Review: Midnight Labyrinth

Book Review: Midnight Labyrinth, by Elizabeth Hunter, 4 stars

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He’s one human caught in a tangled maze of theft, politics, magic, and blood.
In other words, it’s just another night.
Benjamin Vecchio escaped a chaotic childhood and grew to adulthood under the protection and training of one of the Elemental world’s most feared vampire assassins. He’s traveled the world and battled immortal enemies.

But everyone has to go home sometime.

New York means new opportunities and allies for Ben and his vampire partner, Tenzin. It also means new politics and new threats. Their antiquities business is taking off, and their client list is growing. When Ben is challenged to find a painting lost since the second world war, he jumps at the chance. This job will keep him closer to home, but it might just land him in hot water with the insular clan of earth vampires who run Manhattan.

Tenzin knew the painting would be trouble before she laid eyes on it, but she can’t deny the challenge intrigues her. Human laws mean little to a vampire with a few millennia behind her, and Tenzin misses the rush of taking what isn’t hers.

But nothing is more dangerous than a human with half the story, and Ben and Tenzin might end up risking their reputations and their lives before they escape the Midnight Labyrinth.


Genre: paranormal

Publication date: November 2017

Mature content: yes

Review: I waited a long time for a Ben and Tenzin full sized novel and now that I have finally read it, I have some mixed feelings about it. Don't get me wrong, the writing is still Elizabeth Hunter at her best and the plot, when you finally get to it, is amazingly rich, full of underlying meanings and promises for the future.

However, I found the first part of the book too slow. It's basically an account of Chloe's issues with domestic violence, how she deals with it and how Ben deals with it. I like the message that is passed through, I understand its importance, but I would have liked for the plot to move a bit quicker. I also have mixed feelings about Ben. With his life history, I would have expected him to be a bit more savvy and not fall for what was an obvious trap almost from the start. I get that he loves women but he way he says it just makes in sound like a horny teenager, or maybe a bit promiscuous. And that's why I couldn't bring myself to rate Midnight Labyrinth with five stars.

I get the feeling that there's something between him and Tenzin for which he's just not ready yet, but I think I would have liked to see Ben a bit more grown up - not physically but mentally. Or maybe I just have to wait for the next book.

That being said, Midnight Labyrinth is an amazing book - I'm not usually a fan of vampire books or anything tending towards paranormal, but I open an exception for Elizabeth Hunter because she really knows how to captivate her readers. I've been hooked since I read A Hidden Fire and I never stopped after that. 


Midnight Labyrinth can be read as a stand alone, though if you love the genre you should just read all the Elemental Mysteries and Elemental World books. Also, you may want to read the three previous Elemental Legacy novellas.

Recommended!

Happy Thursday,

the book worm, book blog

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