Tina's Reading Books

This is book #6 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

Phury has been duly anointed as the Primale (love that term!) and is back at the mansion with his first mate Cormia. Except it has been months and they still have not yet consummated the...whatever it is they have. Phury spends his time in a haze of self loathing and increasing amounts of red smoke and Cormia spends her time in her room, alone trying to adjust to life on the other side.

Meanwhile, John Matthew is having fantasies of Xhex. Qhuinn, whose glymera family rejects him for a physical "deformity" (two different color eyes) hides his pain in anonymous sex and a facade on nonchalance. While Blaylock tries to simply be there for his friends. But the three are thrown into flux after a vicious encounter with their nemesis, Lash, who becomes badly wounded during the altercation, bringing down the wrath of ...well...Wrath and the glymera.

At ZeroSum, we find out some new information about Rhev whose use of his own drug of choice, dopamine, has been amped up greatly in order to suppress his sympath nature. And Xhex might just be buying what John Matthew is selling.

On the Brotherhood front.... interestingly not a lot. Zsadist is a basket case because Bella's pregnancy is a difficult one and he is worried about Phury's increasing drug use.

And on the lesser front, there is a new lesser featured front and center in this book, a runty southern Good ol' boy. But that is the least of the lesser revelations, the Omega has a son and we find out who it is...hint: it is someone we already know.

I had heard rumbles that JR Ward was moving her series into a darker direction, a little less paranormal romance and a little more dark urban fantasy. This book, imo, seem to bear those rumbles out. On the spine of her other BDB books they are noted as being a 'Signet Paranormal Romance.' But this one is noted as a 'Signet Novel.' I have no problem with her changing the focus of her book since frankly the romance element in Lover Unbound and this one have been less than great and were pretty much eclipsed by the the other plotlines around them.

I don't need these books to be romance in order to enjoy them. I adore Lynn Viehl's Darkyn series and I think it is great disservice to her and those books to market them as romance, because imo, they'll do nothing but disappoint a reader who is reading them through a romance lens. And I think this series may be headed that way. If a reader is looking to this book to be Phury's story --- his turn at the great romance that Wrath, Rhage and Zsadist got--- then I think they'll be disappointed.

My thoughts on this book

Loved:
John Matthew/Blay/Qhuinn: This was the plotline in the book that I was always impatient to get back to. A brotherhood of another sort is developing between these three great friends and it is a treat to read about it. Ward does a great job of pulling the reader into the thoughts and anxieties of these three. I felt for Qhuinn and his rejection by his family. I continue to hurt for John Matthew's need for Tohr. The confrontation with Lash and the fall out from that is the stuff of high drama and simply clicks on all cylinders.


Zsadist: I continue to love him. I know some people will probably think he was being harsh and a little selfish with Phury in this book, but I think it is important to remember that not so long ago Zsadist was more than a little fucked up himself. And it takes more than just a year of love and happiness with a woman to wipe out over 100 years of enslavement and rape. Phury wanted Zsadist to acknowledge Phury's rescue of him and to thank him. But Zsadist himself is still in a very fragile place and he's a glass half empty kinda guy. He is positive Bella is going to die in childbirth (or should I say young-birth?) so he isn't sure he can thank Phury for his part in giving Zsadist a piece of heaven when he know in a few months he'll be in hell all over again. Better to never have loved and lost is Zsadst's motto, I guess. But when Bella doesn't die and the baby does live, Zsadist thanks Phury in the most beautiful way of all.

The Brothers: What very, very,very little we saw of them in this book was great. The scene where Lassiter appears with a gift was pure BDB old Skool. They were bantering sarcastically with he quips flying fast and Phurious. At that point I realized what was missing in this book, the camaraderie that was featured so heavily in the others. Also, the very end when Nalla was born and they all appear to Phury so that Zsadist can ask Phury to be the godfather. Just a lovely scene.


Liked:
Rhev: I can see we are gearing up for Rhev's own book. I liked the little extra glimpses we got into Rhev. Although I didn't see the need for the added complication of that Princess person. Just struck me as odd and lewd. But I want to learn more about his bodyguards Trez and iAm (yes, that is his name with the little 'i' big 'A').

Lassiter: I think he'll be an excellent addition. I want to see more.


Disliked:
Phury/Cormia. Don't get me wrong. I love Phury. He is a brother so I automatically love him. Cormia...eh...whatever. She seems like such a cipher. Just there. The two of them together is the anti-chemistry. They just didn't work on any level for me. None. They seem so isolated from each other and from the brothers. At one point they realize they are in love with each other and I scratch my head and wonder why. It seems as if during the book they barely spoke to each other. Yeah, there were a couple of hot sexy encounters but truthfully, I don't see how they could have fallen in love. Cormia seemed to have more conversations with John Matthew than she did with Phury.

Lessers. The new twist notwithstanding, I find the lessers to be quite a buzzkill. In fact they are quite tedious. We know they want to kill the vamps. Ok, so what? Yawn. I find myself skipping their passages and not feeling as if I missed out on anything.

Lack of Brothers: Wrath and Zsadist were the only two brothers who had any sort of presence in this book. I don't think Rhage made an appearance until somewhere in the middle and even then I don't think he said a word. In past books we had V, Phury and Butch as this little group and in this one, V and Butch are nowhere to be seen. Doc Jane, the invisible ghost was more visible that Rhage, Butch and V put together. Also, I question why Cormia had to be so isolated? She was with Bella for a bit, but Bella was on bed rest and couldn't go anywhere. Where were the other women? Beth, Mary and Marissa were also MIA. One of he things that makes these books so great is the interaction of the brothers and their spouses with each other. The sense of community and family. But that was sorely missed here.

I can't say that I 100% loved this book. I didn't. I was disappointed in many ways but also I am intrigued in the direction she's taking this. Like Phury, I am addicted. Unlike him, I don't think I'll be giving it up any time soon.