LOVER MINE by JR Ward

I really don't think that I need to include the blurb for this book! Everyone has jumped on this bandwagon and knows that the latest Black Dagger Brotherhood novel is all about John Matthew and Xhex. This long awaited for romance definitely did not disappoint! It captured me from the very first page. I finished LOVER MINE over a week ago, but have been so wrapped up in trying to get some books read, which I only accomplished one, playing Mafia Wars, and joining new yahoo groups that I have been very bad in not getting my thoughts on my blog.

I have not always been a big fan of Xhex, but I have to say that she does make the perfect mate for John Matthew. LOVER MINE keeps you on an emotional roller coaster that has you loving to hate Xhex and breaking your heart not only for JM but for Blay and Qhuinn as well. I think that for content alone this one has just become my favorite BDB book...I still have my ranking of the Brothers and JM has never been number 1, but I loved his story! I kept waiting for Xhex to figure out that JM was not Darius's son but Darius himself, but of course it never happened.

I really didn't get why JR Ward deviated so far south to the Plantation and the investigation of ghosts. I understand now that she needed a way to leave an opening for the next book, which unfortunately won't be Blay and Qhuinn's story... because these Brothers really need to get their Happily Ever After!!

Rating: 5 stars

Lover Avenged by JR Ward

Yay, I finally finished!! Not that I wanted the book to end, just the opposite. I think it took me forever to read LAv because I was savoring it, not wanting it to end and start the long wait for the next one!

Blurb: 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.

I actually started writing this review over a week ago and got side tracked. I really didn't feel like writing about LAv. I have been so wrapped up in the Black Dagger Brotherhood for the last couple of months that I really didn't want LAv to end. To me writing the little bit that I call "my review" is the end of the book. I know I can always go back and reread any of the books, but that just isn't the same. The not knowing what is coming is no longer there, experiencing the first kiss, and all the emotions that come with all the firsts are no longer there. So I have been dreading writing this. I don't want to wait a year before reading the next chapter in the Brotherhood's story. I want it now!!!!

I was a little scared after reading Lover Unbound and Lover Enshrined, I was disappointed with these two books for different reasons. Lover Enshrined was one big pity party for Phury and Cornelia. Lover Unbound gave V a true love then snatched her away only to give him a ghost of what she was to satisfy the bonded male. So yeah I was kind of scared of what would happen to the half sympath half vampire named Rehvenge. I am happy to say that Ward did right by Rehv! Ehlena was an awesome female and in my eyes the perfect match for Rehv.

I was impressed with Rehv. Unlike many of my fellow bloggers, I was not a huge fan of Rehv, I didn't dislike him I just wasn't a huge fan. Rehv is a drug lord, a pimp, club owner, and a real bad ass. From Bella we learned that he can be over bearing and controling, not something that every female wants in her male. But in LAv we see a whole new side to Rehv. He is very caring, extremely giving, and just wants to be loved. I fell in love with Rehv. He is exactly the kind of male that any female dreams of.

As usual Ward does not keep this story solely about Rehv and his love interest, no she keeps the story packed and gives us more on Wrath and Beth, has something brewing between John Matthew and Xhex, more on Tohr and his Angel, just more more and more. I am happy to be a Brotherhood groupie and will be anxiously awaiting not only the next Brotherhood book Lover Mine, but also her new series, The Covet, which is a spin off the Brotherhood and will be released later this year.

Lover Enshrined by JR Ward

I have been slow in posting this review. I really just don't know what I would rate it. I enjoyed all of the sub plots, but like almost everyone else who has read and reviewed this book Phury and Cormia really got on my nerves. Phury was having one hell of a Pity party going and Cormia was just down right annoying. What's sad about it all is that I am in no mood to even start Lover Avenged at this point, even though I have been told that it is 10x better, so I am taking a break from the Brotherhood. I am going to read some of the other books from my spring challenge, there is no way that I will finish reading the remaining 8 books on the list, but I am going to do my best.
Phury, Zsadist's twin, thinks he is in love with Bella, is feeling sorry for himself because he has been shown no appreciation for spending his life trying to save Zsadist. He has just stepped up and offered himself to the Scribe Virgin to take Vishous's place as the Primemale even though he has sworn his life to celibacy. You would think from everything that you have read about Phury in all of the other books that you would really feel sorry for this vampire. He is all about everyone else's happiness, giving to a fault, blah blah blah. Phury really just peed in my Wheaties. He made choices and gave his word to people he loved or for people he loved, only to break it and create a bigger addiction for himself trying to avoid feeling the guilt that comes along with letting someone down. When in fact the only way he was letting anyone down was through his self destructive actions. While I understood the reasoning behind the Brotherhood turning their back on him, it did make the side of me that was pitying Phury a little angry. Hello, look at everything he has down for you ungrateful vampires, but then the more logical side of me woke up and said Hell Yeah!! Cormia just annoyed me. I don't even know what to say about her. There definitely didn't seem to be any romance what so ever between these two. I really wasn't feeling the relationship at all and found myself wishing for him to stay the Primemale so that he could mate with all the other Chosen, let her go into Sechlusion.

Lover Awakened by J R Ward

Rating: 5 stars

Published 2006

464 pages

Lover Awakened is the third book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. This was Zsadist's (Z) story. I love how J R Ward doesn't just give you one brother's story. You know who the story belongs to, but there is so much more given. She doesn't just tease you with glimpses, all the brothers get a significant amount of face time in these books.

Z is the most tortured brother. I say the most because I really think that all of them have their own little private hell that they are faced with, Tohr being the only exception to this point. In Lover Awakened you are privy to Z's private thoughts and memories; learning what he went through as a blood slave, how he was rescued, and how he survived. You see Z for the broken vampire that he is, understanding where the anger and isolation comes from. I loved watching Z grow in this book and really understanding what he was battling on the inside.

This series is really working on becoming the best one that I have ever read!!!

Lover Eternal by J. R Ward

Rating: 4.5 stars
pages: 464

Blurb:

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...

Review:

This is the second book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It took me a little while to get into this book. I don't know if it has to do with the months in between reading Dark Lover and starting this one, but I am so glad that I waited to read until I got all of the series. I have a feeling that I will be reading nothing but the BDB books.

Rhage was one of my favorites from the first book. I was intrigued by his demon. I wanted to know why it was there, if he would ever be rid of it, how it really affected (or is effected) him. I am completely in love again... I am sure I will fall in love with each brother as I read. Rhage did a complete turn around in his behavior after hearing Mary's voice. The tenderness and the protectiveness that he showed her was such a treat to read about. Then you have the very sick Mary, who has been through so much that has given her a strength that I don't think she even realized she had. In order to be together these two must over come some pretty big obstacles, breaking the rules and beating down self inflicted barriers.

In a way I feel like this book could have actually been the first book. It gave so much more information on each of the other brothers. You are able to get glimpses into each brother's history and start to understand the idiosyncrasies of each. You meet a potential new brother, John Matthew has not been through the change yet but he bares the mark of a warrior.

I was brought to tears a couple of times while reading this. I don't know if it because it is an emotional time or if it was the story itself, but I was definitely touched by the kindness Wellsie and Tohr showed this 20+ yr old orphan and John Michael's feelings while sitting at the dinner table. I thought I was going to have to undergo a round of ribbing from my husband for crying out loud when Mary received the information from the doctor and Rhage contacted the Scribe Virgin. I got so immersed in this story that I can't wait to read the rest of the books so I can't make sure that this HEA remains an HEA.

I'm off to start Lover Awakened!!