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There are so many books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward, and the plot lines for each book are so expertly interwoven that it is sometimes hard to remember where each character has left off since the last book. Sometimes the Warden (the nickname her readers have given her, and yes, if you know anything about BDB, you know this title is warranted considering the characters she has to try to wrangle every dang day) graces us with a sequel to our favorite characters, which makes me squee with delight. I am definitely one of those types that never wants a story to end and always thinks about what each character I love is doing after they get their Happily Ever After.
I'd like to be able to say that I love all of the characters in the BDB universe equally but for different reasons, but that would be a lie. My favorite has always been Zsadist (Lover Awakened and Father Mine), and followed closely by Rhage (Lover Eternal and The Beast), but then Lover at Last came out and we FINALLY got the Qhuinn and Blay romance we'd always wanted.
While Lover at Last gave me that forever kind of love story for Qhuinn and Blay that I'd been dying to see play out, A Warm Heart in Winter revisits the couple during a Christmas blizzard that causes all sorts of trouble for the Brotherhood, and let me tell you, it gave me ALL. THE. FEELS.
Not only does Ward give us even more Qhuinn and Blay (plus their young, twins Rhamp and Lyric, sooooooo cute!), but then she goes and kills me by including Zsadist as an integral part of their journey together. To see Zsadist have come so far and be the anchor that he is in this book... Yeah, this only further cements my love for the Brother and no one will ever be able to take his place.
Without ruining any of the book for you, I will say that this book should have been sold with a box of kleenex (even with the pandemic happening!) because there is not one chapter that is not full of emotional turmoil that tugs at your heartstrings. Ward hits all the right notes with this novel, expressing clearly and eloquently the emotions each of her characters vacillate through: love, loss, guilt, shame, sorrow and regret, and in the end, the knowledge that everything happens for a reason even if we don't understand why in the moment that everything changes.
A Warm Heart in Winter is more than Qhuinn and Blay's continuing love story, it also gives the reader greater insight into characters we already know and love, and introduces us to a love story we never even knew had already taken place.
Well done, Warden.
Now, I just have to exercise patience for the next BDB book, Lover Unveiled. Oh, the torture!!!
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