LOVER MINE
by J.R. Ward
Published by Signet Eclipse
Coming April 2010

Readers have flocked to the "raw, gritty...genre-bending"* novels of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood. Now return to that seductive- and dangerous- night world as the fever rises in the war between the vampires and slayers.

*Booklist

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. Long divided as a terrifying battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown to himself and to those around him. After he was taken in by the Brotherhood, no one could guess what his true history was- or his true identity. Indeed, the fallen Brother Darius has returned, but with a different face and a very different destiny. As a vicious personal vendetta takes John into the heart of the war, he will need to call up on both who he is now and who he once was in order to face off against evil incarnate.

Xhex, a symphath assassin, has long steeled herself against the attraction between her and John Matthew. Having already lost one lover to madness, she will not allow the male of worth to fall prey to the darkness of her twisted life. When fate intervenes, however, the two discover that love, like destiny, is inevitable between soul mates.

http://www.jrward.com

I finished Lover Mine last weekend and I love LOVE John Matthew! He is truly a male of worth! For him to bond with Xhex when he thought he would never see her again was just so awesome. He loved her and knew he would never want anyone but her despite all she had done to push him away.

The scene with he and Xhex in the shower when he is so lovingly bathing her was just *sigh*... It was just a sweet yet very sensual scene. He wanted nothing from her but to give her comfort.

And finally - Thor redeemed himself for me - I was just so mad at him for what he was doing to JM. The end with the mating ceremony and the dress made me cry.

LM isn't my favorite of the BDB books...It's in the middle somewhere. I love Thor. I think he started his road of recovery back in LAv, but his reconnection w/JM is very touching.

One, 'what was she thinking' moment for me of LM was Xhex wearing the red/black gown. I didn't like that too much. I don't feel it fit Xhex's personality. I felt that perhaps a gown/robe from No One would be more appropriate. The froo-frooness of the gown was a bit over the top for Xhex.

I was more than happy to have Lash gone!

Now see, the gown for me was her acceptance that she could be tough, a fighter, a destroyer but could also be a woman. She was alway so androgynous - nothing female or feminine about her. I love that she accepted that she could be both! And she did it because whether she truly wanted to (and I really believe she did want to), JM deserved that! She did it for him! In that one gesture - she accepted that she would truly be his shellen.

True that. However, don't you think that Xhex could have still accepted her feminine side w/out going so froofroo? I think a nice, plain-ish gown would have been a great meet in the middle look for her to wear @ her mating ceromony. The relationship between JM and Xhex was not the oridinary mating as we had w/all the other brother's. i.e., JM had her name on his back done prior not during their mating. She is a warrior, unlike the other shellans who while strong, do not, would not be soldiers for the cause.

I have always thought the unlike the human wedding gown that is as varied as the bride, their gown design was pretty standard as where the colors. Also, I think ultimately, it was what she wanted even if it was not her normal character. There is nothing wrong with changing and adapting.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one Tink, (which is rare for us!)

I am happy for JM & Xhex. It will be good to see how their story unfolds in future books.

Chickie - I know it is rare that we don't see eye to eye - even identical twins don't agree on everything.

I did love their story - how their experiences mirrored each other so closely. And I loved Darius and Thor's involvement in her early life just as they were influential in John's later life. Great flips on their story.

Yay, the world is right again Tink!! I do agree that JRW did an excellent job w/that twist. I have to admit, I didn't see that coming until much later in the story. I also do like learning about Darius. We didn't get that much of his story in Dark Lover bc his appearance was so brief. It all seemed to be second hand information.

I was re-audioing, (reamping ?) Lover Awakened and caught when JM first enters the BDB mansion, how he knows who the artist is of a painting. He doesn't know how he does, but just that he does. All these little Darius pieces of the puzzle have been given to us since the intro of JM; it's nice to have the picture more or less put together.

It will be interesting to read whether or not JM is told/figures out, or if someone figures out that JM is Darius reborn.

Hi y'all, Here's my two cents. I think the dress was poignant because it connects Xhex to Thor since he was one of her mother's rescuers and was there at her birth. Also just because Xhex has never worn a dress as an adult, doesn't mean she never desired them and she must have worn them before she left her adopted parents. I think she was caught up in the moment and wanted to make JM proud in front of his family. Xhex's androgynous appearance was part of her armor against the world and JM has pierced that armor so that she is no longer bound so brutally.

I am intrigued by JM seizures when his and Darius' psyche seems to merge. What's that about? How can JM have been alive when Darius was if they are one and the same?

Hi LynnL!

I believe that JM did exist @ the same time as Darius. I believe the Scribe Virgin sort-of plopped him into the world w/memories of who he was up to that point; including the awful one from under the stairs. I believe that sad and violent memory was part of the "chance to fight once more", the Scribe Virgen spoke about when she met Darius in the Fade, not just to fight w/the BDB after his transition hit.

"Here is what I offer you. Life anew. An intersection with your daughter. A chance to fight once more."

"Scribe Virgen,"...He went down to the floor again. "I accept, knowing I do not deserve such favors."

"I will not hold you to that answer. Here is what you will sacrifice. You will have no conscious memory of her. You will not be as you are now. And I require one token of faculty."

"I give you life anew, Darius, son of Marklon. May you find what you seek in this incarnation."

Hey Chickie darlin',

It's still not clear to me as to whether JM was already in existence or if the SV back dated him if you know what I mean.

I typed: I believe that JM did exist @ the same time as Darius.

What I should have typed:

I do not believe that JM did exist @ the same time as Darius.

For me, Darius and JM are one in the same.

I don't know. We know that Bella knows of him (or was it Mary) earlier than when we meet him. Now, did that overlap with Darius is the question. I know know that there is a clear timeline of when things happened so I think it is left up to interpretation.

I haven't read his book yet, but IMHO everything points to that scenario.