Lover Mine

Okay, I'm giving this book four stars, not because of its literary prowess, but because of its enjoyability.However, after eight books in this series, I have a serious problem. Well, frankly I had a problem from the first book but I've already reviewed that one.My big problem is in the characters and the gender roles they embody. Now, there's been a great deal of criticism over J.R. Ward's treatment of female characters in these books. Xhex and Payne are like a bandaid she uses to patch this up. Now, honestly I am one of the few who actually always liked Xhex as a character. It didn't change in this book. John Matthews was always one of my most liked characters. Their show, in this book, was kind of stolen by Blay and Quinn who I found show more myself desperately hoping would have some kind of resolution for their relationship. As usual, J.R.Ward does what most romantic novelists do. She creates characters whose every problem can be fixed by love and great sex. I'm sorry but I was literally bashing my head on something very hard when Xhex, after being held prisoner for almost four weeks and brutally raped several times, had great sex with John Matthews. No. No. No. I'm not even going to go into that one except to say: No. To all future writers out there: Don't do it. That is just... I have no words for that one.However, the big problem with the characters wasn't that they weren't likable or interesting, or that the woman wasn't "equal" enough. It was the character roles they play. J.R. Ward doesn't seem to get this.In fact, I wonder if she'll ever get this. The complaints about poor female characters in her book don't necessitate the creation of female protagonists who are practically men with vaginas. Creating a female character who walks, talks, acts and thinks like a man doesn't create a positive female protagonist (especially when she spends so much time complaining about how weak women are)! Our issues weren't that your women were weak characters (okay, maybe a little bit) but the roles that define them for goodness sake!In this series the men are men and the women are there to be protected, cherished and ultimately invisible. The only, Only woman who appears repeatedly is Doc Jane and occasionally Ehlena because they need to stitch someone up. Why? As soon as they are married and happy with their partners do they suddenly become non-existent? Oh, sorry, they show up for the inevitable wedding at the end of each book and cry like babies. However, I get that you, J.R. Ward have been actively trying to give them varied professions and passions and hobbies to make up for the fact that Beth dropped her entire life to go play Queen with Wrath and for several books didn't appear to have anything to fucking do. I get that that's why there's now a doctor and a nurse and a counselor and and the director of a female's home etc. Now there is Xhex who will be fighting with the big boys. *Facepalms* I don't even know how to touch on this anymore without breaking out into cussing so inevitably varied and violent that my review will be removed by Goodreads...My biggest problem isn't actually the female gender roles that are fucked up in these books, believe it or not. It's the men's! The portrayal of masculinity in these books makes me want to cry. Studies have shown that whilst an appalling number of women will suffer from violence at the hands of men (25%), men are actually moreso the victims of violence at their own hands! 70% of men will, at one point or another, be the victim of violence against them. These books say that to be a man you have to be muscled to within an inch of your life and you must be violent. THIS DOESN'T HELP THE SITUTATION. Every male protagonist in this book is violent, animalistic, uncontrolled and hyper-masculine to the point of ridiculousness. Now, I'm not saying that I prefer the pansy-ass sparklepires over something that does more than brood in your general direction if you're evil. I'm just saying that there needs to be a more divergent representation of what it is to be male. Because frankly, masculinity is no more tied to the size of your muscles than femininity is to one's beauty. My challenge to J.R. Ward is not to create a female protagonist who embodies positive gender roles but to create a male protagonist that is still masculine and sexy despite the fact that he is not a muscleman who walked out of the caveman era. For goodness sake, in the reader's guide not a SINGLE male could list a book that they'd read that WASN'T a book that they'd read to Nalla. That's right. Every single male in the guide doesn't read except to a baby. And women must be gentle and protected and kept away. That is, unless they're a spitfire dead doctor who can't be harmed anyway or a woman with a mangina that can be seen from space. show less

I keep wondering what crack she puts into the pages, seriously, the character names are plain crazy and the wierd names for people and things are just plain daft, but once I start reading I find it hard to put them down.

This is the story of the mute John Matthew and his relationship with Xhex and about history, pain, getting it wrong and getting it right in relationships. Sometimes there's too much going on and it's hard to keep track of a single plot line but overall it's interesting and compelling reading, the romances are well drawn with strong female characters but enough with the tiny women and huge men. Supernatural race or no supernatural race, when you start breeding for big warriors you're going to get some females who also show more fall into this sizing. Granted the males have a change that comes over them but why not the women?

Diverting, addictive and I love them despite my reservations. show less

After reading the latest novel in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series, I'm not sure that J. R. Ward is capable of writing a bad book. Lover Mine was another great installment in the series which broke out of the box in a couple of different ways. It had the first alpha-female heroine who is also a commitment-phobe. This led to something of a role reversal from the earlier books with the hero essentially saving the heroine from herself and her demons, rather than the other way around. Lover Mine also had what appears to be shaping up as the first gay romance in the series between two secondary characters. I have to give the author kudos for doing something different even though both of these stories occasionally frustrated me in some show more ways. I really liked that John Matthew and Xhex were on the canvas more than the most recent heroes and heroines, albeit not always in each other's company, and the majority of the sub-plots directly connected to them in some way. All in all there was quite a lot to enjoy here.

I've adored John Matthew since the moment he first appeared way back in book #2 of the series, Lover Eternal, and have been hoping for great things for him. With his muteness (the only hero I've ever read who is), he has always been a unique character, but J. R. Ward does a great job with his communication skills even though he can't speak. He is a truly gentle soul with a nice mix of alpha and beta, but I think he leans a bit more beta than any of the other brotherhood heroes besides Phury. Except for one brief lapse of selfishness in the last book which didn't suit him well at all, John is always thinking of others, putting them first, and trying to do the right thing. I love what he did at the beginning of the story to show how completely devoted he was to Xhex even though they had never shared a real relationship and he believed she might dead, as well as his determination to find her, dead or alive, and bring her captor to justice. Once, Xhex is found, John showers her with love and affection in little ways, by being tender and performing small tasks for her with great care, and then later by making the ultimate sacrifice for her. John is her steady rock, always just quietly there for her even when Xhex doesn't seem to want him to be. He does have his limits though, and when Xhex stubbornly pulls away from him, he retreats as well, but not before giving her an ultimatum which I really appreciated at that point. John isn't all sweetness though. When the bonded male in him comes out, we get to see a side of him that is as fierce as a hurricane, and quite different from the docile John of earlier books but still quite appealing. John's utter devotion to Xhex is amazing and to say that he's a fabulous guy would be an understatement. He has definitely taken a place as one of my all-time favorite brotherhood heroes.

Xhex was a character I wanted to love every bit as much as John did, but at times she frustrated me. I've never had an easy time relating to tough, kick-butt heroines, and that may have played into my mixed feelings as well. I admired her strength and determination in the face of Lash's torture and how she always kept her wits about her, doing whatever she needed to do to stay alive. I also love the way she fights out in the field. Her grit and independence worked to her advantage until she was reunited with John, and then I felt that it played against her. She waffles between being vulnerable with John without loosing her innate edginess and stubbornly keeping herself at arms length. I understood her need and desire for vengeance against Lash, but she definitely took it too far in my opinion, at which point, it seemed like she cared more about getting revenge than about John's feelings. I really sympathized with everything she had been through in the past and at Lash's hands and suppose all that she had suffered made her dysfunctional behavior understandable, but I still strongly disliked her acting in such a selfish manner. I realize that every person reacts differently to trauma, but one thing that didn't quite ring true to me was how Xhex had flashbacks and pulled away the first time she and John tried to make love after being reunited, but then mere hours later she was perfectly fine and had no further problems. Considering that she still had phobias associated with her other experience in captivity twenty years ago, it just didn't quite make sense that she would overcome her most recent tortures so easily. Otherwise, everything worked all right for me. I was so glad when Xhex finally came to her senses and realized how much John meant to her. She made up for everything she'd done to John in a very touching and emotional scene which put tears in my eyes. In my opinion, Xhex showed her willingness to change for John and as long as she treats him right from here on out (and I truly think she will), then she's OK in my book, even if she isn't my ideal heroine.

Lover Mine also gave me my first taste of a gay romance, something I've never read before. The dynamic between Qhuinn and Blaylock is quite interesting, that of best friends who deep down would like to be lovers, but stubbornness and tradition are keeping a wall between them. I thought it interesting that since Blay's “coming out” a few books ago, Qhuinn's voracious sexual appetite has led him down a path of experimentation and probable bi-sexuality. I've always liked him as a character, but not so much his man-slut ways. I was glad to see though that Qhuinn actually does have some scruples when it comes to his sex life which means that there is definite hope for him to change. Qhuinn obviously cares very deeply about Blay as more than just friends, but still clings to the glymera ideal of a “normal” mating. I've always liked Blay too, because he is a perfect gentleman in a warrior's body. Even though in some ways it seemed like he was giving up on Qhuinn a little too easily, I felt that he had every right to seek out other relationships when Qhuinn gave him the cold shoulder. I might have even liked Saxton, his new love interest, except that it's pretty obvious he's an unwanted third wheel, and I really don't care for love triangles much. I think Qhuinn and Blay definitely have a future together if Qhuinn would just stop being so stubborn and they could find their way back to communicating like they did when they were just best friends.

This being The Black Dagger Brotherhood, there were several other sub-plots too. I really enjoyed the historical flashbacks to the early brotherhood of the 1600's. Readers get to see some of the ancestors of the current brothers and learn the origins of Darius and Tohr's friendship. Since Darius died in Dark Lover, all that has been told about him was through the eyes of others, so it was nice to see him in some actual scenes. Not surprisingly, John Matthew is the complete embodiment of Darius. It was really neat to see the past and present converge, coming full circle in John and Xhex's destiny. There is another side-plot in the present involving a group of ghost hunters who are trying to host their TV show at a civil war mansion that is purportedly haunted by it's former owner. At first, I wanted to get through those parts as quickly as possible to get back to the rest of the story, until I realized that it had a connection to everything else too. I correctly guessed who the “ghost” was right before it was revealed, and I look forward to seeing how he may affect future plotlines. It was great to see John and Tohr finally rebuilding their relationship, and Tohr getting back in the game even though he is still grieving deeply. We also get to see more of Payne, Layla and No'One (I can't remember if she was introduced before or was new in this story), their interactions amongst themselves on The Other Side, and with other characters in the story. I sympathize with Payne's frustration over being locked away by the Scribe Virgin, and how she finally escaped that life was left as something of a cliffhanger. I can't wait to see her as the heroine of the next book, Lover Unleashed, and learn more about her background. Layla is one of my favorites among the Chosen. She has a definite crush on Qhuinn, so I hope she'll be able to find an HEA sometime in the future. The very first scene with No'One had me intrigued with her and when her true identity was revealed I was quite surprised. She is a character who truly deserves an HEA, and I find myself hoping that maybe it will be with Tohr. As usual, the stuff with Lash, the lessers and the Omega was pretty disturbing. Lash saying he “loved” Xhex turned my stomach, and even though I'm not typically the blood-thirsty sort, I couldn't help but enjoy how everything turned out for him. No one could have been more deserving.

For the most part, Lover Mine had all the things one would usually expect from a novel in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The action scenes played out in my head just like the best movies. There were lots of creepy horror moments. Although this book was pretty dark and it took a while to get to them, there was a little comic relief, mostly from Trez, iAm, Rhage and V. All of the brothers, some of the shellans, and several other characters from past books reemerged. The story has some very romantic moments, but it still wasn't quite as romantic as some of the other books for me. I think this may have been mainly owing to Xhex not being a hearts and flowers kind of girl like I am. The love scenes were steamy but in my opinion, not exactly pages-smokin'-burn-your-fingers hot like some of the earlier books. This probably was because I felt that John and Xhex had a great sexual connection but were somewhat lacking in the emotional connection, communication and relationship departments. In spite of a few frustrations, mainly with Xhex and to a lesser degree, Qhuinn, this was still a fabulous book that has earned a spot on my keeper shelf along with the others in the series. Sometimes the ending of a story can make or break it, and in this case, a spectacular ending really helped to make up for my earlier annoyances. Lover Mine is book #8 in The Black Dagger Brotherhood. For the first time since I started reading the series, I am caught up and eagerly awaiting the release of the next book, but rather sad that I won't get to visit with these characters again until next year (2011). show less

SPOILER ALERT

Move over Zsadist and Vishous --- Hello John Matthew! Ok, so I still love Z and V to the fullest extent possible but JM has swooped in and stolen my heart. This has been the most anticipated book in any series I have ever read (well, maybe except Breaking Dawn of the Twilight Saga, but that was a complete letdown!) This book, however, was all I could have asked for. Most of the BDB fan base has been waiting for John Matthew's Happily Ever After, and we finally got it!

We first met JM in Lover Eternal where he was a scrawny, rundown mute with an ugly secret, and no one to turn to. However, Mary, Rhage’s shellan, takes him under her wing and he gets sucked into the world of vampires and lessers in the blink of an eye. show more Unbeknownst to the characters, JM is likely the reincarnation of Darius, a brother we have very little time with in book one of the series, Dark Lover. However, the characters in the book believe that JM is Darius’ son, and his sister is Beth, the half-vampire shellan of the Blind King, Wrath.

Flash forward a few books and JM has suffered more great loss, but has now transformed into a vampire warrior. While he is still mute, he is no longer scrawny. In fact, one might describe him has ginormous. :) JM’s ugly secret has kept him from having relations with women, but damned if he can keep his mind, and hands, of Xhex. Xhex, half-vampire, half-sympath, does not let people easily enter her personal life. She is one hell of an ass-kicking female, built like a bull and her sympath nature makes her very dangerous. I think her attraction to JM throws her off her game, and their trysts leave them confused and hurt, but OH SO wanting more. Xhex is HANDS DOWN my favorite female character, and has been since her first appearance as Rhev’s head of security.

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Lover Mine is one hell of a ride. JM and Xhex finally got their HEA, but it was a torturous journey. After Xhex’s abduction at the end of Lover Avenged by Lash, son of the evil Omega, JM swears to find her, dead or alive. Lover Mine opens to JM making a promise to always have Xhex with him, even if she is gone, by tattooing her name in the Old Language into his shoulders, Brother-style. Hot! Meanwhile, Lash has been keeping Xhex alive in some crazy dimensional cage, and doing some sick, grisly shit to her. He thinks he’s in love because she beats the shit out of him right back. Unfortunately, she isn’t strong enough to fight him off completely. :( Things happen, Xhex escapes, JM finds her, and the journey towards love, commitment, second-chances, faith, trust and revenge picks up the pace. Hold on to your hats!

We get some serious insight into the human psyche, how emotions can destroy us, and how the need for acceptance is dire. JM is a male of worth who pulled himself together to save his savior. He is sweet, strong, empathetic, and protective. He also embraces Xhex’s strength and courage, which seems to be a serious turn-on for him

Sub-plots:

Lash: You were one funny mutha, I will give you that, but you disgust me and I’m glad your skin peeled off like papier-mâché. You got what was coming to you, sucka!

Muhrder: The entire sub-plot with the filming crew and Muhrder was weird and boring. While learning more about him is very intriguing because he is a brother and has a history with Xhex, that entire storyline was odd and left nothing to be desired. It wasn’t even revealed that it was Muhrder until the very end and if you don’t pick up on stuff in books (like me), then you were probably wondering what the bloody hell that subplot was all about!

Blay/Qhuinn: I haven't read much male/male relations but these two definitely have my heart in pieces! I am not sure if they will ever get their own book, but all I can ask is that Qhuinn and Layla DO NOT mate. Ick. I am glad that Blay got an opportunity to experience a male, and I actually like Saxton. I wonder what will become of this triangle in the future. I just wish Qhuinn would stop brooding and tell Blay how he feels. I mean, he did let out some serious bonding scent during one interaction with Blay (and I think my jaw hit the floor). Hello! We finally got see a side of Qhuinn that we weren’t aware of, and if he would just admit to it, all parties would be happy!

Payne: Eh. Not very attached or interested in her, but I’m sure that will change. I’m glad that she was able to visit the other side, although under shitty circumstance. Doc Jane to the rescue! Scratch that: Manny to the rescue!

Darius’ past with Tohrment, Xhex’s mother and Xhex: I absolutely LOVED reading Darius’ journal!! This was a fantastic way to enter into the psyche and past of a character we, the readers, don’t know well personally, but have learned a hell of a lot from other characters. Tohr’s father-like instinct was intensified after reading how Darius took him in. I am so unbelievably happy that Tohr and JM are picking up the pieces, together. I picked up on this plot line being about Xhex immediately, and it drove home JM and Xhex’s destined love. Tohr was completely right when he said they were meant to be together. In my eyes, they are soul mates being reunited. :)

P.S. First love Z sings during the mating! *swoon* show less

Wow – just, wow!!

This book totally knocked my socks off!

After the cliff-hanger in Lover Avenged, I could hardly wait to start Lover Mine...and it did not disappoint!

**SPOILER WARNING!

Xhex is one tough chick! I love her!! Lover Avenged ended with Lash kidnapping Xhex, and this one continues right where we last left off. John Matthew is devastated, thinking that Lash has surely tortured and killed Xhex. He gets her name written in the old language tattooed across the back of his shoulders, just as the Brothers would have done during a Mating Ceremony. In his case, John Matthew does it as a memorial to Xhex. It is heartbreaking, and you can feel his pain.

John Matthew actually succeeds in finding Lash’s lair but, because of the spell show more that Lash has put in place, no one can see or hear Xhex in the bedroom. She reaches out and touches John Matthew’s face, and he reacts to her touch and covers her hand with his own. He can feel her, but he cannot see her. He dismisses this as being just his imagination. He sees her blood, and he is certain that he is too late.

Luckily for Xhex, Lash is going through a sort of transformation which has weakened his spell. She is able to escape the barrier and heads for her basement apartment. John Matthew finds her there, barely alive. John Matthew lovingly takes care of Xhex and moves her to the Brotherhood’s mansion.

I was captivated by the developments in John Matthew’s and Xhex’s relationship. They are totally hot together, and Ward has made another sexy duo! Xhex is the perfect partner for John Matthew, and not just because of her mind-reading ability (which comes in handy when you are with someone who can’t speak!). They bring out the best in each other, and they love each other just as they are.

I did a lot of weeping in this one! Keep that Kleenex box handy!! Here is just a sampling:

Xhex to John Matthew: “You're not half the male you could be because of what was done to you. You're twice what anyone else is because you survived.”

John Matthew to Xhex: “Yes", he mouthed. "I would hold you up. I will ever hold you up and hold you dear, lover mine."

It was nice to see John Matthew lose the attitude that he developed in Lover Avenged. Patching things up with Tohr was a long time coming.

I had a feeling where the sub-plot of Darius and Tohr was heading, and I was right! Nice tie-in, Ward! But you completely blindsided me with No’One!

I was also totally clueless about the Eliahu Rathboone sub-plot! I did not see that one coming, and I am really intrigued where that one is going to lead! It smells like trouble!

Qhuinn is still resisting his urge where Blaylock is concerned, and there are a couple of intense scenes with the two of them. I feel so sorry for Blay, poor guy!

Once again, we end on a cliff-hanger with Wrath sparring with Payne. Tragedy strikes, and we wait with baited breath to see what happens next!

Again, I noticed some technical issues with this audiobook. On several occasions, I could actually hear the technician say "ok" before Frangione starts narrating. Other than that, it was fine. I love Frangione. His narration is impeccable! I could listen to him all day long!!

MY RATING: 5 stars!! Superb book! I could not put it down!! show less

I think Lover Mine is hands-down the best installment in the entire Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It's also the most eccentric. It's got the best emotional payoff - there's no other character who's developed as much as John Matthews has, no other Brother who stole our hearts as a scrawny little pre-trans, and no other romance that's been drawn out from book to book the way John and Xhex's has. I was a little worried that Lover Mine wouldn't live up to my expectations - and I was absolutely thrilled when it did.

As usual with JR Ward, we're following about ten different plotlines in Lover Mine. There's the lead story of John Matthews and Xhex, which is tied up in Lash's plotline. Xhex is my favorite of Ward's heroines; she's the first show more one who really feels like an equal to me, the first one who can take her place among the Brothers. As John Matthews and Xhex get closer, there's a lot of give and take - they protect one another, they support one another. It's not a one-way street. Sometimes Xhex leans on John Matthews; sometimes he leans on her. Sometimes she saves his life, and sometimes he saves hers. There are so many wonderful, poignant moments. And smoking hot ones, too. The Lash plotline is...satisfying. Let's just say that he gets what he deserves...and that's before the Brothers, or Xhex, get within striking distance.

And then there's all the other stuff.

We get a lot of Blaylock and Qhuinn - I know there's been some conflict about this couple and no matter what Ward does, she'll make some of her fans angry. Personally, after reading Lover Mine, I can say that I will be absolutely furious if Qhuinn and Blaylock don't get their happily ever after. FURIOUS. I don't care how it happens, if the couple is strung out as a side-plot for another five books and all the gay sex happens "off-screen" - if they get their own book I'll be overjoyed - but man, I will accept no substitutions. Those two are meant to be. As for Blaylock's love-interest in this book, Saxton - well, it was nice of him to show up and force Qhuinn to deal with his feelings, but I hope he disappears as soon as possible.

But there's more! There are fully 3-more significant subplots, and the book frequently switches its POV among them. We get a fair amount of Payne, Vishous's twin sister who's been trapped in the Scribe Virgin's territory. And then we have a subplot about some Paranormal Investigators at a haunted Bed & Breakfast. I wish I could say this was the wackiest subplot; it certainly feels the most irrelevant. It's about some jaded Hollywood types producing a show about supernatural phenomena, but until they visit this Bed & Breakfast all their things that go bump in the night had to be faked and fudged in post-production. This time, they've found a real ghost. By the end, we get a hint about why we read endless pages about these people, but don't expect too much.

Lastly, we get the wackiest of the sub-plots. It's a flashback about Darius and Tohrment. This one at least relates directly to the main plot about John Matthews and Xhex, but reading it is excruciating. Ward's old-timey speak is just...horrible. It's always "verily" this and "indeed" that and how about a "repast" or some "victuals". And then there are the little wink-wink, nudge-nudge moments, like when Darius thinks to himself how nice it would be if only the Brothers had some way of communicating to one another instantly, across great distances (like a cell phone, get it? He wants a cell phone!). The way this thread was written pretty much killed any emotional impact it might have had on me. But it did make me laugh.

So yeah, the best but also the most eccentric. It's like the quintessence of the whole BDB series, all distilled into its most potent forms. The odd language and frustrating digressions, the endless branding, but also the excitement, the emotional intensity, the intense friendships among the brothers and the sizzling romance between the protagonists. A fantastic read. show less

Okay, there’s agony and drama and then there’s ridiculous. Lover Mine is ridiculous. It's melodrama now.

This was so disjointed, so crazy with all the 'stop before the big revelation of major stuff' endings to scenes. In the past I could overlook the faults because I was having so much fun, but now it's not fun - it's very hard work. What genre is this supposed to be? Whose story is this supposed to be? It's a mess.

The mystery of the world they live in has been revealed to the point - and convoluted to the point - that it is no longer fun. There are all these strange dimensions, strange creatures, crazy rules, weird turnabouts that it’s kind of silly. There’s just too much going on.

Then there’s the over the top language JR show more Ward used. ‘Cocksucking tissue’?! ‘Goddamned sheet'?! 'True'?! It used to sound sort of tough. Now there's so much of it it's obvious she's trying too hard! And if I read the term 'emotional grid' one more time I was going to scream!

Don't get me wrong - I was a JR Ward fangirl like many others. I am a member of her crazy-scary messageboard, and I have at least one copy of every book. I'm aware many people think she's redeemed herself here, but I cannot agree with that.

I never wanted to read issue-laden, mute John Matthew's story. Many series in many genres have a Mary Sue or Gary Stu who take over all the books. John Matthew is the Black Dagger Brotherhood's offending character. I don't care about an adolescent's evolution - hence reading the ADULT vampire series rather than sparkly fairy Twilight books. And superman Xhex never did anything for me. That said, I was willing to overlook it if this book was good. Instead I found so much pain and terror and grief and distress - just because the author could write it - that I couldn't find a way to connect with the characters.

I see the beginning of the series as a separate entity to the other part. What happens now is comedic, in a sick, sad way. It’s a pity it turned out like this. show less