Book Review: Night Shift (Midnight, Texas, #3)

About The Book:

  Title: Night Shift (Midnight, Texas, #3) 

  Author: Charlaine Harris 
  Pub. Date: May 3rd, 2016 
  Publisher: Ace 
  Pages: 320

  Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Fiction 

  Rate: 5/5 stars 

Synopsis :

At Midnight’s local pawnshop, weapons are flying off the shelves—only to be used in sudden and dramatic suicides right at the main crossroads in town. 
 
Who better to figure out why blood is being spilled than the vampire Lemuel, who, while translating mysterious texts, discovers what makes Midnight the town it is. There’s a reason why witches and werewolves, killers and psychics, have been drawn to this place. 
 
And now they must come together to stop the bloodshed in the heart of Midnight. For if all hell breaks loose—which just might happen—it will put the secretive town on the map, where no one wants it to be...

Review:

"She said it was waking up," he said. 

Lemuel said, "I think we are very close to catastrophe." 

"Do you know what lies underneath the crossroad?" 

There is just so much I loved about this last installment in the series that I hope I can keep this review straightforward! If you know me, then you know that my favorite author of all time is Charlaine Harris. I'm so glad to say that she definitely does NOT disappoint in Night Shift. It was full of everything I love in her novels - quirky and lovable characters, addicting plot lines, and we finally see some steamy romance in this series that I was so used to from her in her Sookie series ;)!

The plot in Night Shift was different from the other two Midnight, Texas novels. This time it had a much more paranormal feel to it and I must say, I absolutely loved it. We finally get to the root of the crossroads and what the history of it means. Fiji plays a pivotal role again in this book and I just want to comment on something I've noticed in Charlaine's female main characters. I love that a lot of the main women in her novels are plus size. There are books like that but it's always advertised like "oh the character is plus sized" - she doesn't try to make it a selling point, they just are that way and I love it. I love that Sookie was that way and I love that Fiji was that way and that they are always comfortable in their own skin! You go Charlaine! Lemuel also plays a pretty big role in Night Shift. And if you've read my reviews of the other two Midnight, Texas books then you know I've been waiting to get more of an insight on Lemuel's past and I love how Ms. Harris writes vampires so I will honestly never get enough of reading from his perspective!

My favorite thing about Night Shift had to be that we saw the small community work together more. Midnight was always somewhat of a tighter community but they always had that "don't ask" vibe going on. Those walls seemed to finally fall down and they are trusting each other more! From that, we see a ton of character growth. This includes a softer side to Olivia and Lem, a tougher side to Fiji, a more conventional side to Manfred, and a riskier side to Bobo. The Reed's also take a surprising turn in this novel and there is a new resident of Midnight who is there for his own reasons that you'll just have to read in order to find out!

“Effing cat," Kiki said. 
"Effing woman," the cat said. 

One thing that was a nice treat in Night Shift and also made me fangirl super hard was something that dates back to the early days of The Sookie Stackhouse Series. Lemuel had to track someone down using this vampire database, and that's something that Bill Compton created early during that series. I was SO excited to read about this! It's like reading little easter eggs! I was giggling like I was in elementary school again.

While I know the Midnight, Texas series is supposed to be trilogy - I really hope that Charlaine changes her mind or her publisher does, or that maybe she'll write another spin-off type series! Honestly, I'd be thankful to read any fantasy-type novel by her because I haven't found any books that quite compare to the feeling I get when I read a Charlaine fantasy book! I also must say that I haven't had enough of Quinn. He's been one of my favorite characters since the Sookie series and I'm so glad she came back to his character. I'm hoping for a happy ending for him in an upcoming book ... please? ;) I must conclude by saying that if you haven't read anything by Charlaine Harris then you are SERIOUSLY missing out. It's almost like I haven't lived before I read her books. It's truly a spiritual experience. I'm not exaggerating!

- Jocelyn