Dark Lover Book 1 The Black Dagger Brotherhood 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 pure-bred 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...
Welcome to the The Black Dagger Brother Hood,
My all time favourite series with 18 books under the belt of J.R. Ward. it is with out doubt the one that kicked started my love for Paranormal, from this I went on to Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon Charlaine Harris the list is endless, and it all started here.
This book is phenomenal, we have Wrath and Beth's story. This dark and compelling world is filled with romance as well as adventure. With myriad possibilities to choose from, the Black Dagger Brotherhood series promises tons of thrills and chills. Each book concentrates mostly on one of the “Brothers” from a band of defensive “Vampire Warriors” chosen to protect their diminishing species. While it is a romance series, we also get a glimpse into the world of Vampire politics, social classes, and full blown battles against enemies. Ward has created a wonderful modern vampire romance. An intriguing mix of street culture, vampire warrior society with a healthy dash of fated love. If you are a fan of Alpha male Romance and vampire styles you will love this Ward has created a rich modern world while at the same time depicts much of the common vampire lore we know, but also adds some nice twists, such as; class structure, mating practices and a deity.
The writing has a great balance of description and action, and unlike so many other PNR stories, the plot doesn't take second place to the romance. Yes, there is plenty of (steamy!) romance through the the book, but there is also an interesting antagonist with a deadly mission and a rich supporting cast with layers and depths of their own. From the romance angle, another thing that Ward does so well is the strong Female Lead. So may times I have gotten a book and the female leads have been so wishy washy that I actually wanted to slap them, if you team up with any of these boys you need to be as tough as them. This is a hard thing to do in an Alpha male romance, where many authors fall into the trap of claiming the women are strong, before turning them into brainless knicker dropping pains in the ass, once a strong pair of shoulders come along. Ward hasn't made the leading ladies cold but lets her maintain her strength of character through the book, that is what attracted them to these boys in the first place, it ensures that the relationship with the muscled fearsome alpha male is one of equality.
Overall there are many winning qualities in the book, that I have even loaned out my precious babies to others to read. I would highly recommend it to people not familiar with the vampire genre. It definitely became a firm favourite of mine and an author I now avidly follow.
With Dark Lover, we encountered “Wrath” (who is the leader of his Brotherhood, and the only full blooded vampire left). Described as “colossal” and stacked, with a constant menacing look, long black hair, and always decked out in black leather, “shitkickers”, and weaponry of all sorts.
He was sworn to protect the daughter (“Beth”) of one of his warrior “brothers”, who had just been killed by their enemy. She had been raised in the human world she was half human, had not known her vampire father, and has not yet been through the very painful “transitioning” into her vampire self. In fact, she has no clue what she’s in for (she doesn’t even know vampires exist)!
Beth, is a journalist who works closely with the Police department, and has plenty of suitors, none of which she even remotely was interested in. One cop in particular (“Butch”) also takes to protecting her, which in turn causes quite a deadly encounter between him and Wrath, dragging both Beth and Butch into the Vampire world, one of which they could have never anticipated and essentially, can never leave.
Through this book, we are introduced to the “vampire transitioning” process (vampires are brought into being, by being born with it in their DNA, and are essentially human until they “transition” in their early 20’s). They eat regular food, feel love and bond although the bonding process is quite interesting and a HUGE part of each book – always hot and steamy!!, and if needed, “feed”, off of another Vampire of the opposite sex human blood does not keep them strong or nourish enough.
We’ve got a group of good Vampires that are a long lived species, NOT the undead, who are being hunted into extinction by the “UNDEAD Lessers” they used to be human “psychopath serial killer types” that were chosen and transitioned through evil.
Love, bonding, unusual friendships being forged, and battling evil! What more could YOU WANT.
5 STARS!! ALL THE WAY. PHENOMENAL
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