Blurb
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 Black Dagger 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 a 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….
Review
In the fifth Black Dagger Brotherhood book, Jane Whitcomb lives a solitary life as a head surgeon. Her only real friend is her boss, Manny. When a gunshot victim arrives at the hospital, she saves his life and learns right away he’s not exactly human.
Vishous is different from most vampires. He sees visions of the future and can kill with his glowing left hand, but his vision-seeing days are on the fritz. After he winds up in a human hospital, he has a vision of him and his surgeon being together. When his boys come to break him free, he demands Doc Jane come along for the ride.
I definitely liked Vishous. His past is horrible and heartbreaking, but I don’t think it’s as bad as Zsadist’s. Everything is a power-exchange with him. He doesn’t really love or care about anyone, at least until he met his best pal, Butch. V and Jane relate on so many levels. She helps him heal. For her, he wants to be a better, kinder man, but he still craves darkness and pain.
Jane is a strong, independent woman with her own depressing, neglectful childhood. I liked her, but she rambled a lot. For example, it took several pages to describe her sister’s funeral because she couldn’t stay on topic.
Butch is really the only person who understands V, other than Jane, and their bromance is one of the best parts about the series. V cares so much about Butch that he’s partly in love with him, but he loves Jane in full. I wish their sexual tension would’ve been further explored, but I would’ve been infuriated if either man had cheated on their women.
I really enjoyed the subplot with the Scribe Virgin, the Brotherhood’s deity. She demands V become a Primale—a selected member of the Brotherhood who must impregnate the members of the Chosen, the Scribe Virgin’s sacred followers. He’s angry but resigned to his fate until he falls for Jane.
Other than the main story line, the book focuses heavily on John. I absolutely adore him. He’s finally gone through his transition and has learned, yet again, life isn’t always fair.
Phury also played a big role. He’s still as lost as ever, but his act of kindness in regards to V will lead the way to his own story.
There are few inconsistencies/typos with the prior books, but they’re minor. For example: Wrath’s Louis XIV desk is now XVI, and John was supposed to be held up at knifepoint, but now it’s gunpoint.
There are lots of pop culture references in the series, which I’m often confused by. Why are there so many acronyms? I couldn’t decipher what SOP, AMA, BPOL, PFD, DSM-IV, plus more, even meant.
Anyway, it’s a good book with great characters. One of the best in the series.
5 Stars