LOVER MINE
Black Dagger Brotherhood #8
Author: J R Ward
Source: Purchased at store
- Hardcover: 528 pages
- Publisher: NAL Hardcover; 1st edition (April 27, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0451229851
- ISBN-13: 978-0451229854
SYNOPSIS:
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other – vampire warriors, defenders of their race…John Matthew has been through his vampire transition and taken to the life of the Brotherhood with a vengeance, but he still can’t shake the nightmare of his past and is unsure of his future as a warrior hero. He’s made a promise to honour the Brotherhood and their fight with the slayers at all costs, until the love of his life is kidnapped and he is forced to make a choice that could change his life and the Brotherhood’s forever…
MY THOUGHTS:
I was so excited when this finally released! I ran to the store on release day and waited until they finally unloaded it onto the shelf. I snagged it and ran as fast as I could to the checkout. Yes, that is how addicted I am to this series. I was anxious to find out how John Matthew and Xhex were going to come together and if John Matthew was going to finally figure out his past! Now that I have finished the book, I was a little disappointed in it.
First the good of the book. I loved how we got to see the King Wrath and Payne together on the Far Side. I loved their fighting and eventually their friendship. Without trying to give away a spoiler, I loved how at the end of the book, Payne finally laid eyes upon someone she thought was long ago dead. I look forward to the interaction between the two now. I loved the tender moments between John Matthew and Xhex as well. They made the couple more of a romantic couple instead of all sex and no love. It gave them depth for their relationship that they both needed. The reconnection between John Matthew and Tohr was also very touching. I was glad to see the two finally work through the problems of the past and come together like Father and Son again. It just goes to show that the past may have happened, but the future can become bright again. I loved the back story of Darius and Tohr that the author threw in to the mix. At first you wonder why we were having to read about it, but in the end, it makes perfect sense. The tension between Blay and Qhuinn also struck a new high in this book. WOW. It makes me even more anxious for their book to come out. Go Team Qhuay!
Now for the bad of the book. Where do I begin? For one thing, Xhex has always been a strong female with a smart mouth and take no shit kind of girl. She didn’t dress up, never wore makeup and sure as hell never cried. This book we see the tender side of her, and frankly, that was out of character for her. I didn’t like how the author made her sappy. I liked her strength and take charge attitude from the previous books. I was also disappointed in not getting the closure of John Matthew’s back story. We have read about him from book one and now we have to continue to wait. Enough is enough. I know authors like to stretch it out, but to me it is getting a little frustrating. The paranormal investigators were out there. They just didn’t fit into the story and it made little impact for the book. I understand it was used to set up plot for another character we will see in the future, but to me, it just didn’t fit in this book. I hated how we didn’t get to see much of the brothers either. We get to see little glances of them throughout the book, but since they have helped guide him into the man John Matthew is now, you would think we would have seen more of them through this book.
Overall, this book just didn’t live up to the excitement and anticipation I was hoping for. I, of course, will still keep reading the series and buying more of the books, but I hope the author gets her momentum back and give us more of what her loyal readers are asking for. I hope she quits torturing us, and get the action, love and speed of the first in the series back for book number nine!
MY RATING:
Very Good! I would recommend this book!
ginae65
Amy I have to agree with you on many of your points. I too waited with abated breath for the release of this book to see where it was going to take us in JM’s and Xhex life. I felt some of the situations in the book where predictable for those of us who follow the WARDEN on the side and knew of who was going to be in the book. I knew in no time who was living in the NC bed and breakfast and kept wondering when the heck all this southern biz was going to tie into the story. And it gave a few hints for the future of Payne and that even Xhex knew her from the past..it seems almost everyone knew Payne except for the most important person in her life! I feel I was reading a series of flashes in a way…this felt like a bridge book…giving you all the info you will need for future books. I too will not stop reading the series but hoping for a brighter future. Loved your review.
~gina
Felicia the Geeky Blogger
Very good review! I loved the book but I was also looking at her “sappy” moments as the fact that she wasn’t wearing her device to hold in her sympath side. Now, what that did though was make me think she should have been meaner in other parts than she was. That being said, my favorite part was the JM/Tohr and Tohr/Darius interactions. I am a little disappointed that JM did not find out his history but that makes me wonder if she is ever going to have him remember it. She might be saving that for a Tohr book which you just know has to happen at some point (though he needs to heal more first and any excuse to have more Lassiter is fine by me)! The BnB, I didn’t figure that out but I thought it was so out of place in the book. Then when I did get who it was, I thought there has to be a better way to re-introduce him. Though since he has no contact with any of them, I don’t know how that would have been done. So maybe that was a no win situation. I am curious about Payne–it does seem everyone but V pretty much knew her or met her at some point. I think Mom will pay for that one.