Dark Lover

As a rule, I don't read romances.

Fortunately, upon relaying this law to my manager, her immediate response was "everyone needs to read at least one romance!" So she introduced me to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. And I have to admit, I'm glad she did.

The mythology J.R. Ward drops her reader into is easily accessible yet elusive enough to tease her readers' desire to know more of it. The characters are well-developed and endearing (to the point of fault with some characters; she seems to want bend even the cruelest of protagonists into a likable character), and the plot keeps the reader coming back for more. And, yes, while this reader rolled his eyes at the corniness of the majority of lines and predictable romantic progression show more (as well as the title; I have taken to referring to their numeric place in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series), the romances are developed in such a way that they enhance the characters and become an enjoyable part of the book.

So, swallowing my pride and revising my pre-established rulings, I'm quite sure I'll be returning to this series in the near future. show less

There is nothing good about this book.

The story is a badly written, smut filled “romance” with an asshole hero and a heroine who makes women look like idiots who can’t control themselves around men.

My biggest issue is with the Brotherhood itself. The vampires in this book are big, listen to rap, and dress tough, but their names are really dumb. Why are they adding letters to their names to give them vampire street credibility? Vampires have their own traditions, customs, and language. Their names, however, read like those of pre-teen goth girls picking names for their future children. There is even one human, but it has an uninteresting name: Butch.

Despite the amount of explicit sex in these books, they do not feel very erotic. show more There was an extremely unlikely love-at-first-sight experience in the book followed by smut. Unlikable characters lead to no emotional investment in their fate. My honest opinion of this book is that I have read far better fan fiction online.

Still baffled by everyone else’s glowing reviews. Dark Lover features terrible writing, clichéd romance, and male characters with teenage-girl speaking styles. For fans of trashy romance books, this is perfect, but for those who enjoy horror and fantasy, skip this nauseating, sophomoric read. show less

Beth seems like your average girl, she has a nice job, she has no family, and she lives alone with her cat Boo. Beth's life takes a dramatic turn when tall, dark, and sexy appears in her dreams one night. Beth is soon thrown in the middle of a battle between vampires, and lessers, as she finds out she is a half-breed. As if things weren’t new enough to her, she finds out her father was a member of The Black Dagger Brotherhood, an elite group of fighters who protect the vampire race.

Stop looking at me like that I know what you’re thinking, "You just now started reading this series"? Yes. I am afraid I have been living under a rock. I have heard about this series so many times, and walked past these books a thousand times at my show more bookstore, and still never picked up my copy. What changed my mind you asked? The Book Boyfriend Blog Hop of course. Every girl selected at least one of the brothers as her book boyfriend, and I had to know what the deal was. Never one to enjoy being left out of the hotty loop, I snagged my copy of Dark Lover and intro my newest addiction.

Dark Lover is an incredible intro book for a series. While reading this novel you can't help but get lost in this world J.R. Ward has created. Beth the leading lady is the kind of character you want to picture yourself living her life. One day your just average, and the next day your life has been catapulted into an adventure, with hot vampire sex included. Wrath (and I hope I am not alone on this) multiple times I pictured him as this huge beast like character, much like Beast from the movie Beauty and the Beast. Wrath is constantly trying to learn how to control his temper around this girl, who he wants. Only lets be honest Wrath is hot, Beast not so much. It is hard to select one character in this book you like, because collectively they all complete each other.

J.R. Ward has a perfect recipe for keeping readers in suspense and on the edge of every page. The story constantly switches the point of view from character to character. In other words you get to live the story inside the mind of each character. Now here is the kicker, a majority of the time it switches the point of view right when something epic happens. So you literally are barreling through the pages like "Oh My God! What is going to happen"?

This book seriously gets a high recommendation from me; I am surprised this series doesn't have a cult follow. I only however recommend this book to adult readers. This novel has a lot of sexual content in it, and is unsuitable for younger readers. show less

Wow! I had heard a lot of really great things about this series, but I wasn't expecting to love it this much. It's a romance book so obviously there's more than a few graphic sex scenes. However, the book dives deeper. I was drawn into a world inhabited by vampires, humans, and lesesrs. A world where vampires are heroes, humans are blissfully ignorant, and lessers are pure evil.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is about a group of vampire warriors who are as close as brothers. They protect the civilian vampire population, as well as the humans from the lessers, people who sold their soul for immortality. The lessers freaked me out. They were so evil; it was difficult to read some of the parts that included them. I found myself show more skimming over some of the Mr.X, the main lesser in Dark Lover, parts. The lesser are led by Omega, a nefarious villain. Dark Lover tells the story of Wrath, the Blind King, before he ascends the throne. After one of the brothers dies, Wrath goes searching for that brother's half-breed daughter, Beth. Vampires cannot turn people to make more vampires. They have to be born. However, they are born as a "human," and go through the change in their twenties. If Beth is going to survive the change, then she needs to be around and drink the blood of a male vampire. Beth had a hard life, from being orphaned to foster care to being very nearly raped; she takes life day by day. When Wrath shows up, she becomes captivated by him. She sees the real Wrath under his hard exterior. Wrath did not plan or want to fall in love with Beth, but he did. She not only becomes the center of his life, but also the object of the Mr. X's impromptu plan.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood is addicting. I loved Wrath. Actually, let me correct that, I love all the brothers. J.R. Ward is so talented. These books aren't only about sex, but also about love. True love. Love that lasts forever. The lessers pissed me off so many times with what they did. They were/are merciless. Thank goodness the Brothers fight them. J.R. Ward made the Brothers into real, three-dimensional characters. Each of the brothers has their own personal demons they have to face. Those demons define how they act and what they do. The BDB series has a feel similar to the Underworld movies- very urban fantasy with lots of guns and leather. Ward changes POV throughout the book, even though the focus of the book is on Wrath and Beth. I don't know what I'll do when the series ends, and there will be no more books. I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.
Warning: For 18 yrs and older show less

This is the first book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series which has at least nine books planned. I was a little tentative to start this series because it is long and is romance heavy (I am more of a straight urban fantasy fan). I keep hearing how wonderful it is though so I thought I would give it a try. I am glad I did, I was pleasantly surprised with how well this world was built and how well-rounded the characters were.

Elizabeth works as a journalist when she is attacked one night on her way home from work. She fights off the attacker but is shaken. Later that night she approached by a large dangerous man who says he knew her father, his name is Wrath and he has promised Elizabeth's father that he would protect her. Elizabeth show more doesn't know it but she is on the brink of changing into something not-so-human and Wrath is the only one who can walk her through it. Wrath is part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, a Brotherhood of royal vampires sworn to protect humans and civilian vampires from the evil Lessers. With the violence rising on the streets more is going on than just Elizabeth's change. Wrath and Elizabeth are drawn to each other in a way neither has ever known before; but to be together they have to survive the growing danger of the Lessers.

Is this a romance? Oh yeah, it is definitely that. I was expecting that and just hoping that my eyes wouldn't roll out of their sockets with the improbability of it all. I was actually very surprised at what a great story this was. There is a solid and intricate plot here, a very interesting world and mythos, and in general just a very intriguing and engaging story. There is quite a bit of action, mystery, and violence throughout so the urban fantasy lover in me was satisfied. There is also a larger story here than just Wrath and Elizabeth's. This is the story of an ancient race on the brink of extinction.

While Wrath and Elizabeth do have the whole love at first sight thing going on, for the most part their relationship is fairly down to earth and believable. Despite Wrath's excessive alpha-maleness he respects Elizabeth and admires her and is willing to compromise with her. Elizabeth is not your normal swooning heroine. She is independent and puts Wrath in his place when he tries to strong-arm her with his over-protectiveness. The essence of it all is that they are perfect for each other. There are a number of mind-boggling hot sex scenes in here, they manage to be sexy yet have a level of tenderness to them that pulls at your heart strings. I was listening to this on audio book and at points the tension between Elizabeth and Wrath was so thick I forgot what I was doing and just stared off into space listening intently. It was just that engaging of a story. Elizabeth and Wrath have something that goes beyond chemistry and it is a wonderful thing to read.

Was it too much romance for me? At times it was. The descriptions of rippling stomachs and velvety thighs had me rolling my eyes a time or two; so beware if you are approaching this from the urban fantasy genre there is that some of that horrible romancy description thing going on. It wasn't too bad though. It bothered me a bit how Wrath and Elizabeth were immediately drawn to each other, but as their relationship became more down to earth I was able to forgive that.

I will say that the Black Dagger Brotherhood is one group of seriously emotionally screwed up men. Part of me is drawn to all their messed up emotional baggage and curious at how they will continue to defend their race while trying to sort through all of that. I will be honest it is kind of like those gossip magazines, some of these men are just so close to being train wrecks I just can't help but be curious as to what will happen.

Overall I can say I thoroughly (if a bit guiltily) enjoyed this book. The chemistry between Wrath and Elizabeth is out of this world and the two characters have a lot of dimension to them. There is a lot of action, danger, and violence here which soothed the urban fantasy lover in me. The world is interesting and solidly built. I feel like Ward is actually interested in this world she is writing about and it shows. I had previously read the Alien Huntress series by Gena Showalter and just couldn't get into it; that series felt like the world was only an excuse for the erotic scenes, this series doesn't feel like that. So, yeah, I will be reading more books in this series. My curiosity just won't let me leave the rest of those Black Dagger Brothers quite yet. show less

This review first appeared on A Weebish Book Blog.

I’ve been on a re-reading old favorites like crazy this year, especially since I’m determined to catch up on my series, such as the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I’d just finished Nora Roberts newest release and wanted to lose myself in a familiar, well missed world so I checked out DARK LOVER at the public library. Unsurprisingly, it spawned a BDB binge read that I can’t say I’m unhappy about.

When Darius, close friend, fellow BDB member, and the only other member with a correctly spelled name is murdered, leaving his half-breed daughter clueless about her lineage, Wrath is forced to usher her into the world of vampires or leave her to die a pain-filled death at the tender age of show more twenty-five.

"As far as he was concerned, there were only two good positions for a human. A female on her back. And a male facedown and not breathing."

Meet our tortured hero:

Wrath is King of the dwindling vampire species, leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, and strongly believes he’s unqualified for both titles. He’s an almost completely blind, bitter, leather-encased terror whose self-hatred almost rivals Zsadists.

He’s also a major asshole… until he stalks meets Beth.

"“You are beautiful,” he whispered. His subtle accent made him roll the R over his tongue, almost as if he were purring.

Well that stands to reason, she thought. When he touched her, she felt beautiful."

Meet our Mary Sue:

Beth is our idealized heroine. Her life as a beat reporter at her small Caldwell newspaper is going nowhere, she has few friends, and zero prospective partners. She stunningly beautiful and the men in her life worship her but she’s got eyes for no one… until she meets Wrath.

*cue eye roll*

Yeah, the tortured hero and the Mary Sue are a dime a dozen in the romance world. And yet, I gave them four stars. Why? It’s hard not to love them. I certainly did. Beth is a strong, take-no-shit heroine and the perfect mate for a vampire like Wrath. She buffs out all his edges in the hottest ways possible. Despite my complaints, they made an excellent beginning for the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

But my favorite character? Fritz. The butler. He’s so adorable and happy to serve. I want a Fritz.

All-in-all, I enjoyed the hell out of DARK LOVER and that’s really all that matters in my book. It made a wonderful reintroduction into the world of the BDB. If you’re a paranormal romance junkie who likes their characters fanged and haven’t read this series yet, where have you been?! show less

2.5 stars
What to say? What not to say?

I started this series backward with a book a lot of folks who've read the series since its inception think of as not being a not very good book (Lover Reborn), then read Lover at Last just because ... So, when I came across this book on the library shelf, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to actually read the first book in the series and see what I was missing, when the series was good. Turns out ... I wasn't missing anything.


Dark Lover is the epitome of cliched romance. It was like the author had all these little boxes to tick in her head when she started writing it and by golly, she hit just about everyone of them:

• A female lead who has never spent time with a man who did it for her, show more thereby confirming her status as a heterosexual woman? (It's there in the text!) | Check
• A dark, brooding male who never thought to have the love of a good woman? | Check
• A group of manly men who need the female touch to heal their wounded souls and thereby setting up the rest of the series? | Check
• And etc.

I was actually enjoying the book despite the above list, really. It's mindless fun, you know? However.

There's a difference between romance and lust. Several romps in the sheets and no discussion between the leads does not a relationship make. The biggest discussion between Wrath and Beth? When she tries to convince him he was not a coward for something that was not even his fault. (Wrath's father locked him in a cupboard to protect him from the Lessers who killed Wrath's parents.) Is there a relationship between Wrath and Beth that does not include a bed? Not that I could see. Never once do I see them just sit and talk about life or cuddle with each other. Yes, they're compatible in bed, but are they compatible in the ways that actually count? Yet, by the end of the book we're supposed to see the love between these two people as something great and good. Huh-uh.

In reality, as often happens in these types of books, everyone is more interesting character-wise than the lead pair and I found I wanted to know more about Vishous and the butler, Fritz (who deserves his own series of short stories). Other characters, on the other hand, not so much.

Mr. X is a very thin character at best. He's supposed to be this vicious, psychotic killer who will do anything to kill vampires, but this side of him never really materialized. We never got to see him at work, other than his use of tranquilizers to catch young vampires by attracting them with the blood of dead prostitutes. And both times he bungles the catch! His handling of Billy Riddle made him almost fatherly and gentle, which really did not seem to fit in with the exterior he's supposed to exude. And though Mr. X succeeds in kidnapping Beth, he never gets around to doing anything to her except tie her to a table in preparation for violence. Billy Riddle was worse than useless in the event. The complete lack of tension at this point was disappointing.

I found the whole thing about the Lessers rather laughable. They never materialized in the story except as background noise. As I wrote in my review of Lover Reborn, they just seem to exist to give the guys a way to show off their massive torsos and incredible muscles.

Butch, the cop, is a piece of work. His thinking processes the first time he meets Marissa, Wrath's former shellan, are extremely distasteful and, to be honest, disgusting. I was floored by the way reacts to her, thinking she's a high class prostitute, while at the same time lusting after her. He accuses her of being a prostitute aloud, then, when he apologizes when she reacts with shock, she accepts his apology? Really? I don't know about anyone else, but I would be very offended by such thinking and not want to be in the same room with such a person. Yet, since this is romance and fantasy at that, Marissa not only forgives him right away afterward, but wants to go on a date with him and will eventually fall in lu-er-love. Ew. Just ... ew.

It's frustrating to have listened to this book in anticipation of something enjoyable. Instead, I discovered that, if I'd started reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood with this book, I would never have gone beyond it. Sigh.

Best quote:

Wrath: look at how their (human) folklore portrays our species. There's Dracula [who Wrath resembles!] for C*****'s sake, an evil bloodsucker who preys on the defenseless. There's piss-poor B movies and porn. And don't get me started on the whole Halloween thing. Plastic fangs. Black capes. The only thing the idiots got right are that we drink blood and that we can't go out in daylight. The rest is bulls***, fabricated to alienate us and stimulate fear in the masses. Or just as offensive, the fiction used to create some kind of mystique for bored humans who think the dark side is a fun place to visit. [emphasis mine] (pg. 195, Signet 2005 edition)

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