The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide

Father Mine – Father Mine is yet another incredible story in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It fills in the blanks for Zsadist and Bella, covering the events that occurred in their lives between the final chapter and epilogue of Lover Awakened. It relates the narrative of Nalla's birth, and the subsequent return of Z's nightmares of his horrific past. Z is one of my favorite brothers, because he is tough as nails on the outside but broken and vulnerable inside. He is such an amazing character, I could read dozens of stories about him and never get tired of them. Z is extremely complex and multi-layered which is one of the things I love about him. I liked that J. R. Ward didn't make the end of Lover Awakened the end for Z. In show more real life, recovery from abuse is never, in my experience, something that is miraculously overcome, and there may be unexpected things that can trigger unpleasant memories even after one thinks they've been put to rest. With this in mind, it made perfect sense that the birth of Z's daughter would reawaken some of his past issues, and it became an opportunity for him to take the next step in the healing process. I had been somewhat disappointed that the effects of Bella's abuse at the hands of the lesser in Lover Awakened was not really explored, so it was nice to see how she had been able to get closure as well. Father Mine was a beautifully told story in which Z and Bella, once again, show the unfathomable depth of love they have for one another, and now for their new daughter as well. All of the brothers except Butch put in an appearance in this novella, as well as Mary and Jane. There was a little hint of what the future may hold for Rhage and Mary as well, and I'll be interested to see how that plays out. Father Mine was a sweet, tender, romantic story. It was a definite keeper for me, and in my opinion, a must-read for fans of the series. I've been away from the brothers for far too long, and I'm glad to be back, anxiously looking forward to reading the rest of this book, and continuing the series. Although it doesn't have an official book number, Father Mine falls between Lover Enshrined and Lover Avenged in the series ordering. Rating: *****

Other Content – I thoroughly enjoyed the Brotherhood Dossiers. The questionnaires and J. R.'s interviews with the brothers are a combination of sweet and LOL funny just like the brothers are in the novels. As I read these sections, I alternated between cracking up at their jokes (my hubby asked me what was so funny) and feeling touched by how genuinely real these characters seem to me. It must have been a challenge for J. R. Ward to play herself plus get in character to play each brother in turn at the same time. I really appreciated her efforts on this, because I had a blast reading each one.

Ms. Ward's craft comments on each book gave me a lot of insights into her personality as both a person and a writer. She also made me think about certain aspects of the stories and characters in a deeper way, so that I now understand a few things about the world she has created even better than I had before. I love time travel in stories, but strangely hadn't really considered how the Scribe Virgin and the Omega had altered the space-time continuum in this series. I'm glad Ms. Ward brought that up, because I had a fun, mind-blowing time pondering all that.;-) I was thrilled to discover that some of my favorite scenes are also hers, and that some of her self-critique mirrored my own critique of her books in my reviews of them. It seems that we think quite a bit alike which I've come to conclude must be one of the reasons I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood series so much.

As a newly aspiring author myself, I found Ms. Ward's advice for writers section to be both helpful and inspiring. It was comforting to know that I am already on the right track in some areas, and I learned several new things that could be invaluable in the future if I decide to attempt to publish. I also really appreciated the story of her meeting with Suzanne Brockmann at the RWA convention and her feelings that she could never live up to the writing standard that Ms. Brockmann had set. When I sit down to my computer to write, I've had these same feelings usually in regards to J. R. Ward herself and other authors that I really admire. Ms. Ward sharing that small part of herself touched my heart and encouraged me in ways that are difficult to express.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood proposal was very interesting. I enjoyed seeing all the little things that changed between the original concept and the finished manuscript. At the same time I was amazed by how well fleshed out everything was right from the start and that so few changes were made. I think the most major character difference was that Phury had a different backstory, and he and Zsadist weren't brothers. The biggest storyline difference was how Dark Lover ended. From the perspective of an aspiring writer and a big fan of the series, it was all was rather fascinating and a really fun walk down memory lane.

I absolutely loved the deleted scenes. A couple presented extra character development on John Matthew, Butch and Vishous, as well as a far-distant future epilogue for Phury and Cormia. The others were smokin' hot love scenes, one between Zsadist and Bella and the other between Phury and Cormia, both of which were altered before the final draft. I loved reading every one of them. They were so good, I wish that they could have remained in their respective books.

The Kicks and Giggles section was pretty fun to read. The brothers have always had their own special brand of dark sarcasm that frequently makes me laugh, so having all their best humorous scenes and one-liners collected together in one place was a treat that kept a smile on my face almost the whole time I was reading this part.

The Brothers on the Board section is edited interactions between the brothers and the fans on J. R. Ward's website. The first half is similar to the Kicks and Giggles section in that the brothers are in fine form, pulling pranks on one another and letting their silly sides show. The second half is more serious and actually gives some insights into Lassiter's relationship with the brothers. In this part the alpha posturing is pretty intense. I think the brothers definitely need their females to balance them out, otherwise all that testosterone would be pretty overwhelming. The final bit detailed the absolutely lovely mating ceremony of Phury and Cormia which brought a few tears to my eyes. I always seem to cry at weddings.;-)

The Slices of Life section was really good and almost like deleted scenes. The first story was written in a casual "this is what the characters did today" sort of way. The second story about Wrath was written more formally and did feel like an extra scene that might have been in one of the books, not to mention it was quite steamy. The last two were written from J. R. Ward's perspective when Phury came to “visit” her, and when she went to “visit” V and Butch. In my opinion, all of them added even more depth to the characters who were a part of the stories. I know that this section and the Brothers on the Board section can both be found on J. R. Ward's website, but I had never read them before. Even if I had, I think it was nice to have them neatly edited and gathered together in one place, so that I don't have to go searching for them online.

There were some great questions in the Q & A with J. R. section which added insights to the stories already told and a few hints of what might be coming in the future. The Time Line of the Brotherhood, Table of Abbreviations and The Old Language were great references. The Old Language was particularly nice, because I can now visualize the shellans names on the brothers backs. If only I had known that the Old Language was in this book, I wouldn't have had to decipher it in Lover Avenged, but then again, geek that I am, it would have taken all the fun out of it for me.;-)

The Brothers Interview J. R. was a total riot, and not unlike her interviews with them. The In Memoriam was a beautiful family moment with Tohr, Wellsie, and John Matthew which really underscored the loss of Wellsie and the disappearance of Tohr, and what a huge hole was left without them.

Overall, I absolutely loved reading The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide, and in my opinion, it is a must-have for die-hard fans of the series like me. There is so much extra info here that is simply not to be missed, and although the brothers already felt like they truly existed somewhere before, they feel even more real now. For me, reading this book was also a great way to reintroduce myself to the Brotherhood's world after a long absence, and now I'm really stoked to read Lover Avenged. Rating: ***** show less

I fully admit that the BDB series is one of my top guilty reads. I know the series is stupid, it has flaws and I sometimes can't stand the way J.R. Ward and her "Cellies" act, but I still love the brothers and their shellans. I'm always left wanting more and squee every year when a new book is released. I can't help it nor can I even explain my ridiculous reaction to this series. Anyway, when I saw this at Border's final closing sale I had to pick it up. There are all kinds of goodies in here: Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella's Story, The Brothers Dossiers, Brother Interviews and Q&A’s, amongst other stuff. I highly enjoyed it all.

I don't plan on becoming an author, but I do appreciate the work authors put in and always enjoy learning show more about their writing process. The IG offered a nice glimpse of Ward's writing process. I thought Ward offered some sound advice to new writers and I liked that she included her unedited book proposal for Dark Lover. It was cool getting to see what made it into the final book. I also enjoyed the extra info on the brothers. I'm not part of the Boards, so I miss a lot of the “extras” Ward throws on there. It was great getting some of that in the book. I still resent Ward for putting extra story lines and giving extra tidbits on her boards and FB page though. I don’t think it’s fair, particularly for fans that don’t have time to stalk those venues. I also think it hampers her future storylines because she writes stuff on the board, but then changes it in the books and ends up having to backpedal. I digress though…

I ended up grinning like an idiot through most of this book. Just can't help it. What I didn't care too much for was V's interview and the Q & A section. I feel like V always gets jilted because supposedly V and Ward don’t get along. Ward tries explaining this weird relationship she has with her characters, but she just comes off as an egomaniac, especially when she inserts herself into the interviews. I feel like if you agree to do an insider’s guide then you should just go all the way with it and not give a half ass interview of a character or leave a blatant cliffhanger. It really pissed me off that she took this route with V. Also, there was a glaring discrepancy in V’s stats that I just couldn’t ignore because apparently Ward didn’t take her own writing advice and her “Rice Krispies” were totally incorrect. Other than these gripes I did enjoy the Insider’s Guide and I recommend it to any reader obsessed with the BDB world. show less

I'm not a big fan of "readers guides" for series, but I purchased this book because I wanted to read the short story "Father Mine." Before I continue my review, I have to say that I'm a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, but I'm not a FAN, if you get my meaning. I own all of the books and enjoy them, but I'm not obsessed with this series.

Father Mine
Like I said, this was the reason that I purchased this book, and it did not disappoint. Zsadist goes from "completely messed up" to "good husband and father" relatively quickly, but this short story shows that the transition involved a lot more bumps and bruises along the way, which I found much more realistic. I also liked that Zsadist tried to get his slave tattoos removed, but the result show more was unsuccessful and he had to learn how to accept his past instead of just cover it up. Zsadist is one of the extremely few characters I'd consider going straight for for one night, so seeing his angst and turmoil is totally like crack for me. ;)

The Brotherhood Dossiers
I suppose these would be interesting for diehard fans of the series, or those who are completely obsessed with one (or more) of the characters. But as I said, I'm not one of those people, so I really didn't care about a character's watch, car, or whether he wears boxers or briefs. There was a question about the last book that the character read, and I was very disappointed to see that nearly all (if not all...I can't exactly remember, since it has been months since I skimmed through the dossiers) of the characters said that the last book they had read had been a book to Nalla (Zsadist and Bella's daughter). While reading to young children are important, can't anyone seriously read something for their own enjoyment?

This section also included JR Ward "interviewing" each of the members of The Brotherhood (at least the first six books' worth of Brothers). The whole time, I just kept wondering...does this author have a huge ego or what? Are there people out there who think that the Brothers really ARE real? WTF? It was just weird and awkward, and I found myself laughing quite a bit to myself as I read the interviews. I just can't get into interviews of fictional characters "conducted" by a real person. I just can't.

For Writers
I'm not a writer, so I skimmed over this section and honestly can't remember much from it. It includes the original proposal for the first book in the series, Dark Lover, which is probably great for those who enjoyed the first book. I, however, really didn't like the first book in the series - so much so, in fact, that I almost gave up on the series entirely because of how much I didn't enjoy the first book. Wrath and Beth are some of my least favorite characters to this day (along with Butch), so I'll be honest - I didn't read the proposal, so I can't comment on it.

Deleted Scenes
These are okay, but I don't think that they really added much of anything to the stories. Most scenes in books are deleted for a reason; enough said.

Kicks and Giggles
I also found this section to be weird too. JR Ward listed some of the funniest situations and lines in each of the first six books in the series. Since she's talking about how they crack her up, and yet she is the one who wrote these lines, it felt like she was saying "look how funny and witty I am!" I get the feeling that the author is really full of herself.

The Brothers on the Board
There are eighty pages of "the Brothers" being on the BDB message board. I am going to assume that JR Ward wrote most of their interactions, since she is the author of the books (she may have had an accomplice or two, I'm not sure). So, essentially, there are eighty pages of the author talking to herself. Yes, you read that correctly. EIGHTY PAGES. Groan.

Slices of Life
These are some of the short little stories that the author posts on her site about life in the BDB. It's mostly fan service, but if you're obsessed with the series and/or characters in the books, you'll probably enjoy them. I skimmed through them.

Assorted Stuff
There are several sections that I skimmed, like an introduction to the "Old Language" (which is basically English with some consonants, particularly "h" and "r," inserted in random places). There's a timeline of events in the BDB series, which might be useful for the first six books if things get a little topsy-turvy.

The Brothers Interview JR
Hahahahahahahahahaahahahah. Seriously. The author interviews herself. Man, her ego is the size of Texas! (Random, but it reminds me of the Futurama episode where someone has an ego that keeps growing and growing until it's about to take over the world.)

The Bottom Line
Get it for "Father Mine." Skip the rest. show less

This review is just for the short story, Father Mine, as I did not read the whole thing. JR Ward is one of my favorite authors. Over the last couple of years, I've discovered that I prefer character driven stories and I think JR Ward is one of the best in that aspect. Her characters are beautifully written and have so much depth that I just get sucked into the story. Zsadist has always been my favorite and reading his struggles concerning Nalla and Bella was heartbreaking. It was so uplifting to finish it and realize he will eventually be OK. If you had no intentions of getting this guide, get it just to read Father Mine.

My usual response to "guides" to fictional series is avoidance. I'd elected not to pick up the Insider's Guide on that basis until I ran across a mention of Father Mine, the novella featuring Zsadist and his struggle with fatherhood, that the Guide contains.

Honestly? The novella's great - and I hope to see Ward do more of them. The rest of the guide's a mix of stats, favorite quotes, slices of life and deleted scenes cut from previous novels, and a few other entertaining extras.

I picked it up for the novella, but enjoyed the rest just as much. Not five starts, because it wasn't as satisfying as a complete novel, but if you're a Brotherhood fan, it's worth the time spent.

This is a unique and fun book. A cross between writer's guide, character bio, and web banter, the Insider's Guide has a little bit of everything. The relationship JR Ward has with her characters is as intricate as her writing is, and I, like so many of her readers, am totally jealous!On the fiction side - the novella about Z and Bella and Nalla is worth the price alone - as is the chat with the brothers detailing Phury's mating ceremony (again I say 'Poor Tohr'!!!).But on top of all the fiction, the way JR Ward details the writing of each book is an invaluable resource for those of us trying to follow in her footsteps. From how she fought getting V's book done (and how far to go with the S&M) to how easy Wrath's book was (and it was show more first!!!)...I really enjoyed hearing her struggles and triumphs.I highly recommend this to any and all BDB fans! show less

I loved this guide for several reasons:

1)loved the excerpts. I actually liked the alternate ending for Lover Awakened better than the actual book ending. I also liked the deleted scene between Butch & Vishous, when Butch wanted to leave the Brotherhood compound.
2)I liked Father Mine, the novella about Zsadist & Bella. It is refresing to see just how much they love each other...and that they are still dealing with Z's mistress issues.
3)Z finally goes to counselling--Bravo!
4)Reading everyone's bio, I was interested to see their best friends. Of course Zsadist doesn't list one!
5) More background of Lassiter. That was nice.
6) Phury's Mating Ceremony was touching!