Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1)

I loved the Twilight series and search for more vampire love stories. This series is so interesting! I finished the first book in 2 days. I wanted to read more! Highly recommended if you want romance that's naughty and nice!

After reading the reviews here, I, like others, expected a great read. Overall, it was a decent read, but though I tried to really like it, I couldn't. J. R. Ward is unquestionably very talented as a writer, and perhaps her greatest strength in creating this series was her imaginative take on vampires. It was unique, refreshing.

There were some things I enjoyed about this book. I liked the flawed hero, I liked the romance between the hero and heroine (though it was brief-just a few days- and looking back the only thing they did together until the end was have sex). I did enjoy the banter between the secondary characters, the easy friendship. Often, however, as has been pointed out by others, the language was outdated-thug-juvinile. Not exactly my image of my hero and future heroes. But the dark,dangerous and leather-wearing hero was cool. I never thought he was psycho. I liked his protectiveness.

That said, the names of the Black Dagger Brotherhood are a real turnoff. They just flat sound juvinile. I kept waiting to find out what the hero's and brotherhood's real names were, hoping these were some sort of assumed names they took on when they joined the brotherhood. If a man introduced himself to you as "Rhage," wouldn't you have raised eyebrows at the very least? Especially since Rhage is hundreds of years old, and was born to be king, not a warrior, Rhage CANNOT be his real name. AND since the other aristocratic vampires portrayed have semi-normal names. How these silly names are supposed to further the plot or make the characters more endearing, I'll never know.

I also thought there was too much focus on this "lesser" war. It didn't seem to further the story overmuch, and I patiently suffered through this subplot waiting to get back to the hero and heroine. I agree the classification of this serious maybe ought to be rethought, since the romance seemed to take a backseat to the action.

So, if you can overlook these flaws, try to just accept them as a different reality, you have a thrilling, oh-so-sexy hero biting the bra off the heroine in their first real encounter (after the one where she passed out in fright). What a nice fantasy. I just wish it were a more believable fantasy.

I am not going to go into detail, I see thats been done quite well. Wrath is the leader of the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD and one of his "brothers" (he called the other members brothers so there is no incest involved when Beth and Wrath come together) asked for his help with his halfling daughter, Beth. Wrath refused at first but after his "brother" was killed he decides to honor the last request. When he finds Beth she is on the verge of changing, which causes her to become very sexual and their first encounter turns intense.

***I have been hearing alot about this series and thought I would give it a try. I thought it was OK. I liked the mishmash brotherhood but I did not get a feel for Wrath and Beth. Overall, I would not recommend this book as a standalone novel but I am going to read the next in the series to see if it gets better. Surely this many good reviews must lead to better books on the way.

Dark Lover is the first book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.. Each book by JR Ward is a story from each of the warriors. The first starts with the leader and Blind King Wrath. I have to admit that I was a total skeptic of it... I ended up loving each and every book! A must read!

I may be new to the paranormal romance genre, but I've read my fair share. Goin at it like a Lemming, I've read 6 series of the considered top writers in this genre with glee. And the Black Dagger Brotherhood is by far my favorite series. I'm happy with all of the series I've read, just this is a link all on it's Own. With Dark Lover, I was flushed, awed, blown away reading something so, unexpected. I have to admit, I wasn't sure at first. These books & characters were unlike any other I've read. But it quickly turned into passion for these vamp hunters that have it all: looks, brawn & a whole lotta attitude. Every one is different so that's the thrill of each story. I love the comradery, the family, the loyalty, the mission of these men. Their imperfections make them that more lovable. And the storylines... lust, murder & mayhem in the big city. Start with this one and just know it gets better & better!