The Shadows (Black Dagger Brotherhood #13) by J.R. Ward - Betrayed by a Breakfast Cereal

Blurb…

Two brothers bound by more than blood fight to change a brutal destiny in the heart-wrenching new novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by #1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward.

Trez “Latimer” doesn’t really exist. And not just because the identity was created so that a Shadow could function in the underbelly of the human world. Sold by his parents to the Queen of the S’Hsibe as a child, Trez escaped the Territory and has been a pimp and an enforcer in Caldwell, NY for years- all the while on the run from a destiny of sexual servitude. He’s never had anyone he could totally rely on... except for his brother, iAm.

iAm’s sole goal has always been to keep his brother from self-destructing- and he knows he’s failed. It’s not until the Chosen Serena enters Trez’s life that the male begins to turn things around... but by then it’s too late. The pledge to mate the Queen’s daughter comes due and there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no negotiating.

Trapped between his heart and a fate he never volunteered for, Trez must decide whether to endanger himself and others- or forever leave behind the female he’s in love with. But then an unimaginable tragedy strikes and changes everything. Staring out over an emotional abyss, Trez must find a reason to go on or risk losing himself and his soul forever. And iAm, in the name of brotherly love, is faced with making the ultimate sacrifice...

WARNING! This review is loaded with spoilers explaining why I feel angry and betrayed by this story. Stop here if you don't want to know, in detail, what happens to Trez and Selena.

No, I'm serious - there are a ton of spoilers here.

Still reading? You sure you want to do this?

Last chance!

Okay, but you were warned!

All. Bets. Are. Off!

I have such incredibly mixed feelings about this book, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get them sorted out. Sometimes a story will gut me, and The Shadows did just that. In truth, I don’t remember a time I cried myself to sleep over a book – but I did this time. It was at moments laugh out loud funny, window fogging steamy, sweetly romantic, and profoundly tragic.

I always say that an author should write a story the way that story comes to him or her, and I stand by that. However, that doesn’t always mean I’ll like the story they felt compelled to tell. Well, the story as The WARDen felt compelled to tell it was done so brilliantly, but this is one of those times when I did not like the story itself. This is not how the Black Dagger Brotherhood series started out, and not since Phury and Cormia’s book have I felt so cheated out of a happily ever after!

The first 60ish% of the story was amazing. I loved every bit of it and had been thinking, “THIS is the way it should be! THIS is what made me fall in love with the Brotherhood so many years ago!!” Rhage’s one-liners, Lassiter’s eccentric, fallen self, V and Jane’s quickie in the clinic, and Manny and Rhage’s trip to Caldie, everything read like the original books and I was thrilled, and captivated, was falling in love with my Boys all over again! I was basking in all that Caldwell happiness… until it happened and I was devastated.

In a blog post explaining why things went the way they did (click here to read the full post), The WARDen said that if she tries to write a story any other way than the way her Rice Krispies give it to her, it shuts down. Goes blank. She either tells it the way it comes to her, or it can’t be told. I get where she's coming from, and honestly, as I kept reading late into the night because I needed a miracle… something to fix the unfixable, even as Trez was up on that pyre with the body of his beloved Selena, I waited. Needing something, anything to make this right. At the same time, I knew if she pulled a rabbit out of her hat and presto'd the happy ending for Trez and Selena, I would have been disappointed and still miffed that Wellsie died and Jane is now Ghost, MD.

On one hand, I gotta hand it to her; she stayed true to her Rice Krispies and made it real. On the other hand... it became painfully clear to me that when I'm reading to escape and waiting for - and expecting -the happily ever after that’s going to give me hope that true love exists and can overcome any obstacle… I don't want real. Real. Sucks!

And, if this truly is the way Trez and Selena’s HEA was 'meant' to play out, it should have played out in a different series, in a different world. A world where no one expects happily ever afters…A world where it's okay for an author to spit on romance.

The bottom line…

In the real world things can be horrific and unfair and brutally tragic, which is why I read romance - I want to escape the reality that can be ugly when loved ones pass from our lives. This book is not true romance - not the kind I've come to look forward to from this author. Sure, iAm and the Princess got hooked up, but if that’s supposed to make me feel better, it's a failure of EPIC proportions! Their HEA sucked. They got the shaft in the happily ever after department and it in no way made up for or eased unforgivable debacle that was Trez and Selena’s story.

Am I ready to throw in the BDB Towel? Nope! Well, not yet anyway. I’m still too invested in the Brothers to turn my back now, but as I said, all bets are off. This book scared the hell out of me because the Black Dagger Brotherhood is no longer a series I can count on to make me forget the ugliness of the real world, if only for a little while. I will always be on guard, always wondering who will be offered up as a sacrifice to the all mighty Rice Krispies next.

And that is every bit as heartbreaking as Ward's desecration of Trez and Selena’s not-at-all happy happily ever after.

Click here to purchase The Shadows at Amazon

The King (The Black Dagger Brotherhood #12) by J.R. WARD

After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle—with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything—and everyone—at risk.

Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response—or the distance it creates between them.

The question is, will true love win out... or tortured legacy take over?

Keepin' this short because no words I can think of can do The King justice: If you loved the earlier stories which were filled with passion and romance and happily ever afters obtained through faith, trust, honor, dignity, soul cleansing pain, and making compromises for the one you love because you love them above all else... you'll be happy to know that The King has all of these things, and more!

Purchase The King at Amazon

JR WARD Black Dagger Brotherhood eBook Sale!

The preorder price of THE KING has been dropped from $14.99 to $11.99!

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EDITED: As of 3/30/14 The following books are no longer $1.99. And in preparation for Tuesday's highly anticipated release of JR WARD's The King, Kindle and Nook eBooks 1-7 have been price dropped to just $1.99 each for a VERY limited time!! 

Scroll down for a description of each book.

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The King:  Book 12 in the series.

Long live the King…

After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle--with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything--and everyone--at risk.

Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response--or the distance it creates between them.

The question is, will true love win out... or tortured legacy take over?

Dark Lover: Book 1 in the series.

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

Lover Eternal: Book 2 in the series.

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…

Lover Awakened: Book 3 in the series.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion and terror his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful female from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for each other begins to overtake them, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past and find a future with her....

Lover Revealed: Book 4 in the series.

Butch O’Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex–homicide cop, he’s the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world. He’s got nothing to lose. His heart belongs to a female vampire, an aristocratic beauty who’s way out of his league. If he can’t have Marissa, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers....

Fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he’s found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back. But even her love may not be enough to save him....

Lover Unbound: Book 5 in the series.

Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous, son of the Bloodletter, possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a pretrans growing up in his father’s war camp, he was tormented and abused. As a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, he has no interest in love or emotion, only the battle with the Lessening Society. But when a mortal injury puts him in the care of a human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels him to reveal his inner pain and taste true pleasure for the first time—until a destiny he didn’t choose takes him into a future that cannot include her....

Lover Enshrined: Book 6 in the series.

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—six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. And now, a dutiful twin must choose between two lives... Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood's bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished. As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself- she sees the emotionally scarred male behind all his noble responsibility. But while the war with the Lessening Society grows more grim, and tragedy looms over the Brotherhood's mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love.

Lover Avenged: Book 7 in the series.

Rehvenge is used to living in the shadows and dealing with the roughest night walkers around—including the Black Dagger Brotherhood. As his secret identity as a sympath is threatened, he turns to the only light in his ever darkening world—a female vampire untouched by corruption, who’s the only thing standing between him and eternal damnation.

 

The Story of Son by J.R. Ward

The Story of Son is found in the anthology, Dead After Dark, and was my introduction into the Black Dagger Brotherhood world a few years ago. After reading Michael and Claire’s story, I had to run out and buy the entire series and it turned out to be my favorite PNR series of all time.

There’s something so compelling about the race of vampires that the WARDen, J.R. Ward, has created. They are incredibly strong males and females, both physically and emotionally, though sometimes it takes awhile for them to find and accept that inner strength.

In the Story of Son  we meet Son, a 68 year old male who is half human, half vampire. We learn that he has been imprisoned by his mother, Miss Eliza Leeds, in the basement of the estate they live on, since he was 12 years old. Once a year his mother has a female brought to the house and held captive for a few days so Son can feed.

Claire Stroughton, Miss Leeds’ family attorney, is the latest “victim” brought to the house to feed Son, then be released like all the other women who have been brought to him over the years. Claire finds such tenderness, such innocence and passion in Son that she can’t help but want to rescue him from the heartache and imprisonment he’s endured for so long, and spend the rest of her life loving him.I was so very happy when Claire took the first step toward making him feel like a real person and  not just an animal meant to be caged up when she gave him a real name; Michael.

One thing that readers of the BDB series will likely question immediately is Michael being able to survive off of feeding only once a year, when we know the warrior vampires require feeding much more often. There’s no indication that Michael is, or will ever be, a Brother. As I said before, he’s a civilian vampire and a half human one at that. I’ve never seen it addressed anywhere by the WARDen as to how often a half human, civilian vampire needs to feed, so it might be very possible that this isn’t an inconsistency at all.

Over the years the WARDen has said she might bring Son/Michael into the BDB world, officially, by introducing his young to the series. I can't tell you how much I'm hoping she'll do exactly that.

Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward

“The quick and the dead are all the same.
Everyone’s just looking for home.” - LASSITER

(Spoilers are marked)

Hear ye! Hear ye!
Leteth it be known that on this day, March 31st, 2012, I solemnly vow that I shall never doubt the WARDen again!

So, now that that's out of the way, my thoughts on the book...
I wasn’t sure she could do it. Pffffft! Silly me.

I didn't think she could pull it off. *sigh* Whatever was I thinking?

And had I had actually considered skipping this book and not reading it at all? Yes, yes I had. *hangs head in shame*

In fact, I've spent the past year angsting and fretting and worried and crying and angry… and over what? That Wellsie would be replaced? That the whole ‘Wellsie can’t move on until you do…’ storyline would feel too contrived? That I'd have to sit through more Qhuay drama than any human being should be forced to endure? Yes, in fact, I worried about all of those things and much, much more, but like I told my Goodreads friends in the JR WARD BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD GROUP, never, ever, will I doubt the WARDen again!

Okay, let's get down to business...spoiler thoughts:

Tohr and Autumn and their story: I honestly wasn't sure what to think about No'One because we'd never been given enough of her character to form any real impressions. I'm thrilled to say that I think she's all kinds of awesome! I loved that she didn't try to hide behind her mistakes, that she came out, faced them, admitted to them, and did everything she could to make things right.

And Tohr... what a male of worth! Amazing, honorable, hot... But wow... I felt so much pain for him. The WARDen did a great job, I think, of showing that it was not easy for him to let go. That it tore him apart to even think about it. In this one book I was able to feel what he'd been living for the past years since Wellsie's death, and I needed to feel those emotions in order to buy this story.

This was a tough one for me, because I was very upset, very worried about Wellsie being replaced, worried that it would be a 'they were never meant to be' couple... but I think the WARDen did a fantastic job of handling a difficult subject and she did it with compassion, understanding, and a great deal of love and respect all the way around.

That's not to say that I'm not sad still. Even after I finished the book, I cried for Tohr and Wellsie, and their baby, Tohrment, son of Tohrment, and for all that had been taken from them. I'm truly not sure if I'll ever be okay with it, but it is what it is.

John Matthew and Xhex: I always thought it was a little easy for JM to accept Xhex as a fighter. It just seemed too simple for a bonded male to be able to send his mate out into the field and be okay with it. That's why their story in Lover Reborn, I felt, was perfect. We finally were able to see how JM really felt, and how his feelings affected Xhex. I really appreciated this glimpse into their relationship and am thrilled for the way things worked out for them.

The Band of Bastards: I can't say enough about them. I hated them, despised them, sat imagining all kinds of horrible ways to kill them, and loved every single minute of it! I can't wait to read more, especially about Xcor. He's the Bastard I'm most excited about!

Assail: Hot damn! I'm digging Assail... I wonder if he's part Sympath and that's how he and Xhex knew each other?! He's a male to watch!

Qhuinn and Blay: Over the years I've become ambivilant about their story. I had reached the point where I just wanted their book so it would end already... be put out of my misery! I thought if I had to spend even a moment more watching their crap I'd rather drink bleach!!!

Yes, well, that's all changed. In one scene of several paragraphs, Qhuinn took me from loathing them to adoring them, and I am so, so stoked that their book is next!!!!

Layla: I still say she's a female of worth who's just misunderstood.

The epilogue: You can't get much more Harlequin Presents than this without changing publishers.

What made this book all kinds of brilliant...

The entire message of this book is summed up by Qhuinn, in one of the best, most poignant scenes of any Black Dagger Brotherhood book ever, and had me throwing fist punches and shouting, YES!:

All that simple-and-easy ended as he turned around. In the library, through the open doors, he saw Blay and Saxton talking. And then his cousin stepped in and pulled Blay into his arms. As the pair of them stood together, body on body, Qhuinn took a deep breath and felt a little death of his own come to him.

He guessed this was how it ended for them.

Separate lives, separate futures.

Hard to think that they had started out inseparable—

Abruptly, Blay’s blue stare found his.

And what Qhuinn saw in it caused him to falter: Love shone out of that face, unadulterated love untempered by the shyness that was very much a part of his reserve.

Blay didn’t look away.

And for the first time… neither did Qhuinn.

He didn’t know whether the emotion was about his cousin—it probably was—but he’d take it: He stared right back at Blaylock and let everything he had in his heart show in his face.
He just let that shit fly.

Because there was a lesson in this Fade ceremony tonight: You could lose the ones you loved in the blink of an eye—and he was willing to bet, when it happened, you weren’t thinking about all the reasons that could have kept you apart. You thought of all the reasons that kept you together.

And, no doubt, how you wished you’d had more time. Even if you’d had centuries…

When you were young, you thought time was a burden, something to be discharged as fast as possible so you could be grown-up. But it was such a bait-n-switch—when you were an adult, you came to realize that minutes and hours were the single most precious thing you had.

No one got forever. And it was a fucking crime to waste what you were given.

Enough, Qhuinn thought. Enough with the excuses, and the avoidance, and the trying to be someone, anyone else.

Even if he got shanked, even if his precious little ego and his dumb-ass little heart got shattered into a million pieces, it was time to stop the bullshit.

It was time to be a male.

As Blay started to straighten, like a message had been received, Qhuinn thought, That’s right, buddy.

Our future has come.

AMEN Qhuinn!!! And the future doesn't get better than that!

One final thought...

And in closing, I feel the need to point out that I'm thrilled that I am not the one who has to change the sheets in the Brothers' rooms at the Mansion. You couldn't pay me enough.

Just sayin'....