If you missed my last KU review on Captured, you can find it here.
Welcome back! I have a new KU review for you. Midnight Kisses is book one in the Shifter Island series. It was written by two authors this time, Leia Stone and Raye Wagner. This one is a young adult read, so it has none of my usual spice but no less romance. It is, however, one of my shifter romances.
In this single-point-of-view book, we meet Nai, heir to the Crescent Clan of wolf shifters. She is called to the Alpha Island Academy, where all alpha heirs must go to learn how to be an alpha. You cannot lead a pack if you fail or do not go to school. The idea is that only the strongest lead, and this school is to ensure that. Once upon a time, technically in Nai’s lifetime, but she was an infant, the Crescent Clan lived in the magic lands where all the other shifters and supernatural races live. They were banished for high crimes, which included the death of the king’s brother. Needless to say, Crescent Clan isn’t exactly welcome, but for some reason, the tradition must still be honored. I mean, you do have to go to the academy so that you can get and use your magic. Only alphas have magic. Her cousin Nolan went to the school last year.
Nolan only had one escort. Nai got four, Justice, Honor, Noble, and Rage (aka Courage). They are the king’s nephews and hold the title of prince. In Nai’s memory, she had never crossed the portal to the magic lands, which annoyed some of the brothers to have to explain and ease her through. When she reaches the school, trouble starts. She does meet Kaja of the Harvest Clan and her sisters. They all become fast friends, with Nai and Kaja being the closest. Before Nolan left, he was horrible, and that hasn’t changed at all.
Nai goes to the masquerade on the first night and meets her fated mate. It was beautiful how you know that in this book. You literally get butterflies. If you read it, you’ll see what I mean. I can’t do it justice by paraphrasing what happens. He runs away from her, crushing Nai. When she is determined to make the most of her night and kiss somebody, anybody, to hopefully lessen some of the hurt (we all know how successful that is huh), her mate refuses to let her.
Nai coming to the island a year early sets everything off. The king is pissed. She has more than one element that she can use, rouges are attacking the island because they want it back, and someone is trying to kill Nai. There is so much going on.
The authors do pretty well keeping the story moving and not tangling in a bad way. With everything that I said was going on and more that I can’t tell you without spoiling the whole thing, I wasn’t confused, and they didn’t drop any of the storylines. I am very impressed. Some things could have been given more thought, like the magic lands. I would have given the magic lands a nifty name and maybe given it a more magical feeling. This one looked pretty much like Montana, which is where Nai is coming from. The fighting is pretty smooth, and the fact that Nai can fight makes sense. Nai was trained to fight from an early age, so when the first attack happens, Nai kicking ass is believable, which makes me happy.
Overall, I was delighted reading this. I didn’t realize it was a young adult read when I first picked it and kept waiting for spice that never came. I wasn’t even mad about that, either. The story was enough as it was. Nai’s frustration in wanting to know her fated mate’s identity was palpable but not whiny, which was refreshing. I enjoyed the book. There are three more in the series, and I am thinking about reading them. I will review them if I do.
What are your thoughts? Have you read this or anything else from these authors? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to read your comments and opinions on the matter. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
