Lover Avenged by J. R. Ward
Why I read this: Yes, WHY!? I gave up on the series, but a dear friend sent me the book. For what she spent on the hard cover copy and shipping costs, I owed it to her to give it a try.

Caldwell, NY, has long been the battleground for the battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the Lessening Society. It’s also where Rehvenge has staked out his turf as a drug lord and notorious nightclub that caters to the rich and heavily armed. His shadowy reputation is exactly why he’s approached to kill Wrath, the Blind King, and leader of the Brotherhood. Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the Brotherhood, even though his sister is married to a member. Because he’s a sympath, his identity is a deadly secret- the revelation of which will result in his banishment to a colony for sociopaths. And as plots within and outside the Brotherhood take their toll against Rehvenge, he turns to the only source of light in a darkening world- Elhena, a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him- and the only thing standing between him and eternal destruction.

This will be short and sweet because I don't want to waste any more of my reading or reviewing time on this series than I have to.

The brothers still dress in leather, they still wear shit kickers, and they still have a stupid vocabulary of words.
The Lessers continue to bore me.
Ward is so busy flipping back and forth from storyline A to story line B to story line C to Storyline D, etc, that there is not near enough time for me to become invested in the supposed h/h.

This series used to excite me. It used to make me happy to follow the brothers and watch them fall in love.
Ward's odd story lines and inability to keep my attention makes this a DNF. I don't care what happens to anyone in this series any more.

Dark Lover by J. R. Ward
Why I read this: I picked this book for the re-read challenge.

With the hype of the next BDB book that is out soon, I felt the need to refresh my mind with Dark Lover. Imo, as many flaws as it has, it's the best book of the series.

Click here to see my review from the first time I read it.

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed- orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate - Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead…

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn't there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunger that threatens to consume them both…

Reading this book a second time had a few highs and lows. It was wonderful to see Wellsie again. She never had very big parts, but she was a much loved Shellan and I enjoyed her character. As much as it was nice to see her again, I also felt the same anger that went through me when she was murdered in a later book.

During this re read I skipped all the the lesser POVs because they were boring. You can not read a single word of the Lesser POVs and not miss out on any of the story. I'm not sure why the lessers have their own pages. They are not needed.

The BDB speaking terms were still hard to read, but having read all the BDB books to date, it's not like I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

It was interesting to re read the friendship between Butch and V from the start, now that I know what I know happens in future books. Just like the murder of Wellsie and her baby, I think that not putting Butch and V together as a couple was a mistake.

I enjoyed reading Dark Lover again. It's the best book of the series, and did a great job sucking me into the rest of the books. With each new installment I keep hoping that the books will be as good as Dark Lover. It hasn't happened yet.

The first time I read this book I gave it a B. I'm going to knock it down to a C+. Dark Lover is entertaining and I do recommend it to all. I will more than likely re read it again, but like I said, it's very flawed. And the fact that I skip over parts isn't good. To mark it higher would feel like a lie.

The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter
Why I read this: Gena Showalter is an auto buy for me, and I thought the first book in the series was great.

I expected great things for The Darkest Kiss. I thought that The Darkest Night was really good, so perhaps my expectations were just too high.

I'm not able to put my finger on what the problem was, but The Darkest Kiss was boring. Thats the only way I can put it. The first few chapters were good, and I thought for sure that it was going to be another great read from a favourite author, but unfortunately it wasn't like that. Something, I'm not sure what, just seemed to fizzle out. There was no desire for me to read on at all. I didn't care about turning the page or finding out what would happen next. I think because nothing was happening. Just a bunch of scenes of the H/H obsessing over each other, fighting and being annoying to the one another as they can be. I guess it was just dragging on too much for me to enjoy.

Th Darkest Kiss was a DNF for me.

Having said that, I still do plan to read the third installment of the series this month.



Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Why I read this: I wanted to try something by this author, and this book caught my eye first.

Loved it! A contemporary read about a small town girl who burned a lot of bridges with friends and family back home. When she came back to the town she grew up in to look for a painting, she found love with someone she hurt in the past.

The conflict was awesome, and I must say that of the two main men in the book, she did not end up with the one I thought she would end up with. You see, I only read a few lines of the back cover blurb before deciding that this sounded like a nice read.

I do have a few issues with the way she was treated though. Some of the people who were mean to her when she came back home where just follwing the leader. They had no reason to be SO bitchy to her. Even though I didn't like how they treated her, it went well with the story. I love the writing style this author has. Very nice flow. B+. I can't wait to read more from this author.



Lover Enshrined by JR Ward
Why I read this: I don't know! But I mean it when I say that this is the last one. Grrrr.

Well, the Lesser POV's are back. That sucked. I did a lot of skimming. I skimmed the Lesser stuff, of course. I also skimmed plenty of Phury's POV. For most of his scenes he was talking to a voice in his head. A voice he calls The Wizard. The Wizard shows up when Phury is high or needs to get high.

Not nearly enough time was spent on the H/H. Much of the book focused on Qhuinn and JM. I'm not surprised though. Ward even said that this book would be a stepping stone for Q and JM. The worst part though, the part that I hate the most is the dialogue. Not only is the speech more annoying that it was before, but now all the Shellans talk like that. Some of it was entertaining-I have to admit that Ward can pull off a good twist (when she isn't killing pregnant women, and turning Shellans into ghosts). There was just too much skimming, and too many wall banging moments to make this book anything other than a C-

I need to re read Dark Lover ASAP. I need to get the horrible taste of the last few books in this series out of my mouth.

Okay, so I read this slice of life that JR Ward wrote up. It's an interview with V and Butch. I started reading it with a roll of my eyes, but it ended up being a rather entertaining article. It was cute.

I wonder if she wrote it up before or after so many of her fans had such negative reviews for Lover Unbound.

Part of the interview has Jane saying this,

"Forty years as a human versus four hundred with him? she'd murmured, shaking
her head. Yeah, I have a real hard time doing that math. Right. I mean, the
tragedy gave me life with the man I love. Where's the disappointment? "

It looks to me that the whole point of the Slice Of Life was to explain her ending because so many of us had a problem with it. Yes, that quoted text is romantic, and Jane is happy being a ghost. I'm happy for them. I don't like it, but I get that the characters are happy.

I have a question for you. Should readers have to go and read a mock interview or long drawn out explanations (like the one Ward posted on her board) in order to 'get' a book. Should the book alone not be good enough?

JR Ward created a really great world with these books. They are sexy, exciting, different, fun. She had such a good thing going. I don't understand why she had to change it all up. Getting rid of the lesser POV's was a good move, but it was almost lost in all of the other stuff that was going on in Lover Unbound.

On another note. If you ever check out the Ward boards you will find that many of the posters there have issues with reality. It's like they think all these characters are real. Sure, Ward has come up with a cool back drop for the books; The BDB are secret, real, and she is the only person who is allowed to know anything about them because she is writing their story. Some of her fans need to be reminded that it's all pretend though.

I will say this, Lover Unbound sure has gotten people talking. I know that I will be re reading the series very soon. I love me some Wrath. The blind king is my favourite. I also can't wait to re read Rhage and Mary's story.

Lover Unbound by JR Ward

Published by Signet

The ruthless and brilliant brother Vishous possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a member of the Brotherhood, he has no interest in love or emotion, only the battle with the Lessening Society. But when a mortal injury puts him in the care of a human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels him to reveal his inner pain and taste true pleasure for the first time-until a destiny he didn't choose takes him into a future that does not include her...

I'm not even sure where to start. Lover Unbound is V's story. We know from the other books that he has visions of the future, but they stopped working. They are back to working in this book. His arm is also cursed. He keeps it covered with a leather glove, because it can cause things to catch fire.

V is taken to the ER after he is shot while he is fighting Lessors. He instantly recognizes Dr. Jane as his mate, so when some of the other Brothers come to get him, he asks them to bring Jane along.

It's not long before Jane figures out that she is among Vampires. She is frightened at first, but her curiosity over rides her fear and she soon accepts what V is.

Because of the bonding, V and Jane have a very strong connection with one another. Even though Jane is free to go, she wants to stay with V. Unfortunately, V has been commanded by the Scribe virgin to be the Primale of the Chosen. That means he will be mated with one special Chosen, but will have the right to have sex with the other 40 Chosen. That needs to be done so that a new generation of Brothers may be created.

This obviously puts a kink in the plans for V and Jane to be together. It all ends up working out in a very odd way in the end though.

Please highlight the area below for major spoilers.

Okay, this is where I let it all out. Holy crap. Not only is The scribe virgin V's mother, but he also has a twin sister that lives on the Other Side. She seems to be in suspended animation. Her name is Payne.

JR Ward is one sick mother effer. First she kills Wellsie and the baby *sob* THEN in this book Jane is shot at and killed. By a lesser. Just like poor Wellsie. THEN Jane is brought back. Not as a Vampire, not even the way it went down with Mary, but Jane is brought back as a ghost. She is see through. It's very creepy. Rhage accidentally walks into her because Jane had dropped her concentration and faded. See, she can be solid if she thinks about staying that way.

Apparently this does not effect sex, but how can it not? It's weird. I hate it. I HATE HATE HATE it.

To tell you the truth, I was into the book. I had a few 'shut the F up' moments at the way the brothers talk. "You feel me, true? " "I am so not going in there." "You so don' t want to do that" I am so into this female" "I am so doing this" etc etc...

What is with all the 'so'? We went from pimp/gang member talk to pimp/gang member/Vally girl talk.

This reader is so not into that, true? You feel me, my man?

Annoying isn't it? Just picture those worlds out the mouth of sexy bad ass Vampires.

Anyway, even with all that, I was still able to enjoy the book. I just kinda put up with the talk. It's not like I didn't know it would be there when I bought the book.

Then 'it' happened. It all went down hill from then. One stupid twist after another.

I give it C+ . As much as it pisses me off, Lover Unbound is very interesting. I didn't want to stop reading for a second. Plus, there are no lesser POVs, and that is good. However, I didn't feel good after I finished reading this book, so I probably won't ever pick it up again.

I do believe that V and Jane are good for each other. I didn't think I would believe a love story for him becuase of how much he loves Butch...and trust me, he loves Butch 'that way'. V's bi -sexuality is talked about in this book. He comes right out and admits that he is/was in love with Butch.

So yeah, Ward did a good job of making me believe in the Happily ever after. I crave HEA in the books that I read. Funny enough, after reading this, I want to go back and re read the rest of the books. I think I'll do that soon.

I do have one more thing to say though. More of a question for those who have read the book. Please highlight below to find out...

After John sent away Layla after she failed to please him after the change (by no fault of their own, of course) Layla acted as if she was going to run away or something. Layla is the Chosen that Rhage feeds from. Layla has that commitment with Rhage and Mary, so she can't take off. It was hard enough for Rhage and Mary to get over that he can't feed off of Mary in the first place, so it will be hell for them to gain that trust with another Chosen if Layla takes off.

Someone on another blog was saying that Layla and John should be mated. I disagree. Layla needs to stick by Rhage and Mary.

Something I should mention is that I like Jane. A lot. I had a problem with some of the Heroines in the other books in this series, and for the first time, I didn't have a single negative thought go through my head about Jane.

cant wait to hear what everyone else has to say about Lover Unbound. Get reading!

The books in order are,

Dark lover

Lover eternal

Lover awakened

Lover Revealed

It's very important to read these books in order. Especially with this one, and the last one (Lover Revealed) There are just too many things going on to understand if you start with this book.

Lover Revealed, by J.R. Ward
Published by Onyx
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.

Butch and Marissa have known each other for a few months. He hangs out with the Black Dagger Brotherhood, and Marissa is an aristocrat who was once supposed to be mated to Wrath. They like each other, but Butch doesn't think he is good enough for her, and Marissa is dealing with her own problems because of the snobbery with the glymera (think the ton in regency historicals)
After Marissa's brother kicks her out, she is forced to go to the Brotherhood and ask for a place to stay. Of course, she is welcomed with open open arms. She and Butch have a bit of an on again off again relationship. She doesn't want him fighting with the brotherhood, and he wishes he could give her wants she needs. Mostly his blood, for feedings.

At the beginning of the book Butch was kidnapped and tortured by Lessers for 12 hours. He almost died, and then found out that the Omega had put a part of itself inside him. At first he thought he was turning into a lesser, but then we relalized that it was all part of the prophecy. I still haven't figured out if it's good or bad. The Scribe Virgin, who isn't at all mean in this book, doesn't seem worried.

Even though this is Butch's story, I was eager to read about John the most. I like him a lot. Looking forward to more of him in the upcoming books.

Every scene with Mr. X and that Van Dean guy was totally unnecessary. You can skip them without it effecting any of the story.

Something that made me laugh out loud happened on page 351. It was so funny that I got up out of my bed, grabbed a pencil and wrote down the page number so I would remember to mention it in my review.

"V?" Butch said. "Don't leave, Okay?"
"Never." V brushed Butch's hair back with a gesture so tender it was out of place coming from a male.

Um. LOL!!!! It would take all my fingers and toes to count the things that were 'out of place' between Butch and V. I'm all for some hot alpha male loving. Trust me, I'm cool with that. These two males are obviously bisexual. The dudes are in love! They so much as admitted it during the initiation into the Brotherhood. So now, instead of a love story for Butch and Marissa, I see it as a tragedy because I think that Butch and V belong together.

I hated the epilogue. JR ward should have used those pages to work on Butch and Marissa instead. The book was supposed to be about the two of them, was it not? Perhaps if she had paid more attention to the Hero and Heroine I would believe their love. As it stands, I do not.

I'm not even touching the ridiculous slang. The author has these huge alpha warrior Vampires talking like pimps on a street corner.

Bottom line. I'm sure that if this was a Butch/Vishous love story instead of a Butch/Marissa love story, I would have raved about the book.

Last, but not least. WHERE THE HECK IS TOHR? He better be back in the next book.

The other books...

Dark lover

Lover eternal

Lover awakened

Lover Awakened, by J.R. Ward
Published by Signet
Grade: C +

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.

*this review contains spoilers*
I don't even know where to start. My emotions are all over the place with this one.

In the last book, Bella was kidnapped by a lesser. In Lover Awakened, she is rescued by the Brotherhood, and they take care of her while the lesser is still on the loose. There is conflict because Phury has a thing for Bella, but she makes it clear that Z is the only one she wants.

A lot of readers love a tortured Hero, and normally I don't mind them. It wasn't working for me this time. Z had a major case of post traumatic stress syndrome, and because of it he was cruel & mean. I don't feel that he really redeemed himself for the way Bella was treated. He had a nice speech for her in the end, but to me it just wasn't enough.

I guess I should start with the good. I liked Bella. I liked her in the last book, and I continued to like her in this one. She went after what she wanted and did everything she could to help the man she loved. As much as she wanted to heal him, she realized that she could not fix him. When he pretty much cheated on her right in front of her, she backed off. Good girl. You don't have to take that crap from no one!

I like how Z asked for help and learned how to read and write.

I liked seeing Z and Phury become close.

Bella goes through her needing period, and I thought it was funny how all the men reacted. Wrath (he is so yummy) and Rhrage grab their mates and head off to bed, while the other Brothers, along with Butch, are stuck having to deal with it themselves.

Really weird how they all stuck together through it though. They are as horny and hard as hell, yet they hang out in the same bed getting drunk, high and taking turns in the bathroom jerking off. They are also naked.

Yeah, Ok.

For those who have not read this book, the needing period is when a female Vampire is fertile. Any man in the vicinity feels her urges and he gets REALLY horny along with her. Doesn't matter of they are mated, human or Vampire. If a female is in needing, then the male wants to get laid.

As much as the way the Brothers talked annoyed me in the first 2 books, it didn't bother me as much this time. I hate to think that I actually got used to it.

Why, why, why did Wellsie have to die? No reason for it! I went to the JR Ward message board to see if anyone else was as angry as I am about it, and guess what? No one is. Please dear readers, if you are angry, then let me know. She was pregnant for crying out loud!! Why did Ward have to kill a baby??

I mentioned the post traumatic stress earlier, and I gotta say that I didn't buy it. If Z was a human, then sure. In no world do I believe that a Vampire, especially a warrior like him, would suffer it that bad.

I am also left with many unanswered questions. No way to find out the rest till you read the 4'th book. A marketing ploy that I despise. It's a good thing that I started this series from the beginning. If I had started with this one, there is no way I would continue on to Butch's book. Not that this book was bad..it wasn't bad, it was pretty good. I just didn't feel good while reading. It was like watching a car accident.

My reviews of
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal

Lover Eternal, by J.R. Ward
Published by Signet
Grade: B- (Because of the way the brothers talk. It's worse than the first book)

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...

In the second novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, we meet Mary, who hooks up with Rhage.
Rhage has been cursed by the Scribe Virgin. He has a big tattoo on his back and when ever he gets very angry or experiences pain he turns into a massive beast that attacks everything in sight.
Rhage is nicknamed 'Hollywood' by the brothers, because of his movie star good looks. He is also known as the ladies man among the group because he has sex with several woman a week.

When Rhage first meets Mary he feels attracted to her right off the bat. Their first meeting takes place when he is blind, having just come out of his Beast form. He hears her voice and it calms him down and makes him feel better. From then on Rhage is intrigued with her and spends as much time with her as he can. Mary doesn't get why a sexy man like him wants to be around here.

Mary finds out pretty early on that Rhage is a Vampire, and even though she has feelings for him, she keeps her distance. She had cancer a few years earlier and now it's come back, so she doesn't want to get involved with anyone, or have them watch her get sick.

What I liked best about this book is that Rhage falls in love first, and he tells her over and over again how he feels. I'm a sucker for a sexy Vampire who chases after the woman he wants.
I did get pretty annoyed with him at one point when he kept pushing Mary to open up and talk to him about her illness. They got into a fight over it and he swore at her. Holy cripes guy, give the girl a break. She just met you, you wont leave her alone, she is dieing, Lessors are after her, and you haven't even told her yet that you turn into a Dragon! Chill!
Needless to say that I was disappointed that it was Mary who ended up being the one who gave in on the issue. I wish he would have been more understanding.

Can I once again mention the way the brothers talk? It's very distracting! I come to loath when the brothers have scenes together because they way they talk is ridiculous. I tried really hard to ignore it, but it's very overwhelming.

Rhage is a true Hero. He sacrificed his own happiness so that the woman he loves could live a full healthy life.We also learn that Rhage isn't the sex addict playboy that every one thinks he is. His reasons for having so many women make you feel bad for him.

Boy, that Scribe Virgin is a real bitch. I'm glad that at the end she let Mary and Rhage be together, but holy crap, she is mean!

The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a great series, and I can't wait to read the rest of the books.
Read my review of the first book Dark Lover.

Dark Lover, by J.R. Ward
Published by Signet, Sept 2005
Grade: B

About the book:

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war
going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of
brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none
of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger
Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has
a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But,
when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter
unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the
undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

I'd have not started this series if it wasn't for my trusted fellow bloggers. As much as I like Vampire novels, the description was not at all appealing to me. I'm glad that I decided to read this, because I enjoyed it..once I got past the annoying way the brothers talked. To me, they sounded like those 15 year olds you see standing in front of corner stores wearing baggy pants and talking ebonics. It bugged the hell out of me.

Wrath and Beth are a good love match. I felt how much they needed each other, and I was rooting for them from the start. When Beth found out that she was a Vampire she had her little freak out and then she accepted it. Many of the Heroines from other Vampire books act like sissy babies and fight it for half the book before they accepted their fate, so I was happy to see that the acceptance period was of short length.

Aside from all the leather (You only see that much cow skin during gay pride parades) Wrath was a great Hero. He was gentle with Beth, but went crazy on the bad guys.

This was book one of the black dagger brotherhood.