4 Stars ***Contains Spoilers***
***Buddy read with Amanda Panda and Pervy Nerd***
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***Quay has finally arrived and the wait felt like forever!! It started off with the prologue which had me really tearing up. You get to see a bit of the life of Quinn when he was still a pretrans. I really hate his parents, especially his father. I despised how low they made him feel, to the point of where he suffered severe depression. Thank God for Blay! Without him, I don't even want to think what would have happened to him. All he wanted was to belong and be loved, and he continued to feel this way into his Adult Vampire life.
"...he wanted his family to love him. He felt the love among them. And the only thing more powerful than that connection... was what it was like to get shut out from it. Every fucking day of your life."
Quinn feels he should explain to Blay the type of relationship he has with Layla because he knows Blay had feelings for him. Unfortunately, Blay doesn't believe Quinn when he says it isn't a romantic relationship, considering he bedded her and she could be pregnant. This is how it went for most of the story. Quinn wanting to be with Blay but not wanting to think further into his sexuality and feelings. And Blay not believing Quinn wanted more from him than just sex. Blay felt he had been rejected to many times to give himself completely to Quinn. I have to admit, it got really frustrating how much they were holding back. Especially Blay, he didn't want to tell Quinn that Saxton had broken up with him and kept using him as a shield. Really annoying!
Saxton finally finishes the task that he has been working on for months, on Wrath's orders. This is when he decides he needs a break and goes on a little vacation. He breaks up with Blay because he can't keep going on with him as they were. He is starting to feel more and he knows that it will never be reciprocated. I really liked Saxton in this book, I felt like he dealt with everything in the best manner possible. To me, he is a great male of worth and I hope he finds happiness with another male soon.
"I never meant to get emotionally involved."
"I'm so sorry, I'm... I'm so sorry... I would give anything to be different. I wish I could.... be different."
"I know. I forgive you -- and you need to forgive yourself."
Layla has gotten pregnant but she finds she may not be for very long. She is bleeding and is at risk of loosing her young. She is devastated and doesn't want to fail Quinn. But thanks to some help, her pregnancy becomes stable. Xcor seems to still invade her mind, she can't forget him even though she knows she could never be with the enemy.
His broad chest pumping up and down, his mouth slightly open. He looked harsh, the thin veil of civility stripped from his features -- or more aptly, it had likely never been there. And yet though others would have called him ugly because of his deformity, to her... he was beautiful.
Wrath really impressed me with his kickass speech. I wanted to laugh at the glymera by how uneasy they were. Really it was laughable! I loved that he changed the law for inducting members into the brotherhood. I think this could be very advantageous for them, in having more fighters in the field. Looking forward to see who else ends up being inducted.
"I will not, however, hesitate to treat any insurgency against me and mine as the act of a traitor. And if you think what my father did was violent, you haven't seen a goddamn thing yet. I will make those deaths look merciful. I swear on my lineage."
Assail really had me intrigued in this book. I am thinking he will get a book next. He ends up meeting Sola, who I've got to say... it pretty badass, after she is hired to gather some information on him. I very much enjoyed their chemistry. Assail had me feeling all kinds of hot!! I can't wait to see how his story will unfold.
"And I say to you, do you honestely think it ends like this."
"I'm giving you what you want."
"Not even close," he growled
*************
"I have plans to pick this up where we've been innterrupted. Just so that you know." His glowing eyes raked over her body. "This is not over between you and me."
Trez's parts in the beginning were kind of boring to me. Now, I want to know more about this shadow. He also seems to want to claim the chosen Selena as his own but he has been promised to a female from his world since birth. Let's see how that develops.
Trez instantly hardened, his body swelling with the need to go over to the female, pick her up, and carry her to somewhere private. Where he could mark her.
Xcor, I am really hoping he turns into a good guy. I can see that he has potential to change for Layla. I know there is good in him and just is the way he is because of his upbringing. I wish he would stop his plans of dethroning Wrath. I do feel bad for him though, because he doesn't think himself unworthy of love because of his physical defects.
"You are in my dreams," he murmured. "Every day, you haunt me. Your scent, your voice, your eyes... this mouth. I cannae believe you let me touch you." His voice grew hoarse. "I shall remember this for all my nights."
Luchas, WTF, I couldn't believe he had been preserved all this time! I still don't like him for what he did to Quinn. I feel better keeping him at arms length, but let's see if I change my opinion of him in the next books.
"I have always, and will always, be your blood. No piece of paper can change that."
"I think Father would very much disagree with you."
"He's dead. So his opinion is no longer relevant."
The sex scenes in this book were explosive!! Really HOT!! I loved how they weren't all about sex. There was a level of intimacy to them. I loved every moment of it. The only thing I would have wanted to see, was a mating scene with both of their bonding scents and everything, but still very pleased.
Their journey has been a long one. Even in this book, it takes a while for them to finally give in to what they feel. But I will admit, I wanted more! It felt like there were very little scenes of them together, and maybe a little rushed at the end. While I was waiting for them to be a couple, I was being entertained by the subplots. The only thing I still don't like are the scenes involving lessers, it just bores me. But Assail made up for that, there is just something about him that really interests me.
I am a real sucker for a good HEA and I am pleased to say J.R. Ward did not disappoint. OMG!! The ending!... AMAZING! I was a so freaking blissfully happy with how it all concluded for them. It was so beautiful! At last, they are together! *Sigh*
"You've always had me... and my heart. My soul. Everything. I just wish it hadn't taken this long for me to man up."
"There is nothing wrong with who and what you have always been. I'm proud of you. And I love you. Now... and always."
