In Caldwell, New York, war rages between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Now the cold heart of a cunning predator will be warmed against its will...
Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous, son of the Bloodletter, possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a pretrans growing up in his father's war camp he was tormented and abused. As a member of the Brotherhood, he has no interest in love or emotion, only the battle with the Lessening Society. But when a mortal injury puts him in the care of human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels him to reveal his inner pain and taste true pleasure for the first time-until a destiny he didn't choose takes him into a future that cannot include her..
I have so many feelings about this book and this series. I cannot put into words the emotion that J.R. brings out in me. I really try not to like these books, but damn the world, I cannot help it.
We are taken on a journey with a tormented, Vishous. He is cursed and torn between his hidden attraction for his best friend and his desire to love someone.
Okay, so lets summarize.
1. We are shown the early life of Jane and her sister Hannah. Her parents seem to not care for her as much as her sister and it shows in the isolation that Jane feels. It is her birthday and her sister comes into her room to tell her goodbye. During the odd transgression, we also learn that Jane and her sister find out who she is going to marry. They play with a Ouija and it spelled out Vishous and tells Hannah that she is basically going to die. The next morning we learn that Hannah is dead. Jane's life plays out well in this book. We learn about her disgust with oatmeal and the story of Hannah's funeral as well. Very well written!
2. Vishous' story of his childhood was brutal. From the hatred of his father, the Bloodletter, to his anger over his mother's lack of being there. I do not know how he survived. We are taken through his pretrans moments to the finality of his transition and the fight that his father forced upon him. There is also the mention of the final moments, where is is marked with the cursed tattoos to the partial castration they tried to inflict upon him.
3. His mother, the Scribe Virgin, comes to V and tells him that he is going to be the Primale and his young is going to be the future of the species. V puts it together that his "gift" is actually from his mother and is instantly pissed. The Virgin allows V to be almost insubordinate as he is trying to work out his emotions. The plot of this story takes a tragic turn at the end of the book. My mouth was hanging open and my heart ached at the final twenty or so pages of the book. A mother's love knows no bounds.
4. John (Tehrror) has a nice subplot in this book. As he fights with his pretans emotions as his friends complete the transition. He is left alone in a world full of sex and desire unable to do anything about it. When John's transition hits, we find that, like all the men in these books, he suffers from "monster cock" syndrome and he is hard and ready to go. Wrath had set up for one of the Chosen to be his first mate, however the demons in John's past cause a lot of issues in the later part of the story. Here is what I picture with "monster cock".
5. I believe the best part of this book is Phury. I have come to realize it is very easy to determine who the next book is going to be about. At times, it felt like this story was more about him than V. He is plagued with his desire to be with Bella and his love for his brother. Phury feels himself starting to self destruct. Even his drug abuse couldn't curb his desire. He finally resorts to sex with a whore in the bathroom. Phury is a mess.
6. The Primale story was interesting. First it is V, however his love for Jane and his disgust with his mother caused him to rebel at the last moment and refuse the role. Phury, even though was breaking down, realized the only way to prevent any damage to his brothers, volunteered to be the Primale.
7. V and Jane's love. Jane was a surgeon that took care of V when he was shot in a fight with a lesser. He awakens from surgery (which we learn some very interesting things about vampire anatomy) to find her talking to another doctor, Manny. Here is where I was annoyed. Even though there was a vision attached, the "insta love" that happens with these men is annoying! V in essence kidnaps Jane when the realize that they (humans) know too much as well as needing a doctor still. When we get back to the mansion, V starts breaking some of the walls that he had built. He shows Jane his abilities. They fall in love. I warn you, there is hot dream sex involved at one point.
8. There is a nice subplot with V's dealing with his emotions. He comes out to Butch that he wanted to have sex with him. Butch would not admit that he wanted it. I still think there needs to be a Butch/V scene later on. Jane helps him deal with his past and guides him into a loving future. Here is the best picture I've found of how I see V.
9. The ending of this book was amazing. I knew Jane was going to die. The tone towards the end, even though there was hot sex scenes, I knew something was going to happen. Jane's death was tragic and the loss the V felt was palpable. The agony that I felt was real. How V was going to turn her into a lesser and his mother's ultimate intervention didn't surprise me. What surprised me was when Jane came back in her new form and how she was still able to still interact with people as she became the Brotherhood's private surgeon. Perhaps the biggest shock was the final ten pages. The Scribe Virgin's sacrifice of her birds for her son's love. V's response once he realized was something special and I will let you read to find out. As well as the final revelation that the Virgin has been hiding.
Until next time,
lol, they do. i laugh everytime, i read her descriptions lol.
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