User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I really enjoyed this story. While it could stand alone I loved learning more about the characters from Huntsville AL. Great writing, decent mystery. At times some parts of it were predictable but that didn't take away from the enjoyability of it.
Great read! Looking forward to book 3!
Rating: really liked it
Great series!
Rating: really liked it
Unconvincing and superficial
My pleasant first experience with Melinda Leigh’s book Hour of Need encouraged me to choose Midnight Sacrifice, whose positive evaluation on Amazon and Goodreads seemed to confirm that I was going to be pleased with another high quality book. It did not take long into the reading for me to realize that this was far from being true.
At first, it seemed to be a book with likeable characters and a promising storyline, that it was only taking a while for me to get engaged. Sadly, I never got to the point of feeling involved with the plot and, my expectation of something promising, faded away as I went further in the story. There is not much of character development in this book. They all seem shallow, repetitive in their actions and responses, with not suitable behavior for their age. The author fails to flesh the characters out and turn them into real people. They are all flat, unreal, showing unconvincing feelings and emotions. The dialogues are mostly poor and obvious. The two main characters, two adults in their thirties, talk to each other and live their relationship like two young teenagers. Mandy, the female protagonist, never grows out of feeling sorry for herself, always trapped in an immature way of dealing with her life and problems. The characters, the plot and the emotional environment lack consistency, density and is too superficial.
Besides, on my way through the reading I felt growing inside me the strong and bad taste of déjà vu as I realized I was reading what seemed to be a worsened copy of Hours of Need. The same storyline structure: a man meets a woman, they fall in love, there is a threat and a secret related to this threat that keep them apart, the main male character is a war hero with PTSD recently released from the Army. Too many similarities and nothing to make it either different or more challenging.
The thriller aspect of the book presented at the very beginning grows weak very quickly, and kills itself due to lack of consistency, excitement and, more importantly, veracity. The mystery plot seemed so weird that I kept waiting that, eventually, some gap would be filled to give sense and reality to the villain and his crimes. But no elements were provided as solid background for this character and the changes he suffered into becoming the killer he turned out to be. In fact, as the story evolves, he seems so weak that he is like a secondary character, loose in the scenario and in his senseless actions, one that was there because the story needed a bad guy. This poorly developed character is dragged throughout the story evoking s neither interest nor fear. It sounded as a complete absurd that this guy was the threat that controlled the life of all characters, and being presented as such, it was difficult to understand how the police authorities could be so passive, not using their intelligence or legal resources to find him and solve the case. This weak mystery plot unfolds in an unbelievable Celtic Druid line, a laughable icing to the cake, and is resolved hurriedly and with no climax. The author tried to create a suspense in the story that did not seem credible, even for a far-fetched tale.
In my opinion, it is a book for girls or young ladies. I see it as fairy tale that lacks the depth of a fable. It should have started with “Once upon a time” and ended with “They lived happily ever after”.
It really surprises me that both books, Midnight Sacrifice and Hour of Need, were written by the same author. As I really liked Hour of Need, I won’t say that I will never read anything from this author anymore. But I really hope that the next one I choose will provide a more delightful experience, or it will be the last.
Rating: really liked it
***** 5 "Salvation through Sacrifice" Stars ***** 
Mandy knew her little town of Huntsville, Maine would never be safe as long as the derranged Nathan Hall was still on the loose. She knew her secrets must stay as far hidden as possible to save the already fragile lives of her mother and brother. Taking care of them and the family business is her only priority. Dreams of a different life were not meant to happen for Mandy.
She is the one who'd slept with the killer. 
Danny is on a mission to give his sister Jayne (from
Midnight Exposure book 1) the peace and mind for once in her life. Danny is about to make a return trip to Huntsville, Maine. He has unfinished business with killer Nathan and he has no quams about bringing this man down if it is the last thing he does. But bringing down a killer may be a lot easier than fighting his feelings for Mandy.
Danny has more than a killer and feeling for Mandy and protecting to battle through, he also has PTSD and an war injury he must battle every day.
"Pretending everything was fine didn’t make it so. At some point, everyone had to face his personal demon." Mandy's secrets come barreling to the surface and hiding them from Danny is about to lead them into a den of danger and sacrifices they never imagined were possible.
***********************************************
Midnight Sacrifice picks up right where
Midnight Exposure left off and the Sullivan family is once again thrusted into the evil of Hunstville, Maine. Melinda Leigh has done a fabulous job of weaving all these characters together into a thrilling joy ride into a darkness I have not read before. Miss Leigh has reminded me why I LOVE family stories that are a series. We meet each character a little more as the books carrier on. Plus, there is a nice side of sexy passion that we all love.
Rating: really liked it
Huntsville, Maine has picture perfect views but it also harbors evil. Deep in the forest a Celtic Druid plans human sacrifices in hopes of gaining the favor of the gods to rid his family of a curse.
Four months ago terror reigned in the little Maine town. While one of the men who were responsible is dead another escaped but not before trying to take Mandy Brown with him. But Danny Sullivan saved her and her best friend Jed.
Now Danny has come back to town to try and find the killer so his sister can finally feel safe. Mandy wants nothing to do with him and his cause as she has been getting threatening pictures reminding her to keep her mouth closed if she doesn’t want any harm to come to her fragile mother and mentally challenged brother.
Mandy had no idea she was sleeping with a killer. Her father’s abandonment when she was a child has left her with issues of needing to feel that human connection with another person and blinded her to a killer’s true identity. She feels extreme shame over this and tries to keep her secret even though it means not only lying to her best friend Jed but also lying to Danny whom she has become attracted to but knows nothing can become of it.
Danny is the youngest of the Sullivan’s. He was also the most messed up of them when he was growing up and feels a strong sense of protecting his family. He still suffers from PTSD and has extreme nerve damage in one arm that at times messes with his self image but deep down he is a honorable man who wants to do right by his sister and doesn’t understand Mandy’s push and pull feelings.
The secondary characters were just as engaging as the main. Jed was a man with such a good heart and loved Mandy so much even though she didn’t love him the same way. Mandy’s brother Bill was such a sweet man/boy you couldn’t help but fall in love with him.
The author once again takes us into cultural druidism Celtic history. Even though it’s used for a bad purpose in the book you can’t help but be a little fascinated by it.
Will Danny be able to keep Mandy from becoming the part of the madman’s tool in a ritual?
On a side note I have to say that the thoughts of Danny throughout the book were downright hilarious. I have to give one quote.
“And apparently, moving forward meant blathering about his emotions like he were a guest on Oprah or some shit”
Rating: really liked it
One of my favorite mystery authors to read is Melinda Leigh and being currently in a bit of a reading rut as didn't feel like another romance, I decided to give a mystery a read. This book started with a punch as we have our main female character and her best friend finishing work when their boss pulls up with a knife and attacks the pair. Lucky for Mandy and Jed, a passerby was in town and stops the attack and helps Jed, and gives him a fighting chance. The book then jumps four months later and turns out their knight in shining armor was Danny. He was also on the track hunting Nathan as he kidnapped his sister Jaynie. Now four months later, the case for Nathan has gone cold and the police presume he is dead. Mandy knows this isn't true as she has been receiving threats in the mail as Mandy has a secret relating to Nathan. When a local fisherman and his son Hunter go missing, it looks like Nathan is back and picking up where he left off four months ago. The book then jumps into Nathan's past where we learn his mother had a degenerative brain disease and now Nathan has it. His Uncle back then used Celtic mythology and artifacts to call on the Celtic gods to heal his sister. Nathan believes if he can make a great sacrifice to the gods he and his son will be spared. Can Mandy/ Danny find Nathan and discover who's been helping him, before more innocent people are murdered and sacrificed to the Gods? Find out in this mystery which can be read as a standalone by Melinda Leigh.
Rating: really liked it
This book starts out with a bang and doesn’t let up until the last page is turned!
Mandy Brown barely escapes a murderer’s deadly clutches and lives in fear of the day he returns to her small community, but family ties hold her from running away. Even worse is her link to the killer and a deadly secret she can’t share.
Danny Sullivan is determined to track the monster that kidnapped his sister, leaving her scarred for life. He heads back to the scene of the crime, and the beautiful innkeeper he’d saved that fateful night. He has a feeling the killer will come after Mandy and that there is something she’s hiding. The trick will be to set aside his attraction before he gets them both killed.
This story is well written and kept me guessing until the end.
I give Midnight Sacrifice 4 lovely kisses
Rating: really liked it
Plot: 4/5
Characterisation: 4/5
Prose: 3.5/5
How much I enjoyed it: 4/5
Rating: really liked it
OkThis was an ok read.. I figured that petty cop was in on this whole thing from the beginning. On to the final part of this series.
Rating: really liked it
Melinda Leigh's latest is creepy and captivating, a true thriller bound to hold you hostage long into the night. Her villain is horrifying and fresh, idly brutal in his madness. And yet his powerlessness, coupled with his fierce devotion to his legacy, can't help but make you feel a reluctant sort of sympathy. That is, until you read passages like this:
… Nathan had had good luck with fire in the past. Flames were cleansing in many, many ways. A few tweaks to a space heater had rid him of a pesky police chief …
He opened the woodstove door slowly to avoid the squeak of metal. Using the tongs from the nearby stand, he removed a few embers and set them on the closest area rug. The material caught. Smoke licked from the growing blaze. He leaned forward and put his hand into the flames. Fire wrapped around him, soothed him with blessed pain. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand free before the heat seared his skin.
There was no time for indulgence.His lunacy is chilling. So is the fact that he's holding an entire town hostage, and at least one of its residents is his willing accomplice.
Danny Sullivan is the wounded warrior hero, determined to put his sister's fears to rest by finding her kidnapper. He isn't completely healthy himself, but he's a man on a mission, and that mission includes getting closer to Mandy Brown — and not only because he figures she's hiding something. She's not happy to see him, but he doesn't let that stop him from helping her out — anyone can see she's struggling. And those struggles render the heroine equally sympathetic. But Mandy must protect her fragile family and their tenuous existence from a serial killer who continues to stalk her. And as appealing as she finds Danny, in order to keep her family safe she must rebuff him.
Raindrops echoed in her nylon hood. She pulled off her gloves and headed down the walk, stopping to pluck a few weeds from between the bricks. Mandy stared down at the street. Large old homes occupied stately lots, their laws greening with spring rains, early bulbs poking out of the flower beds. For visitors, Huntsville was lovely, quaint, and quintessentially New England. For Mandy, her hometown was a pretty prison. She'd lived in the old inn all her life, and it was likely she'd die in it as well.Some lovely, sinister subtext in that snippet there. The following illustrates the evocative nature of Leigh's prose, and is one of my favorite lines:
Beneath the trees, patches of leftover snow were spread on the black earth like reverse Rorschach tests.Midnight Sacrifice is an impeccable, unpredictable package of suspense, mystery, romance and passion, tied up with an irresistible bow of compelling prose, sinister setting details and characters so real you'll ache at every setback and give thanks for the smallest triumph. This is one package you won't be able to unwrap slowly — and you won't want to put it down until you've reached the astonishing, stirring end.
Rating: really liked it
Some books/people really makes you question the sanity of the world.
..and makes you want to hide out for a while...
(That being said, the book and plot was fairly predictable, but I enjoyed it all the same.)
Rating: really liked it
Set in the frigid cold and snow-covered realm of Huntsville, Maine, this is the second book by this author that makes sure to alert readers this is one state where danger and evil reside.
Danny Sullivan went through a nightmare only four months ago when a vicious killer kidnapped his sister, along with two others, in order to perform a Celtic human sacrifice in the deep, dark Maine woods. This fiend was able to murder two other people while on his quest for pain, however Danny’s sister was able to escape the evil clutches of the madman. Unfortunately, in this new novel, the killer has also escaped and has disappeared into the Maine wilderness once again, ready to rev-up the terror.
The police have absolutely no leads to go on, so Danny returns to Maine to track the man who nearly took his sister’s life. There was one other survivor from the first go around with this creep, and her name is Mandy Brown. Mandy owns a B&B in Huntsville and is a beautiful woman who Danny finds himself truly attracted to. The only problem is, Mandy has been hiding a secret for a good, long time, and not even the handsome Sullivan will be able to bring that secret to light.
Suspicion is everywhere and Mandy’s lack of cooperation turns everything else into a complete mess. The murderer soon makes and appearance and decides that Mandy should be the next victim - but whether it’s for her beauty, a new ritual killing, or to help contain the secret she’s harboring, equals a plot that will definitely keep readers engaged.
For anyone who loved Midnight Exposure, they will absolutely love the passion and desire involved in this new novel. Whether it be from Danny and Mandy, or the ultimate cravings the killer has, the thrills and chills are just as intense as the romantic edge. Not only will this book get your attention, but it will most definitely keep it!
Rating: really liked it
Midnight Sacrifice is the highly anticipated follow up to Midnight Exposure and it was worth the wait!
I highly recommend reading them in order as they are not really stand alone novels. Midnight Sacrifice picks up the huge plot line left open in Midnight Exposure and brings it to a conclusion.
In Midnight Exposure we met Jayne who inardvertently put herself into the sights of a ritual killer, when she was kidnapped her brothers came to the rescue. Danny Sullivan had been medically discharged from the army and was suffering from PTSD when he went to try and save his sister, he ended up saving Mandy instead and unfortunately the killer escaped. Now four months later his sister isn't sleeping, she's plagued with nightmares as the police investigation has came to a stand still and she needs a resolution in order to get on with her life.
Danny returns to Maine with the intention of getting to the bottom of what is going on. When he encounters Mandy again there is an attraction there but he soon becomes aware that she is keeping secrets and possibly knows more than she has previously admitted to. Can he convince Mandy to trust him? People are disappearing again and suspicions are rife - can they get to the bottom of it before it's too late?
I loved this book, it had a little of everything and I was kept guessing until almost the end. Melinda paints a vivid picture with her writing and you can easily identify with the characters and see yourself living among them. I planned to read just a few chapters before bed but what actually happened was I read it until the last word - I just couldn't put it down, so much happens in this book emotionally I was a mess! there are more Sullivan's I wouldn't mind getting to know better.
Rating: really liked it
I was lucky enough to have Melinda Leigh send me an advance copy of this book.
Midnight Sacrifice picks up just four months after Midnight Exposure ended. Jayne's brother, Danny, returns to the small town in Maine where she was nearly murdered. He knows that his sister will never stop looking over her shoulder unless murderer Nathan is found.
Danny has been battling some of his own demons after returning from his recent tour of duty in the Middle East.
Mandy runs the local inn. She takes care of her ill mother and her mentally challenged brother. But Mandy has a secret, and someone is blackmailing her to keep it.
I really enjoyed all of the intrigue going on in this book. There is a murderer on the loose, people disappearing, and Celtic relics stolen from a museum.
The attraction between Danny and Mandy is palpable from their first meeting. Both characters are sympathetic and likeable, as is Mandy's brother Bill. Jed is a bit on the shallow side as far as character development, but that doesn't take away from the story.
I am hoping that the next book focuses on the relationship between Danny's brother, Conor, and Louisa, who was head of the aforementioned museum. It would also be great to see what happens next to Evan, Nathan's son.
I really enjoy Melinda Leigh's books and look forward to the next one.
Rating: really liked it
Two-haiku review:
Bad guy's still out there
He wants her for his May queen
Can ex-soldier save?
Best read first book first
Liking series, characters
Three-and-a-half stars
