself, his frequent attacks of conscience when he is driven by the need to feed on her, his demand that she at least once stay by his side when he sleeps during the day, and so on.

Well, Ashley writes Gothic vampire novels, so it shouldn't really be surprising that there are similarities - though even still, neither this nor A Darker Dream match up to Embrace The Night. I would like to see a novel from Ashley in which the heroine is *not* a naive, innocent and poverty-stricken seventeen-year-old, and in which the gulf between hero and heroine is not exacerbated by his wealth, his intelligence and education and familiarity with the ways of high society. Her heroes do begin to run the risk of appearing like paedophiles.

Finally, this book, we are told, is set in late Victorian times - probably around the 1880s, though this isn't specified. And yet the 'feel' is very much of the Regency period: around the 1800s. The balls, masquerades and Society rules are very much of the Regency (though, Ashley, it was no more than two dances, not three). The period in which this book is set was of the Industrial Revolution: where is the sense that this is a time of new, life-changing inventions? Where are the gas lights that all wealthy people had in their homes by this time, and which were installed in the streets in the posh parts of London? Rail travel was also in its heyday, and the rich rarely travelled by horse-drawn carriage any more. Ashley needs to do a little more research on her period, instead of assuming that 'one size fits all' when it comes to historical England.

Rating:
Summary: Light Vampire Romance
Review: I collect vampire/lycanthorpe books and have quite a collection. Because of this, I have quite a few Amanda Ashley novels. All of her novels are very light reads. The characters usually do not have that much depth, and it is a good quick read if you are looking for a light vampire romance. Analisa is in a hospital dying when an "angel" comes and helps her to live. Analisa's family is very poor and when she leaves the hospital, she has nowhere to go. For some unknown reason she finds out she has a benefactor and is welcomed into the home of the mysterious Lord Alesandro. Lord Alesandro is a mystery to Analisa. He has money and has provided her a home, and she has no idea why. Also, she never sees her mysterious benefactor. Lord Alesandro is a vampire who is fighting a growing attraction to Analisa. This was a very predictable vampire romance. Still, I would recommend.

Rating:
Summary: Light Vampire Romance
Review: I collect vampire/lycanthorpe books and have quite a collection. Because of this, I have quite a few Amanda Ashley novels. All of her novels are very light reads. The characters usually do not have that much depth, and it is a good quick read if you are looking for a light vampire romance. Analisa is in a hospital dying when an "angel" comes and helps her to live. Analisa's family is very poor and when she leaves the hospital, she has nowhere to go. For some unknown reason she finds out she has a benefactor and is welcomed into the home of the mysterious Lord Alesandro. Lord Alesandro is a mystery to Analisa. He has money and has provided her a home, and she has no idea why. Also, she never sees her mysterious benefactor. Lord Alesandro is a vampire who is fighting a growing attraction to Analisa. This was a very predictable vampire romance. Still, I would recommend.

Rating:
Summary: A good read...
Review: I have waited quite a while for a new Amanda Ashley book to be released. I have been hooked from the beginning. Midnight Embrace was a very good read, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I do have to say that it wasn't as good as A Darker Dream. I think that one is my favorite. I still gave this one 4 stars. I did like it and I read every page within 2 days. I vote this one a good read...
I await the next release, patiently.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, but not okay
Review: I liked A Darker Dream OK, but all of the things that annoyed me about that book were better in this one. One thing I enjoyed about Midnight Embrace was that Analisa had a stronger personality and stood her ground a little more than Rhianna of A.D.D. She was never afraid of Alasandro or of telling him what was on her mind. M.E. also wasn't as repetitive or wishy-washy as A.D.D. I liked that this book had a villian for Alasandro to contend with, and not just him constantly at war with himself as was Rayven in A.D.D.

I have read 3 Ashley vampire romances so far and really like her writing style and characters. However, there are too many similarities between all her books. I wish she would branch out into new situations, time periods, conflicts, etc. The base plots always seem the same - vampire takes in fair young girl who was otherwise destitute and they fall in love. Then comes the pages upon pages of - I love her but I'm afraid I'll hurt her, she has to leave, I love her but she can't have a normal life with me, she has to leave, I want her to meet other people and get married, she has to leave, etc, etc, etc. I love the vampire romance subgenre and Ashley's stlyle so I'll keep reading, but a little variation would be nice!

All in all, this book is well written with good character development. Give it a try!

Rating:
Summary: Comparing it to A Darker Dream
Review: I liked A Darker Dream OK, but all of the things that annoyed me about that book were better in this one. One thing I enjoyed about Midnight Embrace was that Analisa had a stronger personality and stood her ground a little more than Rhianna of A.D.D. She was never afraid of Alasandro or of telling him what was on her mind. M.E. also wasn't as repetitive or wishy-washy as A.D.D. I liked that this book had a villian for Alasandro to contend with, and not just him constantly at war with himself as was Rayven in A.D.D.

I have read 3 Ashley vampire romances so far and really like her writing style and characters. However, there are too many similarities between all her books. I wish she would branch out into new situations, time periods, conflicts, etc. The base plots always seem the same - vampire takes in fair young girl who was otherwise destitute and they fall in love. Then comes the pages upon pages of - I love her but I'm afraid I'll hurt her, she has to leave, I love her but she can't have a normal life with me, she has to leave, I want her to meet other people and get married, she has to leave, etc, etc, etc. I love the vampire romance subgenre and Ashley's stlyle so I'll keep reading, but a little variation would be nice!

All in all, this book is well written with good character development. Give it a try!

Rating:
Summary: Oh My Never Again!
Review: My Goodness! This was the worst book I have ever read!!

I am a huge vampire book reader and this book, sadly read right after Ann Rice's Interview With The Vampire came to me as a shock of terror. First, repetition occurs in this book like no other I've read in my life.

The words repeat and so do sentences. Then, the plot is stupid. It is so plain, wow a good guy, a good girl, and a bad guy. WOW.

and FINALLY, the vocabulary usage is non-existant. It is the simplest elementary school book ever. I could not stand it. It was absolutely horrid.

Rating:
Summary: Midnight Embrace
Review: The story of Alesandro de Avallone and Analisa Matthews is a delight. This book kept me up until I finished all of it. And as usual I was not disappointed. Ms. Ashley has a gift for writing about Vampires. If you haven't read this book yet, buy it. You won't regret it. This is a 5 star story. Come and enjoy the delights of Vampire's.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected, but in a good way!
Review: This was my first book by Amanda Ashley, and it will not be my last. Midnight Embrace features Alesandro, a 400 year old vampire, and his mortal beloved, Analisa.

When Alesandro first meets Analisa, she is in a hospital dying from the plague. In exchange for her blood, he gives her some of his, thus healing her and bonding them together forever.

Upon her release from the hospital, Alesandro offers her his home and fortune by means of a generous benefactor. It isn't until later she learns who her benefactor is.

This is not your run-of-the-mill vampire story. This is not a corny vampire that you see in many vamp-romances, Alesandro is a complex, caring creature. Ms. Ashley doesn't sugar-coat Alesandro being a vampire either, she lets you see the drawbacks he faces, as well as the fears he harbors.

The story moves quickly, it doesn't lag in one place for very long, but by the end you feel as if you know the characters and really have a vested interest into the outcome of their story.

If you haven't read any vamp-romances before and are curious about them, this is an excellent book to begin your journey!