Lover at Last: Number 11 in series (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #11)

by J. R. Ward

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. The city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood . . .

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 first-hand.

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 . . .

• ISBN10: 0748125604
• ISBN13: 9780748125609
• Publish Date: 28 March 2013 (first published 1 March 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Piatkus Books
• Edition: Digital original
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 608
• Language: English

Reviews

[Caitiebelle]

Oh boy.... where do I start?! 3

I went into this book slightly nervous because I have never really read any M/M books. But I have to say that I found Blay and Quinn's story to be so very beautiful, heartbreaking at points, wonderful...innocent... it was just wonderful, it's hard to explain haha.

Because we are not new to these males when we read this book (if you follow the books) and we have visited their intense emotions about each other several times before, it was indeed a case of "finally, you deserve it" case.

I feel that [a:J.R. Ward|20248|J.R. Ward|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1437768069p2/20248.jpg] wrote this book absolutely perfect. It was very very well written to an audience that wasn't necessarily into reading about this particular type of relationship, but it was written in such a way that I never ever felt any type of "awequard" feelings about them.

It was sexy, it was passionate, it was heart-wrenching in places! Because of Quinn's sad past, it was made so very clear how very much his parents and family, the Glymera etc - their attitude towards him, and how they treated him - how much that affected him as an adult male, how he was in denial about who he really was, how he really felt - because the past was still very much with him.

And it was so beautiful to follow his journey from denial - to finally surrendering, accepting his true feelings and identify himself as what he really was.

Can't wait to read on... [b:The Shadows|21849362|The Shadows (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #13)|J.R. Ward|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404479585l/21849362._SX50_.jpg|41120683] is the next book! 3

[littleread1]

MUCH better than previous books. Probably my favorite of the series. It may have had something to do with knowing both main characters better than in previous books. Although the set up for future books was obnoxious. I wanted more focus on the guys than on potential couples for coming books.

[mitabird]

3.5 stars

[Angie]

First of all, Quinn and Blay’s book does not have nearly enough Quinn and Blay! Lover At Last uses that same plot heavy format as the previous several books, which I never really minded until now. This is the couple I had been waiting for, so I needed more of them! There’s like seven other plot threads going on, so Quinn and Blay barely got any pages at all! However, the chapters that they do have together are fantastic! I even started to cry…twice! I really love those two together!

Quinn and Blay. Blay and Quinn. Quay. They break my heart! They have been killing me for the past 3 or 4 books, but their time has finally come in Lover At Last. Unfortunately for them it doesn’t come easily. Fortunately for us we get to see Quinn vulnerable and trying to get Blay to have him in anyway he can. It seems like only tragedy brings them together, but it also rips them apart. Unlike other couples who had some totally crazy drama that kept them apart, I found Quinn and Blay’s troubles to be very realistic. Blay believes that Quinn is only into him for the moment because he’s realizing that life can be cut short, it won’t be a forever thing with him. He doesn’t want to get hurt that badly by having him then being thrown away. Quinn just believes that Blay is in love with his cousin. Needless to say, their communication isn’t that great at first, but holy hell, their chemistry! 5 stars to Quinn and Blay. 3 stars to everything else…

There are just too many separate plot threads going on! And not all of them are interesting. In fact, I’m having a hard time becoming interested in newer side plots because I feel like they’re going to be dropped. Like that whole Paranormal Investigator and Xhex’s ex plot from Lover Mine. It hasn’t been seen since! I keep waiting for that one to reappear, but instead we get whole other, completely unrelated stories going. I’ll admit to skimming a few of them throughout Lover At Last. They were just boring and felt disconnected from the bigger picture.

The plot that got a lot of attention was Trez. Trez and his brother, iAm, have been great support characters throughout the series, but I don’t feel like I know them or care about them enough to bring them to the front. I would like to learn more about their race — shadows– but other than that, I don’t really care. In Lover At Last, Trez keeps avoiding a meeting from someone from his place of origin while having sex with everyone woman he came across. I just didn’t see how this fit into the overall story, other than getting him and his brother to move into the mansion. I guess that means at least Trez will have a book in the future. Hopefully, he’ll get some more development by then.

Layla got a fair amount of page time, too. And at least she’s connected to Quinn and the whole vampire war plot. I like Layla, I do, but again, I found her story boring for the most part. She went into her needing in the previous book, so of course she’s pregnant. It’s a very dangerous state for a female vampire, but the fact that Quinn already had a vision of their daughter, made this plot over dramatic. It’s cases like this where I hate foreshadowing. Where I did become interested in Layla was when it came to Xcor. They have some strange attraction and since he’s fed from her they can sense each other, at least when Layla is out of the mansion. I’m hoping her book is next, because I’m definitely curious how this romance will play out while Xcor is aiming for the throne.

I’m not even going to go into the Assail/Sola/Benloise/Mr.C nonsense. That whole drug deal with the lessers is boring. I miss the Lessening Society plots from the first few books. Even though they were cheesy at times, they were at least interesting and entertaining. Basically, all of the good stuff happens in Quinn and Blay’s few chapters. It’s not just about the romance for those two though. Quinn has to come to terms with who he is and stop blaming everything on his family disowning him. Blay also needed to come out to his family in order to truly move forward with Quinn. I know this review sounds way negative for 4 stars, but I was madly in love with Quay, so they saved it. However, that last line makes it seem like we’ll never see them again. I certainly hope that’s not the case!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Linda]

Blay and Qhuinn - need I say more? They are so totally hot together, even if things are pretty messy as Lover at Last starts.

Lover at Last is the tale of Blay and Qhuinn, who have been friends since childhood. When they went to their transitions at the same time, and Qhuinn was disowned by his family, Blay was the one who was there for him. Their relationship is pretty problematic at the beginning of the story, as Blay is seeing Qhuinn’s cousin, Saxon, and Qhuinn has helped Layla through her first needing. The brooding friends are both jealous, but they are unable to talk about their feelings. Blay thinks Qhuinn is a lost cause, especially now that the Chosen has been with him. Qhuinn is sure that Blay will stay with Saxon forever, and that there is no more chances for him and Blay to get back together.

This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews.

[Melanie]

I will say that overall I enjoyed this book. I was a little bit disappointed, but I believe that was because the build up was sooooo big. There are things I would've changed. There was too much angst between Blay and Qhuinn. I expected some, but I think it went a little overboard. I also feel that there was too much else going on besides the Blay and Qhuinn story. We also have Layla/Qhuinn/pregnancy, Layla/Xcor, Trez/chosen, Assail/Sola (new character), BoB plotting against the Brotherhood, Assail running his drug ring. I think there is just entirely too much else going on. This book is almost 600 pages, I think it could've been shorten and dropped some of these other plots.

I will say that I like Layla more in this book than I've ever liked her. She really starts to be more than just a blood bank for the Brotherhood. I really feel sorry for Saxton. Everyone knew it was coming, because how else could you have Blay and Qhuinn if Blay and Sax staid together. We haven't seen Havers in many books. He's still an ass. We see the Omega and lessers again along with a new forelesser. There is also a surprise character that returns. Not much Lassiter. I missed not having him in this book. I really came to enjoy him in the last book.

Also, let's not forget the brands. Ward loves her brand names. Wicked Lil Pixie even did a chart, so you can have a list of all the brands listed.

After all that gripping, I did enjoy the book. I still enjoy this series. I do highly recommend this series and this book to anyone who likes PNR. It is still one of my favorites, but not at the top of my list.

[Cocktails and Books]

To say I've been waiting for Blay and Qhuinn's story is an understatement. There was such "meat" to their story that they deserved to have their own full length novel and finally get their happily ever after. JR Ward created the perfect story for the two of them. It wasn't an easy road, because honestly nothing has ever been easy for Qhuinn.

Lots of things happen in the BDB world. The Band of Bastards, lead by Xcor, are still on their mission to dethrone Wrath with some shady faction of the glymera. Assail continues to build the empire that Rhevenge let go of months (or at least I think it's months) before. Trez and iAm, the Shadow bodyguards from Rhevenge's days as the Reverand, get a bit more of a storyline as Trez tries to avoid a commitment he's had since the day he was born. And then there was the weird storyline with Assail and Sola, a cat burglar who Assail becomes "involved" with. This was a lot of action and there were times when I was completely about who and what was going on. For the first time ever, I had a sticky note attached to my Fire to help me keep everything straight. Did things really need to be that complicated?? And to be honest, I could have cared less about all of that....I just wanted Blay and Qhuinn.

And we did get Blay and Qhuinn. From the opening prologue, all I wanted to do was find Qhuinn and give him a big hug. He tore my heart open and I wanted him to find someway to find where he belonged. Of course, I knew that was with Blay, but Qhuinn really needed to work through issues with his past and his own sexuality before he could really ever be happy. Of course, being Qhuinn and having that sometimes thick head of his, it takes him practically until the last page to finally have the light bulb come on, but when it did it was like a tremendous weight was lifted off his shoulders.

On the flip side of that relationship we have Blay. Blay who's still in love with Qhuinn but still in love with Qhuinn. Blay who can be cut Qhuinn to the core with a look or a few words, but can't help but still be drawn to him. My problem with Blay was how he treated Qhuinn for most of the book. He was unbelievable harsh. So harsh I spent most of the time I was reading wanting to cause bodily harm to him myself. Blay put up an emotional wall to try and protect himself from being sucked into Qhuinn's world again, but as he did that he cut Qhuinn down...a lot. Nothing was more harsh than when Blay and Qhuinn were in the hallway down in the clinic and Blay fileted Qhuinn. Sure I can understand why he wanted to protect himself from someone he didn't think could love him forever, but given the emotional state Qhuinn was in for most of the 591 pages, I would have thought Blay would have truly recognized that acting like he was wasn't the best way to get things across to Qhuinn.

That leaves Layla. I'm on the fence about her. Given what happened between Layla and Qhuinn in the last book, I would have thought she'd have a bigger role in this book. She was there, but she had as much "page time" as all the other side storylines. I question her judgement because of her fascination with a certain vampire and wonder that will mean down the road with her, Qhuinn and... (trying to avoid spoilers). To be honest, I could do without her. She's never been the "sharpest pencil in the box" and I atrributed that to being sequestered all those years with the Scribe Virgin. But now I just don't think she'll be good for anyone and cause much bigger issues.

I really, really enjoyed this one. The emotionally charged story between Blay and Qhuinn reminded of Zsadist's story and it had me hooked from the very beginning. I could have done with less of the other storylines (see my comments about the sticky note above) because really all I wanted was for Blay and Qhuinn to finally get together and to see what those Bands of Bastards were up to. However, the continuation of the BDB world has been set up perfectly and I will now need to sit back and wait for next March to see what JR Ward has in store for us next.