Lover Reborn (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 10)

Possible spoilers...beware...Once upon a time, at the beginning of the series, Ward had only planned to write 10 books total. Don't be surprised if we end up getting 10 more books. Lover Reborn finally gives Tohrment his due. Tohr is very different from his fellow brother warriors. He always came across to me as thinker and one who didn't have incredible angst. It wasn't until his mate, Wellsie was shot and killed by the brotherhood's ultimate enemy, the Omega's lessers, along with his unborn child, did he then embody his name. Wellsie, like most of the brother's mated wives, was the second half of his soul. Wellsie and Tohr had two-hundred years together, and when Wellsie was taken from him, he died inside and vanished, perhaps never to function normally again. There are many books that will mention a hero's or heroine's partner who they loved deeply. Most of the time we find things weren't so rosy with the main protagonist and their dead spouse or lover, and because of this, that enables the main protagonist to find a better, more satisfying love with another. But the thing with Tohr's first love is that Wellsie was a woman of worth, and readers were able to see Tohr and Wellsie together in the first few books before she was taken away from him.Lover Reborn starts fifteen months after Wellsie's death and runs over a course of a year. Tohr has come back into the brotherhood fold, although he can't let Wellsie go. He's haunted by Wellsie, and rightly so because she was his everything. But what Tohr doesn't realize is because he can't let go Wellsie, her soul and the one of their unborn child are fading and are stuck in an in between realm much like purgatory. Wellsie and the unborn child can't be at peace and go onto the Fade (BDB's Heaven) until Tohr admits Wellsie's gone and move on. Lassiter, the snarky, television junkie, pierced tattooed fallen angel has been sent by the Maker to help Tohr move past Wellsie's death. For some reason this means him finding a new woman to lose himself in. The answer to Tohr's problem comes in the form of No'One.No'One is Xhex's mother (Xhex was the heroine in the last book and is now mated to John Matthew). Tohr met No'One way before Wellsie when he and Darius ended up saving No'One after she was kidnapped, sexually abused and impregnated by a sympath, a nasty snake like vampire creature. After No'One gave birth to Xhex, she killed herself and has been caught in her own in between purgatory. She's been given a second chance from the Scribe Virgin (or perhaps even the Maker) and has come back down to Earth to make amends with Xhex. No'One hides under her long robes and comes across as fragile in both body and spirit. She's guilt ridden and blames herself for her own kidnapping and giving birth to Xhex who has her own issues because of what she is. No'One feels she's a burden and has no real purpose.Tohr begins to notice No'One and he hates it because he's attracted to her. Tohr goes as far as punch himself in the crotch when he gets hard. He feels he's betraying Wellsie by reacting in such a way, and because of this he not only lashes out at himself but at No'One, thinking she's purposely trying to seduce him. This is a perfect example of Tohr's grieving process. He's slowly getting over Wellsie but the steps he's taking is not good enough. He has to heal faster, because if he doesn't, Wellsie and their baby's spirit will vanish into nothing and they'll never reach that nirvana or that total peace expected when someone dies. It all depends on Tohr welcoming No'One in his heart. The generous soul that No'One is allows Tohr to use her as he sees fit and is perfectly fine with him keeping Wellsie in his mind and heart.Lover Reborn is a gut wrenching read. Tohr's suffering and healing process is heartbreaking. You feel everything Tohr is going through, and his reactions are completely understandable. There's a scene early on where Tohr lays out Wellsie's dress she wore during their mating ceremony. He lies down next to the dress, rubbing and caressing it. He then breaks down in tears. This is a man living in his own hell because he lost the one thing that mattered to him. And from this scene I knew the new love he would find with No'One would never compare to what he had with Wellsie.Lover Reborn is an outstandingly written book. I would go as far to say it's one of the best in this series. The main reason is how Tohr's grieving process is portrayed. But this also causes a problem for me. Ward likes to break her own rules. Some readers may not mind and take it at face value. If Mary can be saved for Rhage and Jane saved for Vishous, than why couldn't Wellsie be saved for Tohr? So, if say Wrath lost Beth, Rhage lost Mary, Zsadist lost Bella and so forth, they wouldn't be allowed to mourn for too long and it would be expected of them to fill that void and find another mate? Or is this Ward's way of saying that life for some isn't fair for some and unfortunately Tohr's is a victim of this?My biggest issue with Lover Reborn is, why can't Tohr mourn his mate's death and go through life as if he's dead inside? Eventually he would heal and move on, but like most losses, it takes time. And why out of anyone who has lost a mate, why is Wellsie stuck in the in between and not in the Fade? Tohr lost the other part of his soul, or so we're led to believe regarding the BDB men and their women. Why does Tohr's HEA mean he must find love with another? Also, two years after Wellsie's death is not enough time for Tohr to get over the love of his life, especially if they were very happy together for two centuries. I would have preferred Tohr remain alone. I feel No'One, after all is said and done, will always be second best and not fully loved as she should be. A great, big flashing sign to prove that Tohr and No'One's love is less than it is, deals with the bonding scent. Tohr never unleashes the all important bonding scent with No'One. Although Tohr does all the noticeable and affectionate reactions expected such as feeding No'One and giving her intense sexual pleasure, I feel as if their "love" was lacking.Also when Tohr comes to the conclusion he loves No'One, it was sudden and rushed. In a word, I was verily disappointed with their relationship. It failed for me because I wanted to believe that Tohr and No'One have this all encompassing love for one another just like the rest of the brothers and their mates have. At no time while I read did I feel this. Let's hope Ward can prove me wrong and continue working on Tohr and No'One's relationship process in future books.Even with my issues with Tohr and No'One, I was thoroughly entertained in other ways. Whereas the Band of Bastards (the BDB's newest enemy) who have come to eliminate Wrath didn't excite me in the last book, now has my interest, mainly regarding the leader, Xcor. There's going to be some great things planned for the emotional damaged Xcor, and I do believe he will be healed by love in the form of a certain Chosen who's about to be giving her own starring role. Layla is set to become one of the most important characters, not only because of her new relationship with Qhuinn that will anger readers because of what occurs between them here, and the shocking consequences of their actions, but the possibility that she may be the driving force to bring together a new awesome reign for the Black Dagger Brotherhood.The last line before the epilogue in Lover Reborn is very important mainly because it implies big things for the rest of this series: "Our future has come" can mean so many different things. Not only is this line important for Qhuinn and Blay (Qhuinn says it as he looks at Blay, and decides he's finally claiming Blay as his own), but I also see it as a promise from Ward to give her readers a bigger and better future with the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.The future has finally arrived, and I can't wait to see what's in store.Katiebabs

*** maybe small 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/LassiterOh 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.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.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/XhexThey 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?Blay/Qhuinn/LaylaFirst 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.Xcor/Throe/LaylaOh. 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? Can't say due to spoiler but I like it.AssailOooh..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.

I have really loved this series, but I have noticed that as it progresses, newer books focus more on the story around the main characters and less on the developing relationship between the two romantic leads. this is a great book to learn about all the new threads JR Ward is going to pick up, but there just wasn't enough about Tohr and No'One throughout to really interest me in their characters or romance.As another reviewer has mentioned, this has the whole 'dead wife' syndrome going on - which could have been got round with a bit more emphasis on Tohr's previous relationship with No'One - and the fact that his marriage was arranged... mind you, that would have tainted what we know about his first marriage to Wellsie.Yes, I enjoyed it, no I wasn't all that interested in the extraneous stuff about the other 'brotherhood', and while it was nice to catch up on other characters, why oh why did we have to have quite so much about John and Xhex? They've had their book - there was TONS of stuff about them - almost as much as there was about Tohr and No'One.And don't get me started on the whole name change thing. Talk about lame...So a bit off course for me. Will I buy the next one? Yes, but if it's another one like this, then I probably won't buy any further books in this series.

It took me a while to get into this book but when I started I was pleasantly surprised. I liked Tohr from the first book and I was interested on how his story would go. Jr Ward was able to take your through that journey of loving some one so much and then losing them and trying to move on without feeling guilty or seem as you are cheating on that person in a beautiful way. The twist near the end was heart-wrenching.(It had to be she never writes her stories easy!)There were several things which confused me a bit;In this story there is no bonding scent. In books 1-5 it a precursor to true love does this mean that if No'One dies he can move on again?In previous books we are given the impression that Vampire love is forever so Tohr getting over his wife is troubling. I cannot see Wrath or Rhage loving somebody else if their respective partners diesHow come when Mary,No'One and Jane died they came back to life (except Jane don't get me started on that) Why couldn't Wellsie come back too?The only part that made me annoyed was John Matthew and Xhex's story. The trouble with young love!The only person who I really liked was Lassiter. He made me laugh out loud!As usual there were several sub plots which will make me reach for the next book in the series.

first i would like to start my review by saying that in my honest opinion i would not recommend that this book be read by a newcomer to the BDB series.i strongly feel that it is not in any sense a stand alone novel and would have very little impact on the reader.i ,on the other hand, am a devoted BDB fan and have read all the books in this series several times.this latest book is one i am less likely to read again due to its emotional context.not that i feel,however, it is a bad book.i feel that it would be hard to forget anything in this book, and that i have drawn all that i can from it.it is more of a kind of culmination and finalization,emotionally speaking, of the main character tohrnment and his journey thus far.although there are many sub-plots and new characters and action sequences,the book is more of a emotional/psychological book in its very nature.nonetheless,there are other characters,namely blay,qhuinn,layla,featured in other books that are given a good firm foundation on which to build in future books.hopefully these chararcters will be the centre for the next book!furthermore, the band of bastards are fully introduced and provide further interest to this series.however,as i have said this book is more about an emotional journey of love,loss,hope and the renewal of life.i was pleasantly surprised by this book,as i had thought that it was not the time for this character to have his own book.in this i am pleased to be proven wrong.the way in which the story is told and the fact that the events in the book, as well as the ending are a total deviation to what i had expected from this book made for a pleasant surprise.the story was creative and not at all taking the path of which i and many who follow the series would have expected.i was pleased to see more of the character lassiter who i find charming and hope that he will be a true fixture in later books,perhaps even have one of his own.the reason for the rating of a 4*,instead of a 5* comes mainly from,in my opinion, a lack of true romance and passion from the leads.it is fair to say that they have a sexually passionate relationship,but in every other area they appear lacking.like others i found it hard to understand why there was no true bonding,in the sense that the whole scent/mine and other attributes readers associate with a bonded male were missing.this being the case made it seem that rather than finding 'true' love,they were infact settling for second best,or rather the best either could be expected to have in their circumstances.i hope in the future we will see this somehow rectified,which would make me feel more at peace with this book and its characters.overall this is a good book,though not a good starting point for those who are yet to read the series.i feel,however,that there may be quite a few fans that may be disappointed with this book as it is not what they would have expected or predicted to happen to the leads.in my opinion though this is exactly what makes this book so unique and a great read.

For fans of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, this is good episode and in many ways more satisfying than book 9 (Payne's story). I liked the way that John and Xhex's story was followed up - seems only natural that some of these pairings are so intense that there will be a stumble or two on the ride off into the sunset. With that in mind, I missed finding out more about how Payne and Manny were getting on after their whirlwind affair. Could we plead for more of them in the next book do you think? After all, both are adapting to a strange new world and there must be scope for developing a tale or two there.The Quinn/Blay/Layla storyline continues to draw the reader in. Other new characters are introduced who will no doubt influence how this progresses.The main focus of this book is of course the story of Tohrment and No'One. I know this has divided opinion in reviewers so far. It is a very intense relationship against a complicated back-story, with lots of inner turmoil. Ms Ward has really worked at imagining how her characters might behave and react to a real growing mutual attraction, in the face of some powerful emotional/psychological obstacles. I was pulled onto the roller-coaster ride, and loved hanging on for the ups and downs even when I often wished I could either shake or thump the characters!There is some good political drama going on at the same time, keeping our interest in the future of the community. We have old world vs new world vs human world - good stuff.I've read this twice now, and will definitely read it again. The world is so well-realised it just pulls you in. I enjoyed the little glimpses of how the stars of previous books are getting on, and the few peeps at the wider vampire society. I hope the next book will have even more of these vignettes - it's this richness that puts the BDB series ahead of many others in the genre.The new characters mean that I will definitely be looking out for the next book in the series. I'm bursting to know whether we'll see any further overlap between this series and the parallel Fallen Angels. And of course there's, um, "Quayla"?!

(spoilers)This was always going to be a difficult book, there is so much written about the bonded males throughout the series, to see a supposedly bonded male having to move on after losing his wife is hard to envisage...Ward's angle to make it necessary for Tohr to move on for more than just his own sake was a bit predictable, and in a way rather detracted from the "Romance" between him and No'one. In fact it was the least romantic romance ever frankly, and the sex was very much just that for most of the book. However, as "widower finds new love" stories go, it was handled pretty well.However, the thing I enjoyed most about this book was not the central romance, but the development of the other characters. The Band of Bastards was seen much more, and we started to delve into some of their characters to the point that I predict a book about Xcor one or two down the line, which I think would be brilliant (and probably on a similar theme to Lover Awakened).We are so far down the road with the Brotherhood now, that for a fan the books need to cover more than just the romamce for this time, and this book does that very well. At the end of Lover Enshrined I think Ward had written herself into a corner somewhat, having covered each of the six brothers of the time, and not really having anything "lined up" for the next book, but by now she seems to have learned her lesson, and we have lots of different plots now running at different speeds.Overall, this is one of the better BDB books, better than the previous one IMO, so if you're not sure - I would hit add to basket!There is also one additional bonus. We all know now that the next book will be Quinn and and Blay, and that is a book I am looking forward to greatly!