Title: The Shadows
Author: J.R. Ward
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #13
This book gave me all the feels and broke my heart again. I had forgotten how heartbreaking and sad this book was. Before reading this make sure you have tissues on hand because you will cry big ugly tears. This book puts you through the ringer and has you feel everything.
This book switches it up and focuses on the brothers Trez and iAm. Trez is dealing with the realization that her queen, Selena, is dying a horrific way and there is nothing they can do about it. iAm is trying to help his brother and keep him from being taken by the H’sbe. He is also dealing with his attraction to a shadow named maichen, who is more than she appears.
I knew from reading the previous books that this one was going to be heartbreak. Ward leaves clues that Selena is very sick and it isn’t going to be pretty. That said, I still sobbed like a baby and from about page 475 till the last page. I was just a wreck. I stayed up late and so no one saw me crying over a fictional character. But Ward does an amazing job at conveying their emotions and happiness while they were together. They embraced their time together and made the best of it.
I know this isn’t the end of Trez’s story and that he is back in Where Winter Finds You but I am still heartbroken that he has to suffer. The BDB has been shaken to its core with Selena’s death and it will never be the same.
“Memories were especially dear, when they were all you had left of a loved one to hold on to.”
We see progress in the story with this book. Layla and Xcor’s hidden relationship has progressed but an event causes a rift between them. I am very interested in seeing how their relationship plays out because I don’t really remember it. The Band of Bastards have also lost a member and are still fighting lessers.
“She is…the moon in my night sky. And that is the beginning, middle, and end of it. There is no more to be told than that, and never shall I speak of her again.” – Xcor
Rhage is also featured a lot in this one. He is struggling to deal with the death of Selena because it reminds him so much of Mary’s death. He clearly has a lot of issues that need to be worked out which will happen in the next book, The Beast.
Ward also introduces Paradise, the daughter of Abalone, who is the heroine of Blood Kiss, the first book in the spin off series Black Dagger Legacy. I really liked her. She was smart, beautiful, organized, and determined to be her own person. She really reminds me of Marissa, because she is breaking away from the glymera’s mold of a woman and being her own person.
Overall, The Shadows is every bit as emotional as I thought it would be. Ward does an amazing job at providing emotional and powerful scenes that you will never forget about. While heartbreaking, I loved every minute of this book.
Previous books in the series:
Red-Haired Ash Reads 