The Chosen Black Dagger Brotherhood #15

J. R. Ward — 2017

Xcor, leader of the Band of Bastards, convicted of treason against the Blind King, is facing a brutal interrogation and torturous death at the hands of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Yet after a life marked by cruelty and evil deeds, he accepts his soldier’s fate, his sole regret the loss of a sacred female who was never his: the Chosen Layla. Layla alone knows the truth that will save Xcor’s life. But revealing his sacrifice and his hidden heritage will expose them both and destroy everything Layla holds dear—even her role of mother to her precious young. Torn between love and loyalty, she must summon the courage to stand up against the only family she has for the only man she will ever love. Yet even if Xcor is somehow granted a reprieve, he and Layla would have to confront a graver challenge: bridging the chasm that divides their worlds without paving the way for a future of even greater war, desolation, and death. As a dangerous old enemy returns to Caldwell, and the identity of a new deity is revealed, nothing is certain or safe in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, not even true love... or destinies that have long seemed set in stone.

Reviews

Samantha Emery@samj

Oct 17, 2021

Check out this and my other reviews at My Blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest ★Book Basics★ Genre : - Paranormal Romance Series : - 15th in the series Love triangle? - (view spoiler)[No (hide spoiler)] Cheating? - (view spoiler)[No (hide spoiler)] HEA? - (view spoiler)[Yes (hide spoiler)] Would I read more by this author/or in this series? - yes Rating - 3.5 stars ★Review★ So I have been on a bit of a BDB kick recently. I originally got up to Lover at Last - which I skim read, and skipped to The Beast, missing out The King and The Shadows. But I re started right from book 1 and have been enjoying reading them all in one go. I find I do not mind so much the multiple POVs or revisiting couples with ongoing issues so much this way and have upgraded some star rating on a re read. This book I was nervous to start as I had read quite a lot of reviews, and lots of hating on Qhuinn and Thor mostly. Now, not to say Qhuinn and Thor were not absolute dicks tbh... But I am not sure how they get to be the "villains" in the book opposite Layla and Xcor. Layla - who quite frankly had zero personality other then hating herself and wallowing in guilt until she gets found out - then is pretty much all about her her her and being sooooooooo in love! She was just a selfish immature dummy tbh - she was meeting a traitor, kept secret that he knew where the King and the Brotherhood and all their families lived - for months - yet acted like they were some hard done by star crossed lovers. And as much as a knob as Thor was being, she was just as bad and not above throwing Wellsie in his face, which was just cruel - whilst demanding respect purely as she was a Chosen but not having done anything to earn respect on her own merit. And Xcor - I actually liked him here, as flat as his personality was tbh, but he was a complete 180 of a character - he spent years with The Bloodletter doing god knows what. Spent months moving against Wrath, plotting, a stroke of pure dumb luck he was not responsible for Wrath's murder and made it so Wrath and Beth annulled their mating.....he spent DECADES being not a very nice guy, but we will forgive it as in this book he is so accommodating and honourable, cos you know tragic backstory. Qhuinn - was he written as such a dickhead so we would forget just how much of an evil git Xcor was to begin with and had apparently been for years??? And what is up with V?? I love V and am probably one of the few that actually like V and Jane together and their story. But V is going off track here - but again - I don't hate him, I am nervous for where it will go - but I don't hate him. He seemed lost - I may change my mind on this however depending on what happens next. Overall, I did enjoy it, and given I read a fair few reviews - I expected to hate Qhuinn and Thor - but I just didn't. Did Qhuinn do something terrible - yes? But then so did Layla over the course of the last few books - and she never really suffered any consequences for her actions. Neither did Xcor for plotting a rebellion and almost assassinating Wrath Tbh the lot of them were idiots. Except Blay! I love Blay. Overall 3.5 stars as I did enjoy it, and I love a "everybody is happy disney ending" as unrealistic as it may be. But it was a book filled with selfish idiots making dumb decisions then getting away with it.