Book Review: Lover Eternal by J. R. Ward

Review: Lover Eternal
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood – Book 2
Author: J. R. Ward
No of Pages: 441
Release Date: 7 March 2006

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war raging between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. 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. Owned by his dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. She lost her faith in miracles years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves....

My Thoughts:

Lover Eternal was even better than Dark Lover.

I knew that I would love Rhage ever since he was first described in Dark Lover. He’s movie star gorgeous, but Butch put it even better: “...the vampire was flat-out drop dead gorgeous. Even to a certified hetero like Butch. The son of a bitch actually bent the laws of physics, he was so attractive...that face made Brad Pitt look like a candidate for The Swan.”

I love Rhage’s intensity, he comes across as an easy going ladies man, but for him it’s a constant struggle between him and his beast. Rhage has a beautifully intricate tattoo on his back that almost looks alive. That’s because it is...

Rhage was cursed by the scribe virgin over a hundred years ago for offending her, his punishment? An uncontrollable beast that is only subdued with violence and sex, if he can’t stay in control, Rhage transforms into a dragon.

So when Mary comes onto the scene and they attracted to each other, all should be well and good, right? Wrong! Rhage’s dragon has taken a likening to Mary and every time he touches her let alone has sex with her, he nearly loses control.

I think that is what makes Rhage and Mary’s romance so sweet, they can’t just rip their clothes off whenever they like so they talk, or just lie together. I loved how they met, Rhage had transformed the day before so was temporarily blind and he heard her voice. He was so drawn to the sound that he cornered her and told her to just keep talking. “About what?” Mary asked, “Anything” she was reduced to repeating the word ‘nothing’ over and over again. After another transformation when she was living at the mansion she pulled down a Harry Potter book of all things and read to him.

With both having an ailment they understood each other, how to calm each other. Lover Eternal felt deeper than Dark Lover probably because we could focus so much more on the story rather than the world building.

Lover Eternal also gave us glimpses into the lives of John Mathew, Vischous, Butch and Zsadist, and although I couldn’t wait to get back to Rhage and Mary’s story I loved the parts they played as well, it added yet another layer to this story letting us see the whole picture and not just focusing on the main characters.

Once again we delved into the world of the Lessers; again it grated on my nerves and patience. I don’t like the Lessers and it is quite confusing trying to keep track of all of them because they are only referred to by letters.

Overall, Lover Eternal was another exciting adventure into the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, sweet romance, heart-stopping action and hilarious interaction from the brothers.

Also in this series:
Dark Lover
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Lover Avenged
Lover Mine
Lover Unleashed

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