Book Review: Lover Unbound by J. R. Ward

Review: Lover Unbound
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood – Book 5
Author: J. R. Ward
No of Pages: 502
Release Date: 25 September 2007

In Caldwell, New York, war rages between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Now the cold heart of a cunning predator will be warmed against its will...

Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous, son of the Bloodletter, possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a pretrans growing up in his father’s war camp, he was tormented and abused. 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 time – until a destiny he didn’t choose takes him into a future that cannot include her...

My Thoughts:

Lover Unbound almost surpassed Lover Awakened as my new favourite in this series, until the ending.

Vishous is the intelligent one, the ruthless one, the cursed one. With his birthday just around the corner he gets a visit from the Scribe Virgin telling him that he is destined to become the Primale, a warrior who lives amongst the Chosen and is charged with replenishing the race. But when he gets shot in the chest and rushed to a human hospital, a wrench gets thrown in the works in the form of Jane, the doctor who saves him.

I have loved Vishous from the first book. He’s dark mysterious ways and his unique, calculating nature was all explored in Lover Unbound. His odd sexual tastes that seem to stem from his violent and traumatic past involving his father all come to the surface as Vishous is ripped apart and put back together again because of his attraction for Jane who was at the centre of his first vision in a long time.

Jane is a strong woman, nothing much fazes her and she is only interested in surviving and saving lives with her work. After losing her sister when she was young Jane went into the medical field to try and save as many people as she could, so they would never have to go through what she went through.

I loved Lover Unbound; I loved exploring Vishous’ nature and the inevitable barriers of falling in love after being traumatised by people he should have been able to trust. I loved Jane’s and Vishous’ relationship in general Jane’s no nonsense attitude when it comes to what she does best. She doesn’t care if Vishous is a dangerous monster as long as he is well.

Lover Unbound was beautifully written as the others are in the series and gave us further insight into John’s story and that of the Scribe Virgin. Lover Unbound was almost perfect, I say almost because of one thing. The last fifty pages.

The ending of Lover Unbound was absolutely atrocious. Ward created an unneeded problem and then created an even worse solution. She had laid all the ground work for an ending that would have worked perfectly giving each party what they wanted in the end, but no, she had to rip one apart and give all of the control to the other.

It was unfair on the couple, and unfair on Vishous what she did to them, she couldn’t just leave him alone to finally be happy. Perfect ending right there, I’ve found what I’m looking for, I am a complete person now let me take my woman home and be happy. But no.
The ending disappointed me, not because it didn’t end how I wanted it to, but it ended stupidly and unnecessarily. It makes me worry about what is in store for the rest of the series if Ward is willing to destroy a perfect book in the way she did.

Of course I am eager to continue on, because I want to get to John’s story, but I have become wary of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series in general now because it was moving along swimmingly, until this.

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

Book Review: Lover Revealed by J.R Ward

Review: Lover Revealed
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood – Book 4
Author: J.R Ward
No of Pages: 455
Release Date: 6 March 2007

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a war raging between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. But now an ally of the Brotherhood is about to encounter his own dark desires...

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. He’s got nothing to lose. His heart belongs to a female vampire, an aristocratic beauty who’s way out of his league. If he can’t have Marissa, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers...

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. But even her love may not be enough to save him...

My Thoughts:

Lover Revealed told the story of Butch, the only human fighter associated with the Black Dagger Brotherhood. While being slightly predictable it was still an excellent instalment in this fantastic series.

Butch is in love with Marissa one of the social elite in the vampire world, but it doesn’t seem that Marissa wants him back after shunning him repeatedly. When Butch gets into trouble though and looks close to dying Marissa is there by his side to help him through a sickness brought on by the Omega.

Butch was always one of those characters that kind of annoyed me. I felt like he was mooching off the brothers money and hospitality even though if he left they would have to kill him for what he knew. He was even punching above his weight when it came to Marissa, she is rich, one of the most beautiful vampires there is and she is heir to one of the most powerful families in the BDB world.

But as the spotlight was shone on Butch I couldn’t help but like him, all he wanted was what was best for his friends and Marissa. Sure he's not as strong as any of the other fighters because he is only human but he still contributes by using his experience as a cop.

I still don't particularly like Marissa though; she is too frail and helpless for my tastes. Marissa relies far too heavily on others to be much help to anyone, even when she had the opportunity to strike out on her own and leave all of her rules behind like she said she so desperately wanted she still went running to the nearest powerful vampire to her.

Thankfully she toughened up right towards the end but it wasn't enough to make up for the weak character she was portrayed as for the entire time she has been in the series.

Although Lover Revealed wasn't entirely focused on Vishous he made quite a strong appearance because he is Butch’s best friend. I loved Vishous’ story even more than I loved Butch’s and I can't wait to get into Lover Unbound so that all of the focus is on him.

Lover Revealed definitely isn't the strongest relationship wise, but it does further the story immensely. We are getting deeper into the back story behind Rehvenge and the fight between the vampires and the lessers is starting to get more intriguing.

Lover Revealed is a hot action filled story and although the main characters weren't as strong as previous novels in this series the plot progressed very interestingly and has left me eager for the next instalment in this fantastic series.

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

Book Review: Lover Awakened by J.R Ward

Review: Lover Awakened
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood – Book 3
Author: J. R. Ward
No of Pages: 434
Release Date: 5 September 2006

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. Of these, Zsadist is the most terrifying member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror his only passion – until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her...

My Thoughts:

This series just keeps getting better.

Lover Awakened opens with the frantic search for Bella, the high class citizen who was abducted by the Lessers at the end of Lover Eternal. Zsadist is acting way out of character in the fact that he actually seems to care about something for once.

He is lethal in his quest to find her not leaving any stone unturned. His brothers don’t know what has gotten into him, and neither does her. But his relentless search finally comes to fruition when another civilian that Bella manages to free tips of the brotherhood as to her whereabouts.

When Bella gets to the compound, it becomes a game of cat and mouse. She wants Zsadist, but it seems that he doesn’t want her, even though he is fiercely protecting her from anyone and everyone. Zsadist doesn’t think he is worthy of such a female, and he has reason to back up that claim. He was a blood slave, forced into service for a hundred years by his Mistress after he was stolen from his home as an infant. Zsadist carries the scars and the memories of his time, and he sees himself as too dirty, too broken to love.

But Bella won’t have it. Zsadist’s transformation throughout Lover Awakened is absolutely amazing, in tiny little steps he starts believing in himself again, and the way Ward writes his healing as such is tear jerkingly powerful.

Bella doesn’t fully understand what she asks of Zsadist at times, and in a way that is what helped him the most, not having someone treading on eggshells around him for once helped him come back to himself. But it’s not all easy going from there, Zsadist still doesn’t see himself as worthy and every chance he gets tries to push Bella away, until he succeeds.

When I realised Lover Awakened was about Zsadist, I was wary of reading it purely because he had been so unpleasant in the previous books, but seeing how such a broken and lost soul could come back was absolutely amazing. Zsadist is not only physically strong, but mentally as well, he learnt to deal with his pain and although it may not have made him the nicest person around, it becomes completely understandable why he is the way he is.

Bella has become one of my favourite females as well, although she grew up living a high life, she is very grounded after living by herself. She takes in her stride the trauma of what happened to her at the Lessers holding cell, being obsessed over by O the new fore-lesser. Although it takes a little bit of time and quite a bit of TLC from Zsadist in the beginning, she became stronger.

I also love the fact that she didn’t just cower behind the males, but was smart enough to know when to back down. When she felt that she could do something at a crucial moment, she did it and didn’t rely on someone to do it for her, no matter how grisly the task.

Zsadist and Bella’s story has become one of my favourites in the Black Dagger Brotherhood, and considering the pattern we are currently following, these books are only going to get better.

Others in this series:
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Lover Avenged
Lover Mine
Lover Unleashed

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

Others who reviewed this:
Sarah's Book Reviews

Book Review: Dark Lover by JR Ward

Review: Dark Lover
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood – Book 1
Author: J.R Ward
No. Of Pages: 393
Release Date: 6th September 2005

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 their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parent’s 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 restlessness on 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...

My Thoughts:

You will definitely need a cold shower after reading this. I was smart enough to read at work and was sitting there blushing for about half an hour after I finished my lunch break.

Wrath is a tormented warrior; Beth is a half-blooded vampire who has no idea what she is exists. Perfect premise for a love story.

Wrath is constantly reliving his shame of not saving his parents centuries before whilst trying to convince Beth of what she is and trying to gently get her through her transition into his world.

I loved reading this book, but it’s not one I would pick up if I needed a good story to take me on a journey. The story for me was a love story, and it was just filler to join the sex scenes. Now I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, when a girl needs something to make her heart beat faster Dark Lover is definitely a very good choice.

But if one would prefer an adventure and interesting crime, I would not point her in this direction. The crime that wound through the story was intriguing, but it was transparent and predictable.

The two main characters were wonderfully fleshed out though, and it was interesting to get into Wrath’s head and have a poke around his thoughts. I think one of my favourite scenes in the entire book was when Beth told him that it wasn’t his fault and a burden of sorts that he had carried for so long was lifted.

There were a few unexpected turns that we came across, but nothing overly dramatic.

Dark Lover kept me enthralled from start to finish, and I can’t wait for the next in the series. I know it seems like I gave it a bad wrap, but for the purposes it was written for, Dark Lover definitely did its job and I am excited to find out what’s in stall for his brothers.

Others in this series:
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Lover Avenged
Lover Mine

Also Reviewed by:
Sarah's Book Reviews

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