![]() |
by J.R. Ward Kirkus A fallen angel is reunited with his true love. After falling in love with a human woman, the archangel Lassiter was punished by the Creator. He was cast out of heaven and sent to Caldwell, New York, home of the vampire warriors known as the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Over the course of the last 10 books, Lassiter evolved from a flamboyant, annoying sidekick to a trusted member of the Brotherhood family, even taking on the important mystical role of Scribe Virgin. At the end of the previous novel in the series, Lover Arisen (2022), Lassiter lost his halo after making a personal sacrifice to a demon which enabled the return of Lash, the evil son of the Omega. Overcome with shame and regret, Lassiter exiled himself to a remote Colorado town. Lassiter doesn’t remain alone for long; too many people—the Black Dagger warriors, his archangel cousins, and Rahvyn, a mysterious being who can jump through time—are prepared to drag him kicking and screaming back to Caldwell. Rahvyn is the lover he thought had died. At first, he assumes she's a hallucination, but when he learns she was lost in time, he decides not to squander their second chance at love. Lassiter and Rahvyn share their painful pasts and dark secrets with each other, which allows them to form a lasting bond. Their reunion plays second fiddle to the main event, though: Lash's revival of the war against the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Almost frenetic in its pacing, the novel pits Lassiter and his vampire brethren against the rising, and perhaps unbeatable, powers of evil. A shocking twist at the end displays Ward’s willingness to boldly reinvent the long-running series, leaving open fascinating new pathways for future books. A beloved character takes the helm in a book that leads the series into uncharted waters. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. Book list Lassiter, the black-and-blond-haired, Golden Girls-loving fallen angel, feels like damaged goods since the demon Davinia assaulted him, so he's willing to love Rahvyn from afar. But when two fellow angels, Eddie and Adrian, show up to take him to see the Creator to account for all the meddling he's done in the lives of the vampires, he knows his time is short, so he opens his heart. But Rahvyn is no ordinary vampire. She has extraordinary powers, evident when she saves George, the guide dog of the Blind King Wrath. Meanwhile, the Lessening Society is back or attempting to come back, and the Black Dagger Brotherhood jumps into the fray. Ward's latest in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (after Lover Arisen, 2022) has it all—danger, sex, violent action, swoon-worthy romance, and an ending that will leave readers reeling. Seriously. Newbies will want to start at the beginning (Dark Lover, 2005), but series fans will love Lassiter's long-anticipated story that tempers its broody darkness with odd moments of humor, as befits the character. From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission. |