Lover at Last: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood

4.5 StarsWarning! This review does contain spoilers for earlier books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.I feel like I have been waiting for this story for ages! Ever since I read Qhuinn and Blay's first kiss in Lover Enshrined, I have been hankering for them to get their HEA. These two vampire warriors put all of us BDB fans through a ton of angst over the whole "will-they or won't they" storyline. But, as with many highly anticipated books, I was a little nervous about my reaction to this one. Thankfully, besides a few missteps, I thought Lover At Last was a well-written and action-packed addition to this wonderful series and should make most Qhuay fans very happy!This book starts very soon after the tumultuous events of Lover Reborn. The world of the Brotherhood is changing rapidly and danger seems to be around every corner with the treasonous glymera, the Band of Bastards, and the continuing threat of the Omega and his band of lessers. Like with most books in this series, there are a ton of things going on at one time. The cast is extremely huge and it can be difficult to keep things organized. So, for this review, I am going to assess each plotline separately in order to get my thoughts out and avoid spoiling things too badly.First and foremost, we have the Qhuinn/Blaylock romance. I have to say that it was great to see male/male romance take center stage in a mainstream series and I admire Ward's determination to make sure it happened. This book, I believe, is Qhuinn's story above all. Long-time readers have seen him develop from a mouthy pre-trans to an abandoned child to a brave, selfless warrior. Flashbacks and inner thoughts really showcase the guy's journey to the man he is today and what a hell of a time he has had growing up. I think earlier books have allowed readers to understand Blay's feelings for Qhuinn so it makes sense that the bulk of the story would concentrate elsewhere though I liked seeing his relationship with his family.In terms of the romance, I think I got everything I wanted. The chemistry between these two is just as well-written and obvious as the first time they walked onto the scene. There is a steady dose of angst and humor that is commonly associated with them. And it was nice to see how much they have meant to each other since they were kids. I have to really give props to Ward for having the gumption to go for the full, detailed male/male love scenes. While they were not the best I've ever read, I think they were appropriately hot and well-developed. And I can't not mention the super emotional ending that had me crying my eyes out at two in the morning. Well done, Ms. Ward!Next, we have Layla who, if fans remember from the last book, just went through her needing with Qhuinn and is now pregnant. Unfortunately, things do not seem to be going well with her health which is causing some major drama for her and the main couple. I will admit that I was not a huge fan of Layla's when she was first introduced, but I never hated her as much some others in the BDB community did. So, maybe that is why I can easily say she impressed me in this book. She really stepped it up in terms of development and strength of character. I think her emergence also shows how sheltered the Chosen were before Phury came along and that it is going to take time for them to adjust to their new lives. Plus I love the Layla/Xcor dynamic that we see more of in this book!And, speaking of Xcor, I have to mention the Band of Bastards and their continuing effort to overthrow Wrath and the Brotherhood. I am really becoming more intrigued by them and their mission. They are ruthless and seemingly cruel, but there were moment in this book where I saw hints of vulnerability come from them that makes me think things aren't always what they seem. Xcor is probably my favorite of the group and I really want to see him get his own story soon.Two characters that have been on the sidelines of the BDB books are Trez and iAm, the Shadow brothers who used to work for Rehvenge. I love that JR Ward is putting them into the spotlight because I have always been interested in them. It was cool to read about the Shadow subculture and how they are similar and different than regular vampires. Plus I adore reading well-written sibling relationships and Trez and iAm were great examples of that.The only subplot that I had trouble with in Lover At Last was the one involving Assail, the European transplant who seems to be following in Rehvenge's footsteps a little bit. I will admit that there were times I got bored with this story and I started skimming through those chapters. But, things did start to pick up by the halfway mark and I am left with quite a few questions involving his overall motives and his relationship with the very intriguing Sola.Lover At Last does a good job of continuing the overall storyline of the series by giving most characters a brief appearance and building this already complex world. Overall, I liked this book and its many plots. I did get a bit annoyed with all the jumping around, but I think that has to do with my personal preference rather than the writing style. Can't wait to see what JR Ward has in store for the BDB clan next!

Lover at Last...indeed! I felt like I would either love this book or really hate it. I loved it. Although, I do have a few thing that annoyed me, which I'll mention at the end of the review. I enjoyed the story so much that my annoyance was mild. Where a LOT of things going on in this book. Leave it to the Warden to show development with many characters at once, which was good and bad. As always, she's is laying the ground work for future books. I'll try to touch on every story line just a bit so that you get the full picture of how many stories were going on. I apologize in advance, because this is a long review. I tried to keep it short and sweet, but I found it impossible to do so.I loved Blay and Quinn together, they were the main focus of the book, even with so many other things evolving at the same time. Those books of focusing only on the couple are long gone. Their story was a tad predictable, but still enjoyable regardless. We, the fans, have been waiting on this story so long, I was hoping for a lot and J.R.Ward delivered. We get to see them both deal with their stubbornness when it comes to revealing their feelings, their assumptions with each others statuses, and their insecurities. Throw in pregnant Layla and Blay's boyfriend Saxton into the mix just to make everything a bit more messy. I also enjoyed that we got to see even more into Quinn's past which was useful in understanding why he acts the way he does now. Not to mention, those bedroom scenes were not only very hot, but also very x-rated. Those scenes were done with finesse, but if you can't take reading about two men, just skip those parts.I'm not really sure if I like the new guy, Assail. He was mentioned in book 10 , Lover Reborn, as his home is where the assassination attempt on Wrath took place. I feel like the Warden is trying to make him bad boy turning somewhat good, yet still bad. He is a bad guy, period. He selling drugs with the Lessers, and it's clear he has no real moral compass. He's all about his money, end of story. It seemed odd and out of character for him to go for non-vampire Sola, but she is also bad girl of sorts herself. I can tell their relationship will be dysfunctional but aren't almost all the the BDB couplings? What I anticipate happening with Assail and Sola sort of what reminds me of what happened to Revenge, aka the Reverend. We all know he's bad to the bone, but since he's aligned with he brotherhood and met his mate, he's sort of good now too, Even though Assail doesn't want to take sides, over time I can see him becoming a powerful ally to Wrath and the Brothers.Wrath's part of the story was cool. It was nice to him take charge again and make some significant changes. I enjoyed that fact that he and Beth seemed be a larger part of the story again. From the rumors I've heard book 12, The King, is to be about Wrath and Beth having a child. The end of this book really pushes the story in that direction, so I'll buy the rumors. If book 12 is indeed focused on Wrath and Beth, I think it that completes the circle by going back to focus on the couple that the BDB series began with.Trez and his brother Iam's story was interesting as well. To find out that Trez is betrothed to the queen of their race and is trying to escape that responsibility by making himself the into most nasty man whore he possibly can is almost comical. To top it off, I'm not sure I liked that Trez was falling all over a Chosen, but of course, I expect no less! Who knows, maybe Chosen Selena may change his ways. Since Layla was able to go her own way separate from the Chosen, I'm sure Selena will too as some point,In addition to these main story lines we get to see every Brother and Payne at some point. They all have a purpose and come together for a special occasion or two, which I won't mention, I don't want to spoil it for you.Now on to what I didn't like. I didn't care for some of the abbreviations that J.R. Ward used. Seriously, after reading all the books in this series, you'd think I'd know what the hell she was talking about, but I didn't. I marked several places where she'd used abbreviations that I had no clue about. For example, "UK's", "BFD", "QT", "FFS"...what the hell?!? I couldn't even figure these out using the context of the sentence or the situation.In addition to that, I almost felt like she used too much slang. Like the Brothers were trying too hard to be "rough". Maybe it was more in this book than in the past books, or maybe it was because it's been a long while since I'd read the last BDB book. Regardless, it took a minute get back into the grove of reading a lot of unfamiliar slang.If you've already invested the time to read the first 10 books, you should definitely pick this one up. I think you'll really enjoy it. If you're new to J.R. Ward, I recommend starting at the beginning. This is not one of those series that you can just pick up at any point.

I am very much in love with this series of books and the characters that J.R. Ward has created, so this review may be a little biased in a positive way. There were so many things I loved in this book, I don't know where to start. I guess that first off, the scene with Quinn and Z in the plane was one of my favorite action scenes in the series! It was so exciting and fun to read. I won't give any spoilers, but I feel like that scene gave this book life and kept it exciting!I loved the romantic drama in this book! Quinn and Blay have had such an interesting relationship over the series. Quinn is such a fantastic and likeable character (aren't they all?), and I am thrilled that he finally gets his due in this book. I do sometimes feel like Blay doesn't have the same character depth that Quinn does but that's fine, it's a small complaint. I also really enjoyed Layla's character development, although I am unsure about how J.R. Ward is going to tackle her love interest in a future book. I am a little skeptical that it can done in a way that is believable. We will see. As for the political drama in this book, I loved it! I am glad that J.R. Ward has taken the story into this direction. It is interesting and fresh. It also keeps all the characters that we have grown to love involved in the story and the action. Can't wait for the next book. Have already read the series twice, and could easily read it again.

J'attendais ce tome ci avec tellement d'impatience !! Et j'ai été conquise :) Le couple est touchant, et tellement sexy !! J'avais hâte de voir comment elle allait pouvoir tourner le scènes osées sachant que cette fois elles mettaient en scène deux hommes, et ce fût une grande réussite !

As with all the other books in the series, you are drawn in from the first sentence in the book. The characters are played out in front of you, you can feel their emotions, you can hear their voices and you know that this, like the others, is a good read.There were times when it made me sad. Lots of sub plots, lots of will they/wont they? Times when you really wanted to bang characters heads together, alongside the times when you wanted to laugh out loud. Ok for some this wasn't the best book in the series, but I like to be entertained, and this book did just that.I have eagerly waited for Qhuin and Blay to get together and was happy that they did in the end, despite so many misunderstandings. I felt for both of them. I loved Blay's parents, their acceptance of his sexual preferences and how they are so far from the norm of the Glymera. I enjoyed the sub plots that intertwined through the story and would love to see the shadow's story develop further as well as Xcor and Layla.Overall it wasn't the best of the series, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Ancora una volta la Ward ha fatto un lavoro meraviglioso e non ha deluso le aspettative. Il tema BL mi faceva temere un pochino ma la scrittura è fluida e la storia è di una naturalezza incredibile. Forse, se proprio devo trovare una pecca, mi è sembrato che il finale sia stato un po' troppo affrettato. Probabilmente sarebbe stato meglio togliere qualche pagina alle altre storie di contorno e dedicarne qualcuna in più al finale. Ma, tutto sommato, non è dispiaciuto nel complesso e le ultime pagine sono state così belle che le ho rilette diverse volte. CONSIGLIATISSIMO

Como todas las novelas de j.r.ward es magnifica esta escritora cada novela mejora la anterior, cada vez sus personajes son mas complejos y su literatura es superior, me encanta, ojala no tardaran tanto en traducirlas al castellano, y tambien las que tiene sobre los angeles caidos, que desgraciadamente en español solo han traducido las dos primeras y creo que ya va por la cuarta o quinta de esa saga, hay varias personas en los blogs de esta escritora que preguntan por la continuacion de esta serie, desgrciadamente la editorial no esta por la labor