Verily, I am heartily tired of the word verily. And conversating? What the heck is that? It's conversing; it wasn't even used as slang so it can't be excused. Nope, it's full on used in regular descriptive paragraphs.
Other than those two minor points, I am utterly in love with Lover Mine. I love John Matthew and I love how focused he is with his mate, Xhex (even if she's the one unsure of the relationship). I could feel the tension leaping off the pages; I pulsated with anticipation whenever those two were near one another. And as much as I love those two, it was Ward's trademark humor and writing style which kept me riveted. I know what I'm getting when I pick up a BDB book, and I'm never truly disappointed because Ward delivers with her pacing, her twists, and... let's face it...her sexy encounters of her Brothers and their mates. I *know* there's going to be product placement and references to current events (though even I was surprised at the Lady Gaga mention). That's all part and parcel of the series and you can choose to allow it to bother you, or go with the flow because the storytelling is so good.
I won't recount the whole plot of LM here because if you are up to book #8, you know the basics: John Matthew, our mute warrior, is desperate to find Xhex, the object of his desire once she is stolen by Evil Incarnate, Lash. The whole Lash storyline is icky (in more ways than one) but provided a good drive for JM and X to get together. Along the way the storyline veers off in many directions, the only one of which I could have done without was the Tohr/Darius plot (though it was necessary, as I came to see later). I really dislike the speech pattern used by both the "older" storylines and those on the Other Side; verily, it drives me up the wall. The glimpses into Qhuinn and Blay, however, were superb and heart-wrenching, and Payne's side story is setting us up for more drama in future books.
As this series grows, it is sad to not be able to spend time with the other Brothers and their shellans, and I missed them heartily in this book. But I realize that there's only so much that can be included at a time, and Ward honestly seemed to include as much as possible already. But in a series as fun as BDB, those are small issues when overall Lover Mine comes in as yet another great installment that provides the perfect escape. As a loyal reader, I know what I was asking for when I opened Lover Mine: a good story, strong feelings, Brotherhood banter, action, conflict, and a happy ending. Ms. Ward delivered superbly on all counts, so I'm rounding up from 4.5 stars despite my tiny quibbles.
~taminator40
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