Lover Mine: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood

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 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!!

A great addition to an amazing series. There was definitely less romance but more action and a strong ongoing storyline from previous books. I can't wait for the next book in March 2011 :)

Ok, Ok, some may ask what took me so long to read this one. Well first of all I didn't want to be influence by the great reviews it was getting and secondly I didn't want to wait a complete year till the next one comes out. Anyways it was simply a fantastic read. I really enjoyed this one big time. To me it's simply up there with V and Z's story. So that being said on with the review of Lover Mine. This being book eight of the Black Dagger Brotherhood you would think that the author would be losing a bit of steam in her story...but....no... this one is on par or even better than the others in the series. Of course some of the time you feel like she sidetracks a bit but she's been doing that since the beginning so it's more her writing style than getting lost in too many subplots. But of course they are a few of them in the same story but that's to be expected and they all come together nicely...apart from one but I will get to that later on. Now for those who have not read any in the series yet believe me, start from the beginning cause each book always ties in to the next. So they would not make good stand alone reading.

Now our two main characters are of course John Matthews and Xhex. The basic story is based around these two. Next of course we need subplots and these are served by Blay and Qhuinn's continuing love me, love me not story. When these two finally do get it on, the phrase: let's get ready to rumble will probably get a new meaning. Next we have flashbacks of Darius and Thor from the 1600. I really enjoyed this part of the story because it does explain a lot and was interesting to read about. Too bad Darius was killed off in the beginning of the series; he would have made a great principal character. Now comes the: what the hell does this serve any purpose moment...in a subplot about a t.v. crew filming some paranormal activity involving a ghost of some kind. Off course this is tied in a small way to the Brothers world but it really just breaks the reading pattern established. I won't give away the BIG secret to the ghost because that would completely kill the little suspense that there is in this subplot. It would mhurder this part of the story. Anyways I won't even bother to give the characters names because most will never be seen again. Now our favourite bad guy is back and in a big way...Lash is at it and boy do I like to hate him. He actually makes the Lessening society interesting. Much more than black mud and baby powder could ever. Most of the characters from the other stories all make little appearances but the spotlight really shines on John and Xhex.

This story is simply about what happens after Xhex escapes from the violence and abuse suffered at Lash's hands. How will she and John cope with both their need for vengeance. Is payback more important than love? You get to understand how these two very different personalities actually were formed from almost the same miseries. I really like how Xhex is portrayed as a strong warrior character but also with a tender side that we don't see too often, almost like a female version of Z. Another thing I really appreciated in this one is the new and improved version of John. He went from a brave but weak boy to a strong but whiney vampire to finally arrive at a complete warrior. I can't use the term Brother because he is not there yet but probably he is as close as you can be without being part of the Brotherhood, probably the same can be said of Xhex. So yes...life....and also the taking of it, made sure that these two were made for each other.

All in all a great story with a lot of secondary plots involved. Of course some loose ends left here and there but we all know this is her writing style and probably these will be resolved later on in the series. So yes I liked it a lot more than what I was expecting because John was getting on my nerves with his whining and poor me attitude from the last books but now he is back as one of my favourite characters in the series. Welcome John, to the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Member or not, you are now a warrior at heart. Welcome Xhex, you were always a warrior at heart but now you have purpose. I really hope to read more about these two because as a couple they are my favs. So a big 4.5 star to this one.

I thought this was another great one in the series. I loved that she stuck true to the characters, and didn't end up making Xhex a damsel in distress. My only concern is there was such build up to this book from all the others, that I can't help wondering where she will go from here. Overall, definitely worth the wait, absolutely fabulous!