'The King (The Black Dagger Brotherhood #12)' by J.R. Ward

As a loyal reader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, I couldn't wait to read the new books. I'd fallen behind, largely due to lack of time, but this was so worth the wait.

Now, that isn't to say this book doesn't have a few small issues. It does. But they're minor, often barely noticeable, and let's face it. I adore the family contained within. I'm willing to forgive just about anything as long as Ward remembers who she's dealing with. There have been times in the past, where I felt she lost touch with her characters. Or perhaps, just never understood them on the really visceral level.

This isn't one of those times.

Pretty much from the beginning, she really took me back to the first book. Not so much in the obvious correlations she draws, but in the way she presents Wrath. Within just a few pages I was absolutely reminded of the way his story, his world, made me feel and why I got so attached to the Brothers in the first place. Wrath is...... stubborn, hot-headed, sometimes bordering on misogynistic in his behaviors. And I love that about him. I always did. But truth be told, he's very much the male in charge, and was I think, even before ascending all those years ago.

I cried. I mean it. I cried. More times than I could count reading this book. And not because of some tragedy, though this story is not without its suffering characters. Rather, it was the depth with which I shared many of the emotions running through the hearts and minds of those characters. Their relationships, are almost beautifully flawed at times.

Of course, there's plenty of set-up for the next book in the series, and little touches, updates.. here and there on previous stories, which is all great. I did feel that at times, Ward tried to do a little too much. Portions of the book felt disjointed, with all the jumping around. But by the end, I understood her purpose. And all in all, I have to say, I think she did a damned fine job.

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