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Kissing Midnight (Midnight #6)

by Emma Holly (Goodreads Author)

3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 · rating details · 508 ratings · 45 reviews

Edmund Fitz Clare has kept his vampire nature a secret from his family-and Estelle Berenger, the woman he loves. But a vampire war threatens to expose him and destroy all he holds dear.

Paperback, 320 pages

Published June 2nd 2009 by Berkley

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Nov 06, 2012 Amarilli73 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fanciulla in pericolo da Harrods

Ho iniziato questa serie per curiosità, dopo aver letto un’altra serie un po’ demenziale sui vampiri, dove la Non-morta e nubile Betsy, regina dei vampiri, leggeva proprio questi romanzi di Emma Holly per tirarsi su di morale. Ovviamente, come ho intuito dopo poche pagine, la (finta) svampita Betsy si dilettava per l’alto contenuto erotico delle avventure della famiglia Fitz Clare.

In effetti, l’ambientazione della trilogia è originale: in una Londra anni ’30, qu...more Fanciulla in pericolo da Harrods

Ho iniziato questa serie per curiosità, dopo aver letto un’altra serie un po’ demenziale sui vampiri, dove la Non-morta e nubile Betsy, regina dei vampiri, leggeva proprio questi romanzi di Emma Holly per tirarsi su di morale. Ovviamente, come ho intuito dopo poche pagine, la (finta) svampita Betsy si dilettava per l’alto contenuto erotico delle avventure della famiglia Fitz Clare.

In effetti, l’ambientazione della trilogia è originale: in una Londra anni ’30, quindi nella breve pausa tra le due guerre mondiali, convivono vari clan di vampiri, alcuni tradizionali del tipo succhiasangue, altri del tipo upyr, strani mutaforma che si trasformano in lupo (quindi lupacchiotti selvaggi che bevono anche sangue, una sorta di concentrato delle due razze, passionali all’ennesima potenza…). Edmund Fitz Clare, all’apparenza affascinante professore di storia all’università, è uno di questi upyr discendenti di Auriclus, e vive con i tre figli adottivi Graham, Ben e Sally, ignari della sua immortalità e dei suoi poteri. Edmund ama segretamente Estelle, amica dei figli, sin da quando lei aveva quindici anni e lui l’ha salvata dalla scarica di un fulmine. A sua volta, il nostro non sa che il figlio maggiore Graham è un agente segreto, incaricato proprio di dar la caccia ai vampiri che minacciano gli umani. In tutto questo, si aggiungono poi Nim Wei, la regina vampira di Londra, dai tratto orientali, e un gruppo di vampiri malvagi che ha deciso di ribellarsi e di aumentare i propri poteri, senza attendere il permesso degli anziani.
C’erano molte premesse, dunque, per una storia emozionante, e le vicende incrociate dei vari membri della famiglia Fitz Clare incuriosiscono da subito; solo che la trama complessiva del romanzo è pesantemente rallentata da continue descrizioni di accoppiamenti tra le diverse coppie, praticamente una scena (e lunga in media tre-quattro pagine…) ogni dieci pagine di scene di non-sesso (dove peraltro i protagonisti, tra un dialogo e l’altro, sono occupati a nascondere sotto i vestiti rigidità mastodontiche e a frenare gemiti e ululati tra serate al ristorante e guerriglie ai magazzini Harrods).

E’ solo il primo episodio e quindi confido che molti aspetti degli upyr verranno svelati in seguito. Per adesso, togliendo le scene summenzionate, le Edmund Fitz Clare Chronicles si lasciano leggere.
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Mar 25, 2012 Bluefly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

E' vero, c'è proprio un sacco di sesso... ma d'altra parte la Holly è una scrittrice ad alto tasso erotico, quindi uno sa cosa trova. Generalmente preferisco i paranormal romance agli "erotic paranormal romance" (non so se si usa dire così, ma credo renda l'idea), ma trattandosi di vampiri, la mia curiosità ancora una volta ha vinto sul dubbio. Diversamente da alcuni paranormal romance che ho letto, i personaggi di questo romanzo della Holly non sono super eroi stereotipati ma creature fragili e...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Gloria75 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Un'altra saga di vampiri, qui ci sono i mutaforma, il protagonista dalle sue sembianze umane passa a quelle di un lupo.
In una notte di temporale il suo istinto lo porta a frapporsi tra un lampo e una ragazzina, salvandole la vita anche se le restano pochi segni...
Poi la ritrova alla scuola della figlia, tra le due nasce subito una forte amicizia che si consolida quando la sfortunata ragazza perde e i genitori e l'amica insiste per ospitarla a casa loro...
così il nostro vampiro-lupo oltre ai tre...more

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Oct 04, 2009 Katie(babs) rated it 1 of 5 stars

t has been quite awhile since I have read Emma Holly. Kissing Midnight is part of her Fitz Clare Chronicles. It’s set in England before World War II about a secret type of creatures call upyrs, who are a combination of a vampire and wolf. The hero of this tale is Edmund Fitz Clare and his three adopted human children, Graham, Ben and Sally. He also decides to take in Estelle, who he meets when she is fifteen. When Estelle’s parents are killed, she becomes part of Edmund’s family. Estelle’s crush...more t has been quite awhile since I have read Emma Holly. Kissing Midnight is part of her Fitz Clare Chronicles. It’s set in England before World War II about a secret type of creatures call upyrs, who are a combination of a vampire and wolf. The hero of this tale is Edmund Fitz Clare and his three adopted human children, Graham, Ben and Sally. He also decides to take in Estelle, who he meets when she is fifteen. When Estelle’s parents are killed, she becomes part of Edmund’s family. Estelle’s crush on Edmund grows until it turns into love. At twenty-fix Estelle moves out on her own. Edmund has no clue about Estelle’s feelings for him until he decides that he has always wanted Estelle from the moment he saw her when she was fifteen.

Now Edmund is much much older than Estelle because he is some shift changing vampire wolf hybrid creature. Doesn’t it always seem to be the case when we have a hero who is either a vampire, werewolf or lucky to be a combination of both? I had no problem with Edmund and Estelle getting their freak on with one another, but can I say that I was a bit grossed out when Edmund admitted he had always wanted Estelle when he first knew her as a gawky and bookish fifteen year old? This smacks a bit of a Lolita type scenario. But Edmund is definitely no Humbert Humbert. Edmund at least waits until Estelle is very much an adult who can make her own decisions. Estelle’s feelings make a bit more sense because what fifteen year old girl wouldn’t have the butterflies for this “shockingly beautiful college professor with hair of dark gold that was poet-long and a mouth cut to protection”? And when Edmund and Estelle start their affair, they are all over each other where they barely come up for air. Even a trip to the movies becomes too much for them to handle because Edmund can read Estelle’s mind and while they are trying to watch the Busby Berkley film, all she can think about is Edmund going down on her the theater. That gives Edmund the cue to have Estelle in a closet of all places. Too bad they never saw the end of the movie.

Edmund and Estelle are not the only ones who have these urges. We have Sally, Edmund’s seventeen year old adopted daughter lusting hard core after her step-brother Ben. Sally is the aggressor in this relationship and for a young woman in the 1930’s it came as a surprise to see this barely legal virginal young girl all over Ben. Poor Ben tries very hard to tell Sally no, but she attaches herself to Ben like a vine on a tree and they end up doing one another against walls.

And then there is poor Graham who is being led around by his cock from some sexed up vampiress who has quite the talent on her knees with her mouth.

Of course there is supposed to be some suspense and action about a few evil vampire types and with Estelle’s life in danger, but that was all lost as almost every chapter was of sex or deep lustful thoughts about sex.

Emma Holly has quite the following but for a story like this where the sexual antics override the whole plot, I just couldn’t stay interested and knew I wouldn’t be visiting the Fitz Clare family again. This was a true wall banger.(less)

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Jun 28, 2009 Jocelyn Zombie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, fantasy

I liked the setting (London, 1930's), and I liked the characters in this book. The author tied the coming of world war 2 into the supernatural plot very nicely, and I liked the nod to multiculturalism (wish we'd see more of that in romance in general). The two star review comes despite all that, though, because I had a lot of problems with this book.

First, the book's ending - there was no resolution to the main conflict in the book. I guess that's being saved for the next book in the series whic...more

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May 24, 2011 Tania rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires

Se dovessi contare le pagine in cui non vengono descritti i rapporti sessuali dei vari protagonisti, il numero sarebbe veramente basso, penso che il 90% di questo libro si basi esclusivamente sul sesso, da soli o in compagnia.
La storia che l'autrice ha creato, come contorno (sì, questa è una storia di sesso con qualche accenno al resto), è abbastanza assurda. Credo abbia voluto inserire il vampiro di turno visto che ultimamente vanno molto di moda. Ha poi voluto personalizzarlo ma, a mio parere,...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Eden rated it 3 of 5 stars

I did not enjoy this book as much as I did the last one I read in this series. Just my luck, too, that it ended with a cliffhanger and I HAVE to read the next one to see how everything works out.

Don't get me wrong - Holly has great moments in her writing, but this story had a couple of the elements that I really do not enjoy in a plot, namely secrets and misunderstandings (to be fair, the biggest misunderstanding is more or less "planted" in one of the characters deliberately to create the neces...more

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Aug 02, 2009 Cam rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm expecting explicit love scenes and some crude language from Emma Holly, though it has been a while since I read something of hers, and thus far I'm not disappointed.

There's some issues about 'incestuous' relationships and the 'age' difference between Edmund and Sally on the reviews I've read. My reply to this would be that it's not Flowers in the Attic incestuous, the Fitz Clares aren't biologically related (ignoring Robin, Edmund's only blood child), they were raised together as brother and...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Eleonora rated it 2 of 5 stars

Allora, allora, allora. Partiamo con ordine. Stavo girovagando per gli scaffali di una libreria e ho visto la copertina e sembrava interessante, la trama, accettabile e poi ho visto che costava solo 5 euro, allora mi son detta "Compriamolo, dai". Non sapevo che avrei letto una specie di porno!

I rapporti sessuali tra i personaggi sono la struttura del libro, sesso, sesso e ancora sesso. Sesso in versione dolce, in versione "cattiva", in versione "ripicca", in versione "facciamolo che siamo al ci...more

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May 07, 2012 Serena rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Primo romanzo della serie di Edmund Fitz Claire. La mitologia di questa serie è particolare. Dal vampiro originario Auriclus si sono create due opposte fazioni: da un lato ci sono gli upyr mutaforma(che hanno rispetto degli esseri umani) e dall’altro i fedeli alla regina dei vampiri,Nim Wei(che sono violenti e si nutrono di sangue). Edmund Fitz Claire è un upyr ,una sorta di vampiro mutaforma ,ossessionato dal desiderio di redimersi dal proprio passato. Per questo adotta tre orfani Graham,Ben e...more Primo romanzo della serie di Edmund Fitz Claire. La mitologia di questa serie è particolare. Dal vampiro originario Auriclus si sono create due opposte fazioni: da un lato ci sono gli upyr mutaforma(che hanno rispetto degli esseri umani) e dall’altro i fedeli alla regina dei vampiri,Nim Wei(che sono violenti e si nutrono di sangue). Edmund Fitz Claire è un upyr ,una sorta di vampiro mutaforma ,ossessionato dal desiderio di redimersi dal proprio passato. Per questo adotta tre orfani Graham,Ben e Sally . Nel 1922 si innamora di Estelle una ragazzina di 15 anni che incontra portando la figlia Sally a scuola. Lui stesso la salva da un fulmine. Dopo questo salto nel passato veniamo catapultati nel 1933 dove Edmund deve tenere nascosto il suo mondo alla sua famiglia ormai grande e soffre per la separazione da Estelle intenzionata ad andare a vivere da sola. La ragazza ha vissuto nella sua casa per due anni a causa della morte dei suoi familiari. Questo distacco diviene intollerabile per Edmund tanto da spingerlo a rivelarle i suoi sentimenti. In poche pagine,ciò che sembrava una famiglia tranquilla diventa una baraonda di lussuria. Tutti sembrano rimanere folgorati dalla passione e dalla lussuria. Estelle e Edmund sembrano insaziabili,Ben cede alla sorellastra Sally in modo indecoroso e pieno di sensi di colpa. Persino Graham si lascia sedurre da una responsabile dell’MI5. Il punto di vista cambia a seconda del personaggio su cui ci si sofferma. Un momento è Edmud,quello dopo è Estelle,poi c’è la bramosia di Ben,il desiderio di lasciarsi andare di Sally. Il sesso viene trattato in molte sfumature. Passionale,violento,dolce,romantico,peccaminoso. C’è un’ampia scelta. La storia si complica quando Graham viene usato per mettere Edmund contro la regina Nim Wei. A parte il cliffhanger finale che non gradisco mai molto,visto che se un libro mi piace di sicuro leggo il seguito(con o senza cliffhanger),ho trovato questo romanzo bello e coinvolgente. Ben scritto,scorrevole e di facile lettura. I personaggi si distinguono nei loro punti di forza e nelle loro debolezze. Sono molto più umani di ciò che sembra. Buone ambientazioni in una Londra del primo quarto di secolo. Storia accattivante con un gradevole intreccio. Scene ad alto contenuto erotico punteggiano qua e là buona parte dei capitoli. A volte stuzzicanti,a volte eccessive. Forse la scrittrice non si è regolata molto,ma il personaggio di Edmund mi è piaciuto tantissimo. Ama follemente la sua Estelle anche semplicemente guardandola. I suoi pensieri non sono solo peccaminosi ma anche gentile ed è questo contrasto che lo rende accattivante” Estelle era cresciuta meravigliosamente. La sua pelle era liscia come una pesca,la sua figura forte e femminile nell’abito di lana alla moda che aveva indossato per andare al lavoro. Quella Greta garbo di cui Ben e Sally parlavano continuamente non aveva occhi grigi brillanti come i suoi,la cui bellezza non era per nulla sminuita dalla cicatrice color fragola che si estendeva sotto il destro. L’occhio in sé non era rimasto danneggiato: era anzi stato migliorato ,anche se lei non lo sapeva”. Un mutaforma decisamente umano che nutre sentimenti di profondo affetto che non pensavo gli potessero essere attribuiti. Decisamente quattro stelline e mi getto a piedi pari sul seguito.

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Feb 09, 2012 lanalang rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oddio, quando decido di leggere un romanzo di questo genere non è che mi aspetti un capolavoro di narrativa, però spero di imbattermi in una storia che mi faccia divertire e/o appassionarmi. Ecco, non credo che mi sia mai capitato un libro più noioso di questo.
Non sprecate i vostri soldi a meno che non cerchiate un libro in cui la trama sia pressoché inesistente, i personaggi insignificanti, ma organi genitali e una gran varietà di amplessi dettagliatamente descritti. E nonostante tutto per nie...more

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Aug 27, 2009 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica-paranormal

So this is part of Holly's "Midnight" series, but this is the first book that reads like a series. I don't remember much about the previous ones, even after reading the summary online....so they are definitely not necessary to read this. However, this one totally reads like a series because it does end with a big cliffhanger. That is VERY unusual for Holly. She has written some series books but they are usually just based on the same premise, rarely have a recurring character, but this one defin...more

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May 12, 2013 Barbara Elsborg added it

I have loved some of Emma Holly's books but this one didn't please me as much as her others. I'm not even sure I can put my finger on why. It just didn't come alive in the way I expect with her. Hot sex scenes - boy can she write those. She makes it look easy - and the plot wasn't bad - though I hadn't anticipated the need to read another book to find out what happens. But there was nothing riveting about it. It's likely just me - maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this one today but I like her...more

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May 10, 2011 Debora rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fisicamente_posseduto, read_2011

Tre stelle non pienamente meritate (e attribuite dopo non pochi tentennamenti) a questo romanzo, definito da molti, paranormal steamy romance. Personalmente mi sentirei di definire questo libro un "hard romance", nel senso che l'autrice - seguendo la scia di autrici come Cheyenne McCray - fa affidamento ad uno stile narrativo molto schietto, sfacciato e, per alcuni, perfino pesante per descrivere le sue scene di sesso particolarmente spinte. Scene forti ma senza dubbio d'impatto. Uno di quei lib...more

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May 25, 2010 Cindi rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think Emma Holly writes the sexiest stories. She is very well-known as an erotic author and considered quite talented. Now I know that Ms. Holly also has a sly sense of humor!

I enjoyed this story about "upyr" Edmund Fitz Clare and the human girl he entices into befriending his adopted but much-loved human daughter. Eventually they fall in love. Upyr are vampires but with a twist: they can shapeshift into a wolf and eat during that phase so that blood drinking from humans is not necessary. Wond...more

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Feb 16, 2011 Indiaskye rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-couldn-t-finish, books-read-in-2011, paranormal-romance, vampires

Hmmm ... I thought this was a Paranormal Romance book along the lines of Lara Adrian or Gena Showalter. Instead, "Kissing Midnight" was erotica with a paranormal theme. Now, I don't mind a few steamy scenes in my romance books, but when the sex scenes take up about three-quarters of the book then that is just too much. And that's what happened with "Kissing Midnight". There is very little story, but there are several couples who are going at it all the time. So, not my kind of book, and I quit h...more

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Dec 10, 2012 StrangeBedfellows rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book did very little for me. I didn't care for the characters or the author's writing style. Due to those two issues, the plot made no impression on me. As for the sizzling sex appeal that Holly is supposed to be famous for, I found the interactions between characters to be awkward, melodramatic, and lacking genuine chemistry. The dialogue, in particular, fell flat. I don't think I will be trying any more books from this author.

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Jun 26, 2012 k reads rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I am a big Emma Holly fan but this book left me feeling underwhelmed. The heroine, Estelle, is under developed and the little the reader does know about her is because we are told - not shown. It was hard for me to invest in the romance between her and the hero, Edmund Fitz Clare because there seemed so little at stake. I found myself much more interested in the secondary (slightly creepy) romance and, for the first time ever in a Holly book, I found myself skimming through the sex scenes so I c...more

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Jun 05, 2009 Marisella rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotic, chick-lit, books-i-want-to-read-over-and-over

Emma Holly is one of the best, if not THE BEST, erotic storyteller in the world. Her characters are real, precise, and always believable, even the shapeshifing upyrs! They amble, gambol, grin, act cheeky, and endear themselves to the reader. The sex sizzles and true intimacies abound. (yeah, silly word) Read all of her books, you'll keep them all to re-read, over and over.

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Nov 13, 2012 Lord Rose rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: era-20th-century, romance, genre-paranormal-fantasy-romance, genre-historical-romance

The setting was interesting, but there was really too much sex and not enough plot.

And having read this a year and a half ago, for whatever reason, one of the details I remember is that vampire-werewolf-whatever-he-is come is apparently magical and unwrinkles sheets. (Actually, I remember a surprising amount about this book, now that I think about it.)

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Jun 23, 2009 Stacey Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars

I gave Kissing Midnight 3 stars. I wish I could have given it 3 1/2 but they don't give that option. I started off loving this story, but then so many characters were added in and several different romances were added and it was just too much to keep up with, but that's just my personal opinion. The book also ended all at once. Im told there is another book coming out with the rest in it. It was a good read, just not great for me. Im still a fan and will buy her books.

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Nov 15, 2009 Kayla Chappell rated it 1 of 5 stars

Sadly,it's taken me forever to get to this book and it's been badly damaged somehow. School work is keeping me from most of my reading of it but I'm getting there. I love it so far though. Holly seems to know just how to write something to make it interesting.

I'll comment again once I read more or finish!

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Jun 10, 2009 Manda Collins rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, paranormal

Set in 1930s London--I hope, hope, hope this means that we'll be getting more books set in this time period:) Ending was abrupt, but I am looking forward to the next one.

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Jan 02, 2011 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-romance

Wasn't really expecting the cliffhanger ending. Doesn't that go against the romance novel code? Sigh. At least the sequels are already published....

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Aug 06, 2012 Mary Carter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Liked this book the more I got into it. Lots of sultry sex. Enjoyed the time period 1920's-1930's.

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Apr 20, 2010 Loren White added it

I love the steamy atmoshpere between the characters. I overall became a huge fan of Emma Holly.

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Aug 01, 2009 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first Emma Holly paranormal I’ve liked as much as her contemporaries.

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Sep 23, 2009 Barbara ★ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-vampires, read-2009

AWESOME!!! I loved the character of Edmund Fitz Clare. He is spectacular...a shapeshifter (wolf of course) and a vampire! My favorite paranormal elements. This is a rather sweet romance between Edmund and Estelle Berenger, a human with some paranormal abilities. Of course Edmund has enemies who try to kill Estelle and turn his foster children against him. So danger and angst rule this book. Emma Holly ends this with a gigantic cliffhanger and I am super glad that I have Breaking Midnight sitting...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Annie rated it 4 of 5 stars

if you've never read emma holly, you are totally missing out

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Aug 06, 2011 Louise Dunlap added it

Shelves: paranormal-romance

This is the best book in the series and one I've read many times.

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Kissing Midnight (Midnight #6)

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