Lover Mine: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood [Mass Market Paperback]

 

 

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**Spoiler Free**
In trying to review LOVER MINE two words keep popping into my head; Amazing and Damn... just damn. How can I honestly put into words how much I loved this book and how sad I am that it's over? Following a year long wait, JR Wards 8th instalment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood finally made its way into my eager little hands. At 512 pages LOVER MINE is huge (with a fantastic cover) and I'm happy to report that it does not disappoint, in fact with John Mathews long awaited story the WARDen positively shines.

Fans are given exactly what we've been waiting for with ever evolving storylines, multiple POV's, surprises, tragedies, plot twists, arse-kicking action,(Xhex much) humour and oh the romance. Completed here with erotic, blush-worthy love scenes and of course the inevitable struggle and heartache. I can tell you that this story brought me to tears more than once and not for the reasons you might expect. All of this awesomeness has been wrapped up with Wards unique style of writing, complete with product placements, rap music, unique street language, multiple f-bombs and a whole new batch of cool Wardisms I can't wait to start using, you feel me.

The series is brought full circle within this book with loose ends cleverly tied together and resolutions brought to story threads we've had growing and brewing since the beginning. Sadly I realized that even with Ward continuing indefinitely JM/Darius will be the last of the original brothers to have his story told and that with this book being red, just like book 1 (DARK LOVER) she's given us book ends of a sort.

With us since the beginning, in this instalment we finally get John Mathew (and Darius`s) story. Of all the characters John is the one we have the greatest sense of and have invested the most time in, having watched him change from a scrawny, neglected and abused pre-trans into an enormous, and angry male with a ton of fricken baggage. His pairing with the half Sympath Xhex has been in the works for some time now and with her abduction in the end of LOVER AVENGED we have the perfect place to begin their story. (Which I'm not going to give away) I will say however that I was pleased to see reflections of the sweet, sensitive John we remember (only now oozing sex appeal) and witness a softer side of Xhex. As always their path to HEA is not an easy one but its fun and sexy as hell watching them open up to each other and get there.

As a whole the storyline blew my mind. With three very separate and distinct running plotlines, (which at first had me wondering, where the hell is this going?) Ward manages to merge all the puzzle pieces together into WOW, bringing us deliciously full circle. Darker and more serious than past books my only real complaint would be the lack of banter between the Brothers and the Brothers as a whole. The moments that we're given are excellent and while they're all represented to a degree (some more than others) I insatiably craved more and truly missed them. Qhuinn and Blay, each now with their own POV manage to somewhat fill the gap who along with Saxton bring a different degree of heartache, sexiness and hot mess to the mix. Lash is also back as the Lessening societies leader and surprisingly awesome here as he takes things to a whole new gooey level of evil.

In the end Ward leaves us smiling with contentment, with new characters emerging and events opening up for future stories that I can't wait to discover. I just wish it wasn't so far away because I find that after getting just 3 days with the BDB its already time to leave them again and I'm not quite ready to let them go yet. See ya next year boys, stay safe Cheers!

Oh and in case you were wondering Ward dedicates this book to John Mathew (which was what started my first crying jag)
Dedicated to you:
I cannot believe you and I have come so far.
Your book, is not a goodbye, however-just another beginning.
But you're used to that.........

Combines action with vampires and that dark desire stuff you know you want to read. It was a real page turner and now I have to go find the rest of the books in this series. Later

Wow - just, wow!!

This book totally knocked my socks off!

After the cliff-hanger in Lover Avenged, I could hardly wait to start Lover Mine...and it did not disappoint!

**SPOILER WARNING!

Xhex is one tough chick! I love her!! Lover Avenged ended with Lash kidnapping Xhex, and this one continues right where we last left off. John Matthew is devastated, thinking that Lash has surely tortured and killed Xhex. He gets her name written in the old language tattooed across the back of his shoulders, just as the Brothers would have done during a Mating Ceremony. In his case, John Matthew does it as a memorial to Xhex. It is heartbreaking, and you can feel his pain.

John Matthew actually succeeds in finding Lash's lair but, because of the spell that Lash has put in place, no one can see or hear Xhex in the bedroom. She reaches out and touches John Matthew's face, and he reacts to her touch and covers her hand with his own. He can feel her, but he cannot see her. He dismisses this as being just his imagination. He sees her blood, and he is certain that he is too late.

Luckily for Xhex, Lash is going through a sort of transformation which has weakened his spell. She is able to escape the barrier and heads for her basement apartment. John Matthew finds her there, barely alive. John Matthew lovingly takes care of Xhex and moves her to the Brotherhood's mansion.

I was captivated by the developments in John Matthew's and Xhex's relationship. They are totally hot together, and Ward has made another sexy duo! Xhex is the perfect partner for John Matthew, and not just because of her mind-reading ability (which comes in handy when you are with someone who can't speak!). They bring out the best in each other, and they love each other just as they are.

I did a lot of weeping in this one! Keep that Kleenex box handy!! Here is just a sampling:

Xhex to John Matthew: "You're not half the male you could be because of what was done to you. You're twice what anyone else is because you survived."

John Matthew to Xhex: "Yes," he mouthed. "I would hold you up. I will ever hold you up and hold you dear, lover mine."

It was nice to see John Matthew lose the attitude that he developed in Lover Avenged. Patching things up with Tohr was a long time coming.

I had a feeling where the sub-plot of Darius and Tohr was heading, and I was right! Nice tie-in, Ward! But you completely blindsided me with No-One!

I was also totally clueless about the Eliahu Rathboone sub-plot! I did not see that one coming, and I am really intrigued where that one is going to lead! It smells like trouble!

Qhuinn is still resisting his urge where Blaylock is concerned, and there are a couple of intense scenes with the two of them. I feel so sorry for Blay, poor guy!

Once again, we end on a cliff-hanger with Wrath sparring with Payne. Tragedy strikes, and we wait with baited breath to see what happens next!

Again, I noticed some technical issues with this audiobook. On several occasions, I could actually hear the technician say "ok" before Frangione starts narrating. Other than that, it was fine. I love Frangione. His narration is impeccable! I could listen to him all day long!!

MY RATING: 5 stars!! Superb book! I could not put it down!!

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5.0 out of 5 stars lover mine indeed.
One of the best books of the series. I really enjoyed the story and events that took place in this book. I just didnt want it to end.

Published 16 months ago by J. Hanson

5.0 out of 5 stars Lover Mine
Loved It!!!

John Matthews finally got his story and a lot of other stories were pulled together.

Published 21 months ago by MC Stevenson

5.0 out of 5 stars Another fantastic book from JR Ward!
Anyone who enjoys the Black Dagger Brotherhood series will love this book. I couldn't stop reading it. Read more

Published 23 months ago by OBuck

5.0 out of 5 stars Gods blessed JR Ward
JR Ward is fantastic... And this story is absolutely incredible. Long life to the Brothers! After 9 books, i can't have enough of those characters, of this world, of the sexy,... Read more

Published on May 27 2010 by Geneviève Drolet

5.0 out of 5 stars Lover Mine
This was a fantastic book I love the story and can't wait for the next one. The warriors sound sooo sexy.

Published on May 26 2010 by Linda

5.0 out of 5 stars Ward is back !
This is good reading material for all of us following the series. I found the last two books a little weak, not this one ! Read more

Published on May 17 2010 by ada

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVED IT!
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book and I am so sorry that it is over. It is very graphic which is not something I'm usually into at all, but this whole series is great, and this... Read more

Published on May 12 2010 by N. Rae

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, too graphic for me
I didn't give this book a point rating, because I'm having a hard time coming up with one. For reasons I'll get into in a minute, I didn't like LOVER MINE very much, but the book... Read more

Published on May 6 2010 by Vanessa M. Dow

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