A Bloom in Winter

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Synopsis

After a century in the glymera's prison camp, Apex finally escaped and fell hard and fast for Callum, a sexy wolven who'd helped them in their quest for freedom. But before all was said and done, Callum was abducted by the prison warden who used and abused him until his spirit was all but destroyed. Apex sat by his beside, trying to show his love while nursing the wolven back to health, but Callum eventually ghosted out on him and has spent the decades since drifting from one place to another until he finally felt compelled to return to New York.

The two men haven't seen each other in thirty years until a chance reunion at the mountain great camp of the aristocrat who happens to employ them both. Callum is the caretaker of the property, while Apex is the guy's security expert who's been tasked with installing a network of new surveillance cameras there. Neither has ever forgotten the other, and deep down, they still love one another. But even after all the time that's passed, Callum is still haunted by everything that happened to him and isn't sure if he can handle an actual relationship with Apex when the other male is so entangled in his memories of a time he'd rather forget.

Meanwhile, Apex has brought along his fellow former prisoner, Mayhem, to help with programming the cameras. Mayhem experiences an instant attraction to Mahrci, the daughter of the property's owner, who is hiding out there in an attempt to escape an arranged mating. And down in Caldwell, the Brotherhood are called to the scene of a murder where they discover the victim was an illegal arms dealer, while also trying to decipher some mysterious documents left at the Audience House, both of which appear to be linked to a plot against the King.

Review

A Bloom in Winter is a between-the-books novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series that falls after The Beloved in the series chronology but features characters from the spin-off BDB: Prison Camp series. Callum and Apex were just starting a relationship when Callum was kidnapped and sexually tortured by the prison camp's sadistic warden. Afterward, he was both physically and emotionally broken, but Apex stayed by his side once the camp was liberated. Unable to face what had happened, though, Callum ghosted out on Apex and they haven't seen each other for thirty years. Apex now works as head of security for Whestmorel, one of the new glymera, and he's been sent to a house in the Adirondacks to wire it with state-of-the-art security cameras. Little does he know that Callum has been working there as a groundskeeper. When they reunite, all the feelings are still there between them, but there's also a lot of tension. Callum still hasn't gotten beyond all that happened to him, and although a part of him still wants Apex, the other male is twisted up in his bad memories of the past. Apex also brought his old prison camp friend, Mayhem, with him to do the programming of the security system. From the moment Mayhem meets Whestmorel's daughter, Mahrci, sparks start to fly. Mahrci is kind of hiding out there after breaking off an arranged mating with her father's right-hand man, and she's also become aware of her father's dirty dealings, which she can't overlook, making her life a bit complicated. Meanwhile in Caldwell, the Brotherhood are called to the scene of a murder of another new glymera who they discover was up to his eyeballs in illegal arms sales, while also trying to decipher a mysterious set of documents that seem to have been deliberately left at the Audience House. And everything appears to be linked to some sort of plot against the King.

I absolutely loved Callum and Apex when they were first introduced in the Prison Camp series. The way their part of the story ended, though, was completely heartbreaking. I was eager for Ms. Ward to give us a book for them, so when I found out A Bloom in Winter was their story, I couldn't wait to read it. I love the dichotomy in Apex's personality. He's a tough-guy assassin who's lived a rough life, but underneath it all, he's a big teddy bear. He's also loyal to a fault when he really cares about someone, as was evidenced in the way that he sat by Kane's beside, protecting him in The Viper. We finally learn what I suspected, that he'd fancied himself in love with Kane, but that all paled in comparison when he met Callum who completely enthralled him. He showed the same tenderness toward Callum after all that happened to the wolven, but then Callum left without a word and they haven't seen each other in three decades. Their reunion is a bit fraught, because of Callum's trauma and how Apex is a part of those horrible memories. Neither of them has ever forgotten the other, though, and their feelings are still strong. Callum just isn't sure he can be in a relationship with a guy who reminds him of that time. I adored Apex for his selflessness, and how he's willing to be whatever Callum needs him to be or even leave if that's what he wants. The little speech he gave to Callum's wolven side was emotional and romantic. I'm just really happy that these two guys are back together again and have finally found their HEA.

The other romantic pairing in this book is Mayhem and Mahrci. Mayhem was another of the inmates of the prison camp, but he was never a criminal. Bored, he broke into the camp on a whim, believing it would be an adventure and ended up spending fifty years there. That's basically how he lives life, free-spirited and in the moment, not really thinking much beyond the present. He's partnered with Apex on the security camera install because of his expertise in programming, but he doesn't know much about what's going on besides his part in the job. Having just escaped an arranged mating, Mahrci is temporarily staying at one of her father's remote properties and doesn't know about Apex and Mayhem's job there. When she goes out in the snowstorm to feed the deer, she's attacked by coyotes, and in part, rescued by Callum, who either kills or runs them off in his wolf form. But Apex and Mayhem arrive at the same time. Noticing that she's been bitten, Mayhem carries her back inside the house and tends her injury. The two are instantly attracted to one another, but Mahrci tries to resist because her life is pretty complicated. For his part, Mayhem is happy to be her rebound guy if that's all she wants, but she quickly realizes that she desires far more than that from him. Theirs is pretty much an insta-love, but they have an easy rapport that makes it seem like they've known each other longer than they have and that made it easier to buy into them rapidly falling in love. I enjoyed their part in the story and that Mayhem was able to get an HEA, too.

A Bloom in Winter started out a bit slowly. For the first two-thirds or so of the book, I was enjoying it but feeling like I wanted more than what I was getting, mainly in regards to the character and relationship development. However, as has been the case with some of her more recent novels, Ms. Ward saved all the best stuff for the last third of the story. That part was packed with angsty, sexy, suspenseful goodness that kept me excited about reading it. I was thrilled to have Callum and Apex back together again, even though, for most of the story, things are tense between them. Their part, though, only encompasses perhaps about a third of the book. It might have been nice to have a little more from their perspectives, but given how much happens in the final chapters, it wasn't a deal-breaker for me. The only thing that I really wish that the author had given us was one final love scene for them since the only complete one was more about Callum exorcising his demons than about their love for one another. I'm not sure if this was an authorial or editorial decision, but it was a little disappointing to not have one that was more about the two of them. I did, however, very much enjoy the full-circle storytelling with the prologue and the epilogue mirroring one another in a very romantic way. Mayhem and Mahrci helped to bring even more romance into the mix and I hope to see more of them in the future. The suspense portion of the plot was well done, keeping me wondering about the murderer, the mysterious documents, and how all that tied into the greater arc of a plot against Wrath and Whestmorel's connection to that. There was one part I thought I'd figured out early on, but as it turns out, I wasn't entirely right. The rest kept me guessing until the reveal, and I was very pleased by the little twist at the end. Parts of this will continue on into the next main BDB book, so I'll look forward to seeing how all that plays out. Overall, despite a few mild missteps, I very much enjoyed A Bloom in Winter and can't wait for the next main BDB release in the fall (2025) while hoping we haven't seen the last of these characters yet.

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J. R. Ward

Themes

Light Mystery
Reunion Stories
Tortured Heroes