On Midnight Wings (The Makers Song, #5) by Adrian Phoenix
Urban Fantasy/Romance
September 24, 2013
Pocket

Reviewed by Tori

Dante and Heather fight for their lives against two different foes to find their way back to each other. Dante, lost to his shattered and painful past, his bond with Heather the only thing keeping him sane, searches for Heather and the man who stole her. Powerplays and intrigue intensify as knowledge of what Dante truly is—a True Blood/Fallen Maker—ripples through nightkind and mortal societies. The Cercle de Druide wish to guide Dante to proper godhood with themselves as his advisors; the Shadow Branch covet his world-altering power, power they could command with a single word; while the Coneil du Sang plan to use Dante to strengthen and purify vampire bloodlines. And the Fallen wait for his return to Gehenna to heal their dying land.

Time is quickly running out and the fate of three worlds—mortal, nightkind, and Fallen—pivots around Dante as he struggles to piece together his shattered psyche and gain control of his power before he rips all three worlds asunder. (Goodreads)

The Maker’s Song series has always been a sword through the heart series for me to read. A dark noir urban fantasy; this series both excites me and infuriates me. It’s rather like an intense soap opera, giving us hints towards the overall conclusion all the while leading us down a twisted path of deceit, betrayal, and deception. We are constantly embroiled in the past, present, and future throughout this series; never sure where we are going to end up. That is part of the charm yet also frustrating to a certain extent. Ms. Phoenix does not offer false platitudes nor does she toss in random plot elements to allow us a breather while she prepares for next assault upon our sense.

This series grabbed me from the first moment I met Dante Bastipe and his FBI agent, Heather Wallace. A romance filled with tragedy is born that opens a path to a destiny that could destroy the world. Poor Dante and Heather have been through some of the most dramatic emotionally heartbreaking scenes I have ever encountered in a fictional relationship. Frankly, it never ends for them. Book four, Etched In Bone, left me in a predicament. I’m at the point where I need some happiness or assurances of happiness for my couple because the books are depressing me.

On Midnight Wings picks up exactly where Etched In Bone ends. Heather and Dante were kidnapped and separated. Heather is taken to a mental institution to be “reprogrammed” and Dante wakes in a secret laboratory. His programming as a child by the Shadow Branch is beginning to falter, causing even more fractures in his psyche. A psyche that was only contained by his proximity to his anchor and lover, Heather. With her gone, Dante’s spiral into madness accelerates, further pushed by the torture and horrendous experiments being done on him. The past and present collide in Dante’s mind, leaving Dante in the midst of a continuously cycling psychotic breakdown the majority of the book.

Heather fares little better. Her father, tricked by the FBI, finds Heather and helps her escape though she turns the tables on him. Danger dogs her every step as she uses her bond to Dante to slowly make her way to him.  As Heather fights her way to Dante and Dante fights the demons in his mind, Lucian and the rest of Dante’s crew search for them both as they fight their own battles against the ever increasing list of those who seek Dante for their own means.

This book frustrated me. One one hand, I love being back in this dark and sensual world that Phoenix has built. I adore the convoluted characters and the multi layered storylines. This series keeps you guessing as it repeatedly rips your heart out. My frustration comes from the fact that On Midnight Wings offers nothing new in way of advancement in the arc nor the romance. It feels like we are playing catch up; especially after the less than revealing previous installment. Plenty of gripping scenes and engaging dialogue from everyone involved and yet nothing is accomplished till the last few pages. The interaction between key characters is almost null. Add in the fact it took almost two years for this installment to release, I expected more.

I miss seeing Heather and Dante together. Their relationship and romance has become the cornerstone of the series and we have been long denied seeing them together without an ax over their heads.  I enjoy anticipation and angst as much as the next reader but this continuous testing and emotional torment of our protagonists is beginning to wear thin. Watching Dante’s descent into madness is interesting, but nothing new. Watching Heather fight her way to Dante’s side is also interesting, but nothing new. It’s a regurgitating plot device that is seen repeatedly throughout this series. I honestly felt some of the constant stream of explanations could have been cut and Dante and Heather’s separation could have been chronicled into a few chapters; allowing them to come together early on and the story to advance.

I did enjoy the various scenes where we are given insight into certain long term characters’ agendas. Almost everyone you have ever met in this series makes an appearance in here, each one fighting their way towards Dante for reasons all their own. While I will continue reading this series as I have a heavy investment in the outcome, the dark overtones it has were extremely prevalent in here and unfortunately lacked the intense action and subtle humor that normally helps to balance that darkness.

Rating: C

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