My Black Dagger Brotherhood Fix

Lover Reborn is mainly Tohr's story: Our heartbroken Brother is having a hard time letting go of his beloved shellan Wellsie, who was killed by the Lessening Society a few books back. Normally that would be understandable and forgivable, but Tohr's inability to move on has trapped Wellsie and their young in the In Between, neither dead nor alive nor able to go on into the Fade. Resident Angel Lassiter accepts the mission to unite Tohr and No'One in order to both save Wellsie and redeem himself. But none of this goes as planned; Tohr likes No'One, but doesn't love her, and No'One still suffers from the rape that produced John Matthew's shellan, Xhex. Lots and lots of sex ensues, but Tohr resists his emotions. Come to think of it, there's more than one Lover doing some resistance work in Lover Reborn.

There are multiple stories going on in Lover Reborn besides the main focus of Tohr and No'One (hate that name, btw). We also have Xhex and John Matthew being hard-headed and stubborn, and we have Qhuinn still watching Blay from afar. There's also the stories of the BoB, with Xcor and Throe given attention and the Chosen Layla being pulled into the mix. Lots of action, lots of fighting, lots of misunderstanding.

Lover Reborn grabbed me early on when Tohr, suffering from his loss, takes Wellsie's mating gown to his bed, only to realize she'll never fill it again. Such a heartbreaking scene, one filled to the brim with emotion. I felt as though I wanted Wellsie back as much as Tohr did, and I wasn't certain that a romance with No'One was going to work. Still, Ward was able to show how sometimes there are different loves for the different stages of our lives, and Tohr was able to point out, quite rightly, that he wasn't the only damaged soul. Definitely real and gripping, and I bought it all. In fact, there wasn't a scene with Tohr that I wasn't emotionally involved in, even if I felt that No'One was a bit of a wash-out as far as personality goes. But she's so different from Wellsie that I can see how the relationship might work, and I think that's the beauty of Ward's world...people change, but they can become better.

The idea of being reborn is given much attention, and while this is ostensibly Tohr's tale, it's also Xhex and John Matthew's tale, and Layla's tale as well. I enjoyed the movement among the characters, and I am able to see how Ward is setting us up for future stories. While I missed the interaction among the Brothers, it definitely wasn't totally gone, and I understand that their stories can only be told once in full. And Lassiter? He's definitely moving towards becoming one of my all-time favorite characters. Where else are you going to find a cursing, reality-television addicted, drinking angel?

Lover Reborn wasn't perfect, but it certainly kept the pages turning as I dug into this engaging world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I made myself slow down so I could savor the stories; gotta get my fix until 2013, and this one was a big improvement in spirit and involvement over Lover Unleashed. If Tohr doesn't break your heart, you're not alive. Loved it.


~taminator40