Jessica Bird

A Bloom in Winter is a between-the-books novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series that falls after The Beloved in the series chronology but features characters from the spin-off BDB: Prison Camp series. Callum and Apex were just starting a relationship when Callum was kidnapped and sexually tortured by the prison camp’s sadistic warden. Afterward, he was both physically and emotionally broken, but Apex stayed by his side once the camp was liberated. Unable to face what had happened, show more though, Callum ghosted out on Apex and they haven’t seen each other for thirty years. Apex now works as head of security for Whestmorel, one of the new glymera, and he’s been sent to a house in the Adirondacks to wire it with state-of-the-art security cameras. Little does he know that Callum has been working there as a groundskeeper. When they reunite, all the feelings are still there between them, but there’s also a lot of tension. Callum still hasn’t gotten beyond all that happened to him, and although a part of him still wants Apex, the other male is twisted up in his bad memories of the past. Apex also brought his old prison camp friend, Mayhem, with him to do the programming of the security system. From the moment Mayhem meets Whestmorel’s daughter, Mahrci, sparks start to fly. Mahrci is kind of hiding out there after breaking off an arranged mating with her father’s right-hand man, and she’s also become aware of her father’s dirty dealings, which she can’t overlook, making her life a bit complicated. Meanwhile in Caldwell, the Brotherhood are called to the scene of a murder of another new glymera who they discover was up to his eyeballs in illegal arms sales, while also trying to decipher a mysterious set of documents that seem to have been deliberately left at the Audience House. And everything appears to be linked to some sort of plot against the King.

I absolutely loved Callum and Apex when they were first introduced in the Prison Camp series. The way their part of the story ended, though, was completely heartbreaking. I was eager for Ms. Ward to give us a book for them, so when I found out A Bloom in Winter was their story, I couldn’t wait to read it. I love the dichotomy in Apex’s personality. He’s a tough-guy assassin who’s lived a rough life, but underneath it all, he’s a big teddy bear. He’s also loyal to a fault when he really cares about someone, as was evidenced in the way that he sat by Kane’s beside, protecting him in The Viper. We finally learn what I suspected, that he’d fancied himself in love with Kane, but that all paled in comparison when he met Callum who completely enthralled him. He showed the same tenderness toward Callum after all that happened to the wolven, but then Callum left without a word and they haven’t seen each other in three decades. Their reunion is a bit fraught, because of Callum’s trauma and how Apex is a part of those horrible memories. Neither of them has ever forgotten the other, though, and their feelings are still strong. Callum just isn’t sure he can be in a relationship with a guy who reminds him of that time. I adored Apex for his selflessness, and how he’s willing to be whatever Callum needs him to be or even leave if that’s what he wants. The little speech he gave to Callum’s wolven side was emotional and romantic. I’m just really happy that these two guys are back together again and have finally found their HEA.

The other romantic pairing in this book is Mayhem and Mahrci. Mayhem was another of the inmates of the prison camp, but he was never a criminal. Bored, he broke into the camp on a whim, believing it would be an adventure and ended up spending fifty years there. That’s basically how he lives life, free-spirited and in the moment, not really thinking much beyond the present. He’s partnered with Apex on the security camera install because of his expertise in programming, but he doesn’t know much about what’s going on besides his part in the job. Having just escaped an arranged mating, Mahrci is temporarily staying at one of her father’s remote properties and doesn’t know about Apex and Mayhem’s job there. When she goes out in the snowstorm to feed the deer, she’s attacked by coyotes, and in part, rescued by Callum, who either kills or runs them off in his wolf form. But Apex and Mayhem arrive at the same time. Noticing that she’s been bitten, Mayhem carries her back inside the house and tends her injury. The two are instantly attracted to one another, but Mahrci tries to resist because her life is pretty complicated. For his part, Mayhem is happy to be her rebound guy if that’s all she wants, but she quickly realizes that she desires far more than that from him. Theirs is pretty much an insta-love, but they have an easy rapport that makes it seem like they’ve known each other longer than they have and that made it easier to buy into them rapidly falling in love. I enjoyed their part in the story and that Mayhem was able to get an HEA, too.

A Bloom in Winter started out a bit slowly. For the first two-thirds or so of the book, I was enjoying it but feeling like I wanted more than what I was getting, mainly in regards to the character and relationship development. However, as has been the case with some of her more recent novels, Ms. Ward saved all the best stuff for the last third of the story. That part was packed with angsty, sexy, suspenseful goodness that kept me excited about reading it. I was thrilled to have Callum and Apex back together again, even though, for most of the story, things are tense between them. Their part, though, only encompasses perhaps about a third of the book. It might have been nice to have a little more from their perspectives, but given how much happens in the final chapters, it wasn’t a deal-breaker for me. The only thing that I really wish that the author had given us was one final love scene for them since the only complete one was more about Callum exorcising his demons than about their love for one another. I’m not sure if this was an authorial or editorial decision, but it was a little disappointing to not have one that was more about the two of them. I did, however, very much enjoy the full-circle storytelling with the prologue and the epilogue mirroring one another in a very romantic way. Mayhem and Mahrci helped to bring even more romance into the mix and I hope to see more of them in the future. The suspense portion of the plot was well done, keeping me wondering about the murderer, the mysterious documents, and how all that tied into the greater arc of a plot against Wrath and Whestmorel’s connection to that. There was one part I thought I’d figured out early on, but as it turns out, I wasn’t entirely right. The rest kept me guessing until the reveal, and I was very pleased by the little twist at the end. Parts of this will continue on into the next main BDB book, so I’ll look forward to seeing how all that plays out. Overall, despite a few mild missteps, I very much enjoyed A Bloom in Winter and can’t wait for the next main BDB release in the fall (2025) while hoping we haven’t seen the last of these characters yet. show less

Despite being classified as a between the books story in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, A Warm Heart in Winter is a full-length novel that revisits fan favorite couple, Qhuinn and Blaylock. It’s the Christmas season, and while the residents of the Brotherhood’s mansion started celebrating the holiday in deference to their members who were raised human, they now fully embrace it. However, before Christmas arrives, a blizzard hits their mountaintop home, causing mayhem when the power show more goes out, leaving some of the daytime shutters frozen open. As they battle the elements to get things back under control, little do they know that a tragedy is playing out for one member of their ranks that will have repercussions for our happy couple. As Qhuinn struggles to recover from the devastating event, it affects his relationship with Blay. But as help comes from an unlikely source, he makes a startling discovery that helps him realize nothing is more important than his mate and their family, leading to a joyous celebration of life and their love.

Qhuinn and Blay have always been one of my favorite couples in this series, even though that’s sometimes difficult to quantify given the sheer volume of wonderful characters in these books. But in any case, I was extremely happy to revisit them and share in this new chapter of their lives together. The story opens with Qhuinn sustaining a serious injury out in the field, although it comes from a bunch of hooligans rather than while fighting their new enemy. This has the effect of scaring the crap out of Blay, but the real challenge doesn’t occur until a tragic discovery is made following the blizzard, which leaves Qhuinn struggling emotionally and shutting Blay out. As he tries to navigate his feelings of guilt and pain, he finds a lifeline in a fellow Brother, and with Blay’s unconditional love and support, he discovers a long-buried secret that makes him realize the importance of having a proper mating ceremony with his hellren. Qhuinn and Blay are so perfect for one another, and their relationship is built on the lasting foundation of a deep friendship that has never died, instead morphing into them recognizing each other as their one true mate. When facing challenges, they’ve always been present for one another. Blay especially has been a positive influence in the tortured Qhuinn’s life and in this new chapter nothing has changed. Even though Blay fears that his actions may have driven Qhuinn away when the other male becomes distant, he quickly realizes that their love goes far deeper than that. I greatly enjoyed finally getting to see the ultimate culmination of their love for one another.

As is typical for the BDB series, there are peripheral POVs and supporting characters aplenty. Surprisingly Zsadist is one of the secondary POV characters. I say surprisingly, because although I can’t recall for sure, this may be the first time since his own book that we’ve seen things through his eyes. After hearing a shocking message that seems directed at him, Z reluctantly revisits the past, but with Mary’s help, he becomes an inspiration for the floundering Qhuinn. The other POV character is a human teenage girl named Elle who is new to the series. The story opens with her taking a late night joyride with her younger sister that could have turned tragic if not for Qhuinn’s help. At first, her storyline seems rather random, but it ends up intersecting with the main part of the narrative in a way that caught me by surprise and left me hoping that perhaps we haven't seen the last of her yet. Qhuinn’s brother, Luchas, was found alive in a vat of the Omega’s blood quite a number of books ago (so long I can’t even recall in which one :-)). Since then, he’s been languishing in the Brotherhood’s clinic, and although he’s been making some progress on his recovery, he’s still a shadow of his former self. We finally get some resolution to his story, and although it wasn’t quite what I was expecting or hoping for him, it added a great deal of emotion and drama to the narrative. The Bastard Balthazar shows off his skills as a thief when he literally scales the mansion during the blizzard to help with the shutters and gets a potentially deadly shock. Then there’s Lassiter, the fallen angel who is now the race’s deity. I absolutely love this guy. In one scene, he can crack me up with his irreverence and flamboyance. Then in another scene, he can be totally serious and show just how kind and compassionate he really is. Of course, I think pretty much all the main series characters show up in some capacity within the story, rounding out the cast.

Overall, A Warm Heart in Winter was another wonderful read in the BDB series. It’s filled with emotion, warmth, drama, and tension that keep the story moving at a nice pace. There’s also a good amount of passionate, steamy scenes for Qhuinn and Blay, as well as heartfelt romance as they stamp paid to their union. I never had any doubt about their rightness for one another or their HEA in Lover at Last, but I still loved seeing this new chapter in their relationship. My heart also went out to Z who clearly still has issues, but proves that he’s moved forward sufficiently to pay the help he’s received forward. This book took me on a roller-coaster of emotions, bringing a few tears to my eyes over the pain and heartache that our main characters experience. But it also lifted me up with the joy of both the holiday season and seeing a love completed and fulfilled. A Warm Heart in Winter was a wonderful addition to the series and makes me look forward to the next novel, Lover Unveiled, which will be arriving on bookshelves in a few months. show less

It’s hard to believe that the first Black Dagger Brotherhood book was released more than a decade ago and that we’re now fifteen books into the series. With many long-running series like this, the stories can sometimes become old and stale, oftentimes feeling repetitive, or they may simply lose their momentum, which in turn, loses my attention. Not so with this series. If anything, I think the books have been getting better and better. Out of the most recent five books of the series, all show more have rated keeper status for me, compared with only two of the first five. But hey, really they’re all keepers, because I love the series so much, I just can’t get enough of it. Unlike some readers, I’m not even remotely tired of the Brothers yet. They still enthrall me, thrill me, and make me fall in love with them all over again with each subsequent book. And as usual, I’m left begging for more and can’t wait for the next one.

The Chosen took a slightly different track than previous books of the series and than what I was expecting. By that, I mean that Xcor and Layla, despite being the main hero/heroine pairing in this story, didn’t have quite as much page time as the couples from previous books. Maybe about a third of the way into reading it, I realized that this is most likely because their story has been developing as a sub-plot in the last several volumes, since they first met in book #10, Lover Reborn. That meant that there was less to tell. Since they were already in love and had been for some time, it was just a matter of them consummating the relationship and overcoming the hurdles to reach their HEA. These weren’t small things by any means, but since they already had the getting-to-know-you stuff out of the way, their part simply didn’t take up as much page time as it might have otherwise. I did thoroughly enjoy it, though. These two captured my attention and imagination from their first meeting and I’d been rooting for them to get together ever since. Although their journey to the HEA has been fraught with many pitfalls and Xcor needing to overcome his own selfishness and hardened warrior instincts, I was happy with how everything turned out. The ending was absolutely perfect and I look forward to seeing more of this couple as the series story-arc progresses.

Xcor is a badass, plain and simple. He entered the series with his Band of Bastards fully intending to dethrone Wrath and take that seat for himself and even went so far as to attempt an assassination. Then he met the Chosen, Layla, and his entire focus began to change. Like so many of the males in this series, he was brought to his knees by his love for one special female. He never felt like he was good enough for someone like her, which eventually led him to push her away. Then he was captured by the Brotherhood and spent the entire previous book in a coma, only being kept alive so they could torture him for information and then execute him for treason. Well, of course, none of that could happen or he wouldn’t get that happy ending with Layla that he’d been dreaming of, but never expecting to get. I was really happy with how things went in the book for Xcor. We learn his heartbreaking backstory, beginning with being rejected at birth by his father for having a cleft lip, and things didn’t get any better from there. He suffered through a pretty wretched childhood, learning to be independent from a very young age. Then after his transition, he chanced to meet the Bloodletter and was tricked into joining his war camp, and we all know from Vishous’ story just how horrifying that experience was. But it also turned him into a hard, unforgiving warrior, who had never known genuine love and had no softness or emotion left in him until Layla came along. He doesn’t fully understand why she loves him unconditionally and half expects her to leave him at some point if she learns too much of his past. But at the same time, he soaks up her affection like a starving man, and in reality he has been emotionally starved. I like that upon meeting Layla he started to gradually soften toward Wrath and the Brotherhood, and by the time we get to his first scenes in this book, he no longer holds any animosity for them. However, it’s still a long road to him gaining the Brotherhood’s trust and respect, and I really liked how this part of the story played out. I also love how an intense, stalwart warrior like Xcor who’s never been given to displays of affection turns into a gentle pussycat and an incredibly tender lover in Layla’s arms. It all made me totally fall for him.

Layla has been a part of the series for a very long time. I can’t even recall when she first appeared on the scene, but she has always been one of the main Chosen who were freed by Phury from service to the Scribe Virgin but who still provide for the blood needs of the Brotherhood and their allies. Somewhere along the line, she became best friends with Qhuinn, so when she went into her needing in Lover Reborn, she asked him to service her. The young were finally born in the previous book, The Beast, which was a joyous occasion for all. However, the joy quickly turns to sorrow when Layla finally reveals to Qhuinn that she’d been meeting with Xcor off and on for the entire time she was pregnant. Needless to say, things do not go well for her after that, and even her reunion with Xcor is marked with anxiety over either his impending demise or exile. But she tries to make the best of the time they have left. I’ve loved Layla from the beginning. She’s grown and changed in unexpected ways throughout the series. She’s a wonderful mother, always trying to put her young first, and we get another little taste from her of why the female of the species can be more dangerous than the males.;-) I adored her for the way she loves Xcor unconditionally and for the way she stood up for him to those who would do him harm. She’s an all-around awesome female and I’m so glad that she finally gets the happy ending she deserves.

Since Xcor’s and Layla’s scenes don’t take up as much page time, we get lots of other POVs. This is pretty much par for the course in these books, but I think there were more than usual, as I counted no less than ten other characters’ perspectives. Since Qhuinn’s and Blay’s lives are inextricably linked with Layla’s due to them sharing parenting duties, I’ll start with them. Qhuinn kind of disappointed me with his off-the-rails behavior, but then again, he disappointed nearly everyone else in the story, too, and it’s not without consequences. The toughest one to read about, though, is the rift in his relationship with Blay that’s caused by his angry, irrational outburst. Blay, unsurprisingly, tries to be the calm voice of reason throughout, but even a peacemaker like him can have a breaking point. I felt like he was completely justified in his reaction to Qhuinn’s words and actions. I would have been upset too. Even though Qhuinn’s anger persists throughout a large part of the story, I have to give him credit for things that he does later on and was happy with how it all turned out in the end.

Trez and iAm are also a part of this story, though their sub-plot runs parallel to the things happening within the Brotherhood and doesn’t intersect this time. Trez is still deeply in mourning for Selena, which made me a little sad. iAm is there helping to support his brother in his hour of grief, while each of them continue running their respective businesses. I thought maybe I had an idea of where things were going for Trez, but I was wrong. Instead, I was surprised by the addition of a new female character named Therese, who applies for a job at iAm’s restaurant. It appears that a major revelation in her life either made her run away from her family or she doesn’t have a family anymore. I can’t say much more about her without giving away a major spoiler. All I can say is that a deep, instant attraction sparks between her and Trez, and I look forward to learning more about her.

In addition, three of the Brothers get their own POVs. First is Wrath (yeah, I know he’s technically the king, but I still think of him as a Brother :-)), who continues to prove himself as the benevolent ruler of the vampire race. I was very impressed with his ability to forgive and his wisdom (with a little “encouragement” from Beth) in mediating some difficult circumstances. Then there’s Tohr, who opens the story depressed, because it’s Wellsie’s birthday. That, the household recently losing Selena, and Tohr witnessing Trez’s grief over his mate’s death have stirred up old memories of his own devastating loss. All of this causes him to make some unwise choices that put a little tarnish on his previously pristine veneer for me, but eventually he comes to see reason. Last, but certainly not least, was Vishous. He’s been getting several of his own scenes throughout the past couple of books. In this one, he’s protecting his king and continuing his role as all-around geek extraordinaire. However, his contemplations over his mating with Jane from the previous book continue, with him now feeling rather neglected by his shellan, who is always busy playing chief medic to the Brotherhood and their families. This makes him begin to consider the unthinkable. Based on the Warden’s answers at her recent in-person Q & A, it looks like things may get worse for this couple before they get better. They certainly wouldn’t be the first couple in this series to have to work through difficulties, and with a long-running series like this, I know I can’t expect all the previous couples to get along perfectly without any problems (after all real life couples certainly don’t), so as long as Vishous doesn’t do something stupid, I think I’ll be OK with that.

Former Bastard, Throe, has now gone full-on evil and is poised to become the newest arch-enemy of the Brotherhood, as he’s now the one seeking the throne. He gets into some really freaky stuff in this story that I’m sure will have repercussions throughout the next few books. Then the final character who has a couple of his own POV scenes is Zypher, who has kind of become the defacto leader of the Band of Bastards in Xcor’s absence. They go searching in a last-ditch effort to find their real leader, while making plans to return to the Old Country if they can’t locate him.

While they didn’t get their own POVs, there are a few supporting characters with key roles, chief among them Lassiter. After bringing Tohr back to the land of the living many moons ago, the fallen angel was mostly just mooching off the Brothers, annoying the crap out of them, and being the comic relief, but now he's finally getting some great material. I’ve loved all the wonderful little things he’s done throughout the last couple of books and that continues here. He shows that under all the flamboyancy and flippancy there beats a vulnerable heart. There are some surprising developments with regards to Lassiter as he takes on a fuller role in the series. Jo Early, the human woman who is trying to prove the existence of vampires is barely seen, but she’s still out there doing her thing and causing trouble for Vishous to clean up. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of her. And finally, while not actually seen, Assail is heard in the background as he continues his detoxing process and it isn’t pretty. But it looks like he’s finally going to get his HEA with Sola in the next book of the series, The Thief, most likely releasing next spring (2018).

Overall, The Chosen was an excellent story and I loved every minute I spent reading it. Each time a new Black Dagger Brotherhood book comes out, I feel privileged to spend a little more time in their world. It feels so real, and I can’t get enough of these guys and their gals. There have been a few things happening in the series that have given me the feeling that things are moving toward the ultimate goal of eliminating the Omega once and for all, which makes me question whether the Warden is slowly wrapping up the series. However, in her Q & A, she gave me hope that I’ll still get to spend plenty more time with the Brothers, when she said that as long as they keep talking to her and as long as we, the fans, keep reading, she’ll keep writing them. You better believe I will do exactly that, and with the Black Dagger Legacy, we now get two books in the Brotherhood’s world each year. I can’t wait for Blood Fury coming at the very beginning of next year (2018), and for The Thief to follow shortly thereafter. show less

After turning the last page of The Beast, I couldn’t help thinking that J. R. Ward really made up for all the tears and heartache of the last book with an extra helping of joy and happiness in this one. Not that she didn’t make me wonder a couple of times if things might go badly for a couple of characters, but in the end, there were positives all around. Rhage and Mary were back in the hot seat as the focus couple of this book, and while they were feeling some distance between them in show more their relationship early on, they started to close that gap pretty quickly and things just got better and better as the story progressed. Besides Rhage and Mary, there are lots of other POV characters and lots of things happening that made the book very hard to put down. More than anything, I really hated finishing it and knowing there’s another year to go before I get another BDB story. At least I have the BDL to fill in the gap, but even that’s going to be a long wait.:-(

In The Shadows, the previous book of the series, Rhage was suffering from panic attacks and a generally unsettled feeling. After having a near-death experience at the beginning of this book, which was caused by him not listening to Vishous’s warning of his impending death and jumping the gun in their big battle with the lessers, Rhage finally realizes that it has to do with watching his Brothers with their young and knowing that he’ll never have the kind of real immortality that comes from procreating and passing his legacy on to his offspring. He ends up longing for a child when he thought he’d made peace with all of that at the time he made his bargain with the Scribe Virgin for Mary’s life. At first, he doesn’t want to tell Mary any of this, because he doesn’t want her to feel inadequate because of her barrenness. But once they’re both able to open up about some things, they start to heal the rift between them in preparation for a blessing. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the Brothers in different ways, but for some reason, Rhage has never quite been at the top of my list. After reading this book, though, I’m beginning to rethink that. Rhage has such a huge heart and he pretty much wears it on his sleeve, which is somewhat unusual for these guys. In much the same way that he fell in love at first sight (or I guess that would be first hear ;-)) with Mary, he also fell for little Bitty the moment he met her, and he’s totally amazing with the kid. It's easy to see that he'll make an incredible father. The other thing I adore about Rhage is that he only has eyes for his Mary. As usual, there are lots of women trying to flirt with him and get his attention (He’s so beautiful, they can’t seem to help themselves around him.), but they barely even register on his radar. He more or less knows they’re there and what they’re doing, but he just simply doesn’t care or pay them any mind. He also has a way of putting them in their place without completely putting them down, which is sweet. Rhage definitely recaptured my heart in this story, and I’m sure I’ll be moving him up my favorite heroes list after this.

Mary has been feeling the distance too, and it only gets worse – for a while – after she goes to the battlefield where Rhage lays dying and makes a desperate bid to save his life. She feels guilty because she didn’t try so hard to save Rhage for him or their relationship, because she knew she could simply choose to join him in the Fade if he passed. She did it because she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving behind an orphaned and traumatized little female she’d been helping at Safe Place. Mary has been very close to Bitty since she and her mahmen came to live at Safe Place, and she sees a lot of herself in the girl. Now that Bitty’s mother has passed on, Mary feels a deep connection with her, but she’s afraid to allow herself to explore these feelings that have become more maternal than those of a patient and therapist relationship. Once she and Rhage clear the air about all this, things are set on a straight path to an HEA. I’ve always admired Mary for her calm demeanor and her extraordinary ability as a therapist. She’s helped so many of the characters in this series both on and off canvas. One of the things I love most about her, though, is her ability to tame Rhage’s beast. Whenever she’s on the scene, the huge purple monster turns into a giant pussy cat, which is too cute.:-)

The third character in this part of the storyline is Bitty, a sweet female young, who’s been through a terrible ordeal. I think I vaguely recall there being a mention in one of the previous books quite a long way back about the Brothers rescuing her and her mahmen from her abusive father. They’ve been living at Safe Place ever since. Her mahmen was pregnant at the time they came to live there, but she lost the young she was carrying and never recovered, dying at the beginning of this book. At that point, Bitty is very withdrawn, not really responding to anyone and holding out hope that an uncle no one has ever heard of or can find any record of is coming to “rescue” her. That all changes when Bitty makes a request that Mary take her to her old house to collect some of her things, and Mary insists that Rhage go with them for protection. It was so sweet how Rhage instantly connected with Bitty and was able to draw her out over their shared interest in his purple GTO. Every time these two are in a scene together, it’s a heartwarming father/daughter bonding moment. Not long after Rhage gets through to Bitty, she begins to open up to Mary as well, and they share some deeply emotional scenes too. I think my favorite part of the entire book, though, was seeing how the beast responded to Bitty. That was absolutely priceless.

As I mentioned earlier, and as is typical for the BDB books, there are plenty of other POVs. I’ll start with Assail, because I felt like there was a lot of forward progress in his storyline. Throughout the book, he’s still battling – or perhaps more accurately giving in to – his cocaine addiction, but I could sense that it was gradually reaching a breaking point. His redemption began in the last book with him bringing the head of the forelesser to the Brothers, and at the beginning of this book, he joins them in raiding the lessers’ latest headquarters. He then agrees to become a spy for the King in the household of the aristocrat who’s harboring Throe, in an attempt to discover what nefarious things the glymera might be planning. Throughout the story, Assail struggles between his bad self and this newfound better side, while revealing a new side to his sexuality. I think it has more to do with his love of dominance and playing games than anything else, though, because he’s still pining deeply for his beloved Marisol, whom he believes is far out of his reach. By the end, Assail gets the chance to become a real hero, and the emotions that are drawn out of him by that experience make me sense that there might be something deeper, perhaps in his past, fueling them. When he first appeared a couple of books ago, Assail didn’t really catch my eye, but the events surrounding him in this book are making me change my mind.

Next are Xcor, Layla, Qhuinn, and Blay. Xcor spends nearly the entire book unconscious, a prisoner of the Brotherhood. Basically the Brothers are merely waiting for him to wake up, so that they can torture him for information and then execute him for attempted regicide. But of course, we all know that can’t happen.;-) During his one moment of lucidity, Xcor’s only thought is for Layla, so we know he’s still in love with her and the feeling is mutual. She can sense his presence in the training center, but she’s still afraid to tell the Brothers the extent of her involvement with him. She does, however, make a trip to the Other Side, where she digs up some surprising information about Xcor that will most likely be his saving grace, when these two become the hero and heroine of the next book, The Chosen, which will probably be released next spring (2017). In the meantime, Layla is still desperately trying to hold onto to her pregnancy and not give birth to the twin young too soon. She’s doted upon in her convalescence by the loving daddies, Qhuinn and Blay. This threesome’s part of the story ended up being a major nail-biter.

We also get to see quite a bit from Vishous’s POV, which I loved since he’s one of my favorite Brothers. At first, I thought it was just because his ability to predict the future and his position in the Brotherhood made him an obvious choice for certain scenes, but he also goes through some moments of deeper contemplation that are more about him and Jane and their future. He also deals with his mommy issues a little bit, and there’s a shocking development regarding said maternal figure, the Scribe Virgin, that I didn’t see coming, and that will likely have repercussions throughout the next few books of the series.

Last but not least, we’re introduced to a couple of new characters. The danger of humans stumbling upon a vampire/lesser fight or something else vampire related and filming it with a camera phone is something that's been posited a few times in recent books, and now it looks like that may be starting to build a bit. In this one, a guy records a video of the big battle between the Brotherhood and the lessers in which Rhage beasts out and posts it on YouTube. He drags his roommate, Jo, a human woman, into what she initially thinks are his drug-induced hallucinations, but after doing some digging of her own, she starts to believe him. She teams up with an investigative journalist from the local newspaper and they begin to unearth some suspicious things, while he finds a surprising connection between Jo and another character who’s been a part of the series for quite a while. The second new character is a vampire male named Markcus. He doesn’t get his own POV, but he’s a compelling character already. I can’t say much about him without giving away spoilers, but he’s already proving himself as a male of worth. His appearance is also having a profound affect on Assail and Zsadist, and I’m eager to see where things go with him in future books of the series.

All in all, The Beast was an absolutely perfect read. I loved all the storylines and wouldn’t have changed a thing about any of them. The Brotherhood dealt the Omega a huge blow in this book, and for the first time in a long time, he physically put in an appearance. There’s some talk about the Dhestroyer prophecy and how they might be able to rid themselves of the Omega and his lessers once and for all. It makes me wonder a bit if The Warden is starting to think about wrapping the series up, but if so, I hope it won’t be for quite a while yet. As it usually does around this time every year, it feels like it’s going to be a long wait until the next BDB book comes out. I’m really stoked for Xcor and Layla’s story. I’ve been waiting for them to get together for a long time now and can’t wait to see how Ms. Ward manages to fully redeem Xcor. For now, I’ll have to console myself with Blood Vow, the next Black Dagger Legacy book, but as it doesn’t come out until December (2016), even seven months is feeling like an eternity.

Note: There are a couple of scenes in which a secondary character plays voyeur at what amounts to an orgy and later sets up a M/F/M menage a trois between three supporting players. Since the POV character isn’t actually involved in the sex, it’s mostly in the background without a lot of details. The rest of the love scenes are typical of J. R. Ward’s super-steamy but not quite erotic writing style. show less