Holly Says: Lover Revealed by JR Ward

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

But fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

Normally when more than one of us here at SF reviews the same book, we just add our thoughts to whatever has already been posted. But Jazzy-girl was a bit long winded, so I just decided to add my thoughts here.

I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but I'm not going to make any promises. Don't forget to check out Jazz's review before you go. We tend to have differing opinions, especially when it comes to the BDB.

Ok, so you already know the basic plot, but let's see if I can recap...

Butch is pretty much feeling sorry for himself all the way around. He has no purpose in life other than to sit around and drink good scotch. Shoot, even the clothes on his back were ones bought by other people. Oh, and he's half stalking a vampire female who doesn't want him, and is way out of his league in any case. Then, his day gets worse.

He's picked up by some Lessers and spends the next 12 hours somewhere far away from happy land. Then the Omega gets involved and dude, what he does to Butch is just..freaky.

Then there's Marissa. She's an aristocrat who hates her life, is controlled by her brother, and knows no one wants her. But then she gets a call that changes all that. She's needed at Butch's bedside. Naturally she rushes right over to take care of him and that's when things get interesting.

The Good: JRW is one of the few authors I've read who can constantly jump around and pull it off. Every other chapter is a new situation, with different characters, but unlike some others, she pulls this off grandly. As a matter of fact, I think her stories would suffer quite a bit if she didn't jump around as much as she does.

John. He was great. I love the bits and pieces we saw of him and I can't wait to read more about him. And I just love being right about him. Just in case y'all haven't figured out where John came from yet, highlight the following text: He's Darius reincarnated...

The Man Love between Butch and V. Now, I was initially going to put this under The Ugly section below, but the truth is, it's kind of hot. I mean, come on, what girl doesn't fantasize about 2 big, strong alpha males going at it like dirty rabbits? Except, I really, really wish all those rabid fans out there would just go ahead and admit that...THEY'RE GAY! Dude.


The Bad: The slang and the designer name dropping. I swear, by the time I finished the book, I wanted to scratch my eyes out. Was it really necessary to tell us what designer each person was wearing? Cripes. Way over the top!

Although the slang got on my nerves, I have to tell you, it didn't bother me as much in this book as it has in her previous ones. I'm not sure if it's because I stopped expecting better, or if it was because she didn't use it as much, but I only rolled my eyes a couple of times. Oh, well, except for that EVERYONE used the slang in this book. Our perfect aristocratic heroine? Yep. The nasty Lesser dudes? Yep. Come on now, at least in the last book JRW gave us a break once in awhile.

I'm not really a Phury fangirl, but why was homeboy so absent in this book? I realize his part wouldn't be as strong as it was in Zarek's book, but he was only mentioned like...maybe once? That just seemed kind of strange to me.


The Ugly: Butch. Hello, big fat whiny crybaby. Could you feel any sorrier for yourself? Look, I realize he'd been handed some shit in his life, but in my opinion, a real man bucks up and doesn't whine and cry about it. Suck.It.Up. Plus, his stalker-like obsession with Marissa got a little old, and so did his constant, "I'm not good enough" bull. Not that I don't see where he was coming from, but seriously, he should have outgrown that shit in the first half of the book, at least.

Marissa. Yes, I know she was naive and sheltered her whole life. And I will admit we saw some major growth from her throughout the book, but there was just one misunderstanding too many for my tastes. Even someone as sheltered as Marissa shouldn't have acted as stupid as she did. And the ending? OH.HELL.NO. That stunt she pulled? She in no way made up for what she did to Butch. Especially since she didn't even realize she was wrong on her own, she had to have the other girls tell her so. And she should have begged and pleaded and crawled and...well, you get the idea. So wasn't impressed.

The nice, neat tidy thing that happens to clear everything up for Marissa and Butch's HEA. Come on, could you maybe be a little more creative? Oh, look, it's Sherrilyn Kenyon all over again. I know something had to happen so they could be together 4-ever, but this plot line was just a bit contrived.

I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop there for now. My grade?

Butch/Marissa: 1.5
The rest of the story: 3.0

Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

Hero: Butch O'Neil
Heroine: Marissa
Pages:455
Category: Paranormal
Grade: Two grades here...The book grade~ B, The ending grade~ C

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

But fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

*****SPOILERS ALERT***** It would be really hard for me to review this book and not have spoilers in it so I'm not even going to try to hold back. BEWARE.

First off how freaking excited was I to be the first one to reserve this book at my library? Then how much MORE excited was I when they got it early and I picked it up on thursday! Yeay me! Okay but now to the review....

By the time I read this book it's been what? Six months since Lover Awakened? So I wasn't really fresh on the whole Butch/Marissa thing. I was a little blurry. But that wasn't really a problem, yeah I wanted to remember why they were apart but it didn't hinder the story.

Right off we see Butch suffering from feeling the odd man out. He has a bond with V, and loves Marissa yet he's not a Brother and thinks Marissa has rejected him. None of the clothes he wears are his down to his boxers and the money he spends just as where he lives isn't his either.

When he comes across a civilian about to be attracted by lessers he steps in to help. Needless to say he's in bad shape when V finds him. He was worked over by the for-lesser and the Omega did a job on him.

When he wakes up he finds himself in Havers (Marissa's brother) clinic under quarantine.....with Marissa by his side. With his memory filled with black holes he can't remember what exactly happened to him but he knows Marissa should not be with him, risking her life.

Marissa didn't think twice about racing to Butch when she heard he was hurt. Nor did she even take a second to think of her safety as she burst into his room without the proper coverings on. When she is found with Butch her brother tells her that she may be contaminated and has to stay there till it is found to be safe for them both to leave.

During the time Marissa and Butch are locked together in this room there are a lot of misunderstandings cleared up and a lot more made.

That I can tell you this book was full of.

It's weird cause normally I'll want to throw a book against a wall for all the misunderstandings these two had. But all I had were my eye rolls and a little annoyances, but I still could not put the book down for two seconds.

I think Ward's saving grace is that she chops up her story's so well. She never says on one person or one scene for a long time. So yeah, I don't like reading about the lessers that much (it bores me) but I want to get to B&M that I fly through the short paragraph or two of lessers so fast.

Anyway. We find out that Butch has Vampire in him, surprise surprise. And he is some super powerful tool to be used by the brotherhood. But here are some of my issues. When he goes through his transition he gets bigger, like the other brothers. Now I already thought of Butch as kind of big, now he's so big that Ward wrote his boxers were all tight on him. Now I normally picture boxers kinda loose so for him to get this big I kept getting a picture of the Incredible Hulk with ripped clothes and all in my mind. I know! But I couldn't help it, and it was messing with the story for me. lol.

Then every time he would fight lessers with the brotherhood he didn't seem to fight as good and when he did his thing he was so tired, he seemed kinda weak. I think all around he seemed kinda weak. I don't particularly think someone that would take their life as strong I think that is weak, and he tried that. Early on in the book. But actually I shouldn't go there cause that situation was unique with what happened to him and how he was feeling at the time. So whatever.

The book of course was full of horrible slag but as usual it didn't bother me to the point of not wanting to read it. It was just silly as usual.

The whole V and Butch gay vibes? Definitely here! lol. I mean there were times when V was all kinds of up in Marissa and Butch's private affairs and he was more focused on Butch than Marissa. And I just have to quote this one part for you all, listen to this and tell me there isn't that I-wish-we-could-but-know-it's-not-to-be vibe:

Without thinking, Butch tilted his chin up, aware that he was offering himself, aware that he...oh, fuck. He stopped his thought , completely weirded out by the vibe that had sprung up from God only knew where.
In slow motion Vishous's dark head dropped down and there was a silken brush as his goatee moved against Butch's throat. With delicious precision, V's fangs pressed against the vein punched through skin. Their chests merged.
Butch closed his eyes and absorbed the feel of it all, the warmth of their bodies so close, the way V's hair felt soft on his jaw, the slide of a powerful male arm as it slipped around his waist. On their own accord, Butch's hands left the pegs and came to rest on V's hips, squeezing that hard flesh, bringing them together from head to foot. A tremor went thought one of them. Or maybe...shit, it was more like they both shuddered.
And then is was done. Over with. Never to happen again.
Neither of them looked at the other as V broke away ... and the parting was complete and irrevocable. A path that would not be walked. Ever.

There was also a part when V was saying to himself that he thought of Butch as his. It was almost like he knew he was in love with Butch and knew it was weird cause he never felt that for a male before and knew also that it wouldn't come of anything cause Butch loved Marissa to much so he was just going to deal with it and try to move on. I mean hell I'm all for best guy friends but these two? Definitely more.

But anyway, I really don't care about that much, just wanted to point out IT WAS THERE STILL! LOL.

We read about Butch's past and his dead sister, also his sister that is alive and his parents. Now in the end we do find out why Butch's father hated him, and how exactly he got Vampire in him. BUT there is no closure to the family issues. Does he really just not care at all? Does his sister really just not care??? Guess you have to read it to see what I mean.

And in ending my choppy all over the place review I'll say that I really didn't like the ending of the book. It came way to fast, like it was all rushed in the end, and it wasn't even of Marissa and Butch! Are you serious! Comon', that just really irked me. But whatever, it was still a good book that I didn't put down for a second and would tell everyone to go get.

Dylan's Turn: Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Hero: Zsadist
Heroine: Bella
Category: Paranormal Romance
Page Count: 434
Grade: C
Buy It: here, here or here.

Even within the vampire brotherhood, Zsadist is feared. Still bearing the scars from a tortured past, he is renowned for his unquenchable fury. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion-until he rescues a beautiful female from the evil Lessening Society.

Whoa.

Where to begin with this one.

I mean, this book was going so great for me, and then little things started happening in the story and in the book and I was getting just a little more frustrated and a little more frustrated.

Did J.R. Ward forget that she was writing romance novels when she started getting toward the end of this book? Did she skip the part of Romance Writing 101 when they taught the class on THE BAD GUYS GET KILLED, NOT THE GOOD GUYS? Didn't she ever hear the saying, "If it aint broke, don't fix it?"

What in the world would convince her that killing off a perfectly good character would make her a sensational writer?

She already done ruined one of the books in this series for me. How in the world am I going to get through Tohr's book, all the while he's falling in love with ANOTHER WOMAN? I just don't think I've got it in me. She done alienated me, and I had such high hopes for this book.

Not that I didn't like BELLA AND ZSADIST'S story, because I loved their story. Zsadist was less whiny that Zarek and more apologetic than Zarek and he was a fantastic hero. I can't help but compare Zsadist to SK's Zarek, because theyre SO similiar, maybe a little TOO similiar. But, of the two, Zsadist was the less whiny...but they're both hella hot, so I can forgive JRW for copying a character and some other stuff...well not really, but meh whatever.

This book flowed really well, a lot of things happened, a lot of things shouldn't have happened, but above all, the story of Zsadist and Bella was really good. I enjoyed their story a lot.

Did ya'll know who the Reverend was before it was unveiled? I did. So there wasn't much mystery behind that one.

Okay, one other thing that bothered the hell out of me throughout the book. Why in the hell does J.R. Ward keep bringing up the whole gay thing? I mean, if gay people are into the whole guy on guy thing, then by all means, handle your business, but I really don't care to read for it ALL THROUGHOUT a book, especially if these manly men are supposed to love women. If they love women, then quit writing about three grown ass manly men, who love women and what not, waking up in bed together, NAKED! Who the hell does that? Is that supposed to be sexy to me?

Hell EFFING no.

All the gay undertones surrounding the Brothers of the Brotherhood, totally turned me off...the series? I'm not sure. But it sure did make me wonder about V? I mean, Phury insinuating that maybe V was into that shit? Hello???? You are writing for women, women don't like men who like other MEN, or are INTO THAT KIND SHIT...I mean, let's be real now. Even though I know that Phury was into Bella for a little bit, I did get to wondering if he was SURE that he was into girls, because the way she writes these men, she's writing them into a bunch of gay guys and that's fine and dandy if she was writing gay romance, but shit, I like men who LOVE women, I like to read about men who LOVE women, I don't like to wonder if hot and sexy Vishous likes Phury or even Butch for that matter.

Because that scene with Vishous feeding Butch his blood toward the end was just a little too gay for my tastes. There were too many of those "You know how I know you're gay?" moments for me in this book. Even with Phury and Zsadist laying in bed together, spooning it up, was a little TOO GAY for me. If I'm being honest here, what Alpha Male (you know, the kind of males these guys are supposed to be) is going to want to cuddle up next to their damn brother?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

NONE.

There were a lot of things I HATED about this book, what happened to Wellsie and even what happened to Sarelle, I HATED, wondering where the hell Tohr is and about John's well being, I HATED, I HATED all of the gay shit in here too, but the overall story was really good. I enjoyed seeing Bella win Z over, I enjoyed all of the Z and Bella scenes, I enjoyed getting to know Z even though his character reminds me of too many damn characters from other books, it kinda sucks because he's just not that original for me, I can forgive Z for that, but Im not so sure about JRW.

This book gets a C from me, because though I enjoyed the story, there were too many things that I wanted to rewrite and just flat out HATED.

Holly and Isabel's Take on Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Holly Says

I put off reading this book for as long as possible. I loved Dark Lover. Absolutley adored it. To date it's one of my favorite Paranoramal Romances. Lover Eternal I enjoyed, but I didn't feel the heroine at.all. She drove me batshit, but I got over it because I enjoyed the Brothers and the way the story was written. And I had a really, really bad feeling that this one was going to end up being a terrible disappoitment.

Lover Awakened, the third book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, is the long awaited story of Zsadist. The scared warrior with a very tortured past.

When he was just a child, Zsadist was stolen from his family and sold into slavery. The mistress of the home he worked in took a special liking to him and decided she wanted him all for herself. So she made him a bloodslave. Basically, she kept him chained up and fed from him whenever she felt like it. She also got off on him as often as possible. Unfortunately, Z wasn't all that interested in getting off on her, so she had to use some special love ointment on his "special" parts.

He was held in this manner for many, many years, until his brother rescued him. Now it's however many hundreds of years in the future and there's a girl who wants in Z's pants. But she's not just any girl. She's Bella, an aristocrat in the Vamp world who's had a thing for him for ages...and who just happened to catch Z's interest, too, right before she was captured by some creepy bad guy who has a thing for her. Crazy, messed up love triangle, anyone?

Anywho, Z rescues Bella and takes her home to ma and pa and refuses to let anyone else touch her. He bathes her and cares for her and then when she wakes up....runs from her. Bella knows she should leave him alone, but she just can't. She wants him and needs him and just knows deep down where it really counts that he's the one for her. Of course, Z knows he won't be good for her, so he wants her to hook up with his brother, who just happens to want her. And yet another crazy, messed up love triangle.

The Good: I liked Bella. She seemed pretty level, going after her man and fighting to keep him, until she realized she needed to cut her losses and move on. Pretty smart chicky if you ask me...too bad she didn't just stay gone, though.

I liked the scene where Z comes up on John in the training center and that little maggot dude was picking on him, so Z stepped in and taught them all a lesson. That was great.

I liked seeing more of John and I was thrilled to know I was right about the John/Darius thing. And I'm not referring to John being D's son. Because you know and I know that that's not the case.


The Bad: The crazy Lesser who was obsessed with Bella. WTF? He's a LESSER! He sold his soul to the Omega-dude and he's obsessed with a female vampire he calls wife? I dunno, it was just a little over the top for me.

John/Sarelle. So, he starts fantasizing about a girl that we come to like and then BAM, she's gone? How bout..no?

The Ugly: Phury. He was willing to shoot his own leg off to save his brother but he thought Z was trying to rape Bella one night after she was returned from the Lessers? Yeah, soooooo not in keeping. Plus, he acted like a complete ass. And was it really necessary to have them fall in the love with the same girl? Because they hadn't been through enough together? Riiiight.

Tohr/Wellsie. What was the point in showing us their relationship and making us fall in love with them if you were going to KILL WELLSIE??? Because, honestly, I'm just not seeing the point. AT ALL!

Zhadist. Yes, he was tortured as a child. But it had been HUNDREDS OF YEARS since he'd been released from his captivity. So, uh, why was he still referring to his manroot as IT? Because I would think that even someone who was hurt as he was would have learned a thing or two in a couple of CENTURIES. He lived with a bunch of hard ass warriors who liked sex just as much - if not more - as the next guy and yet he knew NOTHING about it? Like, what? He didn't overhear them talking about it? Puhleez. He reminded me of a...child. And I'm sorry, but it's really hard for me to fall in love with - or respect - a guy who's 200 years old and still throws temper-tantrums and refers to his penis as IT. Plus, it's really hard for me to believe, after reading this book, that he's really a seasoned warrior who could take down 5 Lessers all by his lonesome. Soooo not seeing it.

The slang. Wayyyy over the top. I just can't imagine ANY guy, much less a badass warrior with fangs saying something like "180 us". Most of the guys I know would say, "Turn the fucking car around." You know? And who says Bene? or Benies? Oh.Hell.Naw. Look, babe, I understand that you're a big 50 Cent fan here, but do you think you could cut back....just a lil bit? It was WAY worse in this book than any other. If you don't watch out, before long you'll have dreads and only be able to speak ebonics. I'm thinking that wouldn't be a good thing, true? Yeah, true.

Here's the thing. Like my boy Z, I tend to be into hurting myself, too. So I'm sure I'll end up reading the next book...but I have a feeling I'm not going to like it.

I'm giving this one a:

2.5 out of 5 ~ Because I thought the relationship between the brothers (Z and Phury) morphed well and because I like John Matthew.

Isabel Says

I was enjoying this book. I kept reading it at work when I was supposed to be working. The cheesy slang (Shit kickers, keep the gun in your business hand), Butch having a orgasm with V around. I could handle that. I could handle Z calling his penis an IT. I mean, I understand he viewed his penis as something not a part of him after what he went through witht he mistress.

I loved reading about John. I know he is Darius. I just know it. I loved how Z took care of Bella. Loved how he just layed on the bed exausted from Bella during her needing time.

I also love how Z was learning to read and write. WHen I wrote "I love you" to Bella. Touching.

However, I almost stopped reading when Wellsie died. Why the hell would you show us this couple who are deeply in love with each, and kill his wife. Why? Were you trying to milk another book for your series? Seriously? I want to know why you needed to kill Wellsie. Are you going to kill Mary and Beth too?

If Wellsie had been a skank ass bitch, I could understand. But she wasn't!

Grade: C-

Dark Lover
Lover Eternal

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetite. He's the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover-for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin.

Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him. When Mary Luce is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world, she must rely on Rhage's protection. Knowing that Mary feels the same intense animal attraction, Rhage must make her his alone...


J.R. Ward has delivered again. I was most pleased with Dark Lover, the first book in her Black Dagger Brotherhood Series. There's nothing I love more than a tortured hero who's strong, fierce and absolutely a slave to love. Not the pansy, whiny, Feel Sorry For Me types, but the I'm big, I'm bad, I could eat you alive, but I'll Protect You With My Life Types. Just like Rhage.

We first meet Rhage in Ward's first book and I, for one, was immediately intrigued. A serious badass with a horrible curse to deal with, I wanted to see him get his HEA. But part of me was scared.

Scared that Ward would wuss out and not continue on as she began. Though it saddens me to admit it, I think Sherrilyn Kenyon did just that with Zarek from her Dark Hunter Series. He was scary and dark and mostly insane...until she turned him into a big fat teddy bear in his book. We saw none of the scary, Don't Fuck With Me guy from previous books, and instead saw a big, fat marshmellow who rolled over and played dead. Ok, ok, maybe that was a little harsh, but you get the idea.

Not so, Rhage. Though we saw that he had a softer side...and was willing to do whatever it took for his mate, he didn't turn into some teddy bear with a love complex. And he didn't play lapdog, either.

Which, I will admit, was a major turn on.

Our heroine, Mary, was a great counter part for him. She was strong, courageous and bold. But still tender enough to tame the beast inside of him (literally). Though I did have issues with her throughout most of the book, because (not to get too deep into it and spoil you) she was ill and afraid. Most of the time I was thinking, "You IDIOT! Here's a man willing to crawl for you and you shut him out? WTF?"

At one point, Rhage lays into her for being a coward and using him and I literally cheered! (yeah, MM looked at me kind of funny at that point.) I was so glad he wasn't willing to just settle for whatever scraps she was doling out.

But she redeemed herself. And once she commited, man did she commit! It was awesome! See, these are the best kind of romance novels, IMO.

In any case, this is a MUST READ! Not like..."It was good, you should check it out." But.."READ THIS BOOK NOW OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN WHILE YOU SLEEP AND DO BODILY HARM TO YOUR PERSON!" Yeah, like that.

Kudos, J.R. Ward. Kudos.

5 out of 5.

Dylan's Review:

Hero: Rhage
Heroine: Mary Luce
Grade: A+
Date: 3/22/06

Whoa.

J.R. Ward is truly a remarkable genius, because the whole concept of the Black Dagger Brotherhood is truly a genius idea. I love it.

I thought that Dark Lover was great and I still love that book to death, but I really liked Lover Eternal. I mean, I was intrigued with Rhage in Wrath's book and was more than happy to start his book, but I was unprepared for how much I was going to fall in love with him....and his beast.

I was totally frightened of the beast when reading about it in Dark Lover, but getting to know it, coming to grips with it really worked wonders and even though Beth got on my hot damn nerves a lot throughout the book, she more than made up for everything in the end. I was totally cheering her on because it was more than evident that she was Rhage's everything. Everything he went through because of her, talk about real love.

How he was so depressed because he didn't want to love anyone the way he loved Mary and how he didn't want anyone else to come and take up the space in his heart, because that space belonged to Mary? OMGosh, I loved it.

This is why I love romance novels because had this been a sci fi book or whatever, it probably wouldn't have ended the way it did, but boy am I glad that the ending didn't totally suck. All's well that ends well and this book most definitely ended well.

I'm so stoked for Z's book to come out in September. I'm practically biting at the bit. Now more than ever, I'm intrigued by that tortured hero. But, I've got to say, when I read about Z, it's like de ja vu, because he totally reminds me of Zarek from the Dark Hunters...and gosh, I love me some Zarek.

This book gets an A+....good on ya, J.R. Ward!

Isabel says:

This is the sequel to J. R. Ward's Dark Lover. Oh. My. God. Loved it.

Rhage is cursed. He has a beast living inside him as punishment. The only way to keep it in check is by fighting or sex. When Rhage meets Mary, he wants no other female. He wants Mary. However he's afraid he'll lose control and the beast will do Mary harm.

Mary, oh she bugged the hell out of me. She has leukemia, so I can understand she wants to push Rhage away. But damn, after what he did to allow Mary to stay with him. How could she treat him like that?

"I will not fall in love with you," she said. "I can't let myself. I won't."
"That's all right. I'll love you enough for the both of us."
Damn.

He finally gets fed up with Mary pushing him away. What he says to her. Damn. But Mary does redeem herself. She proves herself worthy of Rhage. But what touched me, is when Mary tells Rhage she thought the beast was lovely. Rhage tells her he was afraid if she saw the beast, she'd think of him as a horrible monster. And he's fighting to hold back the tears. A big, tough, bad ass vampire showing his vulnerability is such a turn on. sigh....

I can't wait for the next book.

Grade: A

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

J. R. Ward makes an exceptionally polished debut in this intense paranormal romance, the first of three books about the Black Dagger Brotherhood. This band of highly trained vampire warriors has been targeted for extinction by the Lessening Society. When one of the band, Darius, is slain, he asks the leader, Wrath, to protect his half-breed daughter, Beth Randall. She is unaware of her father or her heritage -- or the fact that she is about to transition into the world of the undead. Wrath's tutorial about Beth's new world quickly turns into an extreme sensual relationship. Fans of Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and others will appreciate Ward's creation of a new vampire universe and delight in the strong relationship between Wrath and Beth. A glossary introduces the reader to the structure and history of this new world

Holly said:
I heard about this book back in September when it was first released. I checked out the synopsis. I picked up the book countless times and flipped through it. Every single time I checked it out, though, I turned my nose up at it and walked away.

Why, you ask. Several reasons.

1) A person I don't care for very much raved about it and that turned me off of it. You know how it is, you're loathe to try something because a person you detest says it's the best thing since sliced bread. Oh, you don't. Well, I guess it's just me, then.

2) Judging the book by it's back cover, I figured it would be similar to - if not exactly like - Sherilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter Series and I wasn't too keen on trying to muddle my way through a bad knock-off.

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to J.R Ward. I bow down to your greatness. I stand in awe of you. You Rock.

Basically, the story was fresh and kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the heroine, Beth, which - as you all know - never happens to me. I loved Wrath, the hero. He was....THUD!

I loved the entire concept of the Brotherhood...and it's members.

A definite must read. Really.

5 out of 5

Isabel Said:

I love a good vampire story. Holly made me order these books. I was going to wait and read them later, but nooooooooooooooo, she made me read them NOW. lol.

Kind of slow in the beginning, but it picked up. I loved the story. I find this easier to follow and understand than Sherrilyn Kenyon's series. I love the SK books, but sometimes I get confused.

The mating ceremony. I don't know if I could watch Joey getting my name carved onto his back. I thought it was touching though. I loved the butler. Thought he was so cute. Butch and Marissa had a very cute story. I hope we hear more about them.

I'm curious to know how Wrath is going to rebuild the kingdom. I'm also curious to Darius's reincarnation. Who or what will he return as? I'm interested is Zsadist. The souless one with the voice of an angel. Interesting.

Good read. Love forward to the next book.
Grade: B
PS: Holly, who recommended the books to you?

Dylan's Review:

Hero: Wrath
Heroine: Beth Randall
Grade: A
Date: 3/20/06

Okay this book gets my dog pound stamp of approval. This book was all kinds of the bomb. From Wrath and his sexy ass to the brothers and all of their collective sexy asses and Butch. Damn. I loved it all. Lots of stud worthy males in this series and I'm anxious for the series to continue. It had everything, I was mighty curious to find out what was the big deal about a bunch of vampires, because seriously...Holly's been on my ass to start this series like last month. But I'm so glad that I finally read this because I was pleasantly surprised at how much I friggin loved this book.

Wrath was a great hero. He was everything women dream of and everything they're scared of....he was a great mix of good and bad and I just absolutely loved him. I think a little more than Ash (oh gosh the horror)...after I read this story, I was thrown back to when I was reading the Dark Hunter books, because I was antsy to read book after book, I was hungry for more and I think it's a bit more severe with this series, but shhh, don't tell anyone...because I feel like a traitor. LOL.

But if you liked the DH's, then you'll like the Black Dagger Brotherhood...it's really off the chains, these books.

The mating ceremony was something else, I didn't think I'd be able to read stuff like that (because seriously...I don't do blood) but none of that stuff bothered me in this book, I was cool with it all (and trust me, there's lots of blood), this book was just all that and a bag of chips, so sit back and chill with that bag of chips and read this book, you'll thank me later, I promise. ;)

I'm very intrigued by Rhage and his curse...I'm so glad that I don't have to wait very long (just a few hours) for his book, because I'm all kinds of excited to read that mug.

Word.