A Nix ARC Post : My thoughts on Lover At Last without plot spoilers (I think!) – 4 Stars.

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 firsthand.

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, and two hearts who are meant to be together… finally become one

• That it is Qhuinn and Blay’s book – yay!!
• Layla. Seriously. She goes through some hell in this book and starts to become a strong heroine. It was very good writing/plotting by JR Ward as I was a little concerned I wouldn’t be able to read her book. She did get a heck of a lot of pages though.
• The Shadow plot. I want their books desperately.
• Qhuinn. There always tends to one part of the romanctic couple that dominates for me and I think of it as more their tale. In this one, Qhuinn is the one who suffers and transforms the most and I loved the angst. It did make me want to punch Blay a few times though (even though I know Qhuinn deserved it)
• The set up for the Romeo and Juliet-esque storyline in a future book. Two individuals from two warring factions fall in love……
• The sex scenes….smokin’ hot!
• Qhuinn gets his piercings back
• The last scene in the book. I need to talk about this scene with someone…..

Dislikes

• The amount of characters with sub-plots in this book. There was Qhuinn, Blay, Layla, Assail, Xcor, the Shadows…. I struggled to keep up and the confusion did take away my enjoyment.
• The 500 plus pages….trim the plot and trim the pages. I got backache lugging this one around.
• Phury was in it.
• It feels like a bridging book. There are a lot of plots started in this book, but only one is finished. There are 4 plot threads left hanging by the end and, although it made me want the next book desperately, I was left rather unsatisfied. It didn’t actually feel like anything was achieved by this book.

Overall, I enjoyed the romance and was intrigued by the rest of the sub-plots. I was left very happy with the way the MM storyline was dealt with and felt like JR Ward stayed true to the characters whilst creating a very believable, and satisfying, love tale.