The Chosen by J.R. Ward Narrator: Jim Frangione
Length: 17 hrs 32 mins
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #15
Published by Ballantine on April 4, 2017
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 544
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Xcor, leader of the Band of Bastards, convicted of treason against the Blind King, is facing a brutal interrogation and torturous death at the hands of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Yet after a life marked by cruelty and evil deeds, he accepts his soldier’s fate, his sole regret the loss of a sacred female who was never his: the Chosen Layla.
Layla alone knows the truth that will save Xcor’s life. But revealing his sacrifice and his hidden heritage will expose them both and destroy everything Layla holds dear—even her role of mother to her precious young. Torn between love and loyalty, she must summon the courage to stand up against the only family she has for the only man she will ever love. Yet even if Xcor is somehow granted a reprieve, he and Layla would have to confront a graver challenge: bridging the chasm that divides their worlds without paving the way for a future of even greater war, desolation, and death.
As a dangerous old enemy returns to Caldwell, and the identity of a new deity is revealed, nothing is certain or safe in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, not even true love . . . or destinies that have long seemed set in stone.
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The Chosen was an auto-buy for me, as is anything BDB or BDB Legacy. Unfortunately, I’ve had this on my Kindle for A YEAR and hadn’t read it yet. I decided it was time to pull it out before The Thief releases in a few days.
One thing I was concerned about was some couple side stories that may be going on in the BDB Legacy series that I’m missing, as I haven’t read book two or three in that series yet either. This worried me because there is a couple that I grew quite worried about during The Chosen. They were not my favorite couple to begin with, but they already had their HEA and what was happening made me want to focus on them. Now I need to read those Legacy books to see if they are included. Or if they will be in The Thief.
Anyhow, I know that The Chosen was meant to be Xcor and Layla’s story. I did get sidetracked a bit and irritated when I couldn’t learn more about that other couple or about stuff that was going on with Trez. Neither Xcor or Layla have ever been favorite characters for me.
What irritated the hell out of me was the reaction to Layla being a traitor! I was totally with Quinn on this one and did not understand the King’s take on this at all. I know it instigated the road to peace. However, it left Quinn being the bad guy throughout the whole book and that sort of pissed me off. I agree that he maybe went a little too far at first, but Layla led the enemy to their doorstep. She stole away with the enemy while pregnant with a Brother’s children. Where is her punishment for that?! I think because I hadn’t formed an attachment to Layla, her actions were easier for me to chalk up into the bad character list. I will admit it all works out in the Brotherhood’s favor, I just had a hard time accepting Layla after her actions.
Oh boy, wait until you see who takes the Virgin Scribe’s place! This is going to be a story unto itself I’m sure. I don’t know how this character is going to fit into this role. I know one thing though, the ride is going to be priceless!
The Chosen felt like a book that tamed down the characters in order to bring about an HEA. There seemed to be a lot I disagreed with and felt didn’t fit into the characters I’ve grown to love. Some times I was left shaking my head at what was happening. As usual, there are side plots that are going to lead to upcoming books. I’m really interested to see where the story with Throe is going to go. He’s getting into some bad stuff and I think may become a challenge for the Brotherhood.
I’ve invested a lot of time in these characters and feel like I’m really entangled in the storylines. I have to say I was unhappy with The Chosen. I just didn’t feel like the book fit the characters. The book left me feeling like I wasn’t even in the right world and things were happening just to make the end game easier. Perhaps that could be explained away by the Virgin Scribe’s replacement. I may not be happy with The Chosen, but that does not deter me from the series and I’m still looking forward to The Thief.
Black Dagger Brotherhood
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About J.R. Ward
J.R. Ward is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with more than 15 million novels in print published in 25 different countries around the world. The books in her popular Black Dagger Brotherhood series have held the #1 spot on the New York Times hardcover, mass market, eBook, and combined print/eBook fiction bestseller lists and have debuted in the top 5 on the USA Today bestseller list. Prior to her writing career, Ward worked as a lawyer in Boston and spent many years as the Chief of Staff of one of Harvard’s world-renowned academic medical centers. Ward currently lives with her family in Kentucky where she has learned to enjoy and appreciate all things Southern.
