The Shadows by J.R. Ward

* * * This review will contain major spoilers * * *

Many hours later, I'm still grieving over the loss and this darn book. The Shadows had me crying from start to finish and I honestly still can't wrap my mind over what just happened. The last 20% had me bawling and I was literally a mess! I've been looking forward to Trez and Selena's story ever since Lover's At Last when they first met and started to fall in love. To have everything end this way devastates me. They were the one couple who deserved the most happiness; and instead, all they got were a few days to enjoy what life had to offer. You can literally feel the love Selena and Trez had for one another while reading this book and just thinking of it now brings me to tears. So no, I am still definitely not okay. But yeah, you'll definitely be needing a box of tissues for this installment. My eyes are still sore from crying, sighs.

Besides iAm, there were a few characters who have played and who will eventually play a bigger role in future books: Layla, Xcor, Rhage, Paradise ( Blood Kiss ), and Assail. Layla and Xcor's relationship made me so mad and sad at the same time. They've been dancing around each other for awhile and in this book, things do escalate a bit. But what Xcor decided to do in the end? God, it made me want to throw a table. Rhage was actually featured a lot throughout the book and it's no surpise that Ward has decided to write the next BDB book about him. Yay! Paradise was introduced in this book and unfortunately, I didn't really care for her even though she does seem like a likeable heroine. Maybe I'll like her a lot better later on. She was just overshadowed by Trez and Selena's story. Assail.... I don't even know what he wants at this point. Just go get your girl back. You're becoming a shadow of yourself and getting into even more dangerous situations all for the sake of your business empire.

As for iAm, he does get his happy ending and it comes in the form of the s'Hibe. While looking for a cure for Selena, iAm comes across a maid named maichen and there is an instant attraction. What she reveals to both readers and iAm will change the course of the entire story forever in future books. Although I was happy for iAm (and I still am), I felt like his story was pushed to the back burner in comparison to Trez. Lots of instalust happening, which was really not fair to fans who have been eagerly waiting for his love story. Hopefully, Ward will resolve this issue because I just can't believe that Trez's beloved QUEEN is gone. I don't want this to be the end. I don't like the fact that Selena will be waiting for Trez in the Fade. Why?! Selena never wanted to die and she never wanted to leave him behind. In the end, I personally believe this book had a tragic ending instead of a happy one. iAm will always feel guilty that he got to live with his mate while his brother lost his one true love. If this is the payment Trez had to pay for everything iAm has done and suffered for him, then it's too high of a price. Even though this book broke my heart into tiny little pieces, Trez and Selena's story deserved no less than 5 stars. They will forever go down as one of my favorite and most heartbreaking couples.

Rating: ★★★★★

The King by J.R. Ward

** 4.5 'LONG LIVE THE KING' STARS **

I guess I'm part of the unpopular opinion when it comes to wanting to read more about Trez and Selena, Assail and Sol, and Xcor and Layla. Although I intentionally thought the book was going to be ONLY about Wrath and Beth, I'm still super satisfied with how things turned out. Personally, I thought Beth and Wrath had enough parts throughout the entire book! Besides, how can you not love the other couples?! My feelings and emotions were literally all over the place when it came to those three couples. All in all, I thought the WARDen did a wonderful job with this one. Also, I freaking loved Beth's sense of humor!

Wrath and Beth
From the very beginning I have always thought their romance went a little bit too smoothly and in The King, their relationship definitely takes a turn. It's not always easy watching a couple you love and root for fight one another but it's necessary for them in order to grow stronger. Beth has been wanting a child after spending much of her time with Layla and Nalla (Bella and Z's child). However, Wrath just does not want to lose his mate to childbirth! Furthermore, Wrath is still struggling to come to terms with his blindness as well as a whole mess of other things like his recent assassination attempt from the Band of Brothers and the Council's insistence on his throne as the King.

Assail and Marisol
God, these two broke my heart. Not sure if I'm the only one, but I'm one of the few who actually liked reading about Assail and Sol. What happened to Sol was absolutely horrible. Kidnapping and attempted rape? That can seriously devastate and haunt anyone forever. Assail pretty much went psycho crazy just trying to find her, while leaving a trail of bodies on the way of course. I don't know about you, but Assail reminds me of Rhevenge in a way. He pretty much took over Rhev's "job" as a drug dealer. Oh, and when Assail realized that he loves Sol? It just took my breath away! I'm already tearing up just thinking about it. It's so obvious that these two have FEELINGS for one another but sadly they're not acting on it. And the way the WARDen left these two? Damn it, I need to know! Will Sol and Assail ever be reunited again? I certainly hope so![Will Sol and Assail ever be reunited again? I certainly hope so! (hide spoiler)]

Trez and Selena / iAm
What a complicated situation these two have. Don't get me wrong, I still love reading about these two but damn it, I just can't help but wish the best for them. Trez has his whole issue with the s'Hibe on his back while Selena has her "problem." I can't out dish too many spoilers, but it's not good. I've been interested and probably invested in their relationship since the last book, Lover At Last. Both certainly have problems of their own in addition to their growing feelings for one another. The WARDen gives us a glance at what these two and their chemistry can possibly become but... like I've said before, Trez has a lot of problems and he doesn't feel worthy of Selena. I am so happy that the next book will be about Trez and iAm! (x) And how can I possibly forget about iAm?! He is one of the most loyal, amazing, funny, and precious character ever. As the complete opposite of Trez, he is almost always calm and rational. Plus, I find his relationship with Beth's cat to be hilarious. After everything with Trez, he definitely needs his own happy ending!

Xcor and Layla
Although Xcor has done a lot of horrible things, I can't help but like him. Especially when he's with Layla. He's in love with her. I'm not sure about Layla, but I think she has some sort of feeling towards him. These two didn't get as much attention as I had wanted but I'm positive that their relationship with will become more important in the long run. I thought Layla's deal with Xcor was rather interesting. Xcor seems to be done with the throne but I'm just not sure about Throe? I'm actually surprised Xcor agreed to it in the first place because he's so in love with Layla. But because he has such low self-esteem, he's taking whatever he can get of Layla. Throe will most likely play a key role in the future books because of his reaction towards Xcor and Layla.

Rating: ★★★★★

Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Lover Awakened was a book full of action, love, redemption, death, and even acceptance. From the very beginning of the series, we all knew there was something about Zsadist that was special... and now in this third installment of the series, readers finally get to see a part of their answer as to what truly happened to Zsadist in his past, and how one girl awakened him in the end. I absolutely adore Zsadist in this book and the quote, "I was dead until you found me, though I breathed. I was sightless, though I could see. And then you came...and I was awakened..." totally proves how much he redeemed himself through love. It was heartbreaking to read how unworthy and dirty he thought he was, compared to Bella, and how he thought that he didn't deserved her love. I thought this book was special because even though the two main characters did have some sex scenes, it wasn't as often as much as Dark Lover and Lover Eternal. There was actually a story to be read and I loved how even though Zsadist thought he was unworthy of Bella, there wasn't anything he could do to stop himself from doing so.

I remember I didn't really have a good impression of Zsadist in the beginning because he was always described as heartless, cruel, and his eyes were pit black-- meaning he had no soul. But of course, his book obviously changed my impression of him from a heartless hero into a tortured one. Throughout the entire book, Zsadist had lost everything, including his feelings, because of his past as a slave. Thankfully, his nalla will save him, and that person is Bella! She's courageous for going through what that lesser did to her and very kind when it comes to Zsadist. Though I'm still not entirely sure why she loves Zsadist, I did like her character since she's waaay better than Beth in my opinion. *coughs* But I do think the reason why she loves Zsadist, is because she sees the person inside of him instead of the person that he wants everybody else to see. All tortured heroes are like that, and that's why we love 'em! The romance between was rather heart-wrenching to read because of how Zsadist often compared himself to Phury, saying stuff like Phury is his better counterpart. I wanted to shake him and tell Zsadist that no! Bella is your fated one, your mate, and no one else can take that position.

I admit that I thought John's role to be rather... dreary and boring. Hopefully it will get better, but I did love the interactions that he had with Zsadist. It was just too cute to ignore! As for the deaths, wow. That was a real surprise to me because I never thought that Wellsie will end up dying. God, poor Tohr. Once you lose your soulmate, I truly don't know if you can find another one. That was a tragic lost that I did not expect at all. As for Phury, even though I did find him to be irritating at first because I shipped Bella and Zsadist all the way, I did understand his position. I don't think he ever truly "loved" Bella, it was more like he thought he was because he didn't want to lose his brother. His entire life, Phury has always blamed himself for what had happen to Zsadist, so Zsadist is pretty much everything to him. And without him, there really wasn't a reason to live anymore. And last but not least, O. I would have to raise my eyebrows for this guy because he is one evil and sadistic villain. Damn, there are just no words for the things that this guy has done and I am glad that he is dead.

To sum up this very long and very loveable book that I'll probably keep forever, J.R. Ward is definitely one talented writer because I had high expectations for this book and she didn't let me down. It was heartwarming to see Bella and Zsadist get their HEA, along with Nalla in the epilogue of the book. Zsadist himself, has changed so much and I truly look forward to more of the brothers' books. Butch is up next, so go get Marissa you idiot!

Rating: ★★★★★

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

Rhage, my man. Dude, you are amazing! This book was a HUGE improvement from the first book because I didn't want to run over both the H/hr. I loved Rhage and I really liked Mary. Their romance was just bittersweet as I thought it would be and I'm truly glad that everything worked out in the end between them. In the second installment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, we get an inside look on Rhage who is known as Hollywood because of his beautiful features. But of course, there is much more to him than meets the eye besides being beautiful, sexy, and funny. And like any brother, Rhage is also very dangerous as well.

The relationship between Mary and Rhage was actually unique to me. Part of the reason was because of a boy name John Matthew and another character was also introduced in this book, Bella. These two will be important characters later on in the series! Anyway, the reason why I thought that their meeting was unique is because Rhage was attracted to Mary because of her voice instead of her beauty. Oddly enough, Vishous has a vision that Rhage would meet his mate soon... hint hint. Mary's voice has a soothing effect on Rhage and soon after that, he tries to go after her. But of course, with any romance, there is some sort of conflict right? For Rhage, it is the beast inside of him. And as for Mary, it is her sickness and the fact that she might not be able to live long enough. In the end, there is only one question. Will Mary be able to survive and be with Rhage forever?

To sum it all up, I thought this was a great book full of vivid characters, writing, and a fascinating plot! Rhage was such a sweet guy and I absolutely adore him for that. His love for Mary was truly incredible, even if they only just met. But from the first meeting to the first touch, you could tell that they were meant for one another. In the end, this book is a must read so I'll be giving this a 5 out 5 stars.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. I loved the plot, the characters, but I'm definitely not feeling Beth and Wrath. I feel as if their romance was flawed because there wasn't any true development in it... I guess this is my morals speaking again, but hey. You don't have sex with someone you just met / stranger, who just broke into your house, even if you suddenly feel a wave of lust on you. Haha! I mean I thought she hated men dude, so you can't blame me for thinking that. It's kind of sad how I'm even more interested in the other characters, especially the relationship between Buch and Marissa, than Beth and Wrath. But either way, this was still a good foundation for the first book of the series. This book was definitely one fascinating read and a good start for the Black Dagger Brotherhood series!

I admit that the sex was hot between the two and there were some moments where things got pretty emotional, but I truly don't see the love. Something must be wrong with me! I enjoyed the comic relief between the brothers AND the beginning of a wonderful friendship between Butch, and Vishous. It was rather very funny and cute seeing them becoming friends when the other brothers wanted to kill Butch.

To sum it all up, I did find this book to be enjoyable, but it could have been better in my opinion. Soo, I shall definitely be looking forward to the rest of the book in the series! I'll be giving this one a 4 stars.

Rating: ★★★★☆