PNR Review: Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward

Lover Reborn

by J.R. Ward

(Black Dagger Brotherhood #10)

Ever since the death of his shellan, Tohrment is a heartbroken shadow of the vampire leader he once was. Brought back to the Brotherhood by a self-serving fallen angel, he fights again with ruthless vengeance- and is unprepared for a new tragedy. Seeing his beloved in dreams—trapped in a cold, desolate netherworld—he turns to the angel to save his former mate, only to despair at the path he himself must take to set her free. As war with the lessers rages, and a new clan of vampires vies for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between an unforgettable past, and a future that he doesn’t know he can live with… but can’t seem to turn away from.

REVIEW:

Warning: Mild plot spoilers if you are no update on the series. 

First off I'll start by saying that Lover Reborn was better than Lover Unleashed in that we got more romance out of the main couple than we did with Payne and Manny. And speaking of LU, was it just me or could we have skipped that book. We got to see just about everyone in LR but Payne and Manny was just there as a doctor and that was it. It felt like they were an afterthought. I think that LU was just a bridge book to introduce the Band of Bastards and No'One. It got us ready for LR.

Ok, we've all waited to see if Thor would get a HEA after the murder of Wellsie and their unborn child. He has mourned for a year and we have mourned with him. Thor and No'one's stories of the past are very heart breaking and it was hard at times to see their relationship change. There was moments where I wanted to hit Thor for how he treated No'One and then there were other times I wanted to hit her for being a door mat. I believe Ward did a great job of making them both overcome their tormented pasts and come together as a loving couple.

But my favorite parts of the book wasn't Thor and No'One. I loved the side stories much more. LOVED. LOVED. That we got to see the hard times that JM and Xhex had to go through after their mating. It made them seem real to me. Not every marriage, or in their case, every mating is perfect but that doesn't mean it's not worth fight for. I think it makes them a strong couple. Just like Thor and No'One, they had to find a way to overcome some of their problems in their relationship.

I also enjoyed seeing another side to Xcor, the leader of the BoB. He's feelings for Layla was heartwarming. And Layla's confusion about Xcor is great. I hope the two of them get a HEA in the future. I see the BoB as what the BDB would be without the funding and support they get from the race and loved ones. They different faces of the same coin.

Quinn/Blay/Saxton triangle seems to be coming to a head since their book is next. HAPPY DANCE!! Quinn and Blay's story is has been building and building and Ward better deliver. (I want hot and sweaty male on male sex scenes.) It will be interesting to see how Quinn, Blay and Layla interact with each other after the events in LR.

Oh, how could I forget?! Lassiter was awesome in this book and I hope that he will follows in Rhev's footsteps as a non-bother that gets his own book.

So over all Lover Reborn was a great step up from the last book and I can't wait to see what the future for the series holds. As long as Ward keeps up the great writing I will ALWAYS read the next book in this series.

I read a great post by GraveTells about the future of BDB that Ward shared during a book signing. 

Follow the link below to read more.

Sneak peek at what's in store for the Black Dagger Brotherhood post-Lover Reborn

Review: Lover Unleashed

Lover Unleashed

by J.R. Ward

Black Dagger Brotherhood #9

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional rol of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side... and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.
When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can - and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night - like vampires - he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female whoe marks both his body and his soul.
As the two find so much more than an erotic connenction, the human and vampire worlds collide... just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

REVIEW:

WOW. Where to start. (Must remember NO SPOILERS). This might have been Payne's book but it seemed more like Vishous volume 2. There was a lot of V in this one and when there's V you know Butch is not far behind.

Since there was so much of V, let's talk about him first. He was on an emotional rollercoaster in this one. And he took Butch and Jane with him for a ride. Speaking of Jane (Boooooo!) I'm still mad over Ward's choice for V and Butch's shellans. I think those two guys have more chemistry together. (signs)

Payne and Manny is a good fit and I can't wait to see what their future holds, especially for Manny. Ok moving on to keep from having spoilers....

Aww poor Qhuinn, there was more heart ache for him in this one. It seems that Ward is going to string us along a bit more before we get to see if Qhuinn and Blay get together or not. Also there was some scenes with Qhuinn and Layla. Again I'm moving on before I say too much...

Anyway, before I started reading this one I thought how many more books could Ward really get out of this series. As great as the series is, there is just so much you can do once you get to a point in a series to where it's time to wrap it up. BUT the Warden has breathed new life into the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by bring in the rouge group of vampire warriors, Band of Bastards . I think the bastards will be a great addition to the future plot of the story. And with them in the picture there was less baby powder in this one, which was getting old. The Lessers was in the background like in the earlier books, which I liked.

There was another new character in Lover Unleashed. José de la Cruz's new partner, Thomas "Veck" DelVecchio. Veck is a young detective working a serial killer case throughout the book. Veck will actually be in the next Fallen Angels book by J.R. Ward, Envy.

I don't know how Ward does it but she does an awesome job at weaving several story lines with a single book and she had them going on in this one. I am very excited to see where the series is going with all the new characters.