#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • New enemies rise and desire burns in the latest thrilling novel of the paranormal romance series the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Sola Morte, former cat burglar and safecracker, has given up her old life on the wrong side of the law. On the run from a drug lord’s family, she is lying low far from Caldwell, keeping her nose clean and her beloved grandmother safe. Her … her beloved grandmother safe. Her heart, though, is back up north, with the only man who has ever gotten through her defenses: Assail, son of Assail, who never meant to fall in love—and certainly not with a human woman. But they have no future, and not just because she doesn’t know he is a vampire, but because he is not about to stop dealing arms to the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Fate, however, has other plans for them. When Assail falls into a coma and lingers on the verge of death, his cousins seek out Sola and beg her to give him a reason to live. The last thing she wants is a return to her past, but how can she leave him to die?
As a lethal new enemy of the vampires shows its face, and the Brotherhood needs Assail back on his feet, Sola finds herself not only a target, but a mission-critical force in a war she doesn’t understand. And when Assail’s truth comes out, will she run from the horror . . . or follow her heart into the arms of the male who loves her more than life itself?
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What can you even say about a J.R. Ward book other than AMAZING. I have been a longtime fan of the Brotherhood so this installment was a much needed update for all my favorite characters. Be prepared for unexpected revelations and deaths (as usual with the Warden) but everything works out as it should in the end. Always.
4.25 stars-THE THIEF is the sixteenth full-length instalment in J.R. Ward’s contemporary, adult BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD paranormal, romance series focusing on an elite group of vampire warriors and their King. This is businessman, former drug dealer and vampire Assail, son of Assail, and human thief Marisol ‘Sola’ Carvalho’s story line. THE THIEF should not be read as a stand-alone; I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and cohesion, especially the last two to three instalments.
NOTE: If you have not read the last few instalments in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, there may be some spoilers in my review.
SOME BACKGROUND: One year earlier, Assail destroyed the men who attacked and brutalized the female he loved. Marisol (along with her grandmother) moved to Florida in order to escape the past, and her attraction to Assail, never knowing the extent of Assail’s addiction, his detox, his love or his deteriorating mental health.
Told from several third person points of view including Sola and Assail THE THIEF follows in the aftermath of Assail’s drug detox, and the subsequent psychosis leaving our hero a shell of his former self. Believing death was inevitable, Doc Jane and Assail’s cousins Evale and Ehric make final preparations including contacting the woman with whom Assail had fallen in love. Enter Marisol ‘Sola’ Carvalho, Assail’s mate, and the female who would jump start Assail on his road to recovery. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship between Assail and Sola, and the potential fall-out when Assail and Doc Jane reveal the truth about what he is, and the Black Dagger Brotherhood.
Meanwhile, a new threat has risen in Caldwell, a threat with no corporeal body but a threat more deadly than anyone could have imagined. Throe, a former warrior with the Band of Bastards, seeks revenge against the King, in the hopes of ascending to the throne, revenge that comes from secrets of the past.
The ongoing struggles in Vishous and Jane’s relationship come to a head when Jane discovers V’s path towards infidelity. A distinct lack of communication between our couple, with the added hindrance and misfortune of an overworked physician, and the Brotherhood’s battle with a new enemy find Jane and Vishous on the verge of ‘consciously uncoupling’ in a not so friendly manner. Ward’s ongoing fascination and supposed dislike for V resurfaces with his immature attitude, child-like tantrums, and treatment of the female he claims to love. Forced time off has Jane refocusing on her relationship, her work, and the future with the male she loves.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a character driven series but in previous instalments Ward’s need to amass and gather all of the Brothers often detracts from the story line premise(s) but in the case of The Thief the author reigns in some of the unnecessary drama that would otherwise divert attention in too many directions. THE THIEF follows a number of paths that intersect at several junctures but unlike in previous episodes the collection of side stories is limited. A sister scorned by the disappearance and death of her beloved brothers seeks revenge as Detective Jose De La Cruz begins an investigation into the series of murders linking back to the recent appearance of ‘said scorned sister’. A last minute cameo appearance by Murhder sets the stage for book seventeen THE SAVIOR, as well as a hybrid vampire’s transition that is about to go down. The individual Black Dagger Brothers have limited page time with the exception of Rhage, and of course our friendly ethereal angel Lassiter, whose new role is confirmed as Vishous is about to lose the woman he loves.
THE THIEF is a story of addiction and recovery; heartbreak, communication and love; vengeance, betrayal and supernatural powers. J. R. Ward’s THE THIEF is an engaging and intoxicating look at vampires, the females they love, and the threats meant to destroy them all. The premise is dramatic and compelling; the romance is passionate and fated; the characters are spirited, sassy, energetic and intense.
Absolutely loved this book I have read all of JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood books absolute must read from the very first one to the very last one every book has a happily ever after hot sexy scenes and characters you will fall in love with she is one of my favorite authors can’t wait for her to come out with more of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books
Such Fabulous book “True”!!! The THEIF is one of the best black dagger brotherhood reads in this series,i love how jr ward takes us into her world of warrors and their mates. in this book were picking up with assail and sola. these two are so perfect for each other both living lifes on the edge. each dealing with lifes that have gone out of control, for sola the choices she’s made bring danger to her and her grandmothers door,so with no choice left they go on the run. For assail his drug habit not only has cost him sola, but it is spinning his life out of control. With the help of the brothers he sets out to end his addiction and hopes to find sola . Also V and jane are having to deal with their relelationship and how they have grow apart,will a betrayl tear apart their lifes or will these two halfs of a whole come back stronger then ever. JR wards books always leave me f##ked up for days,theirs so much emotion in her stories and this one had me talking to the characters like i was their! i bitched,screamed,laughed and cried too,what a emotional journey. i also love many of the referances to tv and movies ,my favorite was the nod to goonies !! lauged my ass off! cant wait to see what throe does next, cant stand this prick!
Marisol Morte is on the run from a violent past, her priority to keep her aging grandmother safe. But, when two cousins of the man who’d saved her life- and fell in love with- show up on her doorstep begging that she return to Caldwell and Assail’s deathbed, she is helpless to refuse.
At the same time, the sister of Sola’s ex-lover, a powerful drug runner, comes to Caldwell seeking vengeance against those who murdered her brothers.
The brotherhood is up against a new, and deadly foe. A shadow is killing civilians and turning their souls into savage beasts. Vishous and Jane go through some marital problems, causing both of them to lose focus at a crucial time for the vampires’ future. And then Lassiter drops a bomb no one saw coming!
Favorite Lines
There was a reason for rituals. When you were lost in your own life, they provided a false structure, like paper walls for your house of cards, the illusion that things were predictable and safe sometimes the only thing that got you through.
Ward, J.R.. The Thief (Black Dagger Brotherhood) (p. 118). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Then again, true love required so much more than the boy-meets-girl stuff—and mutual attraction was the easy part: Life did not sit back politely and not interrupt the conversation between two souls united.
Ward, J.R.. The Thief (Black Dagger Brotherhood) (p. 231). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
It doesn’t matter how long it takes me to get back to reading the brotherhood, within a few pages I’m hooked. The characters are as unique and unforgettable as their names. J.R. Ward has created a series of good over evil different from most. The heroes have faults that makes the reader invested in their outcomes. Each book reads as a standalone, but I would recommend reading the first one or two in order to gain a perspective on the brotherhood’s dynamics.
Vishous is one of my favorite characters, so I was glad to see him figure prominently in this story and can’t wait to start the next one! I wish I had more reading time
Another Adventure with the Brothers
I have been a BDB fan for longer than I can remember –
Few can make laugh so hard, or ugly cry the way characters of the BDB do – Just one of those reads that guarantee complete immersion within the pages
This story, as with most of the BDB books, encompasses more than one set of main characters and plot line- with The Thief we get Assail and Sola’s story *sigh* these two are such a unique couple I have a soft spot for Assail – he let go of Sola because he loved her – despite his cold and greedy exterior he hides a heart of pure marshmallow goodness
We also get a storyline for one of my favorite characters V and his beloved sheehan Jane and how the changes in their world – from the death of the Scribe to the war with the Lesser’s is affecting their lives and their relationship –
Oh and then we get this fabulous twist with a brother long thought “retired” – Not telling – but it was a shocker and I am dying to find out what happens
The many changes also bring us new alliances as well as some new enemies
I am not sure how Ward manages it – But as you journey with the BDB each character is so vivid – their unique personalities and quirks bleed onto the pages – not only in actions but in words – It is hard to explain- but it is like you know them personally, you are there in the room watching them unwrap a sucker, light up a hand-rolled, flip off a brother – They are family and look forward to the next journey with them
Absolutely incredible @!!!
Hands down my favorite paranormal series!! That being said… I feel like I was shortchanged on this book… Where is the HEA for Sola and Assail?? What is going to happen as she ages?? I also felt with the build up to Vishious and Jane’s added storyline that it fell flat!! They had one conflict and then pretty much everything was fine… I understand the need for future stories/books but seriously this was a let down and my very least favorite of ALL Ward books.
Normally I’d give this author 5 stars. I’ve read all the available books in this series. The only problem I had with this one is the jumping back and forth between two story lines. I’d rather had 2 books, one for each line.
This story is part of the black dagger brotherhood series and JRWard has a way of pulling you into the lives of this unique set of vampires and humans that is just too hard to put put down
again, 100 percent 5 stars
The Thief was another awesome story in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series that was exciting to read. It was easy to slide back into the world and instantly be a part of everything. There was a wonderful mix of humor and drama, and stubbornness, and love and I really enjoyed it!
I have mixed feelings about this book. Like The Chosen, this book made me feel a lot of things and not all of them good.
I am going to break this down by couples/people like I did in my review of The Chosen because I think that is probably the best way for me to get my feelings about this book across.
Assail and Sola:
So when Sola was first introduced I really liked her. But that changed as time went on. I respect that she wanted to get away from the criminal life after her kidnapping. My problem comes from her actions when the twins asked her to come back. They tell her Assail is dying and she is just like nope sorry I can’t. This really made me not like her right then. She does go back though, after her grandmother makes her, and helps bring Assail back, and I started to like her again. Then she freaks out about him being a vampire. I think I am just going to have to say that I don’t really like Sola. I like that she is a strong independent woman who can take care of anything but I don’t like how she acted.
Assail on the other hand was great. I loved how happy and emotional he was to come back from the brink of death. I love his cousins in this one and really hope they get their own books, as well as Markus. Now Assail and Sola relationship was just ok to me. It didn’t have the emotional impact that previous couples had and it felt more one sided (Assail’s) because of Sola’s constant wishy washy feelings.
I loved Sola’s Vovo (grandmother) though. She is a beautiful soul. I just want to meet her and have her make me food. It all sounds so delicious.
V and Jane:
So in The Chosen we see V contemplating cheating on Jane. Well he almost does in this book and it makes me so angry. I hate cheating in any form so when I see Ward doing it it makes me angry. V is a mated male so this shouldn’t be happening and I don’t know why Ward is writing it! That said I am glad that he and Jane worked out their issues and became a stronger couple. I still don’t like it though.
“At the end of the day, absolute trust was the working definition of true love.” – V
Also I would just love it if we could have less martial issues between the couples. It is getting to be a little much since every book is featuring it now. Please reign in it some Ward.
Vitoria Benlois:
So I thought VItoria ended up being a waste of a character. She was smart, determined, and strong enough to take over her brother’s drug empire but at the same time was kinda boring. I really thought she was going to be a background character that just randomly popped up but that doesn’t happen. Her whole arc was just very anticlimactic and felt like a waste of time almost.
Now onto everything else. I loved, loved, loved Lassiter, as usual. He is the best! I am curious about how the whole Mhurder situation is going to play out and hope it doesn’t do anything to JM and Xhex’s relationship. Throe’s new evil army was fascinating. His obsession (love?) with the book is creepy and disturbing as well.
Overall, this was not my favorite book but it did move the storyline and clear up some plot points. I hope if Assail and Sola appear in future books I will like them better.
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/review-the-thief-by-j-r-ward/
The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a pretty long saga that is still being published. My relationship with it it’s a bit windy. Sometimes I love the book and the characters and other times it is hard to finish them. The Thief is not the former or the latter. It is something in between. An enjoyable story, but with plenty of issues to make me frown. Let’s stick our fangs in this new adventure of our favourite vampires from Caldwell!!
This book is told from two fronts. In one corner, we have the ex-criminal, ex-drug addict and ex-enemy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood: Assail. The detox treatment is running havoc with his body and he is about to expire. His loyal cousins get in contact with Sola, the human who means the world to Assail. They hope that his mate’s presence would somehow cure him of all illness. No one could have expected that that miracle was more likely than the fact of Sola accepting the existance of vampires… On the other corner, Vishous’s mate troubles are finally blooming full force and they must redefine his relationship with Jane. And in the middle of all those love problems, Throe has started beta testing his new shadow pals…
We had an incurable illness with Serena, a really bad disease with Silas and now Assail during his last moments of life. The author is abusing too much of that kind of drama and I hope she drops it all together for future stories. For obvious reasons, they tend to be books with fewer action scenes and too much half-hearted goodbyes. This has not been an exception and, even though Assails doesn’t stay long in the hospital, those characters barely take part in anything more exciting than helath care until the end. So, everytime the book put the focus on Assail or Sola I tried to read those chapters more quickly to get to the good parts. I’m not saying their love story is boring, but it is nothing I have not read before. How they end is pretty obvious from the beginning.
Assail as a character doesn’t move me in any direction. His main contribution to this saga is actually the chance of spending more time with those wonderful cousins of his. I hope those guys get and epic story of their own! The character who has risen all the wrong flags is Sola. I can’t barely remember her from past stories, but in this one she has rubbed me the wrong way. Is this really the concept of independent woman that should appear in books? She goes from one tantrum to another in a very rude way. And that ending!! I’m speechless. If that is not a coldhearted criminal, I don’t know what it is. I’m crossing my fingers and praying that she doesn’t make a cameo in future stories. Not my kind of character at all.
The other couple that has more time dedicated to them is Vishous and Jane. If you have read my previous reviews of this saga (I bet you can all recite them by heart now), you may know that I kind of hate Vishous due to that horrible, foul smelling addiction he likes to sport every chance he gets: smoking. That’s why I was not really happy about having a book with more pages dedicated to him, but, being honest, all the last books have had a pretty big dedication to that character. Which sucks big time. He is not only constantly smoking, he even makes some annoying comments about it as if it were the coolest thing ever. Infurating. So when this book started with him having a big fight with Jane I was smiling from ear to ear. Yes, I’m that kind of reader. The kind that enjoys mischievously the suffering of their most hatred characters. Too bad it doesn’t last long. It’s a bit disappointing, actually. I think the solution for their problems is pretty easy and I even dare to say there is some favouritism towards Vishous…
This could have been a much worse book if we didn’t have a couple of side stories that bring some action and excitement to the story: Throe’s attacks and Vitoria’s ascension as mafia queen. The first one is setting the foundations for the future headaches of the Brotherhood. The trouble he is brewing looks like is going to be fun to read. And the second one is an enjoyable side quest that I wasn’t expecting and that presents some good characters. Too bad it is a bit underdeveloped.
This book is not among my favourites of the saga, but it has a nice balance that makes it pretty easy-to-read even though the romantic part is not that great.
3.5 Stars
Assail has long been a favorite bad guy for me, his losing Sola when she left left me feeling lost for him. His continued drug use was a concern.
I have reached the point where I’m totally conflicted when I read these books; confusion, boredom, enjoyment the list goes on.
Spoilers……
1- V and Jane, I honestly have gotten to the point I don’t want to hear anything about them. Why go through the trouble of having Jane and V be able to stay together only to have them be distant and unconnected through most of the series.
2- Sola & Assail, so first she refuses to go see him, her grandmother forces her to go and what does she do? She blurts out she loves him on his supposed death bed. The other parts of their story were surprisingly tender and good. I just wish he would have told her the vampire thing a lot sooner.
3- The cast of characters was more than needed for this particular story.
4- Vitoria to me was OTT and she got way more page time than she should have or was needed.
5- It was nice knowing Butch’s old partner De la Cruz missed him. And he is one smart guy.
6- Throe needs to go this has really dragged on ad nauseam.
All in all an enjoyable read, I know I just listed everything I didn’t like.
As always, The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a carousel ride of a read from start to finish. The main couple in book 16 of this Iconic series is Sola Morte and Assail. Sola is living down in Florida with her Vovo, grandmother. Assail however is fast losing the battle with his addiction unconscious in the Brotherhood clinic. The twins decide to go to Florida and ask for Sola’s help.
Meanwhile, Vishous and Jane are going through a marital problem. Jane is spending most of her time in the clinic. But there’s a new threat after the race, and before long, Jane is right in the thick of the war, with dire consequences.
There is just so much going on in this book, that I’d be giving away lots of secrets that BDB fans have been waiting to hear. I have to add that I was actually thrilled that a good portion of the book was devoted to Vishous and Jane, as they are my favorite characters.
I have read every one of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books. They are always excellent if you love a good vampire story. This one is no exception, except the main characters are not members of the brotherhood. Still you get to see some of your favorite characters who are part of the brotherhood. Was so glad things worked out as they did. I never want to see this series end.
To be honest, I didn’t like the heroine she annoyed me a lot, she claimed to love Assail but couldn’t accept him for what he is.
On the other hand, I loved V and Jane so much, they are a great couple and it was amazing the reconciliation between them.
Great book and I love the whole series. Great character development!
I’m confused about my feelings on this one so I’ll wait to rate and review it until I can get things sorted out.
I will tell you one thing, I won’t think or look at My Little Pony the same way ever again!