Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

First in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series

5 stars
Wrath is asked by his fellow brother, Darius, to watch over his half-human daughter during her transition into becoming a vampire. Wrath says no and refuses to have anything to do with his daughter, but the Darius dies. Darius’s death leaves Wrath feeling obligated to take on Darius’s wish. Beth has never known her mother or father and when she meets Wrath, they end up lost in each other’s arms. Beth is thrown into a world where vampires battle lesser (slayers) and her race is struggling to survive. If I had to describe Dark Lover in one word, I think the word I would use would be unique. Vampires aren’t unique in our culture anymore and have conquered mainstream with a vengeance and if you go to the mall chances are you’ll see at least one thing to do with vampires in a store window. But the way Ward presents vampires is captivating and shines a new light onto something I’ve read about many times. I hesitated to buy this book. It was everywhere. All over my Goodreads feed, in my group discussions on GR, in my recommendations on GR, there was a whole shelf dedicated to these books in the used bookstore I go to, at Walmart, at Books a Million, and pretty much anything to do with books I’ve come across this title and series. I love vampires but I didn’t know if I would love Ward. I had heard good things, bad things, and mixed things. I obviously caved into temptation and bought this book at Walmart. Ward made me wish I knew these Brothers. Her writing ability is flawless. It takes me a couple of pages to get used to her writing, but once I’m in I’m in and there’s no escaping. The Brothers are the protectors of the vampire race. The vampires worship The Scribe Virgin, who has a mortal enemy named the Omega. The Omega created lessers which are beings that kill vampires.


The main female character is Beth. Beth is a half-vampire which is supposed to be almost impossible but it does happen every now and then. Beth is one of those special cases. Beth’s father is Darius who is killed very early in the book and she had to face a new world and the fact that her father wasn’t far away and she had never met him. Beth was a great character, she was easy to connect to, and didn’t infuriate me constantly.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8

The main male character is Wrath. Wrath is well Wrath. It’s hard to describe him because he has good points and bad points, but I think that’s why I like him so much. Wrath faced a lot growing up and he had to deal with a lot of changes and bear the responsibility for a lot of things. I just like him and I don’t feel like I really have to justify why.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 8.5


The Villain- Or villains in the world of the Brothers, they can’t catch a break. Let’s start from the top and work our way down. The head-honcho villain is the Omega. The Omega is supposed to a translucent entity, much like the Scribe Virgin. We don’t get very much insight on him and only know that he hates the Scribe Virgin. Then we have Mr. X. who leads the Caldwell area as leader of the lesser. Mr. X isn’t someone I want to meet on the street and I’m sure anyone who met him would be off put by him anyway. The lesser are usually people who were psychopaths, wifebeaters, and your usual run of the muck guys that would be better off in a jail cell than in society. They have an overwhelming smell similar to baby powder and they are white. White hair, white eyes, white pigmentation, white everything.


Villain Scale: 8

The Brothers we are introduced to are Rhage, Vishicious, Zsadist, Phury, and Tohrment. These brothers are very different and I loved them the minute I met them. I can’t wait to read their stories. Butch is a friend of Beth’s and was a possible love interest for her. Butch is cool and one bad ass cop. Marissa is Wrath’s shellan and I felt bad for her because all she wanted was his affection and Wrath didn’t love her, but I hope she ends up with Butch.


Character Scale: 9


The chemistry between these characters is definitely something to take note of. Ward does an excellent job of it with Beth and Wrath. The Brotherhood have inducted their selves into my favorite series. I look forward to where the series and goes and reading all about their lives, loves, and loses.


Cover Thoughts: I strangely like this cover, I usually hate these kinds of covers, but I like this one because it fits the story.  

I read this back in February and I just finished the sequel look for the review coming soon hopefully today.