Lover Reborn by JR Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood #10)
Paranormal Romance
March 27, 2012
Signet

Reviewed by Mandi

Please Note: I hid the big spoilers under spoiler tags. Only click, if you want to be spoiled. I also suggest staying away from the comment section, if you do not want to read spoilers.

Initial thoughts – For those who don’t know, I love the BDB. These are my boys. For me, Lover Reborn is so much better than the previous book, Lover Unleashed. The romance, the smexy times, the supporting characters, we have much to talk about. Let’s get to it.

Tohr/No’One/Lassiter

Oh boy. Well, let’s get right to Wellsie. First let me say, while I was sad Wellsie died, I was not one of those people who was overly devastated.  Just so you know where I am coming from. But I WAS concerned about how JR Ward would portray Tohr’s grief and I was very happy with the outcome. Tohr is devastated through much of the book. He lashes out, he doesn’t always treat No’One appropriately, but I think it all felt realistic. Things aren’t great to start:

Anger boiled in his distended stomach, adding to the pressure: That fallen-from-grace aristocrat, now going by the name of No’One, was fucking back as well, granted the gift of life anew by the goddamn mother of the race.

His Wellsie?

Dead and gone. Nothing but memory and ashes.

Forevermore.

One of my favorite relationships is that of Tohr and Lassiter. We learn, that there is not only The Fade (heaven) and a hell type place, but a place called “The In Between,” where some people end up before they go to the happy Fade or to hell. Everyone has a different In Between. Unknown to Tohr, Wellsie and their baby son, are stuck in the In Between. They can’t move into the Fade until Tohr lets her go – and he is not ready. I was surprised to learn only 15 months have passed since Wellsie died. Really? However, this book does take place over a year, and I liked that.

Anyway, Wellsie is stuck, and Lassiter knows how she feels. He was once stuck in his own version of the In Between, until “The Maker” told him if he could convince Tohr to let Wellsie go, Lassiter would be free too. So Lassiter is very invested in Tohr and No’One’s relationship (he goes on a journey of his own, which I love).

I am normally not a fan of the Chosen ladies – Layla, Cormia – no thanks. But, No’One didn’t annoy like I thought she would. She is very – accepting. She is not my favorite of JR Ward’s heroines, but I didn’t dislike her. Long ago, she was abducted by a sympath during her needing, and Xhex was the result. Tohr and Darius rescued and cared for her until she gave birth, when she then committed suicide. But she ended up not necessarily dying (it is explained in the book) and dropped on the Chosen Side. She grew up very privileged. After the attack, she took a life of service. Essentially becoming “No’one.” She has a lot of her own issues to work out in this book. I wish we would have dived a little further into the real No’One, but overall I liked her.

Tohr. Can we talk about Tohr, the sexy beast? He exceeded all of my expectations. He is a warrior. His grief is intense. His frustration for not knowing how to move on is so raw. And…the amount of hand jobs he goes through. Damn it Tohr. The orgasms are free flowing in this one. Smexy approves. After hokey sex in Lover Unleashed, JR Ward gives us great romance scenes.

“Do you like what you see,” he asked in a too-deep voice.

“Yes…”

Well, didn’t that get him hard: Below his waist, his cock shot right back to attention – and damned if her eyes didn’t lock on and watch the show.

“I have other things I want to do to you,” he growled. “That could be just the beginning. If you want.”

Spoiler about No’One

I like these two together, I liked how Wellsie was dealt with. I’m not sure if I completely bought into Tohr and No’One’s true love for each other, but it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. I think more time with them together, happy and content is needed – and hopefully we see that in future books.

I adored what we get with Lassiter too. He has his smart-ass moments, but we get more depth with him. Will he get his own book? I really hope so.

JM/Xhex

They had the big supporting story. I really liked it. JM is a mated male, and obviously doesn’t want to see harm come to his female. Plus he has seen what his surrogate mother’s death has done to Tohr. Xhex on the other hand is a fighter. So they butt heads big time in this book. Xhex can’t stay home and bake cookies at night. She wants to fight lessers, and she wants to be treated as an equal. This storyline made sense and I’m glad JR Ward explored this. JM and Xhex, being my favorite couple made me giddy that they got page time anyway. Can we say yay to cabin sex? How about a little smutty quote:

Rising between her open legs, he gripped himself and began to stroke.

With a moan, she arched and rolled her hips. “Come all over me,” she said through gritted teeth.

Blay/Qhuinn/Layla

First let’s talk Qhuay. Blay and Saxton are still together (hello desk sex). But – in this one, it becomes pretty clear to both Blay and Qhuinn that they have feelings for each other. There isn’t a ton of page time devoted to this, and we all know they have feelings for each other. There is more of a somber mood surrounding these two. Qhuinn has some big things “professionally” happen to him in this book, and Blay is the very cute, proud “friend.” Since Layla feeds Qhuinn, she has become part of the Qhuinn-Blay-Layla trio. And there is a development.

Spoiler

Xcor/Throe/Layla

Oh. Good stuff here. First let me say, I loved Throe at the beginning, but by the end, he became totally overshadowed by Xcor. We get a lot of page time with Xcor. First of all we learn he is ugly. I like this..he also has very low self esteem. He wants to be king, as we learned in the previous book. He is very set on this goal. I really enjoyed his battle against Wrath and the brothers in this book. He is a villain, but I also wonder if he has much more to give to us. His true love for most of the book is his scythe, who he uses with lethal force against anyone that gets in his way. How does Layla fit in? Click spoiler if you want to know.

Spoiler time…

Assail

Oooh..a wild card. What to think about him. He is a rich drug dealer…but I feel there is so much we haven’t learned about him yet. He has ties to Wrath, but also interacts with Xcor. Very intrigued to learn more.

Lover Reborn totally entertained me. I think JR Ward does a great job with combining the main romance with all of the supporting storylines. There is so much action in this one. And her usual humor is there too. Will Qhuay be next? I really don’t know (but we supposedly find out this Saturday when she holds a book signing). I had the same happy feeling after reading Lover Mine than I did when I read “the end” with this one. While I think some won’t be totally satisfied with Wellsie, it worked for me. And Tohr could not have been more sexy.

Rating: B

Recent Reviews:
Under the Covers – 5/5
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