Paranormal Romance published by Gallery Books 20 Aug 18
Another spin-off to the Black Dagger Brotherhood and it is definitely starting off with high marks. I was so happy to get a peek inside the glymera and their awfulness. We get so many twist and turns I swear at times, I had whiplash. Even though I rage, love, complain, discuss, and anything else remotely BDB, Ward is a good storyteller and this book is no different. It’s not as meaty as the original books, but it’s just as good. I want to say right up front, If she ever decides to go back in time and write about the origins of the Brotherhood, I would be onboard. The historical aspects of this book are some of the best parts. So vivid that at times I was lost in that era, and when she switched back to present day, I was slightly annoyed. Not because I wasn’t enjoying those parts in the present, but because the scenes in the past were awesome.
Nyx and her sister are coming back home from grocery shopping, driving along a deserted road, when Posie jerks the steering wheel hard and the car goes into a ditch. Nyx and Posie make their way out of the car and Posie feels so badly about hitting a deer. She makes Nyx go to see about the deer, and Nyx takes her pistol so she can put the deer out of its misery – only to find a pre-trans boy on the road and very, very hurt. Nyx asks him where he came from, especially since they are in the middle of nowhere. He tells her he escaped the prison, and isn’t it just her luck, because her other sister Janelle has been in the prison colony for the past fifty years and she wants to break her out.
Nyx goes home with Posie and takes the hurt boy to her grandfather’s house to tell him she knows where the prison is and that she is going to get Janelle out. Her grandfather tells her it was him who sent her sister there because she murdered the vampire who lived on the estate she worked for. Nyx is not having it. She is so upset with her grandfather that she leaves with some choice words for him. He tells her she has 48 hours to get back; otherwise, he is coming to look for her.
Nyx finds the hidden entrance to the prison and has to kill a guard to get in. Things are dicey and she is going into this underground tunnel with no clue where she’s headed and who she is going to meet. The only thing she has going for her is that now she has the key card from the dead guy and her grandfather made sure she was armed and dangerous. She makes it down the corridor and bumps into a tall, gorgeous male vampire with sparkling turquoise eyes. These two do a dance of getting to know you and how can you help me.
The Jackal has been at the colony for more than a hundred years. His story is told in the past and where he is now. He is an architect who actually drew up the plans for the brothers’ mansion with Darius. He never got the chance to see it completed, because one of the glymera is a rapist asshole. The Jackal meets Rhage and Darius at Jabon’s home in Caldwell and things going on under his roof are not good. Rhage feels like he knows him from somewhere and doesn’t realize who he is to him. Something horrible happens and The Jackal gets the blame.
Nyx and Jack (The Jackal) form an alliance of sorts. He tells her he can get her to the wall of the dead to see if her sister is even alive. Meanwhile, he has a hidey hole down there with a beautiful waterfall. It’s there that he hides Nyx and they get to know each other. He immediately forms a bond to her and she to him. He tells her he can’t leave, ever. He gets his squad together to help Nyx and you get to meet a Lycan – which heelllooo, wolf vamp! And a few other ragtag vampires. Their banter, of course, is top notch. Ward does that well. They make it to the wall and Nyx is horrified to see her sister’s name on the wall of the dead. She is so angry and upset and now all she wants to do is get out of there.
In between the waiting for the guards to switch out, things between her and Jack progress. I mean, at this point I’m like how the hell is this going to work out? The guys wait for the perfect time to get her out and Jack is cornered by the Commander. At this point the Commander has a thing for Jack and you don’t really get what is going on until you GET IT. So Jack is taken by the commander and his friend fails in his mission to get Nyx to where she has to be. From this point on your adrenaline is pumping and both characters are screwed. I will tell you that from that from there the twists and turns will leave your mouth hanging open and your heart beating fast.
I left a lot out, because, while I love spoilers, I don’t want to spoil it for you. This is an adventure you must take yourself. I promise you won’t be disappointed. When Jack and Rhage meet again, it is so bitter sweet. You don’t want to miss this book. It has the brotherhood a hundred years ago, the prison colony, new species, and, most of all, it has a hero and a heroine you will love. Add in a few side characters and this book is outstanding. I hope you take a chance. Happy reading!
Grade: A
Summary:
The location of the glymera’s notorious prison camp was lost after the raids. When a freak accident provides Nyx clues to where her sister may still be doing time, she becomes determined to find the secret subterranean labyrinth. Embarking on a journey under the earth, she learns a terrible truth—and meets a male who changes everything forever.
The Jackal has been in the camp for so long he cannot recall anything of the freedom he once knew. Trapped by circumstances out of his control, he helps Nyx because he cannot help himself. After she discovers what happened to her sister, getting her back out becomes a deadly mission for them both.
United by a passion they can’t deny, they work together on an escape plan for Nyx—even though their destiny is to be forever apart. And as the Black Dagger Brotherhood is called upon for help, and Rhage discovers he has a half-brother who’s falsely imprisoned, a devious warden plots the deaths of them all…even the Brothers.
Read an excerpt.
