Black Dagger Brotherhood Series: Lover at Last

I don't know if you guys picked up on this, but I was pretty excited about Lover at Last coming out. I think I was pretty subdued...

No?

Anyway, I finished it the other day but I had varsity related stuff to deal with so I didn't get a chance to tell you guys just how FREAKING AWESOME it was!!!

Warning: there will be fangirling. Lots and lots of fangirling.

Blay and Qhuinn... these boys just broke my poor little heart. The WARDen didn't pull any punches, and right from the beginning she started pulling on your heartstrings. The prologue was just so damn sad! And the emotional torment just kept on coming. There were times where it seemed like Blay and Qhuinn were never going to get their shit together. It was so stressful! Just when you thought they were making some progress, meeting each other halfway, then BAM! Misunderstandings, a lack of communication, and the WARDen's refusal to make things easy on her readers had me sitting on the edge of my seat. These two worked so hard and they only got their HEA riiiiiight at the end. But, holy crap, was it worth it! Honestly, the way this book ended had me choked up and I almost never cry while reading. I cannot remember reading a more beautiful HEA.

Now on to the side stories: since this is J.R Ward, there were a lot. I'll discuss them all separately.

  First there's the whole Layla/Xcor thing. I have always liked Layla. And now I like her even better because she's discovered her backbone! Man, I got such a kick to hear Layla going all grrr... on Phury. She was fierce! 

In the Old Language, she hissed, “If any harm shall befall him, I will come after you, and find you where you sleep. I do not care where you lay your head or who with, my vengeance shall rain upon you until you drown.”
That last word was drawn out, until its syllable was lost in more growling.
Dead silence.
Until Doc Jane said dryly, “Annnnd this is why they say the female of the species is more dangerous than the male.”

As for Xcor... he had me feeling really conflicted. One moment I wanted to give the guy a hug, the next I wished somebody from the Brotherhood would just stab the bastard. I kinda hate him for messing with Wrath, but his response to Layla is just too damn sweet. It's like, why can't you all just get along?!?!

Speaking of Xcor and his Band of Bastards, we now know all their names. We obviously have Xcor, the leader of his merry band of crazies, and Throe, his second in command; Zypher, the group's resident can't-keep-it-in-his-pants, and the three cousins, Balthazar, Syphon, and Syn. The last gent's name isn't actually Syn, but he's so bad they all just call him that.

Then we have Assail and new girl, Sola Morte. I can't decide if I like Assail. He's... a little sociopathic, if I'm honest. While this isn't outside the norm for the WARden's leading men, he seems a little bit nuttier than the others. I also don't like that he has any form of cooperation with the Lessers going on. Nuh-uh. Not cool. Assail's really hot but he's just a little too aggro for my liking. I think I like Sola. She seems like quite a toughie which is nice. I like it when Ward gives us strong heroines. Most times it seems as though the guys have majority shares in the whole badass enterprise.  

Now to my favourite side story: Trez and Selena. Trez and his brother iAm have been in the BDB universe for a while, but we haven't really learnt a whole lot about them. I'm happy to announce that the WARDen is working on rectifying this. These boys... wow. They sizzle. That's about all I can say. We don't know much about Selena either besides the fact that she's a Chosen, so I can't decide if I like her or not. What I loved about this particular side story was when Trez met Selena for the first time. It was just too freaking adorable for words. For most of Trez's perspective in this book, you see him acting like an utter manwhore. To see him getting all tongue-tied over Selena was just so "awww..."-worthy" and also so funny. I was hee-hawing like a donkey. I'm glad I read this part while nobody was home, otherwise I'd have had some explaining to do.

I just want to share a few of my favourite quotes from the book with you:

Here, John Matthew and Qhuinn are in one of those 24-hour stores and spot a cardboard cutout of the Biebs... I don't really have anything against the guy, but this was funny.

"The little shit is everywhere." To prove the point, he motioned to a greeting card display featuring Short, Cocky, and Fifteen-Minutes-Are-Up. "I swear, that kid is proof the Antichrist is coming."

This is the scene where Blay comes out to his mom over the phone. It was such an emotional scene, I got a lump in my throat while reading. This is how every parent should respond in this situation.

"...as long as you're happy, that's all I worry about. I want for you what you want for yourself."

*sniffles*

I am so damn sad this book is over. I think it may well have been my favourite book in the series. Easily. But I have a feeling that the next book is going to blow this one right out the water. You've undoubtedly already heard the news about whose book is going to be next, but even four days after the announcement I'm still excited as fuck!

It's titled The King, and no prizes for guessing who it's going to be about. Also the WARDen said that there's a strong likelihood of some of our old favourites getting another book. If you want to check out what else was said at the signing go here.