Lover Reborn by J. R. Ward

JRWard-Lover Reborn

JRWard-Lover RebornI have mixed feelings about Lover Reborn by J. R. Ward. I am Team Wellise one hundred percent. She was my favorite shellan and I cried like a baby when she was murdered. After J. R. Ward said that she had always known Wellise was going to die, I (somewhat) accepted the fact that Tohr had to move on. I just can’t stand the fact that it was No’One he moved on with.

Ever since the death of his shellan, Tohrment has been unrecognizable from the vampire leader he once was. Physically emaciated and heartbroken beyond despair, he has been brought back to the Brotherhood by a self-serving fallen angel. Now, fighting once again with ruthless vengeance, he is unprepared to face a new kind of tragedy.

When Tohr begins to see his beloved in his dreams—trapped in a cold, isolated netherworld far from the peace and tranquillity of the Fade—he turns to the angel in hopes of saving the one he has lost. But because Lassiter tells him he must learn to love another to free his former mate, Tohr knows they are all doomed….

Except then a female with a shadowed history begins to get through to him. Against the backdrop of the raging war with the lessers, and with a new clan of vampires vying for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between the buried past and a very hot, passion-filled future…but can his heart let go and set all of them free?

I have always loved the women that the brothers fall in love with. They may not be the strongest women, but they each have their own strengths. That was where my biggest problem with No’One came from: she wasn’t strong, at all. I didn’t want to hate her, but she didn’t give me any reason to like her, let alone respect her. She was raped and impregnated by a sympath; she committed suicide. Then, as a form of punishment she inflicted upon herself, she became a maid for The Chosen and renamed herself No’One.

In other words, she had no self-respect. Even later, when she was with Tohr, she continued to act as a maid. She even let him dictate everything about their relationship, saying it was because she loved him and any of her nonsexual wants and desires would only get in the way because Tohr would always love Wellise more. She didn’t even change her ways when Tohr helped her pick out a new name: Autumn.  I know I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again: I cannot like or respect a character who does not respect or like himself/herself.

Tohr, on the other hand, I just wanted to hug the entire time. Losing someone close to you is the worst feeling ever. Losing your mate, the love of your life…that’s agonizing pain. Every single time he cried over Wellise, I cried with him. As I said before, I accepted the fact that he had to move on. It’s a long, difficult and seemingly impossible task. Ward did a wonderful job portraying that without overwhelming the readers.

Lover Reborn was a very emotional book. There wasn’t nearly as much fighting as with the rest of the series. In fact, I think the lessers may have only appeared once or twice. The Bastards, however, did play a bigger role. Personally, I’m hoping that they’ll eventually stop their quest to overthrow Wrath, join the Brotherhood, and get their own books. Nothing in Lover Reborn indicated that that would happen anytime soon, but I can always hope.

Lover Reborn made me want to laugh, cry, scream. I want to get in a time machine and travel to 2013 because that is when Qhuinn and Blay’s story is coming out and I need it right this very second after the ending of Lover Reborn!  But I couldn’t do any of that. I was on a plane at the time and I don’t know anyone who is working on a time machine.

There really isn’t much else I can say about Lover Reborn. I loved it. I hated it. It took me on an emotional roller coaster. Now I am going stir crazy waiting for Qhuinn and Blay. I may have to go back and reread all the other books while I wait.

Read Order:
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Lover Avenged
Lover Mine
Lover Unleashed
Lover Reborn
Lover At Last (2013)
Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella’s Story

About Casey 203 Articles
Casey is the founder of Heart Full of Ink, Director at Reading Until Dawn Con, and a full time cheese addict. She's been ranting and reviewing for Literary Escapism since 2010, and is part of the trio #3Bloggers1Series podcast. When she's not reading, looking for new books, or stalking authors online (waiting for more books), she can be found binge watching Netflix. But really, her life is all about DEM BOOKS!

3 Comments

  1. Thanks for this great review! I agree with you that it takes your emotions on a rollercoaster. All JR Ward’s Brotherhood Men have so much emotion going on under the macho/alpha exterior and it’s just fantastic! Lover Reborn is one of them that did make me cry and then the euphoria when, yes, there was a happy ending!

  2. Yeah, I’m with you on this one. Much as I have loved JR Ward’s vampires, this book in particular shines a BIG HUGE SPOTLIGHT on the world-building inconsistencies. Half the shellans are supposed to be dead! Mary is supposed to be dead (of cancer), but the Scribe Virgin broke the rules. Jane is REALLY supposed to be dead, but the Scribe Virgin broke the rules. Even No’One is supposed to be dead. Darius is dead, sorta, but still, broken rules. But, no broken rules for Wellsie! that would be against the rules! Wut?

    Totally love Tohr, for sure. The romance? meh.

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