#1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward is heating things up this winter with a holiday novel featuring some of her most iconic Black Dagger Brothers. When Trez lost his beloved to a tragic death (The Shadows, Black Dagger Brotherhood #13), his soul was crushed and his destiny seemed relegated to suffering. But when he meets a mysterious female, he becomes convinced his true love has been … convinced his true love has been reincarnated. Is he right? Or has his grief created a disastrous delusion?
Therese has come to Caldwell to escape a rift with her bloodline. The revelation that she was adopted and not born into her family shakes the foundations of her identity, and she is determined to make it on her own. Her attraction to Trez is not what she’s looking for, except the sexy Shadow proves to be undeniable.
Has fate provided a grieving widower with a second chance…or is Trez too blinded by the past to see the present for what it really is? In this sensual, arresting book full of the themes of redemption and self-discovery, two lost souls find themselves at a crossroads where the heart is the only compass that can be trusted…but that may require a courage that neither of them possesses.
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I am sad to say that I did not read the first book with Trey (Shadow) in it. I will be correcting that mistake soon. I have a whole marathon of Black Dagger Brotherhood series on my new year reading for January. I enjoyed the book for what it was and the fact that Trey was really having a hard time not believing that the woman he had meet is not his deceased beloved. I find that not having read book one of his story was frustrating me to no ends. I wanted to stop several times and go pick up The Shadows. I wanted to understand the struggle and trouble that Trey went through. I did find that him meeting Therese to be a kind of meant to happen. They both needed to let go of the past and embrace the present.
As the story unfolds you get glimpses of the past and what brought each, Trey and Therese to the point they were at when we meet them. I found the story rich, engaging, intense, and emotional. There was that touch of forever through all times and place kind of love.
You had to go through the sad and heartbreaking to get to the other side of what was being offered. I recommend this story to all of the Black Daggr Brotherhood series fans. I also recommend it to those looking for that all encompassing holiday read that will pull at your heart, maybe a few tears, and believer in love for eternity. Caution to read book one of Trey (The Shadows, Black Dagger Brotherhood, #13) first.
This addition to the series is most certainly a romance. There are depths of things in the background that are not fully explored but this was a heartbreaking romance that had a hint of sorrow, pain, fate, and forever love. J. R. Ward has done it again. She has her own way of revisiting characters and making things work for them even a second time around. Seeing things work for Trey this time was interesting.
The first time I read The Shadows it was heartbreaking. Trez and Selena had a beautiful, yet tragic story. Yet with the tragedy, it seemed to fit because sometimes you don’t get a happily ever after. And what was only a few months in terms of the storyline was 6 years for readers. 6 years of Trez being heartbroken. I’m glad we got Where Winter Finds You, because Trez deserved to have his HEA. I was worried that with Selena being reincarnated into Therese that it was going to cheapen the events in The Shadows, but I should of known that it was going to be handled correctly. This was a perfect new beginning after a tragic start.
A moving love story, a second chance for Trez and Selena/Therese. I wasn’t sure Ward could pull off the reincarnation without doing injustice to either version of the woman, but it worked out well. Since this was only ‘half’ a book (though other authors might call it a normal length novel), there weren’t any secondary plots distracting from the main story, but there were appearances from many regulars. I especially like where iAm’s life is going.
If you follow me then you know that I get way behind on some of the series I most love. What can I say, it happens. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series is one of those. I know…I’m so bad. So when I was asked to review Where Winter Find You I decided to do so without even know who the characters where. I just opened the book and started to read.
Here’s the funny. The last book I read of her was The Shadows! I know, crazy right! And here I am reading another book about Trez and Selena’s look-a-like! How weird is that? I think someone is telling me that I need to catch up on Ward. That’s next year’s plan.
I might have jumped ahead in the series and didn’t even know who I was going to read about but one thing I did know was that Ward based the story around Christmas time. How could I pass that up??? I love the holidays!
I’m not going to give to much away because I want you to be able to experience this story for yourself. I’m sure many of you want to know what happened to Trez after Selena dies and if he’d ever find his HEA.
I’m happy to report that he does with Therese. A woman that has some sadness in her past too. Not really life-changing just a little shocking. She reacts badly to some news but it’s understandable. The news was shocking, just not life-altering.
Or was it?
I really enjoyed this story. I started it last night right before I made dinner and finished it before going to bed. The info I have says it’s 406 pages but I don’t believe that. I will have to email the publisher and ask them. If it is right I can’t believe how fast I read it.
I know when I’m enjoying something I can really read but that’s…we’ll have to see. Either way, short page count or long it’s a fantastic story that leaves you with holiday cheer. This is the perfect story to sit by the Christmas tree enjoying its lights with a glass of wine.
I’d like to mention that reading this one out of order didn’t really ruin anyone else story. It was mostly about Trez and Therese and only a character showing up to aid them. Otherwise, I didn’t learn anything new, okay, someone new but I won’t mention it. It’s small enough to at this point not change the stories. Not sure if it will ever come into play. I bet you really want to know what it is. Read the book!
Where Winter Finds You is a novel in the BDB world that gives you a little bit of a Christmas miracle. Trez lost his mate to an incurable illness and his life has been meaningless since. Therese found out she was adopted and flees her Michigan home to strike out on her own. Oh, and she happens to look EXACTLY like Trez’s lost love, Selena.
Trez is a shadow. His story was introduced in The Shadows with his brother iAm. His story is tragic and the beginning of Where Winter Finds You shows he has not been able to move on at all. Anytime a story deals with the death of a lover/mate, I am always leery. Its a tough for the newcomer to compete with a ghost. Its even tougher for Therese since Trez thinks she is the reincarnate of his lost love. You get glimpses of lots of previous characters: Xhex, Rhage and Mary, iAm. I loved that aspect of the book.
The sexual chemistry between Trez and Therese is fiery for sure, but Trez waffles between believing Therese is Selena and being sure they are totally different people. Of course, Therese doesn’t know any of this, and she has her own family issues that she must deal with. And because all this isn’t enough, there is death knocking on the door again.
Where Winter Finds You isn’t a standalone. You need to be familiar with the BDB series and read The Shadows for this book to make sense to you. Having said that, if you aren’t reading BDB, you are missing out on a great paranormal romance series. Where Winter Finds You will be perfect for readers who want super sexy PNR with a “Its a Wonderful Life” twist. It sounds odd, but it totally worked!
WHERE WINTER FINDS YOU is the 17.5 instalment in J.R. Ward’s contemporary, adult BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD paranormal, romance series. This is Shadow Trez Latimer, and Therese’s story line. WHERE WINTER FINDS YOU can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading THE SHADOWS book 13 for Trez’s backstory and history.
WARNING: If you have not read book 13 THE SHADOWS, there may be some spoilers in my review.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Trez and Therese) WHERE WINTER FINDS YOU follows Shadow Trez Latimer as he struggles to go forward without the woman he loves. Months earlier Trez’s ‘shellan’ (mate) Selena, one of the Chosen, succumbed to a rare disease of her kind, known as the Arrest. Fast forward to present day wherein, with the approach of the Christian human holiday Christmas, Trez battles not to join his shellan in the fade but if not for a female vampire called Therese, whose likeness to Selena gave Trez, and everyone pause. What ensues is the building relationship between Therese and Trez, and the potential fall-out as Trez continues to struggle with the loss of Selena.
Therese, a female vampire, struggles with her past. Discovering she was adopted, Therese felt compelled to come to Caldwell, New York, in an effort to move on with her life, such as it is. Everyone she meets is shocked at her appearance, and if not for Trez Latimer, Therese would not be alive today. Trez Latimer, one of the rare Shadow vampires, finds himself battling between head and heart as it pertains to the woman that looks identical to his beloved shellan. With his brother iAm warning him about the potential for another heart break, Trez begins a slow seduction of our story line heroine, a seduction that brings with it too many memories of the past.
The relationship between Trez and Therese is one of instant attraction but Therese is unaware of her uncanny likeness to Trez’ former shellan. Nights of dreaming about her mysterious shadow man finds Therese realizing that perhaps, her dreams are more memories than anything else. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
The colorful secondary and supporting characters include Trez’ brother iAm, as well was iAm’s shellan; symphaths Rehvenge and Zhex; as well as several members of the BDB; Bitty, Fritz; Therese’ parents Larisse and Rosengareth, and her brother Gareth; and of course, the ever present Lassiter; and Therese’s co-workers Emile and Liza.
WHERE WINTER FINDS YOU is a story of family, heartache, grief and loss; struggle, depression, second chances and hope; a story of love transcending pain and loss, sadness and time. The premise is engaging and emotional; the characters are numerous, colorful and energetic; the romance is seductive and captivating-wrap yourself up in a cozy blanket for a long winter’s night.
4.5 stars…A Black Dagger Brotherhood holiday story…yes, please! And I am going to admit that I read this new story featuring Trez when I have never actually read The Shadows (that book is still sitting on my shelf and I never got up the nerve to open it. lol) But I was able to follow this story just fine as the author gives you the pertinent information.
With that being said, I really felt for Trez as he struggled…with loss, pain, confusion, guilt, and more loss and pain. He has been through hell and is now on the edge, not sure what to think, and defending himself against people that care and worry about him.
Therese has her own issues. She is not sure where she really came from and has become estranged from the only family she has ever known. She is drawn to Trez and they have crazy chemistry. But there are secrets, assumptions, misunderstandings, and doubt from others. They seem to be two lost souls, but not sure if they truly fit or are just forcing it.
Is Trez trying to make Therese a stand-in for his lost love? Is Therese somehow really tied to Selena in some way? Is there some force bringing their souls back together or is he just imagining it?
This brings back some of the brothers and their shellans and Lassiter…I just love this quirky angel. I think fans of the series will be glad that there is more in store for the Shadows. I like it when these books focus more on one couple than several different storylines at once like the longer books. This one has suspense, drama, humor, passion, and all kinds of emotions. I will admit it took me a bit to get into the story as the beginning confused me at first, but then it all began to make sense. The vivid descriptions of some of the scenes really brought them to life and made them more powerful. This is a story of self-discovery, second chances, the power of love, and the importance of having a support system. And I think people will enjoy Trez’s complete journey.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.