The Shadows (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #13)

by J. R. Ward

Two brothers bound by more than blood fight to change a brutal destiny in this novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series.
 
Sold by his parents to the Queen of the s’Hisbe as a child, Trez escaped the Territory and has been a pimp and an enforcer for years. On the run from a destiny of sexual servitude, he’s never been able to rely on anyone...except for his brother, iAm.
 
iAm’s sole goal has always been to keep his brother from self-destructing—and he knows he’s failed. It’s not until the Chosen Selena enters Trez’s life that the male begins to turn things around...but by then, it’s too late. The pledge to mate the Queen’s daughter comes due, and there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no negotiating.
 
Now Trez must decide whether to endanger himself and others—or abandon the female he loves. When tragedy strikes and changes everything, iAm, in the name of brotherly love, is faced with making the ultimate sacrifice...

• ISBN10: 0451417089
• ISBN13: 9780451417084
• Publish Date: 6 October 2015 (first published 31 March 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Berkley
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 640
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451417084

Reviews

[Linda]

4.5 stars
There was definitely a lot going on in The Shadows, and I think the one reason why I didn't go for five stars is that there were so many sub-stories and sub-plots that it took away from the two main characters - Trez and iAm - which was really too bad. Those two have been so mysterious in prior BDB books, and so I wanted to focus solely on them, you know?
The story is very solid, though, and the over-arching plot is still going very strong.

[Caitiebelle]

Of all the books so far, Zsadist's book was THE one that had me in tears and gut wrenching agony. I thought I was safe after that!

And in comes Trez and iAm aaaand I'm right back there again! Hehe

A heartbreaking take as well as a string one, The Shadows kept my attention throughout. It was beautiful to read about the brother's close bond, which we knew some about, but in this book we get vastly more insight in their history, and can more understand why Trez has rebelled for do long.

A psychopath queen, an Executioner with morals and feelings AND honor? Bastards who show us they are more than their reputation? And a brotherhood that rallies for their own.

A great addition to the series, but be warned... Our usual happiness at the end of a book goes on hold I think. But their story is not finished yet.

[Angie]

In The Shadows we finally get to learn more about the mysterious shadow twins, Trez and iAm. Of course, Trez's storyline focuses on him and Selena and the issue of him being betrothed to the shadow's princess against his will. And iAm also gets a romance which starts in the most unexpected place. Then there's all kinds of other side plots, which mostly don't go anywhere, as always.

The Shadows continues to jump across a million POVs. The important ones are Trez, iAm, Selena, and the newly introduced maichen (no capitalization). Xcor and Layla still have a significant amount of page time, and things are just getting weird on that front. Like, I'm interested, but I'm also kind over them since nothing new happened. Assail is still around with his drugs, and I still don't care, but luckily he only has a few pages. Then we get to meet Paradise, one of the aristocratic daughters who wants to join the training program at the Brotherhood Compound. While I don't think her POV added anything at all, I did enjoy her. I absolutely think the high born young women should learn to fight! Girl power!

As for the romances, those did not turn out how I was expecting at all. Trez and Selena have a lot of sex, but they also go on dates! Cute dates! Did any of the other couples go on dates? I don't think so. I thought that was all really sweet, but I was dreading the conclusion. I assumed the author was going to recycle one of her twists that she's used a couple of times prior, but nope. Something totally new and unexpected happens. I almost cried! I wasn't quite as into iAm and maichen though. It felt super sudden and underdeveloped. I definitely enjoyed their set up, and figured out one of the twists, but I do wish they had gotten more page time to really explore their feelings.

The Shadows was a good addition to this series. It's certainly not a favorite, but I enjoyed it. It's a shame that the main story was shoved into the last 20%, with bits and pieces scattered through the beginning. I don't mind these many POVs too much, except that there's a lot going on, but not much happening. None of these plot-threads are going anywhere since they barely get any page time in each book. I'm really hoping the author starts pulling this all together soon.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Melanie]

#Listening

[Cocktails and Books]

I'm a sobbing mess after this one. A MESS! But JR Ward did a fantastic job of tying up Trez and iAm's storyline. Word of warning...there are a shit ton of characters in some kind of upheaval outside of The Shadows. And while all those storylines may not have moved the timeline of the overall BDB storyline along, it did give the author the opportunity to introduce us to the hero/heroine in the spin off series coming in December.