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 Lara Adrian is a paranormal romance author famous for her Breed Series. To date, she's written 7 books and her website shows plans for another 3, at least. As far as I know, she hasn't written any other books, although she does advertise writing software on her website. I have read her series twice: once when each book came out, and within the past week I re-read the entire series.
The Breed are the offspring of 8 alien explorers that landed on this planet. Because the food was unpalatable to them, they found nourishment where they could: and that was in human blood. These ancients were savage, extremely strong, quick to heal and hard to kill. (Beheading and UV exposure were the most effective methods.) By contrast, their human victims died quickly and easily. The ancients had no compunction at killing, raping and pillaging whole societies into extinction. In the process, they discovered that certain women, under certain conditions could bear them sons (and only sons)--thus Generation One was borne.
Generation One (Gen One) are half human/half alien. Being part human, their loyalties are not just to their alien fathers but to their human mothers. Initially most Gen One act as wild as the Ancients until one Gen One named Lucien decides to stop the rampant and wholesale destruction of humans. Other Gen One join in his cause, the Order (a type of paramilitary group) is formed. They slowly wipe out their savage fathers and hunt down Breed that become lost to bloodlust--an insatiable craving for blood that destroys all self-control and sanity in Breed males. When the Ancients are finally annihiliated, the Order devotes itself to wiping out later generations of bloodlusting savages (known as Rogue).
Fast forward 900 years and only 2 of the original Gen One members of the Order are still alive and kicking: Lucien and Tegan. Newer members have order have joined over the centuries, each generation more human than the last, but none are as strong as the Gen Ones. Each book concentrates on one of the warriors in the Order discovering his breedmate (those uniquely gifted females that can bear Breed sons), and an ongoing nefarious plot involving a surviving ancient and his Gen One sons. This underlying story thickens with each subsequent book.
I read the books twice so obviously I enjoyed the stories. Lara Adrian is an excellent writer. Her storyline flows. Her characters are nicely developed, and evolve throughout each book. The subplot has the right amount of tension and builds. In other words, I can't fault her as a writer...except....well, her books are formulaic.
Her Breed males are inevitably Alphas (after all, they are warriors with the Order so that's expected), and each one has problems with self-worth. The hero is psychologically damaged in some way which makes him feel unworthy of a breedmate. The heroine is initially shocked, scared or otherwise resistant, but after a little token hesitation, becomes the catalyst in the relationship, helping him to feel more worthwhile. Let me give you an example from Midnight Rising which illustrates this point perfectly.
When Dylan kissed him--when she looked at him full in the face and her eyes reflected back only honesty--Rio could believe, at least for a moment, that he wasn't just a pitiful waste of air and space. When he'd looked into Dylan's eyes and felt her hand cradling his scars, he could believe life might actually be worth living after all." (p. 203.)
Afterwards, the couple get involved in some dangerous plot that jeopardizes him or her and in that moment, any other problems in their relationship are resolved.
So that's my first issue with her series. The second is the blatant similiarity to Christine Feehan's Dark Series (see my review of her here). Shall I list them?
- Vampire-like males with various psychic powers
- They live in wealthy havens or other hideaways
- Their breedmates are psychically-enhanced females
- These females feel like "outsiders" and "different" than other women
- Only these psychic females can mate with the Breed
- There is a Breed master-mind set out on world-wide conquest (or more specifically, turning humans into cattle)
- This master-mind is creating an army of rogues, minions, and enslaved Breed
- Etc.
When I read the series as it was released, I may have noticed the similarities to Feehan's books, but not the formulaic outline, so it didn't initially bother me much. This time, reading the series straight through, I could barely get through the series because of it. I hate formulaic writing. I know it's what sells and what the publishers want, but I don't like it. And that's why I have to give Lara Adrian a mixed review.
Do I recommend her books? Absolutely.
Do I recommend reading them all at once? Please don't. It will ruin the experience for you.
I've grabbed the Amazon links so you can check these books out for yourself. Although you don't have to read these in order, the plot line is chronological, so you won't get the full story unless you start at Book One. Just be sure to spread them out.
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