To be quite honest with you, I have some mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I've been a fan of the series for so long now, that it's nice to see the characters again and to read about what's going on with their lives and their romantic relationships. On the other hand, I found some parts of the story were so repetitive that it felt like some hundred pages was saying the same as the hundred before. Needless to say, it felt like the story dragged on, and maybe it was done on purpose to show the lapse of time, but frankly, I got bored because it felt like the story was never ending.
It's the main romantic story line that feels repetitive, the one between Torh and No'One. Torh lost his shellan (mate) only a while before this novel began and it has taken him a long time to simply get back on his feet, let alone even think about getting intimate with someone else. No'One, a female of worth, has a second chance at life and believes this second chance should be spent serving others, regardless of her past. So when they are thrown together and they must face their feelings for one another, things get difficult because of Torh's mixed feelings about moving on, and No'One vulnerability because of the fact that she was raped when she was a lot younger and has never looked at a male in a romantic way. It felt like J.R. Ward was tiptoeing around their feelings just a bit too much and it felt like an endless cycle of "I want to, no I don't/can't..." Don't get me wrong, their story really is interesting but it dragged on...
One thing I'm usually not fond of is a switch in point of views because it more or less puts the main story on hold, but in this case, I really didn't mind. Especially because we got to read more about John and Xhex, who despite all odds were mated in the previous book. I love the fact that we see what happens after the supposed happily ever after and it just so happens it's not happily ever after. We also see a bit of the Quinn/Blay story which I can't wait for and is coming up in book #11.
LOVER REBORN made me realized that these brothers really are vampires. I mean, I knew they were vampires but since J.R. Ward has modified the lore on vampires in this series to the point of being really original, sometimes it's hard to remember these brothers have fangs. However, in this book, with all the blood feedings, it really hit me on how much they depend on blood to survive. The ongoing war between the Brothers and the lessers is the main reason for the blood feedings, and even if there is quite a number of fight scenes, it's hard to determine who the antagonist really is. The Brothers also have to deal with The Band of Bastards, a group of vampires that want to more or less replace the Brotherhood. It's interesting to read more about these "bastards" and it's a nice twist in the series especially since the lesser war was getting old.
The writing is typically J.R. Ward but I think she was trying to push the gangsta talk just a little too much this time around. It's one thing to have it in conversations between the Brothers but to include it in the narrative is kind of a deterrent. Personally, I don't appreciate it because it's not normal for me and sometimes I found myself rereading a certain phrase because I didn't catch the meaning. I just find it odd that it has a place in the narrative, especially since it's written in the third person. (On another note, this might just be me but I find the Brothers often say "How's it doing?" while I would normally say "How's it going?" or "How're you doing?". I don't know. I just find it strange, enough that I had to mention it. Maybe it's a regional thing...)
I might have been a tad negative with this review, but don't get me wrong! I really enjoy this series as a whole and I'm hoping this is just that odd book in a series that I had a hard getting through. Like I mentioned previously, the next book is all about Blay and Quinn and there's just something about those two Brothers together that makes sense. I'm definitely still a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and I'm ready to ignore the shortcomings of this book to keep the series going. I'm really looking forward to the next books, especially now that I've almost caught up with the series!
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