In going into Lover Reborn, I wanted to keep in mind something that JR Ward alluded to in the BDB companion book, that Tohrment's book was to be the conclusion of the original ten- part series, and in a lot of ways, it is. From now on, we have to form real attachments to new characters, none of which are brothers (yet), and some of which may not even turn out to be good guys. Had Ward decided not to flesh out Qhuinn, Blaylock, and the Band of Bastards, this would have been a good conclusion to what has been a great series. Lover Reborn is a great example as to how a series could be ended to the satisfaction of long- time readers, and given what occurred during those last few chapters, remind them what made them start reading the books in the first place. But I'm glad she chose to flesh out the newer characters, because when you enter a world as interesting as Ward has created, you never want to leave it. From now on, it is a kind of new world, familiar in many respects, but different in all the ways that keep you reading.
The issue most had with Lover Unleashed was how little we found ourselves invested in Payne, a character I still find underdeveloped, and frankly, unimportant to the whole world (though I'll look forward to being proven wrong in future installments). But here, here's the brother I think nearly all of Ward's readers are fully invested in, the brother nearly all of us want to save. Except how he gets saved is a source of division in readers. Is it fair that some Brothers get their HEA, even after they've died, but Tohrment does not? Why does Wellsie have to be the one who doesn't get saved? What makes their love somehow less than V's or Rhage's?
Sorry to be blunt, but in life, as in fiction, its just not always fair. In fact, I would have been more disappointed in Ward had she succumbed and brought Wellsie back. That's a brave writing choice, as brave as killing her was in the first place. What Ward has done is expose us to a different kind of romance, one that most people (thankfully) never have to experience: learning to love again after unspeakable tragedy. That's what Tohrment's book is about, that struggle that anyone who has ever lost has to go through. Does Ward do a good job making you feel the struggle? Yes, in the amount of time she's allotted. In the end, this is a book, and that's the limitations of fiction. Ward did the best she could to write what can be an impossible plotline to write to universal satisfaction. Everyone has their own feelings about the best way to love, everyone has their own feelings on the best way to grieve, and no one ever agrees about when its the right time to move on. I'm not sure I could see Tohr's struggle working out any differently than how Ward wrote it, without either bringing back a character just for the sake of it, or turning this book into a saga that stretched on through another five installments. How she went about it may not be pleasing to each individual reader, but you can't say that the overall outcome isn't how a situation like Tohrment's could be resolved.
As far as No'One is concerned, she's kind of like that girl your best guy friend just started dating: you either liked her going into it, or you were willing to tolerate her for the sake of Tohrment. Again, I felt like she could have been fleshed out a little better, but there's something compelling about her, so that you can't help but hope she comes into herself in some way significant. Is she the greatest shellan ever written? No. But do you hope she and Tohrment can make it work? Absolutely. Just like you'd hope for the happiness of anyone you found yourself invested in, as we have been with Tohrment for the last ten years.
I think most long- time readers wish each book had more focus on the main couple in question, that the "romance" part of the novels has been thrown to the wayside in favor of multiple story lines and not- quite- minor characters. And those readers are right, especially when you re- read the first five or so books. But does that mean the books have become less? No; the BDB is a different series now, for sure, but not in any way less. This was the book where I felt Ward nailed the action sequences (I audibly gasped in quite a few places, and clutched my chest during one pivotal scene), and it's also the one that felt the most "real." The emotions people felt, the moments they shared together, the way the plot unfolded to make way for new story lines; for a fantasy, this book felt the most rooted in reality. And I for one, am looking forward to Spring of 2013, to finding out just what happens in this "new" world.
