Reviewette: Forever Yours

Reviewette: Forever Yours by Charlotte Featherstone, Naughty Bits Anthology

Back Cover Blurb (From Author Website):

Despite their love for each other, lovemaking has become routine and
predictable for the Duke and Duchess of Sutcliffe. Desperate to save their
marriage, they begin exchanging passionate, erotic missives detailing needs and
fantasies they never before dared to express. Soon, they're acting out those
fantasies and discovering a consuming desire like none they've ever known..

It may be obvious to many by now that I don't review a lot of anthologies or novellas for that matter. Truth is, I'm not a HUGE fan. I love novels. I want tons of page time dedicated to my Hero and Heroine and I've found that a short story just doesn't always grant me the satisfaction I crave. Yet there's something different and much loved by me with HQN Spice 'Naughty Bits'. One, I love the Spice line at HQN. They've really introduced not only excellent erotica but extremely talented authors as well. And two, I've found that the Spice novels are very unique to the market. They consistently deliver passionate and beautiful story lines that not only include a lot of hot sex but they have deep and meaningful plots as well.

Plus 'Naughty Bits' has shorts by two of my favorite authors: Charlotte Featherstone and Megan Hart. Both authors have radical differences in their stories but they both share an amazing talent at their craft that has me buying up more and more of their work.

Life is always a force to be reckoned with and marriage is not the tape that holds two souls together, it's their will. It's the commitment of your love and your choice to make a marriage work. For Christian and Elizabeth, it's that commitment that's wained. Their communications with one another both physically and mentally have become impersonal and brisk. A quick peck on the cheek, a perfunctory roll under the covers in the dark. The romance is lost and the ever widening gap between their hearts is threatening to ensure that the romance is never to be recovered.

It's Christian that makes the first move to correct this. He loves his wife. He still desires even her after all these years and four children later. He knows that he's been remiss in his duties to Elizabeth as her husband. The last thing that Christian wants is for his wife to slake her needs with someone else. Determined to keep her, but unsure how to approach her, Christian leaves an erotic note on her pillow in hopes of enticing her back into their marriage.

Elizabeth grasps onto the discovered letter as her and Christian's last hope. Her relief over her husband's desire to remedy their marriage is palpable. Interested in exploring her numerous and previously unspoken sexual desires, Elizabeth sees the letter as an erotic opportunity.

What next ensues are heated exchanges of passionately erotic love letters. Each details to the other their desires and fantasies thus reigniting the flames of their romance and ultimately saving their marriage.

I loved the heated looks that Christian gives his wife while they exchange letters. They're the kind of dark and lustful looks that can make a girl white hot and extremely bothered. I really loved the fact that he makes the first move to fix their marriage. He loves and desires his wife to a predatory extreme and any woman would be so lucky to be the center of that type of attention from a man that consuming. This is an aspect of Featherstone's heroes that I've really grown to love. Her heroes are extremely and wonderfully intense when it comes to the heroine. When their heroines are in the room, they have eyes for no one else and they certainly aren't afraid that their women will feel the heat of their stare. Oh to be the focus of that intensity!

There is a personal aspect of 'Forever Yours' that touched upon a bit of nostalgia for me. My husband courted me with love letters. The man not only has beautiful penmanship but he can write his soul like no other. Of course his letters weren't nearly as erotic as Christian and Elizabeth's. Hello! I was seventeen at the time. Oh man, but he ensnared me with those letters. And two and half years later when he proposed, I was helpless to deny him. Now, nine years later and I've yet to see a love letter. Humph, funny how that works. Doesn't stop me from begging him to write me another one though.

A-

Interested in 'Forever Yours'? Click HERE for more info!

Interested in Charlotte Featherstone? Check out my review of 'Addicted'.

Also, Barbara at Happily Forever After has a few reviews of Charlotte Featherstone as well. Read her thoughts on 'Addicted', 'Forever Yours' and 'Mistress of The Night'.

Erotic Horizon also has a beautiful review of "Forever Yours'. Check it out HERE!

J.R. Ward LOVER AVENGED Giveaway!!!

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!!!!

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.

Read an Excerpt HERE!

***

Whew, we made it! Finally, Rehvenge has arrived!!!

And my blog is covered in DROOL! I'm sure to be spending the next several days mopping up the place but it was so worth it. I had a blast with all of you and the discussions rocked!!

Now, for the moment you all have been waiting for! A chance to get your paws on your very own signed copy of 'Lover Avenged'!!!

It's super easy, here's how:

Just leave a comment saying who your favorite Brother is and why.

Contest will remain open until Tuesday, May 5th with the winner being drawn at random and announced on May 6th.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

**Contest Applies to ALL**

BDB Week! Day 6 - Review: Lover Enshrined

Review: Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other—six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. And now, a dutiful twin must choose between two lives...

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood's bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.

As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself- she sees the emotionally scarred male behind all his noble responsibility. But while the war with the Lessening Society grows more grim, and tragedy looms over the Brotherhood's mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love.

Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 6

WOW, there is so much that happens in 'Lover Enshrined'. The Black Dagger Brotherhood world really undergoes a radical change after the vampire society is detonated by a major trump card delivered by the Omega. I'm really not going to dive into the outer happenings in LEn. The book itself is huge so again, this will be all about Phury and his heroine, the Chosen Cormia. I will say that LEn was the first BDB book that I didn't rush out and buy. And when I did purchase it, the book sat in my TBR pile for a few weeks before I picked it up. I really, really wasn't feelin' Phury or his heroine. While many thought the romance really lacked in this installment, I not only agree but I'll add that I really disliked both the Hero and heroine, both of which had me cringing many times and it was always a relief for me to move past their scenes and read the various subplots, which I loved.

Phury, twin brother of Zsadist and member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. He's a man of style and class and he really longs to be the hero. While many already believe he's a hero, Phury would venomously disagree. He has a long list of things that he desires to feel guilty for: His twin's abduction, the deaths of his parents when he couldn't find Z, the horrible treatment of Z and his subsequent anger and pain, his wrongful love of his brother's shellan, and of course, there's his flagrant drug addiction. Phury, to me, is a walking, talking pity party. He's a wallower. He's been a favorite of many readers prior to his novel, but I wonder if he's still favored now...

I will say that I do respect Phury for he's made many sacrifices. He sacrificed his leg in the rescue of his brother, and he sacrificed his oath of abstinence to remove the burden of Primale from Vishous by placing the title onto his own shoulders. But Phury is in no rush to consummate the mating between him and the Chosen Cormia, First Mate and representative of the whole. Instead he takes the Chosen from the nontemporal realm to live with him at the mansion until they're both ready to make the ceremony official.

The Chosen are a group of female followers that live in the nontemporal realm and sanctuary of the Scribe Virgin. It is place of temples set in a landscape of never ending white. Chosen spend their lives in worship of the Scribe Virgin except for those that become mated to a Brother and leave for the temporal realm. The Primale is a select Brother that lives with the Chosen and becomes mated to them all. The goal is that he father as many young as possible to create more warriors for the Brotherhood. This practice hasn't been done in centuries but with the Brothers limited to seven, the Scribe Virgin feels that it's time to replenish her race for the war has come to a major and deadly turning point.

The Chosen Cormia is as bland as the world she was born and bred for, IMO. Ward did have the decency of making her single-minded, but then again that was to be expected. Cormia has fought the strictures of her destiny for as long as she can remember. Shamefully, she wants a name for herself. Anything for herself really. The last thing she wants or desires is to be a representative of the whole. She's dying to break out and live. And the guilt over this sacrilege is immense. She has that in common with Phury. Except Cormia doesn't wallow in this guilt. Instead she accepts it and allows herself to become immersed in the world of the Brotherhood and the temporal realm. A place she had never been before. And the Primale, Phury, has become somewhat of a fascination for her since her arrival as well.

In her stolen moments with Phury, Cormia has come to like him. She still knows so little about him but his beauty and honor are admirable to her. She's sees him as selfless. Constantly inquiring after others. Constantly trying to help in every situation, even the mundane. Cormia also can't help but feel jealousy over Phury's love of Bella. She can see it in his eyes, his manner. These thoughts of course give her pause, for she'll have to share the Primale with her sisters once they return to the nontemporal realm and sanctuary of the Scribe Virgin. She can't help but covet this time alone with Phury but she doesn't know how do stand out and tell Phury that in truth, she desires him and she's ready to consummate the mating ceremony.

But Phury is a bit too busy fighting his own demons to really notice Cormia. His agonizing relationship with Mr. Wizard poisons every one of his thoughts and he can't escape the voice in his head. For that's what Mr. Wizard is: the self-depreciating voice in his head, ridiculing his every move, his every thought. It's the voice that drives him to the drugs time and again. It's the voice that has him slaying lessers, not just to kill them, but to slice again and again into the flesh of his enemies as a cathartic exercise to release the demons within his soul. Phury is seriously in a bad way. A downward spiral flowing more and more out of his control.

I must confess that although I didn't like Cormia, my heart broke for her and my anger at Phury rose in retaliation. He does have a lot of mental issues going on, but he becomes selfish to me with his inattention towards Cormia. She reminded me of a child that experiences the sand on a beach for the very first time. The feeling of your toes sinking into sun warmed granules. The deep, thick texture that envelopes your foot when you put your weight on it. Your eyes alight at the discovery and the ocean's appeal disappears for a moment. It's that awakening, that new experience that Phury misses time and time again with Cormia. Instead he passes her off to John Matthew as he heads in out the door to appease either his need for pain or his need for drugs.

Cormia is all fresh innocence and in the face of Phury's demons, she's almost childlike in her naiveté. John Matthew likens her to a rainbow and sunshine on a summer day. Quite the light to Phury's gloom. Phury's rage and hate against himself is palpable. Everything he does is a direct result of the demons inside. The two couldn't be any more different from each other if they tried.
Phury with his happy lesser sessions that involve mauling prior to death, is becoming a visual liability for the Brotherhood. The risk of exposure to the human world is great and Phury is causing more harm than good. Wrath the King, revokes Phury's right to fight for his race. He'll remain a Brother for the Primale must be a Brother and the vampires don't have any other replacement for that role. Phury can't say that he's all that surprised. It's just one more thing to add to the list and feel guilty for.

Slowly and subtly, Phury begins to notice Cormia. Her time with John Matthew opens her personality like a rose in it's first bloom. Phury can't help but feel not only the familiar guilt but feelings of jealousy as well. At the mention of JM, Cormia lights up. He's showing her how to work appliances, taking her outside to enjoy the gardens and run, to be free. All the things that Phury isn't doing. Soon, Phury stumbles upon something that he and Cormia have in common. Phury, an exceptional artist with portraits being his specialty, and Cormia, as it would seem, has an uncanny nack for architecture. In her time, she's learned to construct what's in her mind out of toothpicks and peas. Creating large and complex structures that takes Phury's breath away at their beauty. Finally, he sees her.

What follows next is series of almost sex scenes. Phury's fear of becoming the Primale in truth pulls him back time and again for once he sleeps with Cormia, he's obligated to sleep with all forty Chosen. The dreaded thought is a total buzz killer. On the flip side, Cormia feels deficient at Phury's refusal. She assumes that the Primale's love for Bella is what's holding him back. But when faced by Cormia's challenge that Phury doesn't want her, Phury tells Cormia that he's not good for her. That her belief in his honor and strength are untrue because she doesn't wholly know him.

Cormia's undeterred belief in Phury's heart and soul is a gift. She will not be swayed from knowing that Phury is the heart and strength of the race. She is perhaps the last to think he is honorable. She is his cheering section. His rock. But at this moment, Phury still has yet to lean on her. The drugs continue to be where he finds his solace and he has yet to hit the very bottom of this out of control downward spiral.

Also, in the midst of this pulling back and forth between Phury and Cormia, Phury has decided that he doesn't want Cormia to be his First Mate. He wants to release her from the bond that was forced upon her. And while yes, in the beginning, Cormia was forced but now, she's in love with the Primale and when he reveals the news, her heart breaks. And when he leaves her to go to another Chosen, to one of her sisters, her world breaks.

Phury's rock bottom isn't pretty and he ruins a lot of his former life in his downward spiral to the bottom. It's Cormia though that stands by him the entire time. Her belief was always pure and that was most likely Phury's saving grace. For a warrior who was constantly saving others, not just because it was his duty, but it was also for self punishment as well. All this time, it was Phury that needed the saving. But like most addicts, he's a good liar not only to others, but to himself as well.

Phury also strives to deny his instincts and the bonding that has happened with Cormia. I really believe he does this out of love. He doesn't want to hurt her because he knows that inevitably, he will. Yet in his determination to distance himself, he's already hurting her. I did feel a shout of triumph when after all of Phury's pushing away that when he finally realizes that it's Cormia and only Cormia that he wants, she's threw with him. Momentarily of course.

'Lover Enshrined' was a very different reading experience and in my opinion, the most tragic. With Butch and Vishous, the humor was always rampant. Phury is obviously for many reasons, not very humorous. Plus, a lot of people are either hurt or killed. LEn is really the novel that launches the series into an Urban Fantasy categorization. There's no doubt though that this was an amazing addition to the series. I believe it was Barbara I was talking to and I think it was she that made a really good observation of 'Lover Enshrined'. She saw it as a novel that was mostly an instrument for Ward to develop the over reaching subplots and introduce not only the new generation of Brothers, but to also make several steps with the war against the Lessening Society. I think this describes the overall goal of LEn perfectly.

My main disappointment lies with the romance between Phury and Cormia. First of all, I had problems with Phury. I hate to say it, but the male is just too metro sexual for my taste. Because of this, I've always had trouble picturing Phury as a Brother or even as a huge male. Ward reminds the reader often of his size but in my mind, he's always this little guy; little because I'm comparing him to the brothers. Then there is his pity party. He's always guilty over things that truthfully are out of his control to begin with. Then, I thought Ward cheated him out of his Happy Ever After. The page time between Phury and Cormia was paltry in comparison to other books. I didn't think it was fair to Phury for he's been such a presence and he's just so self tortured! I thought he deserved more.

I do congratulate Ward on her excellent portrayal of the dire effects of drugs. How they ruin your friendships, your job, and really your entire life. When Phury makes the decision to end his addiction, the withdrawal and the recovery felt incredibly real. I admire Phury for what he accomplishes in the end and I'm glad that he's on the road to recovery.

How did you feel about Phury's romance? What other novels have you read that involved drug addiction?

BDB Week! Day 5 - Review: Lover Unbound

Review: Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other—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 first time- until a destiny he didn't choose takes him into a future that cannot include her.

Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 5

'Lover Unbound' was the most awaited Brotherhood book on my end. I couldn't even wait to get home from the bookstore, instead I found a chair and started reading before I'd even purchased the novel! Vishous wasn't the easiest Brother for J.R. Ward to write and she's never been afraid to admit that. He's a male who values his privacy, he's intensely complex and his genius mind only makes him more intimidating. But it's also for these and many more titillating reasons that he becomes so sought after by readers. We want to, no, we need to know who he is.

Again, this review is going to be a little different. I want to discuss more of Vishous and his heroine, Jane, and how their romance worked for me. I know many, many readers had issues with 'Lover Unbound' and I think it ranks as one of the most disliked in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but for me, 'Lover Unbound' is my favorite. J.R. Ward provided for me exactly what I wanted...even the end worked for me. And because the end was such a deal breaker for many, I want to talk about it. These are major spoilers, so please don't read on if you don't like that sort of thing.

*************SPOILERS***************

First, let's talk Vishous. By this point and after everything that went down with Butch in 'Lover Revealed', I found him to be a little more open with others. Not a lot but he just seemed softer to me and I think this had to do in part because he now feels that he's fully in love with Butch. When you're in love, even if it's not right (I don't think his love was wrong, it just didn't work with the situation), your soul can't help but be soothed. But V is also tormented by this love for it's obviously not returned. Oh Butch loves V, but he's not "in" love with V. Besides, V also knows that even if Butch wasn't with the love of his life, he wouldn't be with Vishous the way he would want him to be.

Okay, so I know that point just ruffled the feathers of the die hard V/Butch fans but I must admit to myself that even though I fantasize about Butch and V acting upon all that pent up passion, on V's part, I don't think that things would have ever ended up that way for the two males. Vishous, once again, has never ever been close to another soul. From birth he's been an outcast. His past has hardened his heart and his soul and Butch was the first to break through those barriers. Attraction and love is the logical thought process for V after someone has finally opened his eyes.

In addition, I feel that without this love for Butch, Vishous would never had been open to a relationship with Jane. If he was still that cold, unfeeling male of before, V would never have given Jane a second thought. My point is that my thoughts are one with Ward's. Vishous had to fall for Butch to fall for Jane.

Although one might think that we were able to become more intimate with V in 'Lover Revealed', 'Lover Unbound' really shone the spotlight on Vishous. Like all Ward's Brothers, V is tortured on so many levels. His past is more than ugly and it shaped him irrevocably into who he is.

Another aspect of 'Lover Unbound' that got readers' hearts roaring was V's unconventional sexual appetites. He's into hard core bondage complete with ball gags, whips, chains, and hot black wax. But these toys aren't for him, they're for his subs. V never gets fully naked during his sessions either. His body shames him for it's a walking warning to others. A warning of his curses. Long brown hair along his forehead hides the tattoos surrounding the eye, the eye that gives him the curse of precognition. His glowing hand, hidden at all times by a black leather glove is tattooed with warnings of it's potential destruction. His genitals, again tattooed in a warning that he should never be allowed reproduce. His partial castration, evidence that someone did try to prevent that from ever happening. That someone was his father, the Bloodletter. Although a strange name for member of the warrior class, V's father was always ever known as the Bloodletter. A cruel and unfeeling soul who makes Zsadist into the Pillsbury Doe boy next to the evil of V's warrior father. Vishous learned the hard lesson that he could trust no one, ever, and he closed his heart then and there on the day that his father cast him from his home and into the winter night centuries ago.

But Vishous, then and up until now, was in the dark as to whom his mother was. Turns out, it's the Scribe Virgin - V is the son of a Goddess. I was just as surprised as Vishous to learn this revelation and I was also just as sad. She, a Goddess, could have saved him from the horror of his childhood. Why did she abandon him to his cruel father? But these questions are for later. The Scribe Virgin has a gift for V for his three hundred and third birthday. She has picked the most pure of blood, the most beautiful of her female Chosen followers, to be V's mate. She will be the first of many for the Scribe Virgin states that Vishous's destiny is to be the Primale.

It would require V to leave the Brotherhood and live on the Other Side, the temporal realm with the Scribe Virgin and the Chosen. As the Primale, he will lay with them all and they will all bear him young. For Brothers are only made by the joining of a Brother with a Chosen female. And more warriors are now needed in the raging war against the lessers.

My heart broke harshly for V. His anger, his hatred to what was done to him at the war camp with his father overflows and washes cruelly upon the Scribe Virgin. Her only defense is that she gave her word to the Bloodletter. He saw through her mortal disguise and her need to bear her own young. He wanted the young to be male, and he knew she could provide that outcome, and three years after the birth, he wanted no interference from her for the next three centuries. In the Scribe Virgin's yearning for her own children, she agreed and Vishous suffered.

Although every part of Vishous cringes at the thought of laying with a bunch of females for his mother, V thinks of the Brotherhood and the survival of his species. Knowing also that Butch is gone from him, this ultimately makes his decision. He'll be the Primale but on the condition that he stays with his brothers and continues to fight the lessers. Knowing that her son has thrown her a boon, the Scribe Virgin accepts the terms. It's soon after that V experiences the infamous BDB mine moment.

Doctor Jane Whitcomb. A love/hate character in Ward's BDB world. I loved her immensely and I defend her here in this review. I'm not trying to convert anyone. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm looking forward to discussing Jane with everyone.

I not only admire Jane but I respect her. She's a confident, extremely intelligent female, both attributes which I long for within myself but alas, I've learned that I'm only human. But these aspects about her grabbed me hard and never let go. She's also a product of her own tragic past. Cold, withholding parents that could give a fig about their children certainly leaves it's mark. But I don't believe that it shaped Jane into a cold person, just a guarded one.

As chief of the Trauma Division at St Francis Medical Center in Caldwell, New York, Jane is the Queen of her domain. She does her job and she does it well. But it's not just a job, it's a long love affair with helping people. But her life is just about to be unraveled when a huge male is rolled in with a gunshot wound to the chest. I loved how we got a glimpse of the inner workings of the vampire body. A six chambered heart! Crazy. I was glued to the pages like those crazed fans of ER and Gray's Anatomy. Little does Jane know that it's V on her operating table. In his rush to decompress after the whole revelation with his mother, V welcomed the lesser that must of brought him down with the gunshot wound. Strange though, V thought he'd killed the guy...

Sorry, I got to break in here with a little humor:

"You so need to lighten up about that potato-launcher incident," Butch said.
Phury rolled his eyes and eased back into the banquette.
"You broke my window."
"Of course we did. V and I were aiming for it."
"Twice."
"Thus proving that he and I are outstanding marksmen."

Lover Unbound © J.R. Ward

It's when V is coming out of his drug induced haze that his inner territorial and possessive male genes coming roaring to life. His tall, shewed surgeon, the one who pushed him around and demanded that he stay alive, she's the one awakening this previously dormant behavior within him. And Vishous doesn't care how it happens, but all he knows is that he's vacating the hospital ASAP and his doc is going with him.

The patient took a deep breath on his own. And another. And another. Then those eerie diamond eyes shifted over to her, and she stilled as if he'd willed her to do so.
There was a moment of silence. And then in a rough voice, the man whose life she saved spoke four words that changed everything...changed her life, changed her destiny:
"She. Comes. With. Me."

Lover Unbound © J.R. Ward

I believe that there's a lot about Jane that fascinates the hell out of V. I also think it's this fascination that slowly pushes Butch into the background of his heart. The fact that Jane's a fighter makes V admire her and surprisingly, turns him on. Her intelligence and cunning wit, makes V laugh. Plus the shared tragedy of a horrible childhood connects them. They share a lot in common but it's Jane's kindness that further softens V's heart. But again, if it weren't for Butch and his part in uncorking Vishous's emotions and ultimately, his heart, none of this could have ever happened.

Jane, initially, is held somewhat as a captive at the Brotherhood compound. Even if she were free though, the chances of her leaving her patient so soon after open heart surgery is pretty nil. Again, Jane's first thought is to help and she will stick by her patient. But she'll give him hell in the meantime. A part of me was excited to return to the hot guy wanting the plain Jane, for Jane is no raving beauty but V wants her. And despite the doc's need to fight, V doesn't feel guilty at all about holding her against her will. It's meant to be. She's meant to be here. With him.

It doesn't take long for Butch's previously overwhelming presence in V's mind to dissipate. Of course, Butch never fully disappears. He will always be a major contributor to the opening of V's soul and for that he resumes a rightful place within his heart. But V's heart no longer beats for Butch, it beats for Jane. He no longer feels pained to know that Butch and Marissa were intimate. Now he's just happy that his friend is happy. It also doesn't take long before V's in love with Jane. She's a consistent conundrum, fascinating him at every turn. Her mind, her personality resonates with his on such a deep and electrifying level, that the emotion springs forward so fast and without warning that V's only left with accepting it.

It takes a little bit longer for Jane, but the emotions are no less surprising. Jane falls for V slowly and comically. Her feelings at first are admonished as wrong. One shouldn't ever have these types of hungry feelings for their patient. But soon, Jane can't help but let her heart become engaged. V's praise of her intelligence makes her shine like the heavens. He makes her uninspiring appearance feel marvelously beautiful and Jane begins to feel womanly and aroused...

But of course, there is the ever injustice of bad timing. V has given his word to the Scribe Virgin that he'll be the Primale and therefore mated to a gaggle of sipped females. He'll have to let his beautiful, soul searing doctor go. Scrubbed clean of all memory of him while he'll live and breathe of her in his thoughts for the rest of his life.

This review has already streamed for so long, let's skip way ahead and tackle this whole issue of Jane becoming a ghost. I remember being scared when I found out that V's heroine was a human. I knew that Ward would not take the same path as the others who were initially human - Butch and Beth. Some how, some way Jane would have to live as long as V and that could be an extremely long time. It's also why I'm so happy that the next few novels feature vamps and vamps only - JM and Xhex, Rehv and Ehlena. I know that for many Jane becoming a ghost was a total deal breaker, for me it took some time to reconcile myself to the ending of 'Lover Unbound' but I've done it and I'm fully content with V and Jane's Happy Ever After. Here are my thoughts:

V's hand. A curse that he's despised since his transition. A curse that forever separates him from touching another. The only person he can touch is Butch, but he can't love Butch so the hand is still a curse for him. A reminder that once again he can't have what he wants. But with Jane; with Jane he can touch her everywhere with his glowing palm. He no longer has to use his palm merely to heal Butch or to destroy, he now has the ability to create. He can create the woman he loves. She's real for him and no one else which not only satisfies his yearning to feel her flesh but it also appeases that territorial beast within him for only he can make her whole; only he can create the energy she needs to maintain her corporeal form. There is absolute beauty in that.

The Scribe Virgin. She rights a wrong and heals, not completely, but she heals a wound within Vishous's soul by giving him Jane. V is given a chance to open his heart once again. Although, who knows how long that will last when he learns another truth about his birth... This healing may only be tenable. But it's still healing.

Jane. When you've loved so passionately and lost so tragically, wouldn't you accept that person back into your world even if they were transparent? Transparent but visible to you and to others. Wouldn't you take that if you were offered it? V doesn't care that Jane's a ghost. She's whole to him and that's what matters. As much as we want Jane to be flesh and blood for our hearts, it's V's that's important and V is more than content. More than happy.

In closing, I loved all the page time dedicated to Vishous and Jane. Pages and pages of hot romance that had my heart pumping madly the entire time. I cried at the end. I cried so long and so hard that I had those annoying hiccups at the end. On top of that, my husband thought he might have to cart me off to the looney bin. Crying over a book makes him frightened for my health. At first I cried because Jane was a ghost. I'll admit it, I was upset. Upset because I could no longer relate to her. She was wholly different and strange... But soon I was crying because of the very end. When Rhage accidently steps into Jane and V gets all territorial over his female. I cried over the normalcy of it all. The fact that life goes on and in that life, V and Jane are together.

Obviously, again, I've left a lot out of this review, but I've revealed a lot too. There are so many parts of this story that I'd love to quote but I'm sure, if you've even made this far, your probably begging me to shut up.

'Lover Unbound' was magic...for me.

Was it Jane herself that you didn't like? If so why? Or was it Jane's fate that you disliked?

BDB Week! Day 4 - Review: Lover Revealed

Review: Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race.
Now, an ally of the Black Dagger Brotherhood will face the challenge of his life and the evil of the ages.

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 her, 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, found by a miracle, the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him...

Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 4

I feel compelled to admit that I wasn't looking forward to Butch's book. I wanted the next BDB installment, but I was a bit disappointed that Butch would be next. You see, I wanted Vishous. I wanted to read his story so bad that it hurt. I remember that in my incessant scavenges of the Internet for anything BDB, I ran across a 40 page excerpt of 'Lover Revealed' prior to it's release. I was so excited and overwhelmed at the discovery that it took me several minutes before I was calm enough to read. But that surprise would soon look small in comparison. No sooner had I started reading when my mouth dropped open and I emitted what can only be described as a shrieking yelp when I discovered that Ward opened V's POV to readers. Finally I could read what MY hero was thinking and feeling and O-M-G!! I fell so deep and so hard that I worried for my own survival.

While 'Lover Revealed' is undoubtedly Butch and Marissa's book, I'm not going to review their romance. I'm banking on the fact that many of you have already devoured the BDB series and are merely reading these reviews to get into the mood for 'Lover Avenged'. What I'll be reviewing is the brutally hot romance between Butch and Vishous. I'm doing this for so many reasons which I'll unveil at the end of this review.

Butch, a.k.a. Brian O'Neal, a.k.a. the Cop, is a human sucked into the vampire world with the only form of escape being death. He knows too much and he's been around too long for a mind scrub to be effective. Butch is alright with this set up though, at least in the beginning. There was nothing left to live for in his old life anyway. Besides, for the first time he has real friends and a female vampire that holds his heart whether she wants it or not. But his true motivator to stay with the Black Dagger Brotherhood is Vishous, genius male vampire extraordinaire, and his Pit roommate.

But lately Butch can't stand the sight of himself. Dressed nightly in thousands of dollars of couture clothing, driving a tricked out Escalade, and living in a mansion may appeal to the lazy but all Butch can think about is what a moocher he is off the Brotherhood. He makes no real contribution except to investigate the occasional vampire/lesser crime scene but the vampires won't let him in on any real action. Every night they gear up to fight and protect their race while Butch waits on the sidelines. He's tired of it. He wants a purpose especially since the female vampire of his dreams, Marissa, wants absolutely nothing to do with him.

It's funny how sometimes you get exactly what you wish for. Taken by lessers and visited by their creator, the Omega, Butch is tortured within an inch of his death and left for the Brotherhood to find in the rural forests surrounding Caldwell, New York. But for Butch, at this point, death would be preferable. The Omega inserted a piece of himself into Butch's belly. The putrid evil that now infects him is the most vile feeling he's ever experienced. Butch only prays that he dies before the Brotherhood finds him.

Vishous is a cold and unfeeling SOB. The males respect him and the females fear him. Cursed with not only the ability of precognition and the reading of minds but also with a glowing hand that ignites anything it touches. But in the last nine months of his three hundred years, something has changed for V. For the first time in his life he cares for another. Butch has become his best friend, the one person he'd do anything for. And when the Brotherhood realizes that Butch is missing, it's V that finds him. Earlier he'd fed Butch some of his blood, which is forbidden for it can be deadly, after a vision so that he'd be able to find him. Locating his blood like a beacon of light, V finds Butch naked, beaten, near death and stinking of lessers.

Finally having a use for his cursed hand for something other than destruction, V is instructed by the Scribe Virgin to use his glowing palm to rid Butch of the black infection growing from his belly. The healing will take time with several moments where V will have to place his palm on Butch's belly until the blackness is completely eradicated by the light. But Butch doesn't want to be healed. The need for the end is overwhelming. Grim thoughts of the past suffocate his mind. The one woman he wants won't have him and he doesn't blame her. Marissa is too good for him by far. He's done. Taking out his IV, Butch welcomes the dark.

Vishous feels a bit crazed since finding Butch after thinking the worst. He's worried that with this whole mess, his mind has become unhinged somehow. Unfamiliar emotions roll through his soul and all he can think is that he'll be in a very bad way if Butch dies. Knowing that Butch has lost the fight to live he does the one thing that's sure to bring back his roommate. V calls Marissa. She can save Butch like no one else.

Quarantined due to the infection, Vishous goes to do his healing bit on Marissa and Butch. But as he takes a glance at the camera monitors before entering, he find himself cemented where he stopped. Inside Butch and Marissa are moving and stroking against one another making his skin hot and his thoughts strange.

As she scored him with her nails, Butch's head lifted, no doubt to let out a moan.
Jesus, V could just hear the sound....Yeah...he could hear it. And from out of nowhere an odd yearning feeling flickered through him. Shit. What exactly in this scenario did he want?
Butch's head dropped back down onto Marissa's neck, and his hips started to surge and retract, then surge again. His spine undulated and his heavy shoulders shrugged and released as he found a rhythm that made V blink really quick. And then not at all.

Lover Revealed © J.R. Ward

Vishous isn't necessarily jealous of Marissa. He truly wants Butch to have the female that he craves and at this point he still doesn't understand his feelings for Butch. They're intense but it's always been in the way of friends but now...he's beginning to wonder.

After another fall out with Marissa, Butch is released from the vampire clinic and his first night back on the town he makes a pretty strange discovery. He can sense lessers. They draw him like a moth to a flame and he can't refuse their call. But he has no wish to join their cause. He wishes to destroy them and an unfamiliar instinct takes over. A hypnotic connection between Butch and lesser takes place. As Butch breathes in he begins so siphon the essence of the lesser into his body. After which the vile blackness that he felt after being rescued resumes it's hold. Weak and smelling once again of lessers, Butch panics and turns to V for help.

Butch and his lesser obsession isn't the only thing plaguing V. His visions have dried up. Despite the freak symbol that the visions painted on his back, there is some comfort to knowing what's ahead. It's not always what he wants to know but at least he can prepared. V can't help but feel twitchy over the uncertainty of what's to come. Frankly, he's terrified.

Again, Butch wants out. For real this time. He's a human living a vampire world. Wanting Marissa is killing him. He can feel her need to feed and it's destroying him that he can't be the one that provides for her. Despite the fact that V says that the feeding doesn't have to be sexual, Butch is having none of that. Marissa at another males neck is a thought that he can't even tolerate much less allow in reality. He can't continue to hold her back. Butch will face death to get away from the feelings of worthlessness. Either the Brotherhood lets him go back into the real world where he belongs, or he'll stand quietly for his death. Either way, he's gone. But V thinks there's another way. Butch has already exhibited traits that pertain exclusively to the vampire race. He's emitting a bonding scent and he was affected by Bella during her needing. Plus he's seriously aggressive.V suspects that Butch is a half-breed that never transitioned. This happens sometimes when the human genes are more dominant.

It's called an ancestor regression where V channels the curse of his palm to the DNA level. If the genes are there, V may be able to turn Butch.

Clearance is given by the Scribe Virgin and V performs the ancestor regression. Sure enough, it turns out that Butch is Wrath's cousin. No one's more relived at the news than Butch. Finally he can belong. But the real test is yet to come. V will have turn him now and the chances of death are sky high. Deep slices are cut into his wrists and the gurney Butch is strapped to, tilts so that the blood will flow faster out of his body.

Someone grabbed his ankles and he jerked in surprise...but it was just Wrath. And the king held him as V tilted the table even more so the blood ran out even faster. Then Vishous came around and gently eased Butch's arms off the table so they were hanging down. Closer to the drain.
"V?" Butch said. "Don't leave, okay?"
"Never." V brushed Butch's hair back with a gesture so tender is was out of place coming from a male.

Lover Revealed © J.R. Ward

Once Butch's heart slows to near stopping, V shoves a syringe of Wrath's blood into Butch's heart. He's then shocked with a defibrillator. Breathing deeply, Butch soon latches savagely onto Marissa's wrist nearly draining her dry if Beth hadn't been there to take over. V helps her heal but it's Butch he's thinking about as he laves Marissa's bloody wrist with his tongue.

And suddenly, time stopped for V in spite of the load he was holding back. He stared at Marissa's perfect profile as he licked the chewed mess of her wrist, sealing the wounds, easing the pain of them, starting the healing process. Compelled by something he didn't want to name, he ran his tongue over her skin again and again, tasting both her blood and...Butch's mouth.
Vishous repeated the licking more times than he had to. And on the last swipe, when he knew that had to stop because he'd gone over the line already...when he knew he was going to lose control of Wrath unless he paid attention...on the last swipe, he looked out at Butch. And pressed his lips against the skin at his mouth in a kiss.
He had the strangest feeling he was saying good-bye to his roommate.

Lover Revealed © J.R. Ward

And here's another one cause it's hilarious!

V was halfway down the hall when he heard a yelp. He hightailed it back, barging through the door. "What? What's -"
"I'm going bald!"
V whipped back the shower curtain and frowned. "What are you talking about? You've still got your hair-"
"Not my head! My body, you idiot! I'm going bald!"
Vishous glanced down. Butch's torso and legs were shedding, a rush of dark brown fuzz pooling around the drain.
V started laughing. "Think of it this way. At least you won't have to worry about shaving your back as you get old, true? No manscaping for you."
He was not surprised when a bar of soap came firing at him.

Lover Revealed © J.R. Ward

With Butch's transition comes the need of the Brotherhood. They want him on the closed door meetings they have. Finally, he's starting to belong. Strapped in leathers, Butch heads out on a trial run to see how he does up against the lessers. V wants him involved even though Marissa is dead against Butch joining the Brotherhood as a member. But as life starts looking up for Butch, it's V that starts developing the death wish.

Seeing Butch and Marissa together is beginning to have a dire effect on Vishous. He's happy for them but being around them and their happiness is killing him.

The thing was...although it was totally inappropriate and creeped him out, he thought of Butch as...his. He'd brought that man into the world. He'd lived with him for months. He'd gone out to get the guy after the lessers had done their business all over him. And he'd healed him.
And it had been his hands that had turned him.

Lover Revealed © J.R. Ward

Now, glowing from head to toe as if his cursed palm had consumed his entire body, V stands on the balcony swaying over a million feet to his death. And that's how Butch finds him. But Vishous doesn't want to die. As much as he's hating life right now, he doesn't want to die over it. To Butch it appears as though he's leaped off the balcony but V actually dematerializes and shows up behind Butch. Falling into his arms, V crys his heart out. Cries over the love that he knows is wrong and can't have. He cries over Butch.

It's Butch who realizes that he's holding a naked and glowing V and amazingly he's not a crispy critter! How can this be? Come to find out, the vision that V had of him and Butch wrapped around each other was Prophesying this. Vishous is the light to Butch's dark. His glow will take away the black essence of the lessers that Butch consumes. They are two halves of one whole. The Destroyer has come.

Once again Marissa is pissed. She was mad when Butch wanted to do the ancestor regression. She was mad when Butch wanted to go through with the change. And now she's mad that he wants to join the Brotherhood in the fight against the lessers. Whatever, back to Butch and V.

Being inducted into the Brotherhood requires permission of the Scribe Virgin and a sponsor. Vishous is Butch's sponsor. He's the one that petitions the Scribe Virgin for Butch's induction. In order to become a full member, Butch must become flesh of the Brothers flesh by a blood exchange. Each Brother approaches Butch who is standing naked with his back to a wall and his hands outstretched, clasping two pegs. Each one will score his wrist, drip blood onto a skull, then bite Butch's neck and lastly fist him hard in the chest with a barbed glove. At the end, Butch will drink the mixed blood of the Brothers' from the skull, thus becoming their flesh.

Then it was V's turn.
Vishous came up onto the dias, his eyes down. He accepted the silver glove from Z and slipped it over the black leather he already wore on his hand. Then he scored himself with a quick flash of the black blade and stared at the skull as his blood dripped down into the basin, joining the others'.
"My flesh," he whispered.
He seemed to hesitate before turning to Butch. Then he pivoted and their eyes met. As candlelight flickered over V's hard face and got caught in his diamond irises, Butch felt his breath get tight: At that moment, his roommate looked as powerful as a god...and maybe even beautiful.
Vishous stepped in close and slid his hand from Butch's shoulder to the back of his neck. "Your flesh," V breathed. Then he paused, as if asking for something.
Without thinking, Butch tilted his chin up, aware that he was offering himself, aware that he...oh, fuck. He stopped his thoughts, 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 that ran up from Butch's heart, then slowly, inexorably, 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 male arm as it slipped around his waist. On their 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 through one of them. Or maybe...shit, it was more like they both shuddered.
And then it was done. Over with. Never to happen again.

Lover Revealed © J.R. Ward

I seriously lived and breathed for Butch and Vishous in 'Lover Revealed' and I think my dislike for Marissa is pretty obvious. She was the most unsporting heroine. Doesn't she realize that Butch needs to belong? Needs a place in her world? Crazy female. She does realize the error of her ways but it was Vishous who was with Butch from the beginning. He's the one that brought back Butch's need to live by turning him. If Marissa had her way, Butch would still be a human and still on the sidelines. Once again, crazy female!

So why didn't Ward have Butch end up with V? Wow, this a question that's still being debated on Message Boards and Yahoo Groups. Even Barbara and I have discussed the issue at severe length. I think it really comes down to the fact that Butch and V clearly had better chemistry than Butch and Marissa. Unfortunately, Ward backed herself into a corner by introducing Marissa to Butch in 'Dark Lover'. During my several years of lurking on the BDB boards I've garnered a lot of information into the whole Butch/V dynamic. There is the argument that due to the fact that Ward was initially only contracted for the first three Brother books and she didn't in all likelihood believe that she'd be contracted for any more, that the Brothers went in a direction that wasn't completely planned out. She's even said that Zsadist's book wasn't supposed to be number three in the series but because she didn't believe her series would be hit, she decided to move Z up because she simply had to write his story. With these thoughts in mind I think things became written in stone that might not have necessarily been completely thought out at the time.

Then there is an arguement to that arguement. If Ward did back herself into a corner, and Butch must end up with Marissa at this point, why did she fan the flames between V and Butch? Good question really. One with a variety of answers I think. Maybe Ward has plans for other male characters (Qhuinn and Blaylock) and she wanted to test reader reaction. Or, when you think about Vishous, he's never EVER had a connection, well an emotional connection, with another person. Butch was his first. His feelings, while very strong, are also very new and he attributes them to attraction.

What it ultimately comes down to is that Butch and V's romance greatly overshadows Marissa. Ward may have taken it a bit too far with these Brothers. Am I angry about that? Hell No!. I loved it! Would I have liked to see Butch and V get it on. Oh God, would I ever! But I also really like Jane...

Arguement to Be Continued....

A for V and Butch, C- for Butch and Marissa

Have you read any books where you thought the hero or heroine should have been with someone other than the authors choice? Would you have liked Butch to end up with Vishous? Or did you like Marissa?

BDB Week! Day 3 - Review: Lover Awakened

Review: Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And 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 is 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…

Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 3

'Lover Awakened' is probably the most beloved novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by readers. I can only hope to do the novel justice. I've reread the series several times and I must confess that with Zsadist's story, I was only able to read about his experiences with the Mistress once and never again. It's too painful to revisit so I'll not be touching that aspect of the novel overly much, if at all. Here's my take on Z.

Zsadist, twin brother to Phury and hands down the scariest Brother and vampire in Ward's BDB world and not just because of the horrid scar that bisects his face, nor his black eyes. He's a man fueled by pain and anger and really a being who has nothing to live for. You could say that he has an unfulfilled death wish. While his twin, Phury, ties him to the real world, he'd not feel overly guilty leaving his brother behind. But someone has managed to change Z. At first, it's ever so slightly, but the seeds of change have been planted and are threatening to grow and evolve. That person is Bella, a beautiful female vampire.

Abducted by the lessers and after six weeks of searching, Bella has been pronounced dead but Zsadist doesn't give up the hope that he'll find her alive. She has become the center of his thoughts and while the ice in his heart is far from melted, he's feeling...something unfamiliar and wholly unidentifiable. When a tip leads the Brothers to a lesser compound, Bella is found beneath ground, held in a metal cylinder. The Brothers, especially Zsadist, are horrified by the condition they find Bella in. Her eyes have been sewn completely shut, her body bruised and a carving of the name David, her lesser captor, mares the perfection of the soft skin of her belly.

Z's Brothers are no more astonished than he when Z takes an unconscious Bella to his own room in the mansion and lays her upon his pallet. The desire to have her near and protected is overwhelming.

He became aware that Phury had come over, and he didn't like it as the brother knelt down. Z's instinct was to barricade Bella's body with his own, preventing his twin, Wrath, the doctor, any male from seeing her. He didn't understand the impulse, didn't know its origin, but it was so strong he nearly launched himself at Phury's neck.
And then his twin reached out his hand as if to touch her ankle. Z's lips peeled off his fangs, a growl launching out of his mouth.
Phury's head snapped up. "Why are you acting like this?"
She's mine, Z thought.

Lover Awakened © J.R. Ward

Z isn't the only male affected by Bella and her presence in the mansion. Phury has longed for her since the first moment they met. She'd touched his golden mane with such reverence that he'd immediately been transfixed by her. But Z's perplexing behavior towards Bella throws him through a loop. Although he petitions the king that Bella should be in his care, the unnatural venom over Bella's body by Z leaves him taken aback and he has little choice but to step away for the time being.

Zsadist doesn't get much of a reprieve from his irrational behavior over Bella. In a moment of sanity he tries to scare her into leaving but the female is persistent and his conflicting desires to have her stay, win him over. But nothing prepared him for Bella wanting to not just stay in his room, but wanting to stay with her body flush against his.

Phury stopped dead.
His first thought was that Zsadist was going to fall off the bed. The brother's body was on top of the comforter and right on the edge of the mattress, as far over as possible...
But his head was turned in the opposite direction. Toward Bella. And those distorted lips were parted ever so slightly instead of sneering. And his brows, usually drawn down in aggression, were loose, relaxed.
His expression was one of somnolent awe.

Lover Awakened © J.R. Ward

Despite the new and warm sensations thrumming through his body, Zsadist's tenable peace is very short lived. Bella needs to feed and she's requested Z as her host. The thought of Bella taking his blood for her nourishment horrifies Z. He's dirty, his blood poisoned. Forever to be tainted by the evil of the Mistress who kept him chained and abused for over a hundred years. Thick black bands about his writs and neck forever mark him as a Blood-slave, a being of little worth except to please its owner. Z refuses to poison Bella with his tarnished blood. But she refuses to use Phury which Z knows is killing the brother. Left no choice, Z, with his need to be as clean as possible for Bella, scrubs and scrubs his wrists till blood flows in swirling red lines down the drain. And still, he feels dirty. But all Bella can see is the one. The vampire she wants...forever.

Zsadist makes it through the feeding but he still can't understand why Bella craves him. He even pities her in her yearning and desperation to just be near him. Yet his frustration doesn't stop him from doing his best to care for Bella. He brings her food, picks up clothes from her house so she can get out of the robe that she's adorned since she arrived. And somehow the female steals a kiss from him and instead of wanting to rip her head off in anger, Z allows her do it again and again. Loving every moment of his first experience with kissing. When Bella asks to touch him, at first there is fear but then yearning. A wanting so great he can't say no to her husky request. But when Bella asks that he make love to her his high crashes and burns. Z doesn't know how to make love. He knows how to F*** and he will not subject Bella to that no matter how much she begs. When Bella cries, not out of sadness but due to sexual frustration, Z spills some of the crimes done to him by the Mistress. He feels compelled to explain in some way that he wants Bella, yes, but he can't have her because of his past that still effects him so painfully in the present.

It's when Bella admits that she loves him that Z tries to understand his feelings for her. At first he can only deny her proclamation but when he actually thinks beyond his fears he realizes that she may be telling the truth. She's opened the voids within his soul and filled them with feelings, not anger or pain, but yearning and desire. For the first time he feels male and sexual and he needs Bella. But now that he's decided to stand at this terrifying precipice, he realizes that he has no idea how to proceed. How to make Bella happy. It's Bella's direct and easy guidance that shows Z the path to her pleasure. She's not shy to say what she wants and he finds returning the favor and growling what he wants to do and how he's going to do it. Yet when things naturally progress, Z gets scared. He's so terrified that he'll hurt her and once again road blocks are driven into place.

Despite the fact that Z knows that Bella loves him and desires him, he still believes that she'll change her mind, realizing that Z has disastrous issues. He hopes that when everything is all said and done, that the female will realize that there is no future for them and that she should be with Phury. Z knows that his brother wants Bella. But there is no time to put distance between himself and her. Surges of sexual energy roll like blistering waves through the mansion effecting every male in the vicinity. Bella is in needing. Her body fertile and crying out for a male to service her. While the pain for the males is great, Bella's pain is excruciating until she can feed and have sex until the needing passes. Zsadist will help Bella this one last time, then he will severe their ties forever.

But the miraculous happens. Sometime during the sixteen hour sexual marathon, Zsadist falls in love with Bella. But just loving isn't enough for him. When Bella offers him her neck and the opportunity to take his sustenance from her body, Z is faced with a major decision. Is he ready to give up his death wish? Can he be a full member of society and protect his female? And ultimately, can he respect himself enough to allow Bella to respect herself for choosing him as her hellren?

Bella truly was the perfect match for Zsadist. His character really called for a confident heroine that wouldn't back down in the face of his intense anger. Her responses to him were perfect as well. Z's initial strive for distance was met with Bella's demand that he just say that he doesn't find her attractive and that sex with her would be revolting. Z's reaction is one of amazement. He had felt that she was the one who found him revolting, certainly not the other way around. He is mesmerized by her beauty and by her truthful and wondrous responses to him both physically and mentally. She never leaves him wondering very long on whether or not she wants him. Zsadist had just held on for so long to his anger which truly was his only motivator to live. Bella changes everything in that regard and it took him time to realize that she made the pain bearable and the anger less inflamed. He'll never be normal, but he knows that Bella isn't asking for nor does she need normal. Amazingly enough, she just wants him.

I left a lot out of this review in terms of sub plots and continuing story arcs. First of all, my blog is always and ultimately about the romance but secondly, I want readers to experience the novel for themselves. What I've just written is merely the tip of the ice burg and reveals little of the truth of these characters and their motivations. 'Lover Awakened' was a beautiful romance that continues to capture me wholly with every read. While this novel wasn't what propelled me into the series, it certainly made me a die hard fangirl.

I also consider 'Lover Awakened' to be the ending to a trilogy embodying a certain feel or categorization of romance within the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series. From here on the subtleties of Ward's writing change and evolve into a world of such vast complexities that it surely takes on a life of it's own. While 'Dark Lover', 'Lover Eternal' and 'Lover Awakened' center primarily around the romance of the Hero and Heroine, all subsequent installments contain an individualism that doesn't compare to any other within the series. And as the story arcs get longer and the sub plots more detailed and complex, one must ask the question; Is this still romance?

Who is your favorite tortured hero and why? Did you feel that this was the last romantic installment in the BDB series?

BDB Week! Day 2 - Review: Lover Eternal

Review: Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And 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. Possessed by this 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. Her faith in miracles was lost 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…

Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 2

I remember when I first discovered the Black Dagger Brotherhood through Amazon. I was so insanely excited for the first three releases and it seemed to take ages before they arrived in the mail. But unlike most readers, it wasn't Zsadist's book that I was in desperate need of, it was Rhage's. I must have read the excerpt on Ward's sight for 'Lover Eternal' a million times. The scene she had posted is the one where Mary and Rhage first meet and he begs her to speak to him, well he really kind of demands it actually. That scene still remains to be one of my favorites in the novel as well as their first date at TGI Fridays. I must have daydreamed about that scene so many times and I nearly know it by heart. I've shamelessly added a ton of quotes to this review because I absolutely love Rhage's words. He's so honest and even brutal at times, but so immeasurably romantic.

Rhage, nicknamed Hollywood because of his stunning good looks, hides a ravenous beast beneath his skin. As penance for his blatant disrespect in his youth, The Scribe Virgin cursed Rhage with a beast that he'll shape-shift into during moments of extreme stress and anger. Sex is the only viable option Rhage has to tame the Beast for however briefly. His gorgeous face and body keeps a steady stream of willing bed partners flowing but unknowingly to his Brothers, Rhage doesn't exactly enjoy all the anonymous and meaningless sex and most times, he just feels dirty. Scared to death that he may one day be the cause of one or all of his Brother's deaths, Rhage tries his best to stay in control and counts down the days till his curse is lifted. The last thing he needs right now is for his Brother V and his gift of foresight proclaiming that a virgin will one day be Rhage's mate. Rhage hopes that day is far in the making.

"I'll tell you this. Your destiny's coming for you. And she's coming soon."
Rhage laughed. "Oh, yeah? What's the female like? I prefer them -"
"She's a virgin."
A chill ran down Rhage's spine and nailed him in the ass.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Look in my eye. Do you think I'm jerking you off?"

Lover Eternal © J.R. Ward

Mary Luce is devastated to learn that a round of blood tests has caused some concern from her doctor and she's been called in to under go more testing. Mary knows that the cancer she fought into recession is back. She can feel it sapping her strength with each passing day and another round of tests will only confirm her suspicion.

Working as an assistant in a law office pays the bills, but what Mary truly finds solace in is volunteering at the Suicide Prevention Hotline. Helping people through their problems relieves the anxiety of dealing with her own. There is one particular caller that has been of interest to her. The person never speaks but Mary can hear their breathing. After leaving the hotline offices and fighting desperately to hold her fear and despair over her hopeless situation at bay, Mary rushes out under the night sky in the backyard of her home. Looking up she sees an emaciated youth standing beside her pool, staring at her with giant sad blue eyes. Instantly the youth reveals that not only can he not talk, but he's also the caller that has been breathing into the phone at the hotline center. His name is John Matthew and his story is more than tragic. But it's Mary's beautiful neighbor, Bella, that notices something very familiar about JM.

Recouping from the another episode with the Beast, Rhage's body and eye sight are more for the worse when he runs unknowingly into Mary. While walking through the underground tunnels of the mansion, he encounters a female human. A female human that shouldn't be there but one that has the most unusual and profound effect on him.

"Say it," he commanded, needing to feel more of what she did to him.
"Fine. Nothing. Nothing." Abruptly she laughed, and the sound shot right through to his spine, burning him. "Nothing, nothing. No-thing. No-thing. Noooooothing. There, is that good enough for you? Will you let me go now?"
"No."
She fought against him again, creating a delicious friction between their bodies. And he knew the moment when her anxiety and irritation turned to something hot. He smelled her arousal, a lovely sweetening in the air, and his body answered her call.
He got hard as a diamond.

Lover Eternal © J.R. Ward

Bella, recognizing that John Matthew is a pretrans male vampire, calls the Brotherhood who escorts her, JM, and Mary to the mansion to confirm her suspicions. It's while Mary is in the corridor that the most gorgeous man finds her, traps her body with his and begs her to speak to him. She's overwhelmed instantly by not only her attraction to the man, but also his unbelievable attraction to her. But these memories are not to last. Scrubbed clean of any recollection of her night at the mansion, Mary goes back to her life, blissfully unaware that a male vampire is in lust with her and planning another rendezvous.

Rhage yearns for the human female sexually and demands that Bella set him up with Mary on a date. Mary isn't all that interested in a blind date at this point in her life but Bella hounds her incessantly into complying with her request. But Hal E. Wood certainly isn't what she expected and Mary can't help but feel angry and humiliated that Bella would set her up with him. Gorgeous beyond belief, Mary feels inferior next to Hal's undisputed perfection. There is nothing remotely exceptional about her looks that would inspire a man like Hal to actually have an entire meal with her. She's more than surprised that he didn't take one look at her and leave the restaurant without her ever being the wiser. Mary would be even more surprised to learn Rhage's, AKA Hal E. Wood's, thoughts.

Dear God. Her eyes didn't match the gentle lilt of her voice at all. They belonged to a warrior.
Gunmetal gray, surrounded by lashes the color of her hair, they were grave, serious, reminding him of males who had fought and survived battle. They were staggeringly beautiful in their strength.
His voice vibrated. "I am so going to...have dinner with you."

Lover Eternal © J.R. Ward

Although Mary still doesn't think being in a relationship at this time in her life is anywhere near a good idea, she accepts Hal's invite to join him for dinner again. Amazingly enough, he's providing her a momentary respite from her fears, even if only for a few hours. Meanwhile, Rhage is bonding with Mary despite his determination to stay distant. He's supposed have sex with the female then wipe her memory of him but he just can't bring himself to do it. He's continually convincing himself to wait just a bit longer. Meeting a woman who remembers him feels so warm and good. And while his intention is to get into Mary's pants as soon as possible, he's finding that he doesn't want it to be like all the other times. A quickie in the bathroom or within his trench coat in a hallway. No, he wants no witnesses, and he wants to make love to Mary over and over again until she's immersed so heavily in his bonding sent that no male would dare to come near her. And these thoughts and impulses terrify him.

Unfortunately, after a surprise attack by lessers, Rhage's charade as Hal E. Wood is busted. Mary's purse is stolen by the attackers and Rhage now fears for her life. But Mary isn't scared of Rhage's unveiling of his vampiric nature. It's while Rhage is trapped inside Mary's house after sunrise that the relationship really begins to heat up. Mary still isn't fully convinced though that Rhage wants her and it takes amazingly hot moves on his part until the proof is wholly undeniable. But there is still another complication. Rhage's beast becomes riled when Rhage starts to become unbearably aroused for Mary. He fears that the Beast will break free of his control and that scares him to death.

"I'm not a man, Mary, even though parts of me look like on. What you just had is nothing compared to what I want to do to you. I want my head between your legs so I can lick you until you scream my name. Then I want to mount you like an animal and look into your eyes as I come inside you. And after that? I want to take you every way there is. I want to do you from behind. I want to screw you standing up, against the wall. I want you to sit on my hips and ride me until I can't breathe." His stare was level, brutal in its honesty. "Except none of that's going to happen. If I felt you less, it would be different, easier. But you do something weird to my body, so totally controlled is the only way I can be with you. Otherwise I'm liable to lose it, and the last thing I want to do is scare you the hell out of you. Or worse, hurt you."

Lover Eternal © J.R. Ward

When Mary finally bears herself before Rhage, her shame over her body and the physical reminder of what she suffered from the numerous cancer treatments that left gruesome marks all over her body, is immense. But all Rhage can see is beauty. Beauty so wondrously perfect that he wishes Mary to never be clothed in his presence. He bends forward and pays homage to the evidence of her strength in the battle for her life by plying her body into supple repose as he laves her skin with his lips and tongue. A scene that moved me to tears.

Fearing that Mary's house is no longer safe now that the lessers have her information, Rhage decides to face the wrath of his Brothers and defy orders by bringing Mary to live at the mansion until the threat is neutralized. It is here that Rhage's and Mary's relationship begins to unravel. Rhage's Beast seems to be greatly antagonized by Mary's presence. Wanting to be with Mary but frightened that his Beast will burst free, Rhage leaves for a night on the town with one intention: to have sex with as many woman that it takes to calm the Beast. These scenes are some of the most difficult to read. Rhage's shame is almost tangible as it saturates their burgeoning relationship.

Infidelity and the Beast aren't the only things that Rhage and Mary have to contend with. Mary's health is declining rapidly. Rhage goes berserk at the numerous bruises that arise continually and the fevers are becoming more consistent. Mary is dying. And she doesn't want Rhage to watch as her health goes from bad to terrible. She becomes resolute in her determination to keep Rhage out of her heart and at a distance. But Rhage isn't ready to let Mary go. He's just as determined to fight to be at her side even if it is for a very short time.

Mary does come to her senses as far as being with Rhage despite the fact that the next steps in her life with the cancer isn't going to pretty or fun.

Dimly, he heard a pounding noise coming from inside of Bella's. Some kind of rhythmic beat.
Rhage glanced behind him as it got louder.
The front door flew open, and Mary shot out of the house, jumping off the porch, not even bothering with the steps to the ground. She ran over the frost-laden grass in her bare feet and threw herself at him, grabbing on to his neck with both arms. She held hims so tightly his spine cracked.
She was sobbing. Bawling. Crying so hard her whole body was shaking.
He didn't ask any questions, just wrapped himself around her.
"I'm not okay," she said hoarsely between breaths. "Rhage...I'm not okay."
He closed his eyes and held on tight.

Lover Eternal © J.R. Ward

But Mary's inevitable death looms tragically on the horizon. Rhage, desperate for Mary to live, appeals to the Scribe Virgin and makes the greatest sacrifice of his life. The Scribe Virgin is all about balance. She can't grant anything without taking something else away. She tells Rhage that she'll heal Mary and that she may live as long as she wishes. But, to balance the gift, Rhage must never, ever make contact with Mary for she will be wiped clean of any memory of him and Rhage must also accept to live with his Beast forever. And he agrees.

'Lover Eternal' was perfection. I loved every word from beginning to end. OMG, and the ending! I was so devastated that Rhage would have to live without Mary, never to see her smile at him or laugh. Doomed for eternity to love a woman he couldn't be with. How Ward resolves this is beautiful and I still smile every time I reread the novel.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me about Ward is that her plots are always unique. I've never before read about a heroine dying of cancer in a romance novel. I suppose it only really works for the paranormal genre for death certainly doesn't equal Happy Ever After. But I think the plot device was as genius as it was refreshingly different.

Rhage was an amazing hero. I loved the concept of a gorgeous vampire paired with a plain human, but a plain human that he can't possibly get enough of. Mary's skepticism felt so real too and I loved how Rhage proves to her that he found her beyond attractive. He's so persuasive. And what he sacrificed for Mary was amazing. He's a man whose looks would have allowed him to want for nothing, but he has to give up everything for what he truly wants: Mary.

What other novel have you read that either the hero or heroine had to give up everything for the one they loved? Any other drop dead gorgeous heros out there?

BDB Week! Day 1 - Review: Dark Lover

Review: Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There also exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Among them, none 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 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…

Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 1

Wrath, King of the vampire race in name and bloodline but not king by choice nor has he ever claimed his royal rights to rule. Instead, Wrath is consumed with the pursuit of his own personal revenge against the lessers, a race of beings bent on the annihilation of the entire vampire race. When Wrath was a young pretrans male - a vampire who has not yet transitioned into adulthood - his parents were viciously murdered by a group of lessers. Despite the fact that his father hid him away, Wrath believes himself to be a coward; incapable due to his weak body to fight for his parents lives. After that night and for the past three hundred years, Wrath has lived only to ensure the death of another lesser and nothing, not even a beautiful half-breed female, can alter his course.

When Darius, fellow vampire and member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood - a band of warriors specially created with the immense physical prowess to defeat the lessers - asks Wrath to ensure that his half-breed daughter transitions safely, Wrath's answer must be no. Half-breeds are half human, half vampire offspring that will transition fully into their vampire half around age twenty-five. A vampire of the opposite sex must be present to provide blood, yet that doesn't necessarily ensure the half-breed's survival. The transition is so painful and intense, that many do not make it alive. But when Darius is suddenly killed, Wrath decides to help the Brother's last surviving child through the transition.

Beth Randall has reached a dead end in her life. Her job, while paying the bills, certainly isn't winning her any satisfaction awards. In addition, she claims no friends, no lover, and no future. Then there is the added bonus of sheer exhaustion that no matter how much sleep she gets, it simply will not be cured. Beth can't shake the feeling that something is wrong with her, mentally and physically. Beth's instability is proved after she has sex with an incredibly hot stranger who miraculously walks in through the sliding door that she remembers clearly locking not a moment before. But running isn't on her mind as his huge leather clad body looms before her. No, what she's thinking about is sex; the hot mind blowing kind.

Coming to her house to talk, Wrath is shocked at the turn about of events. Having sex with the half-breed female was certainly not his intention but Beth's desire simply could not be ignored. Wrath also can't shake the feeling that something akin to clicking into place deep within his soul, has started to thaw the ice enclosed around his heart.

Amazingly enough, Beth is pretty sane after her wild night of passion with a total stranger. She figures that the cop, Butch, put Wrath at her apartment for guard duty. After being attacked and nearly raped by some college boys, Butch became a bit protective with her safety. But when she questions Butch about Wrath, he's never heard of the guy. A bit freaked out, Beth skips out on the morning meeting she had planned with Wrath.

Nervous about Beth and the possibility that she's going through the change, Wrath tracks her down at night fall. Unfortunately, Wrath finds her in the arms of Butch igniting the famous "mine" moment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Beth is terrified that Wrath might in fact be a murderer but he knows things about her that she's never even told a soul to. When he dangles the precious information about her father, Beth agrees to go with Wrath to her father's home. The revelations of her father are overwhelming and Beth can't shake the despair that he didn't want her. Wrath says that her father loved her, watched over her but why didn't he come for her? Now, with Wrath's vampire nature unveiled all Beth can do is try to escape but that turns out to be impossible. She can't run from her destined future and when Wrath scoops her curled body up and into his arms, she leans fully into him.

Wrath's yearning to mark Beth, to warn any and all males that she's taken by infusing her body with his spicy sent, is becoming uncontrollable. But there is a big complication with the surging need. Wrath, in vampire society, is for all intents and purposes, mated to Marissa. She was picked for him specifically at his transition and helped him with the change. She's the vampire that he feeds from while he is her host when she's thirsty. Vampires must feed from the opposite sex to survive. While no official ceremony has ever been conducted, Wrath has responsibilities to Marissa.

There is also the complication that Wrath isn't looking for a shellan, a female mate. He has one mission in life and that's to eradicate the lessers. Beth is the last thing he needs right now and he has every intention of ending they're relationship once she completes the change despite the fact that he's bonded with her. He'll just have to deal with the repercussions of his actions. Beth is not his life and she never will be.

But what really fuels his need to leave Beth is the fear that she can never accept him. He was a small coward who couldn't protect his family. What female would desire that quality in her mate?

When Beth suddenly starts her transition, the outlook doesn't look good. Holding her spasming body in his arms, Wrath realizes that this beautiful woman has come to mean more to him than he could ever have imagined in just a few short days. He's in love with her and the last thing that he could ever survive would be her death.

Beth sees beyond Wrath's self-loathing image. She understands that he's interpreted those horrific events of his parent's death to be some how be his fault. It's survivors guilt. When she forcefully tells Wrath to drop his warrior exterior and re-exam the situation he would see a young boy protected by a father and mother whose dying act was to save him. The fact that he's lived beyond that moment is a testament to his strength. Her reassurance that she'd lovingly accept him melts any remaining ice surrounding Wrath's heart for Beth now drives it's every beat.

While Beth survives the transition but she may not survive the lessers. Her human half has contributed genes allowing her walk in sunlight. While in the kitchen getting some food at daybreak, a lesser spots the newly made vampire and recognizes the ring that Wrath gifted her proclaiming her the queen. The lesser abducts Beth while Wrath rages below stairs unable to fight for his shellan due to the sun's harmful rays.

The rage that Wrath exudes reverberates strongly and builds to such a crescendo that he is unstoppable when the sun finally sinks below the horizon. Zeroing in on his blood flowing through Beth's veins, Wrath comes for her like a freight train. But in his blind rage and uncontrollable desire to save the woman of his heart, Wrath neglects to care for his own body. Severely wounded, it's now Beth that fights to save Wrath.

One of my favorite scenes in 'Dark Lover' is Beth's introduction to the Brothers.

There was a loud scraping noise as five chairs slid backward. The men rose as a unit. And started coming for her.
She looked into the faces of the two she knew, but their grave expressions weren't encouraging.
And then the knives came out.
With a metallic whoosh, five black daggers were unsheathed.
She backed up frantically, hands in front of herself. She slammed into a wall and was about to scream for Wrath when the men dropped down on bended knees in a circle around her. In a single movement, as if they'd been choreographed, they buried the daggers into the floor at her feet and bowed their heads. The great whoomp of sound as steel met wood seemed both a pledge and a battle cry.
The handles of the knives vibrated.
The rap music continued to pound.
They seemed to be waiting for some kind of response from her.
"Umm. Thank you," she said.
The men's heads lifted. Etched into the harsh panes of their faces was total reverence. Even the scarred one had a respectful expression.
And then Wrath came in with a squeeze bottle of Hershey's syrup.
"Beacon's on the way." He smiled. "Hey, they like you."
"And thank God for that," she murmured, looking down at the daggers.

Dark Lover © J.R. Ward

The pacing of 'Dark Lover' is pure perfection. It grabs your attention and never let go. It's so rare to find an author that can accomplish this even once in their careers to this kind of perfection but truly you have to almost bow down to Ward and her talent. When you shine light on the difficulty of starting a paranormal series with a distinct and complicated set of rules combined with a lush and satisfying romance and then you top it off with incredible pacing, you can't help but fall in love with series from page one. The intense popularity of the series really launched with 'Dark Lover' and I believe that a lot of it's success stems from these very facts.

What book have you read that you thought had excellent pacing? Or what series did you think had an unbeatable first installment?