Review: Lover At Last by J.R. Ward

Lover At Last

(Black Dagger Brotherhood #11)

 by J.R. Ward

Hardcover: 608 pages

Publisher: NAL Hardcover; 1 edition (March 26, 2013)

Goodreads Description:

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 hearts who are meant to be together... finally become one.

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My Thoughts:

The title of the book says it all...AT LAST! I feel like I have been waiting forever for Blay and Qhunn's story and I finally got to read it. With so much anticipation and high expectations it is easy to be let down but in this case the wait was worth it because this story was just as good as I had hoped it would be.  Blay and Qhuinn have had a tumultuous friendship with Blay's unrequited love for Qhuinn and Qhuinn's self destructive behavior (plus a bunch of other drama) so it was very interesting to see how they finally began to figure things out with each other and face some realizations about themselves.  I think the author handled the love scenes well (as she always does) and there is just the right level of steam. I hate reading a book that has sex scene after sex scene and too many details that either make it come off as porn or cheesy. I've never felt that way with J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series so kudos to the author. The secondary stories were really good in this book and have been set up well for future installments of the series. I believe there are actually 3 other romances brewing, which I was a little surprised about because usually I think it is only about 1 or 2 per book. I'm guessing that more than one love match will be resolved in the next book. 5/5