Genre: Paranormal
Book 6 in the Blackdagger Brotherhood
ISBN: 0-451-22272-5
Releasedate: June 2008
Publisher: Signet
Format owned: HC Rhapsody & MPB
For sale at: The Book Depository Store

Synopsis
Phury vowed celibacy, but when he first saw her one word came to mind : MINE!!!

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood's bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.

As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself- she sees the emotionally scarred male behind all his noble responsibility. But while the war with the Lessening Society grows more grim, and tragedy looms over the Brotherhood's mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love.

REVIEW
Phury, the celibate one, had no intention of taking a shellan and sharing his life, but certain previous made decisions and events had him come across Cormia, one of his bethroted as a Primale.

She stirs his long dormant feelings right into action, but what about all the others he’s suppose to ‘take’ ?

The change in approach that we came across in the previous 2 novels has been continued, so this new way of storytelling within this series has been set in stone. No longer is the main story-line about the Hero & Heroine but the whole world is starting to become important. This is something you either love or hate, as it takes numerous pages away from the romance storyline.

I have to admit it was a development I had to get used to, but JR Ward pulls it off. In the first few novels of this series she already writes towards the next story, so it already was different from what I was used to, but it still had a closure romance wise. This novel didn’t have that for me.

Phury and Cormia belong together and are equal to eachother. Phury is one of the brothers that didn’t really touch me and now – after reading this novel – still doesn’t do so. His celibacy plotline isn’t as well written out and for me still is not clear enough as to how and why he decided to become celibate. His drug(ab)use is sublimely worked out in all it’s aspects and one ‘personal-problem’ came to light and was over the top for me, as we should have read about it or at least hints towards it in previous novels to make it work properly in this particular one.

Cormia is a sweet darling. Such a doll and adoring. She is a great addition to the mixture of characters in the BDB-world.

The subplotlines with the lessers; and ofcourse Qhuinn-Blay-John; take a new twist making me crave for the next novel, as well as all the other storylines.

Rhev’s story is next, I particularly don’t look forward to his Happily Ever After, because he totally rubs me the wrong way but I indulge myself in the fact the romance is subdued by the other plotlines, so not a lot of pages will be spend to this.

Emotionally the plotline really got to me and stirred my inner core so despite the fact the main Hero & Heroine didn’t really do it for me overall I still was left in awe and was amazed by Ms. Ward one’s more. Eventhough I hoped the Primale plotline would have kept continueing on because I thought it was brilliant and despite the things that didn’t work out as I half expected them to, it is JR Ward’s writing that is of such high quality that I cannot come round to giving her less that the stars I gave her.

Is this a series I will continue reading? I don’t know, Rhev’s story will have to pinpoint that out to me. I don’t know if Urban Fantasy is what I like reading, let’s face it, that is the road JR Ward is going towards with this series, but I do know that I want to know what will happen with certain plotlines. I have a yearning to see how things will continue with John, Blay and Qhuinn but also the long lost brother Thor. How will things end up there?

A coin has two sides and for me the coin is standing upwards on the edge and can still fall on either side. Which way it falls time will tell....

4,5 Stars