Basic Summary: Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on
his own. Disavowed from his bloodline,
shunned by the aristocracy, he has finally found an identity as one of the most
brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of
his own seems to be within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to
another…
Blay,
after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it’s about time: The male has found his perfect match in a
Chosen female, and they are going to have a young—just as Qhuinn has always
wanted for himself. It’s hard to see the
new couple together, but building your life around a pipe dream is just a
heartbreak waiting to happen. As he’s
learned firsthand.
Fate
seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions…but as the
battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in
Caldwell create mortal danger for the Brotherhood. Qhuinn finally learns the true definition of
courage, and two heart who are meant to be together…finally become one.
 |
| Qhuinn |
What I love About This Book: FINALLY
FINALLY FINALLY!!!!!!! I always knew this book would be epic, and it has not
let me down. I didn't realize how much I
missed Blay and Qhuinn’s friendship until I started reading this book. To me they represented this whole new
generation of soldiers and with John Matthew they were the three musketeers,
but when their relationship splintered I
didn’t know I had missed them all together until now. When things first blew up in Blay and
Qhuinn’s face I was really mad at Qhuinn for treating his best friend so harshly,
but as this series went on and you read how much Qhuinn was suffering my heart
just broke for him. Blay’s relationship
with Saxton broke something inside of Qhuinn that was already so fragile, and
for someone that had already been treated like an outcast every single day of
his life it was just so sad to watch him go through this struggle every
day. There is so much miscommunication
between the two, there are so many times in this book that I wanted to scream
at the two of them to just start talking!!!!! All the wrong assumptions, and
all the wrong directions their brains were going in, is what held them back
from each other for far too long.
 |
| Blaylock |
Again
like the last book I still don’t know how to really feel about Xcor, and I love
that I am so on the fence about him. A great book is one that keeps you
guessing and makes you question your own morals, and my feelings for Xcor do
that. I truly believe he should not be
King, and if he were to ever kill Wrath and he and his Band of Bastards ruled
there would be chaos. But at the same
time I don’t want him dead because his and Layla’s story isn’t over, and he’s
been through so much throughout his life he deserves a little happiness. The same can be said for Layla who just
wanted to service the Brotherhood and fulfill her duties as a Chosen but when
the rules change he just wants to have a purpose and be a part of something.
I love
that this book dealt with more modern relationships. Not just the love between two men, but a sort
of modern family since one of those men is having a baby with a woman. I like that the definitions of relationships
are changing in this series, and each book has kind of led up to this one. First with Rhage and a human (who is
immortal), and then with Marissa and Butch who was turned into a vampire, next
with Vishous and Jane who is a ghost, and Manny and Payne who is takes on the
male role of a fighter but is a woman. I
think all these books in this series has been redefining love in little ways
but this book blows all those others away.
I love that when Blay comes out to his mother, you see how far love of a
son or daughter can truly go. I
literally started crying when Blaylock’s mom was upset with him because he
didn't tell them sooner he was gay, and the overwhelming love she poured out to
him at that very moment, and later on when it comes out to his father. It was so bittersweet to read that and
experience that because on the opposite side of that spectrum is Qhuinn and the
complete rejection his family showed him from the day he was born till the day
they died just because of a physical “defect”.
That moment when Blaylock comes out to him mother is probably one of the
most profound moments in this entire series and definitely one of the most
profound moments I’ve ever read overall.
“I love you. You are
my heart beating outside of my chest. I
don’t care who are you mated to, or whether they have blond hair or black hair,
blue or green eyes, male or female parts—as long as you are happy, that’s all I
worry about.”
 |
| Saxton |
 |
| Assail |
Cons: For some reason in this book the side stories
involving Assail and Sola didn't grab my attention at first the way other side
stories in the past books have. Every
time it switched over to their story I got mad and bored very quickly. I don’t know why, I like Assail in a weird
way he’s an intriguing character and I can’t wait to see where he truly fits in
all this but his story just didn't hold my attention for some reason. Towards the end with things started picking
up however I got more interested with Assail, and I can’t wait to see where his
relationship with Sola lands in the next book.
The same could be said for Trez and iAm as well, I liked that we finally
learned more about their species and what that all entails as far as being a
shadow but I just wasn't completely sucked in with their story. I think it was because I was so sucked in by
Qhuinn and Blaylock that I would just get mad when J.R. Ward would take me away
from them.
 |
| Marisol "Sola" |
Also I
wish that John Matthew was a little bit more prominent in this book. For such a long time his relationship with
Blaylock and Qhuinn was so important, and as Qhuinn’s love for Blaylock grew I
couldn't believe there was no conversation with him in this book. It would've been so great that at a certain
point one of them would've talked to him about what was going on in their
lives. He had no part in this book
whatsoever and I was really surprised his friendship with both of them wasn't
included in this story at all.
“Sometimes the changes in life came at you so fast, and with
such fury, there was no way to keep up with reality”
Overall: Epic doesn’t even cover how much this story
meant to me. When I like a series I tend
to read the summaries of each book in the series ahead of time. So I had read this summary for this book a
while ago and I had only finished book one when I had. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it because I
had never read a romance novel that included a homosexual romance, and when I
read book I tend to become more emotionally invested with the female characters
than the males. So I wasn’t sure how
emotionally invested I would be with this story, but that was before I knew who
Qhuinn and Blaylock were because when I did get to know them more I feel in
love with both of them. After sometime I
couldn’t freaking wait to get to this story, I just loved Qhuinn so much and
wanted him to be happy soooooo badly I couldn’t wait for him to find his peace. The same could be said for Blacklock as well,
when Qhuinn shut him down awhile back my heart shattered for Blacklock, he’s
such a great person and he deserves to be happy. I was so depressed when their friendship fell
apart and Blacklock started dated Saxton.
I saw how it broke Qhuinn to see the two of them together, but he needed
to do some growing up, stop hiding in the closet, and accept what he is. I think it’s great that Qhuinn finally got
some redemption in this book when it came to his family, and he was able to
make peace with somewhat, with how his family treated him. There were a lot of touching moments in this
book, especially when Qhuinn finally realized he wasn’t alone anymore that he
was accepted unconditionally by the Brotherhood and eventually by Blay.
I like
that a lot of the side stories were not really wrapped up in this book, and
there are a lot of questions that have not been answered yet. I like that we are being lead into the next
book in this series that deals with Wrath and Beth and Beth’s need to have a
child. It’s great to see where this
series is heading, and I really can’t wait to see how The Brotherhood and the
Band of Bastards will resolve, if it ever does.
There is so much that was left unfinished in this book, obviously on
purpose so by the time The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #12) comes out we
are already emotionally invested in the story.
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