Lover Mine: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood [ハードカバー]

RATING: 4.5 STARS

Lover Mine picks up a few weeks after Lover Avenged left off, where Xhex has been abducted by Lash, the evil son of the Omega. She is being held in Lash's brownstone bound by a magical spell. She is trapped in a bedroom invisible to all except Lash. She is determined to fight him with everything she has in hopes of finding a way out or until the brotherhood finds her. Lash's purpose for abducting Xhex is vengeance. Xhex killed his lover and he plans to take his revenge on her slowly and painfully. But Xhex puts up a vicious fight and he finds himself falling for her in his sick sadistic way.

John Matthew is hell bent on finding Xhex. He is not sure if she is alive or dead but he is determined to bring her home one way or another. He has never openly shared his feelings for Xhex with others but when he gets Xhex's named tattooed on his back in the old language, his boys Blay and Qhuinn have a good idea of his feelings for her. Still, John Matthew does not ask the brothers for help in finding her, choosing instead to do it his own way, on his own terms.

Qhuinn and Blay have shared a deep bond of friendship since before their transition. But this relationship is complicated by Blay's feelings for Qhuinn that go far beyond friendship. He has come to terms with the fact that he is gay and he is in love with Qhuinn. Qhuinn has always been promiscuous even knowing on some level how hurtful it is for Blay. But, there may be reasons for why Qhuinn behaves the way he does. When Qhuinn's cousin Saxton asks Blay out on a date, Qhuinn's protectiveness toward Blay kicks into high gear, claiming he doesn't want Blay to be hurt by Saxton. In all honestly though, jealously is at the root of his behavior.

Lover Mine has all the goodness we've come to love about the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Strong alpha vampires who live, love and fight hard. Although the focus of the series has moved beyond the actual brotherhood and their journeys to love and into the next generation of fighters, it still maintains that edge that sets it apart from other vampire series. There is much to talk about in this book, however I'll focus on the relationships in this review since I believe that Lover Mine digs a little deeper than some of the earlier books in the series, touching on the intricacies of love and friendship and the ties that bind these delicate yet intensely deep relationships.

John Matthew and Xhex have many obstacles to overcome. First their separation, then their communication issues as well as some serious emotional barriers that must come down. John knows in his heart he is bonded to Xhex and would die to protect and defend her, but Xhex has spent most of her life shielding herself from the kind of love she feels for John. There is a very intense scene where the reader is witness to the depth of Xhex and John Matthew's feelings for each other. Although they are in the same room with each other, John Matthew doesn't know Xhex is with him and has no idea he has just bared his heart and soul to her. In this moment Xhex sees John true and raw and she aches for him but is not able to reach out. I think this is perhaps one of the most moving, emotionally raw scenes I have ever read in a paranormal romance.

The friendship between Blay and Qhuinn is on very shaky ground in Lover Mine, complicated by the romantic feelings Blay has for Qhuinn. This relationship takes on a whole new direction when Qhuinn believes Blay may be ready to move on and explore his sexuality with Saxton, Qhinn's cousin. I found myself deeply disappointed in Qhuinn's behavior, not because he can't return Blay's love, but because of the sometimes selfish way he handles his feelings. However digging deeper into his story, I realize there is so much more to his feelings for Blay and the reasons for his confusing behavior. This storyline is heartbreaking to say the least. I was moved to tears more than once and I truly hope that both Qhuinn and Blay find happiness however it comes to them.

My one real complaint with this book was with the constant interruption to flow of the story. There is a side story having to do with the filming of a paranormal reality show, as well as several flash backs to Darius and Tohr in the 1600's. While the reason for the reality show storyline is eventually revealed, the random insertion of chapters on this storyline was distracting and confusing. Since there were no real clues as to where this storyline was leading, it felt more like a third leg rather than a supporting storyline. While the flashbacks provided some necessary history to key characters, they were slow, and again, popped up at weird places in the book. Just when I would get some good reading momentum going, Ward would slam on the brakes with one of these odd chapters. It all makes sense in the end but I really wished the information could have been presented in a better way.

I've seen many discussions about the over-the-top slang and branding that Ward does in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It's one of those things about this series that I both love and hate. There are many times I've rolled my eyes while reading, but then on the other hand, it's part of who the brothers are, and what makes them bigger than life. The slang was certainly over the top this time, no doubt about that. It took me a while before I could figure out what the `sitch' was. `Sitch' = situation, duh. The branding was ever present and the reader gets to know who designed so-and-so's suit and what make and model car everyone is driving but it did seem to be toned down just a bit this time. At one point John Matthew snapped his phone shut and I was actually disappointed I didn't know what kind of phone it was. *g*

The scene has been set for the next book in the series, for Payne--daughter of the Scribe Virgin and twin sister to Vishous--and her love interest Manny. While Payne played only a very minor role in this story, and Manny was only mentioned near the end, we are left knowing that the two of them will meet up. J.R. Ward leaves us without much indication of what direction their story may go. Some part of me hopes that this is because she plans to make the relationship between Blay and Qhuinn the stronger storyline in the next book. We'll see.

Lover Mine is one of my favorite books in this series. The relationships and friendships are complicated and at times absolutely heart wrenching. This book offers all that you want and need in a romance novel while still maintaining that special gritty edge that makes the Black Dagger Brotherhood a truly unique series.

***SPOILERS aplenty!
So before I start getting death threats on here, let me just preface this review by saying that I am truly a diehard BDB fan. While Ward is never going to win a Pulitzer, the woman can tell a story like nobody's business. She has managed to create an utterly unique and provocative world in which this series is set, not to mention a DYNAMITE cast of characters. These stories are not your typical warm and fuzzy, formulaic romance novels because she doesn't shy away from putting her characters in some pretty intense situations that really move the reader emotionally. I've thoroughly enjoyed this series, and each year I've looked forward to the next installment. Yes, Lover Enshrined was a minor aberration...but with Lover Avenged I thought Ward was back on track. Then along came Lover Mine... (Sigh)....

What a mess.

Let's start with John Matthew. LOVE his character. I thought he was the best thing since Zsadist, and his character development since way back in book 2 had me captivated. That said, I was certain his story would be nothing short of exceptional. Well, John-boy...you got ROBBED. He's a survivor with a heart of gold, who I thought we would see mature into a man, but in Lover Mine he still seemed juvenile. I also had my doubts about the John/Xhex union, but I thought Ward would pull it off...Not even close. Almost immediately-within the first few chapters-I knew something was amiss. In previous books you can practically see the steam rise off the pages with all the sexual tension Ward manages to generate with her characters. Instead, I was bored. Unlike a lot of the readers (as it now seems), I actually like Xhex. She's a breath of fresh air among an endless expanse of damsel-in-distress. I thought, now here's a girl who can kick some a**. Perhaps the role reversal between the sexes in Lover Mine played a part. Usually it's the male who is conflicted over his feelings for the female, but in Lover Mine Xhex was the one who needed to overcome her issues about love and commitment. It absolutely could have worked if the writing was better. I just didn't see the passion between John and Xhex which is usually in abundance between the central characters.

And while I'm on that train of thought...I didn't get the memo that BDB had suddenly switched over to Urban Fantasy. I honestly feel like I got a bad product here. When I pay for Paranormal Romance, I want some romance, `kay? John and Xhex didn't even have sex until halfway through the book (not counting a tepid dream sequence...*yawn*). Now come on...I'm just gonna say it like it is...a lot of what keeps Ward's readers coming back for more are those erotic sex scenes. You know it. I know it. However, the scenes between John and Xhex barely made me blush (and believe me, it doesn't take much). I thought the sexiest, most passionate scene of the entire book was when Blay and Qhuinn almost got in on. Which leads me to my NEXT criticism...

I was so much more intrigued by the relationship between Blay and Qhuinn than the 2 main characters. Ward did a fantastic job with this storyline (and it's the only reason why I gave LM as many as 3 stars). It was heartbreaking, intense, and angst-ridden--everything John and Xhex fell short of. But I will be sorely disappointed if after all this buildup the two of them don't end up together. It's like going through the whole Butch/V thing again, accept this time it will be so much more of a letdown if Blay is subjected to a mediocre HEA with Saxton, and Qhuinn ends up with Lame Layla. I understand that no publisher is going to print a BDB book in which the main relationship is focused on 2 men due to target audience expectations. But as a side story? Come on...we're all adults. Now I'm not trying to start a social/political debate here, but I think we can handle a little peak into what would go down between 2 dudes. Male-on-male certainly isn't my thing, but you gotta love it when 2 characters who are crazy about each other finally get together (I mean, I'm not into BDSM either, but that didn't stop me from enjoying V and Doc Jane's story). Unfortunately.....if it does happen between Blay and Qhuinn, I anticipate that all we're going to get is the old fade-to-black routine that we got in Lover Mine when Blay and Saxton hooked-up....which is pretty unfortunate.

I don't mind the brand name references and the urban lingo as much as other people seem to. Come on guys? Yea, it's annoying, but she's been writing like this since the first book so she's not going to stop anytime soon. It's part of the tone of this series. Although, with regard to all the "proper" language...I must say that after reading the word "verily" several dozen times I wanted to stab something.

Yes, the story jumped around a bit much. Murhder's storyline? sorta cheesy. The Darius/Tohr backstory? mehh... But for the love of God could we nix the lesser subplots. Isn't one of the elementary rules of writing that if a scene doesn't advance the overall plotline or add to character development in some significant way, it needs to be axed? I skimmed over Lash's storyline and missed NOTHING. Why not toss all the lesser scenes and add some storylines/interactions with the other brothers? Speaking of brothers (aside from Tohr)...where were they? I miss you guys. In Lover Avenged we got a great story involving Wrath, but in Lover Mine the brothers seemed to be an afterthought. Also, there was hardly any funny banter between the brothers, which Ward usually writes SO well. And the shellans? Um, hello? Where are the shellans?! Yes we got some Doc Jane, but all the rest? I'm starting to think they're skulking in the shadows or locked up in their rooms twiddling their thumbs. Not even Beth was in this book except in the background, John's SISTER? Anyway, I digress....... It seems that Ward needs to bring it back to the Brotherhood. Isn't that what this series is supposed to be about anyway? So why wasn't John initiated? That just struck me as odd. Maybe she'll initiate John, Blay, and Qhuinn together?

I'm hoping this is just a blip on the BDB radar. I'm certainly not backing out yet. Much to our disappointment, an author's quality of writing tends to diminish this far into a series due to publishing deadlines or just running out of inspiring storyline.... However, I truly believe there's still some great stuff here, especially with characters that seem to leap off the page and intrigue us to the point where we're thinking about the story days after reading. Don't let us down, Ms. Ward.

Where to begin.

I wanted to enjoy this book. I really did. I like John Mathew from the previous books, and though Xhex isn't my favorite of the females, I did find her intriguing enough to want to learn her story.

Lover Mine isn't a novel as much as it is an exercise in connecting slang, meandering subplots, and preludes to forthcoming volumes in the series into something semi-cogent. It felt disjointed, unevenly paced, and contrived. Why?

-Xhex appears to have undergone a personality transplant; abduction or not, she's re-imagined in a way that doesn't seem credible to her previous appearances.

-The Mhurder (sp?) subplot fell flat in its attempt to create compelling reasons for wanting to learn more about him. Silly, uninteresting, and bizarre (A compassionate, abolitionist "ghost" who has sex with his B&B guests to actually bring couples closer together, and skulks around his mansion a la Boo Radley? Okeydokey...)

-John Matthew goes through some of the worst turmoil anyone can probably experience regarding a lover...and his sister doesn't once reach out to him that we can see. Where was Beth?

-Tohr's parents arranged his marriage to Wellsie, with whom he fell instantly in love, but now we learn his dad was a jackhole. Hmm. Guess it's possible but, again, feels like Ward conveniently, and clumsily, disrupts a plot point to triage the story. Didn't feel natural.

-Now, I may need another reader to chime in here and correct/confirm this for me. When John tells Xhex about his rape and she asks who else knows, I don't believe he mentions Wrath in the list he recites. This could be forgiven except that John's telling Wrath about it is the whole reason Qhuinn got off for slicing Slash's throat. That's kind of a big part of the story, isn't it? The detail itself doesn't bother me as much as what it likely (if I'm right) indicates does: Ward's attention to detail is getting sloppy, and has been for a few books now.

-Every other word doesn't automatically become slang because you cut off or diminuitize the last two syllables ("sitch?" "stillies?"). I know she has a personal love of rap and slang that I can certainly appreciate, but loving hip-hop and being just straight-up inarticulate don't need to go hand-in-hand (especially not when I'm paying nearly $30 for your book).

That leads to my other problem with LM and, in general this series.

Ward cribs heavily from hip-hop and, to some extent, African-American culture, yet does a pitiable job of including *any* people of color prominently in her books (And no, the Shadows don't count as they have only been portrayed only on the fringes of the BDB world. They've been around much longer than Saxton and hell, even Saxton got his own plot before they have). This really bothers me. The slang, music, and mannerisms are so borrowed from rap culture that I'm surprised Ward doesn't include Jay-Z, 50 Cent, T.I., et al, in her acknowledgments. It's one thing to be inspired by a culture and weave elements of it into your work, and another thing to blatantly mimic its mores and not have some representation of the people it comes from, or of any other kinds of people for that matter. In the beginning it enhanced the story but now I feel like it's become Ward's way to announce how down she's with it, yo, and implement a ready-made, street cred-worthy version of masculinity that, frankly, cuts down on her work of having to make you believe how "hard" the Brothers are (Because every guy who likes rap is automatically tough, isn't he?).

According to Ward (and I'm paraphrasing here--read her message boards for the exact quote), the Brothers don't view race or sexual preference in the same way as humans, meaning that they don't possess the same prejudices or predispositions to hateful behavior re: those two categories. It seems incongruous, then, that there are no people of different ethnic backgrounds that feature heavily in these stories. Ward has said she "downloads" the stories mentally as they come to her from the Brothers themselves, and is only reporting what she's told. Riiight. That's not at all a convenient way to avoid having to answer (and possibly face) some serious issues at the heart of your characterizations and fictional world structure/view.

I don't know if I'll return to the BDB after this. I like Tohr a lot, and would very much like to read his story. But it feels like the bigger the author gets, the lower in quality the books become. It's inevitable, I guess. The Stephanie Plum series has taken a similar turn for the worse, and so have a few others in that vein (I'm hanging onto Diana Gabaldon by a thread).

My gripes aside, I think that Ward is generally a talented writer, and incredibly imaginative to have come up with a world that, even if I have problems with it, makes me write a diatribe about it on Amazon. Maybe after reading some of the feedback, she'll take it into consideration. I wouldn't mind seeing her get back into finer form and expand the purview of her world to more aptly reflect the tenets she says it exists by.