Monday, April 23, 2012

Holly & Liz read, Lover Reborn by JR Ward

Let me start off by saying that if you haven't read any of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, stop reading this now and go. Seriously, stop and don't come back until you're done with Lover Reborn.

It took me a few months to pick them up after hearing so many people talk about them. When I finally did, I nearly zipped through them all. Talk about some good reads. Long, but good.

So here's the lowdown. The Black Dagger Brotherhood, or the BDB as we fans like to call them, are a series of books by JR Ward- otherwise known as "The Warden" to her fans. It chronicles the lives of these warrior vampires that are all brothers in this ancient society. Each book focuses on a different brother. And yes, once you've read them all, you'll have your favorite brother picked out.

There are eleven books out and The Warden seems to keep a tight ship in releasing a new one each year. And believe me when I tell you, fans go cray cray on who the next book might be about.

Before Liz and I talk about our love for Lover Reborn, here's a quick recap of the previous books.


(Taken from google- these strapping young men are who fans "see" when they read the books and personally, this one fits best because I totally see Marky Mark as Butch. And tell me, after seeing these dudes you don't want to run out and read these books?)

Dark Lover- Wrath, the king of the BDB. This is his and Beth's story. It's one of my personal favorites because you meet all the brothers for the first time. But no, Wrath is not my favorite brother.

Lover Eternal- Rhage, or Hollywood, and Mary's story. Rhage, while a ladies man and a true beast, he still isn't my favorite.

Lover Awakened- Zsadist and Bella's story. Now, I went in to this story not liking Zsadist at all from the previous books. But when I was done, there was no doubt, Z was my favorite brother. And after reading all the books now, that still holds true.

Lover Revealed- Butch and Marissa's story. Blah. Butch did nothing for me.

Lover Unbound- Vishous and Doc Jane's story. *Ahem* Liz loves her some V. This would be her favorite.

Lover Enshrined- Phury and Cormia's story. *Yawn* Phury was boring. BOR-ING.

Lover Avenged- Rhevenge & Elhena's story. Oh the Rev. He plays a part in each story, and while not a brother, his book is just as enjoyable.

Lover Mine- John Matthew & Xhex's story. John Matthew. I love JM. Xhex took me a while to warm up to because she's not your typical woman you'd expect a brother to fall for. Then again, John Matthew is anything but typical himself.

Lover Unleashed- Payne & Manuel's story. Payne- a woman- isn't a brother. Neither is Manuel. And while this wasn't in my top five favorites, you still learn quite a bit.

Which brings us to the latest release, Lover Reborn.

Tohrment and No'One's story. This, after Zsadist & John Matthew, falls into my top three.

See, Tohr is a HUGE fixture in most of the books. A long standing brother, a devoted husband, a deadly warrior, Tohr has fallen deep into the land of depression. Not his fault. Once you read the other books you'll understand the sorrow that's plaguing him.

And so we begin, Holly and Liz read Lover Reborn. (Yes, there are spoilers in this chat transcript. Also, fair warning- again- Liz and I are chatting and tend to not make any sense).

March 28-
Holly- lets do nothing but read LR today :)
Liz- can we?? please??!
  omg I am so hooked, I read for 30 minutes when I got in this morning bc no'one was in << see what I did there? ;D
Holly- LMAO- I'm taking 10 minute breaks every hour to read. I'm not that far into it though. But I don't want to put it down.
Liz- at the same time i don't want to read it too fast

later that day...
Holly- can I say I LOVE the bond between Tohrr and John.
Liz-  yeah, me too. I love JM!
Holly- but I'm a little over Xhex
  ok yeah. you're a female. You like to fight. But damn. You gotta see where these guys are coming from.
Liz- I like her too though and it's hard for her to be restrained all of a sudden
Holly- true
Liz- I like them together and that she obv loves him as much as he loves her
they are awwwwwwwwww
Holly- I know but it seems almost every book since their's has them in there. I expected a lot of JM because of his relationship with Tohr and I'm totally down with that. I don't know. Just get on with Tohr and no'one
 and the bromance with JM LOL
Liz- I just got to some Tohr/Noone
  no humping, yet
Holly- the most I've seen is her returning the dress. I'm a little far behind LOL
Liz-: I read at lunchtime, soooo good. not sure I like the bastards much, takes me away from the ones I want to read about
 I read on the boards that Ward likes one of the new guys and I can't remember who, might have to go look
 after I finish the book though, I don't want to be spoiled
Holly- yeah me either.

March 29-
Liz-  DONE!!!!!!!
 Holly-  :(
  I just got to "summer"
Liz-  OMG I LOVED IT
Holly-yay!
  I was just about to ask what you thought
Liz- I read all evening, never turned on my PC
  Just finished, a million times better than the last one
Holly- with Tohr I can't imagine it not being good
Liz-  It was great and Qhuinn! Omg
Holly- LOL I take it his novel might be next
Liz- They are going to get their HEA
  can't wait!!
Holly-  LOL
Liz- I think it was Assail that Ward likes
Holly- being eased into them I think I can handle their love affair
  omg!
  he's only been mentioned once, but I thought the exact same thign!
Liz-  But he was no biggie this book..I even like Throe and maybe Xcor
You'll see..wow, I even cried a bit
Holly- just he way he was mentioned made me think she's got a good back story going for him
Liz- : 5 stars I think
Holly-  I really think Throe will get his own book too
Liz-  Me too!
Holly- because he's "son of Throe" and Tohr has made the comment of what his father would think of his son  made Throe Sr was an upstanding warrior or something
Liz- and Xcor I think, esp how it ended with him
  Yep
Holly- ah, crying. thanks for the heads up LOL
Liz-  Wow, so so good..I am happy. Tried to finish it last night, but that book is looong
Did she ever say if Lassiter had a mate?
Holly-   I dont' think so.
  I love him though.
Liz-  He has a hysterical scene with Doc Jane
  Oh yes, when you finish we do a spoiler chat!

Later that day...
Liz- Ward is having a book signing Saturday and announcing the next book couple
Holly- YAY!!!!!
 TohR JUST FED FROM NO'ONE
 Liz-  so excited
  eeeeee
Holly- as much as I loved Welsie, I'm glad he's finally letting go
Liz-  I gave it 5 stars and wrote a little review..i am all aflutter
Holly-  lol I will wait to read your review
Liz-  after Paynes' book I guess I'm just so relieved
  only one little spoiler and I tagged it :)
Holly- yeah, she was blah.
  and don't get me started on Phury. Thank goodness he's off playing Primale
Liz-  hahahaha
  Phury's book was the pits for me, BORING
Holly- no kidding

much later in the day...
Holly- wait...who is Throe's sister?
  am I missing something?
Liz-  As far as I can remember we don't know her
Holly- ok

March 30-
Holly- Lover Reborn is getting GOOOOOOOOD
Liz- yeah!!!!!
Holly- But for realz, I need Tohr to let Welsie go. Just enjoy "Autumn" LOL I love that.
  they are so cute together
Liz- : I love him, verily ;)
Holly-  LOL
Liz-  he is a good hero, unlike some of the others and doesn't Lassiter kill you?
 my sunshine
  Mr not my
Holly-  ah, I love him
  his one liners kill me
 Liz-  and I love V
  so so so so so much
Holly- okay, don't spoil me but Layla is going to end up with either Throe or Xcor
  that's just me thinking outloud  and yeah, I totally cried when everyone clapped for Quihnn
Liz-  aw, right?
 I love him and Blay
Holly- I read that part this morning, before I even put makeup on thank goodness

later that afternoon...
Holly-  I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S NOT SERVICING HER!!!
Liz-  yeah I was pretty pissed at him too
Holly- and here I was all excited. I think that's what I loved so much about Z & Bella. He was so vulnerable to her in her time of need. It wasn't about big bad Zsadist anymore. It was all about Bella. And I thought, YES! This will wake Tohr up! but noooooo
  damn him
Liz-  I totally thought that that would be the turning point
  jerk
Holly- I still have hope. I mean, you gave it 5 stars so there has to be some kind of hope

March 31-
Liz- HOLLY!!!!!!!
Just heard the next FULL LENGTH BDB BOOK IS QHUINN/BLAY!!!! squeeeeee!!!

April 1- (from here, the convo has moved from GChat to texting)
Holly- Done. OMG sooooo good. In my top 2!!! And Lassiter. Guy has the best lines. I'm stoked for his book!
Liz- I agree, loved it.
I cried during the Fade ceremony.
Holly- John Matthew made me tear up.
Liz- I was amazed by how great she handled the whole romance, getting it to be believable.
Also, yeah JM :( Also I am in the minority that I loved Qhiunn servicing Layla.
Holly- Oh I loved that too! Made perfect sense!
Liz- I think because their is no romance there, she doesn't want to mate him, ya know?
Holly- Agree. It's convenient for them both.
Liz- I think the kick in the butt that Q and B needed ;)
Holly- It never occurred to me that Autumn was in her own in between. Loved that.
Oh no doubt. That last bit with the two of them? It's so on now.
Liz- squeeeeee, next book can not come fast enough. I'm glad she didn't go with Xcor/Layla.
Holly- You know it's coming. Of course, I'm a little more than interested in Assill.
Liz- Yeah, he reminds me of Rhevenge.
Holly- Yeah but dude's got sass just to up and leave a meeting LOL
I'm thinking a reread might be in order.

---end transcript---

Now during these chats, Liz and I talked about more than just our love for Lover Reborn. We also talked about how much we detest Fifty Shades of Grey. We have outstanding theories about Once Upon A Time that we hash out every week. Oh, and then there was Julie watching Twilight. "Um...It's Anna Faze." LOL

Now, I know that didn't make a lick of sense if you haven't read the books. But...if you have, do you share our sentiment? Are you excited for Quihnn and Blay? Who is your favorite brother? If you haven't read the books, do you want to now?

Until next week when Liz and I read Insurgent! YAY!!! Four!!!! -- If you don't know, read Divergent!

xoxo
Holly & Liz

4 comments:

  1. Loved the post!!!! As a BDB fan, I have to agree that Lover Reborn is one of my favorite books. It's hard for me to decide which brother is my favorite because I like all of the books in different ways and some more than others. I'm so looking forward to Qhuinn and Blay's book; it's been a long time coming. I think that JR Ward just blew this series wide open with Lover Reborn and the introduction to Assail and the more in depth look at the Band of Bastards. And don't forget Murhder, what's she going to do with him? With the introduction of all these new characters she can take this series anywhere.

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    1. OOH! I forgot about Murhder. She's contracted for what? Like 10 more books? After Quay all the brothers will be done so she'll be able to start on the Band of Bastards. I think Xcor and Layla will be next. It ought to tie in nicely after Quinn and Blay's book. And Assail, I have to say, I'm looking forward to his. And Lassiter! I need to finish her Angels series so I'll be caught up if she decides to do his book under that series. And no favorite? C'mon! One has to stick out more than the others! LOL

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    1. Well...I just did a re-read of Dark Lover and I so loved Wrath the first time I read it and I still do after reading it a second time. It's hard to decide though because each Brother is unique. So let me just say that Wrath, Tohrment and Vishous are my top three! And let's add Zsadist and make it a top four. See I told you I can't decide!!!! LOL

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