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Devil at Midnight (Midnight #9)

by Emma Holly (Goodreads Author)

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 231 ratings · 27 reviews

For years, mercenary captain Christian Durand has done everything he can to protect his men. When a beautiful ghost appears to offer comfort, he assumes the strain has finally pushed him over the edge. All he knows for certain is that this woman tugs at both his heart and desires. But now that a vampire queen has set her immortal sights on Christian, he must choose between...more

Paperback, 336 pages

Published November 2nd 2010 by Berkley (first published September 29th 2010)

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Feb 01, 2011 Isalys rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, for-review, paranormal-romance, the-season

*Note: Read and reviewed for The Season for Romance.

Grace Gladwell is a typical girl in suburbia 1950. She’s sweet and pretty and Johnny is just crazy about her, but no one other than her mother know that Grace is the victim of her father’s drunken violent rages. He’s physically and verbally abusive. One night he goes too far when he catches Grace giving Johnny a goodnight kiss. He pushes her and she hits her head when she stumbles into the brick fireplace. Next thing she knows, she wakes up in...more *Note: Read and reviewed for The Season for Romance.

Grace Gladwell is a typical girl in suburbia 1950. She’s sweet and pretty and Johnny is just crazy about her, but no one other than her mother know that Grace is the victim of her father’s drunken violent rages. He’s physically and verbally abusive. One night he goes too far when he catches Grace giving Johnny a goodnight kiss. He pushes her and she hits her head when she stumbles into the brick fireplace. Next thing she knows, she wakes up in an amphitheatre with a blond guy in a suit (very Meet Joe Black) who says he’s her guardian. He radiates patience, love and goodness. Never having known any of that, Grace asked him if she would ever get to meet her One True Love. He surprises her when he tells her that she’s already known a love like that.

Christian Durand is a young mercenary in Switzerland during the middle ages. Strong, loyal and compassionate – he’s easy to love. However, it seems he’s never been able to gain the love or approval of his father who continues to push him around. One day, he brings home a dog to join their hunting party, but the dog is young and playful and a distraction to some of the men. In place of the men who were caught “goofing around”, he takes a severe whipping as punishment. He is then forced to destroy the dog. (As a dog lover, this scene nearly broke my heart.)

Back at the amphitheater, Michael shows Grace this scene. Grace is overwhelmed by a fierce desire to comfort Christian so she asks Michael to send her to him. Grace is sent to Christian, but in the form of a ghost. Christian cannot comprehend how or why the specter of a beautiful girl suddenly appears to him. At first, he wants to be rid of her but after a short time together; he finds that he enjoys her company. She even manages to go corporeal from time to time so in those rare moments, they get to enjoy some very powerful and intimate time together.

A couple of days into her “visit” with Christian, he and several of their men are sent to accompany a mysterious minstrel on a journey to Italy. What no one knows is that the minstrel is no ordinary woman. She’s a powerful upyr (aka vampire) and she has set her eyes on turning Christian. With Grace’s love and support, he refuses Mistress Wei’s advances and soon learns of her real identity. What Christian has no control over is when and how Grace will appear to him or of the battle against his father that will cost him everyone he loves. He then makes a decision that will change the rest of his life…

To be quite honest, I was a little concerned about how the story would play out considering the interesting cast of characters. I couldn’t imagine how a mercenary from the middle-ages, a 1950’s ghost and a vampire would all fit together. However, it didn’t take me long to become fully engrossed in Grace & Christian’s story.

Christian was indeed easy to love. He embodied all the qualities that we look for in a perfect hero. Grace was stronger and more assertive than I initially expected her to be considering her violent past. It seems that she overcame her fears rather quickly. They shared a very powerful connection that transcended the 500 years between their lifetimes. The love scenes were more intense than I expected them to be – even when Grace wasn’t corporeal.

I debated on whether to give this novel an 8 or 9 and so I settled on a compromise of 8.5. Overall, the story was fast paced with a lot of passion, action and unique characters. I loved the emotional connection between Grace and Christian. I also enjoyed getting to know the background characters, particularly Christian’s friends. They were amusing, well-diversified and provided depth to Christian’s story because they were so much a part of his life.

I had a couple of concerns with this novel though. Christian and Grace were both quite young (under 20 years old) and I felt that their sexual relationship seemed almost inappropriate. I had to remind myself that the story took place at a time where people married young and this was the norm. My other concern was that although the differences in language between them were referenced, I think it could have been a bit more accurate to their respective eras.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the ending. I was a bit surprised by the turns that it took. It did, however, set up the follow-up novel, Angel at Dawn which I look forward to reading. The story will go from a historical to a more contemporary and I’m intrigued as to how the Emma Holly will accomplish this.

RATING: 4.5 - Very good
HEAT LEVEL: 5.5 - Borderline Erotic(less)

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Mar 31, 2011 Jane Stewart rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: time-travel-paranormal-romance

Incomplete plot development. Things were not tied together or explained well. There is a lot of sex, which was ok.

STORY BRIEF:
In 1950 Ohio, Grace is 18. Her father beats her. The current beating causes her to go unconscious. Her spirit travels to 1460 Switzerland where she meets Christian. Grace is able to switch back and forth between ghost form and human form. She and Christian have a lot of sex.

Christian’s father Gregori is evil and has Christian whipped for being kind to a puppy. Gregori is...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Bookaholics rated it 5 of 5 stars

Devil at Midnight by Emma Holly
Paranormal Romance -Nov 2nd, 2010
5 stars

Devil at Midnight is an amazing new installment to Emma Holly’s Upyr series. In this book the author explores reincarnated love between 2 touching and abused characters which this reader did not want to end!! But even if you are new to this series this book can easily be read by itself.

Grace Gladwell is young and beautiful but she has a terrible secret. Her father is abusive and demeaning and in a fit of rage he kills her...more Devil at Midnight by Emma Holly
Paranormal Romance -Nov 2nd, 2010
5 stars

Devil at Midnight is an amazing new installment to Emma Holly’s Upyr series. In this book the author explores reincarnated love between 2 touching and abused characters which this reader did not want to end!! But even if you are new to this series this book can easily be read by itself.

Grace Gladwell is young and beautiful but she has a terrible secret. Her father is abusive and demeaning and in a fit of rage he kills her. Grace finds herself in heaven where an angel tells her she has the chance to meet her best friend/soulmate. Grace jumps at the chance even though she finds herself meeting him for the 1st time as a ghost. She discovers he is a lonely and honorable young man named Christian Durand who lives under the brutal and watchful eye of his mercenary father in Medieval England. Together they find a rare connection that leads to a sweet and poignant love. But their budding love and sexual attraction are hindered by Grace’s incorporeal form and a dangerous immortal named Nim Wei who wants Christian for herself. And is willing to do anything to keep him.

I simply LOVED this book. Emma Holly has written a steamy romance that made me blush as Grace and Christian try to make love although they can’t really touch each other. This only added to the sexual tension as I really wanted them to be together. The villains were diabolical and ruthless and I was surprisingly sad for the lonely Nim Wei. The only disappointment for some readers will be that this book does not conclude! In the next book called Angel at Dawn Grace and Christian will continue their story. But while I would usually be upset with this I can only be glad!! Because I loved the 2 main characters and did not want their story to end.

The author has created a rare and heartfelt love that made me cry for their love. I haven’t read such an emotionally charged romance with some very sexy writing in a very long time. It reminded me a bit of Romeo and Juliet. I wanted them to be together so much. But not only did the author have such a deep passion between the 2 characters but she also deftly strings together a very sensual and excitingly erotic story, too. Neither character ever really had someone who cared for them and I felt their loneliness. I was so happy they were able to find each other. They were both good people who struggled in their lives and deserved love. And despite the difficulties in their lives they were honest and noble people. There is an innocence and wonder to their love which made this story all that much sweeter.

This story really moved me. It has it all the imaginative paranormal aspects that are compelling to read. A tough and brawny knight with honor, a courageous and admirable heroine and a deep desperate love that is eternal. I loved it!! If you love any of these things don’t walk, run to the bookstore!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club
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Dec 22, 2011 Angelina rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: to anyone who into paranormal or interseted its a great started in to the paranormal books.....

Recommended to Angelina by: No one Love the Author and always want to read..

Devil at Midnight is a story about Christian and Grace two people from different Time only find out they aren't that much different.Fantastic tension because Grace was a ghost and could not be materialize when Christian is human. So although their friendship and love bloomed, they cannot physically touch each other, which made it very intense when Grace is able to materialize even if for a little bit which was hottttt. Love meeting Christian's soliders/friends and seeing that they was more fami...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Maria rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

It´s my first book in the Upyr-series but it was no problem understanding the story.

When you first meet Grace Gladwell it´s in modern times, well 1950´s. She is severly abused by her father and when he finally hits her so badly that she almost dies, an angel steps in.
Grace always wanted a friend, someone she could both laugh and cry with. She has always been so alone.

Christian Durand is a noble mercenary living in Switzerland during the Middle Ages under the harsh thumb of his first officer, who...more

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Nov 11, 2010 Kristin - *Nocturnal Bites* rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance-urban-fantasy, favorites

After being killed by her abusive father, Grace Gladwell awakens in a sort of purgatorial realm. An angel confronts Grace and offers her a chance to meet and help a friend in need from another lifetime. Longing for love and friendship, a concept, due to her father, unattainable in her more recent existence, Grace willingly and whole-heartily accepts. However, the one condition of her time travel leaves her corporeal in form. Grace arrives in Medieval England, year 1460, to find the man she is se...more After being killed by her abusive father, Grace Gladwell awakens in a sort of purgatorial realm. An angel confronts Grace and offers her a chance to meet and help a friend in need from another lifetime. Longing for love and friendship, a concept, due to her father, unattainable in her more recent existence, Grace willingly and whole-heartily accepts. However, the one condition of her time travel leaves her corporeal in form. Grace arrives in Medieval England, year 1460, to find the man she is sent to help, wounded, a result of his father's brutality. Immediately Grace feels a connection to Christian Durrand, and wants more than anything to help him. Although Christain Durrand is skeptical of the ghost's intentions at first, he is quickly enamored by both her beauty and kindness. Grace becomes the half to Christian's whole and with each passing moment, Christian is reminded of how much he truly needs her. Unfortunately, the Vampire Upyr Queen, Nim Wei also wants Durrand and with what she can give him coupled with her seductive power, not even an Angel of saving GRACE can compete with.

First Impression

I love both the hero and heroine of this book. Grace starts out scarred, a timid girl and turns into a courageous, yet forgiving warrior. Christian is strong, passionate, and completely selfless when it comes to the people he cares about. Definitely my type of ALPHA-male.

Favorite Quotes

"I'll be sleeping with two men," she explained between gasps for air. "I never imagined being a ghost would be this racy."

"Upyr. Vampire. I know Bram Stoker hasn't been born yet, but what's the difference if they've got fangs?"

Final thoughts

After reading Emma Holly's 7th installment (not including novellas and/or short stories) in the Midnight series, I am left with one simple phrase,"I WANT MORE!!" With themes such as bravery, redemption, and forgiveness...and a dip into the reincarnation swimming pool, Devil At Midnight is a must read for Paranormal Romance lovers. I eagerly await the January 11, 2011 release of Angel At Dawn, the second part to Grace and Christian's story (Upyr Book #8)!

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Jan 07, 2011 Tamara rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 08, 2010 Tori smexys_sidekick rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-for-smexybooks, arc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Originally posted at smexybooks-http://www.smexybooks.com/...

Favorite Quote: “Why would he think she would never comes back when she always had before?”

Grace Campbell lives in fear of her abusive father. When she is brutally beaten by him, she “dies” and finds herself in a waiting station. She is offered the chance to help someone make an important decision. She soon finds herself transported from 1950 America to 1450 Switzerland. Here she meets Christian Durand. A mercenary in his father’s army...more Originally posted at smexybooks-http://www.smexybooks.com/...

Favorite Quote: “Why would he think she would never comes back when she always had before?”

Grace Campbell lives in fear of her abusive father. When she is brutally beaten by him, she “dies” and finds herself in a waiting station. She is offered the chance to help someone make an important decision. She soon finds herself transported from 1950 America to 1450 Switzerland. Here she meets Christian Durand. A mercenary in his father’s army, Christian lives a harsh life with his cruel father and does what he can to protect his men.

When Grace and Christian meet-sparks fly and desires flare. Loving a ghost isn’t easy and when the vampire queen Nim Wei sets her immortal sights on Christian, he must choose between his darker urges and a powerful love that spans centuries...

Grace is sent back to Christian as an angel, ghost-still unsure what she is-to befriend him and help him make a life altering decision. When Christian sees Grace for the first time he is shocked and believes he is losing his mind. But soon he accepts her presence for what it is and their journey begins.
When Christian’s father sets up a mission for Christian and his men; both he and Grace know that something is wrong. Their client, Nim Wei, is to be escorted to her new home but her rules for her transportation leave them all expecting the worse for she is not what she seems.

As Grace follows along side Christian and does her best to protect him, Christian is trying his best to protect his men who Nim is slowing bringing under her spell. When Christian’s father makes a devil’s bargain with Nim, Christian is left making a decision that will cost him his life and his love.

This is a hard review for me to write. I have never read a book where I loved the characters but didn’t like the story they were written into. The story and the characters have a distinctly modern feel to them despite being set in the 1400’s. Strong and personable; I found myself very taken with them all. Our protagonists have a good report and the interaction between them and others is genuine and believable. They both have abusive fathers that play large roles in shaping their lives; they are both starved for love which is reiterated through out the book. The plot however is a mess of confusion though. So many contradictions made for uneasy reading. There is so many events that happen without foreshadowing or conclusion that I was often left in the dark. Christian and Grace’s actions left me thinking constantly, “This makes no sense.” For example, after 24 hours of knowing each other, they both exhibit a bond that's better reflected in those who have known each other for years rather then hours. Also, Christian and Grace show no real curiosity in each other’s past lives. Honestly, If I met someone from the past or future I would ask questions. The love interest between Grace and Christian is fast and under developed. They go from A to Z in 60 seconds. SPOILER: There is one scene where he masturbates in front of her within 12 hours of meeting her. The fact she isn’t shocked or even a little put off was strange considering she is an 18 year girl from 1950.

The book plays heavy on them becoming friends-soul mates-and you get the feeling that they are and more but it happens so fast you can’t justify WHY they are. And that’s the whole problem I had with the story. Everything just happens. The action is non stop and the story pacing is fast but scenes happen, again, without any foreshadowing. We aren’t given adequate knowledge to justify their actions. I was really left in the dark about our villains Nim Wei and Christian’s father. We get the whos and whats but no real whys.

The ending comes at you hard and fast and leaves you with a lot of questions. Quite a cliffhanger. While I enjoyed the characters and the premise of the story, I didn’t enjoy how it was presented. I will read the next in the series just because of the characters and I want to see what happens to them. I can only hope that storyline settles down a bit.

Rating: C- this translates to a 2.5 in stars.(less)

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Dec 29, 2010 Kathy Davie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica, paranormal, romance

This feels so very out of chronological order as this tragic story surrounds the upyr queen, Nim Wei, and her pursuit of a hunky mercenary, Christian Durand, in the Middles Ages in Italy. The main story however is of Grace and her near-death experience which catapults her from the American 1950s to Durand's time period and Christian's doubts about his father and his own abilities. The secondary issues include Christian's attempts to placate his father while protecting those men loyal to him and...more

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Nov 10, 2010 ♥The Kat's Meow♥ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, favorite, vampires, ebook, nook

It's a very good thing we only must wait until January for the next book. I, for one, am most eager to know what happens next.

I'm eager to continue Christian and Grace's story. I hate waiting *sigh*

*** Very slight spoiler ***

Suffice it to say that I grew to like, indeed admire, characters whose lives were lost.

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Jul 30, 2011 Cassandra added it

It's another great novel from Emma Holly, could not put it down, just kinda sad that it's another story split into another book. Would love to keep reading but will just have to wait to finish the tale. A must read if you love her books.

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Feb 05, 2011 Mell rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, vampires

Some how missed that I had already given another book in this series a bad review. Won't make that same mistake again. This book was bad- with poorly handled plot elements like time travel and "ghosts." A vampire was thrown in, too.

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May 23, 2011 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica-paranormal

The only thing that saved this book for me was the sweet romance and sexy scenes. The story line fell flat for me, and I have read the series. I was okay with the time travel and the ghost and the whatnot, but the development of the story once Nim Wei enters was painfully slow and not worth reading. I lost interest and it was all I could do to finish the book half-heartedly. I would give it less stars, but Emma Holly can write good sex scenes. She is one of my favorite authors, so I expect a lot...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Nora rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fun read, but definitely incomplete as a one-book read. Don't read this without having the second one close at hand; having to wait will make you very impatient!

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Nov 10, 2010 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't usually write reviews but simply stated....I could not put this book down! It was hot and had a great story...I can't wait for Angel at Dawn in January!!!

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Jun 13, 2011 Tressa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

The premise was intriguing and the primary characters, Grace and Christian, were likeable. Unfortunately, I didn't care for anything else in the book.

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Feb 08, 2011 Zury rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Much more than "Angel at Dawn" her last couple of books (trilogy and this duology) have been fantastic, but this book was fabulous!

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Nov 20, 2010 NanaVamp rated it 5 of 5 stars

My rating and reviews are based on my emotions while reading the story. Emma Holly is a gifted storyteller...very descriptive and plenty of romance and eroticism in her books.

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Apr 05, 2011 Pam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Devil At Midnight is a fairly good book. Its about a ghost who goes back in time to join her friend from a past life. Both of the have been abused in their lives. Throw in a vampire to the mix and it makes a good story. The ending was the best surprise.

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Jan 16, 2011 EJ MACK rated it 5 of 5 stars

I did not want to get another series but this book made me reconsider. I was so surprised that i must now read all of this series... thanks

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Jul 04, 2012 Annie rated it 4 of 5 stars

love these books!

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Oct 30, 2010 Ro rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is by far one of Holly's best, and I'm totally loving Christian and Grace's interaction that's prevalent right away.

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Sep 04, 2012 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

At first I didn't know if I was going to like how this story was headed - but all of a sudden I was drawn in and couldn't put it down. I really like that Durand got to tell his story of how he became. You kinda knew how it would end but the ride to get there was awesome. I can't wait to read the next part to this book!

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Jan 13, 2011 Bethany rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was pretty predictible for the most part. I figured I had the ending all worked out... Until I actually GOT to the ending. And it was nothing like what I'd expected! 4 stars just for surprise factor!

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Jan 24, 2011 Teri rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars...

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Nov 04, 2012 ChaosDuchess rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-paranormal, own, print-books

I truly enjoyed reading this one. I can't wait to read the second part!

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Feb 06, 2011 Jean rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica, paranormal-romance-erotica

Good mix of historical, paranormal and contemporary romance/erotica.

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May 20, 2013 Lynn Tolley added it

May 19, 2013 Claudia Harrington added it

May 19, 2013 Keema rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Devil at Midnight (Midnight #9)

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