Lightening Reviews

I had some things I wanted to say about the following books but not enough to come up with two whole posts, so I figured they were good candidates for another round of Lightening Reviews!

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

As most of you know I'm "re-reading" the Black Dagger Brotherhood via audio books. I've always enjoyed Rhage in other books he's sexy and a smartass, I love it! But listening to his book I realized how little we saw of his funny personality. Since we get his POV we see that there's more to the brother than just snarky one liners and a never ending supply of movie quotes. But what I didn't like about Lover Eternal was the complete lack of his personality at all. I don't remember noticing that before but he nary made a wisecrack or joke the whole book. I know he didn't have a lot to joke about what with the curse and his ill human mate and all but I'd liked to have seen a bit more of his humor. I also loved how Mary deals with both Rhage and his beast. Taming the thing when no one else dared, even the other brothers. Mary's kind of a bad ass! ;)

As usual, I love Ward's books because of the multiple story lines. We're introduced to John Matthew in Lover Eternal, we also get more of Z and Bella as we're set up for their story in Lover Awakened. While Lover Eternal isn't my favorite BDB book, (that's a tie between Lover Awakened and Lover Mine) I did enjoy it this second time around!

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Abandon the Night by Joss Ware

This third installment of Ware's post-apocalyptic series is, I'm sad to say, my least favorite so far. Which is a shame because I really loved the interactions between Quent and Zoe in the previous books. Quent's frustration with Zoe's actions mirrored my own. I like that she's such a strong kick ass heroine but her constant abandonment of Quent grated on my nerves.

I felt really bad for Quent in this book. Zoe bolted every chance she could get, even when she was doing what she thought was right, she really showed a lack of trust and faith in Quent and I felt it got pretty old. However, I continue to enjoy the series for Ware's world building. This series reminds me a lot of The Walking Dead, which I'm also loving! All in all a good addition to the series, even if it wasn't my favorite.

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Audiobites: Dark Lover by 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 exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, 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-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

After I finished Lover Mine, I wanted more of the brothers so I picked up The Insider's Guide. That just whet my appetite for even more and made me want to re-read the series. However, I always feel so guilty re-reading books when I have such a monstrous TBR pile. After some discussion on Twitter with @mamakitty729 and @andrea_desherb about the audio versions of the books. I decided to "re-read" the series by listening to the audio books.

I checked Dark Lover out from the library and popped the first disc into my car stereo. After the first two sentences of the narrator, I immediately said, "Nope" and ejected the cd. It was a knee jerk reaction to not liking the narrator's voice. It wasn't what I had in mind for any of the brother's and I wasn't sure I wanted to listen any more.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to the audio books I choose. So I hopped back on Twitter and told @mamakitty729 that I wasn't sure I liked the narrator. Both Mamakitty and Andrea assured me that while he's not the best narrator ever, that I should stick with it and I would likely enjoy it. So, I gave it another go. I listened a little longer and before I knew it, I was so engrossed in Ward's world that I didn't even realize I'd gone through several discs!

It's been years since I first read Dark Lover and I've never re-read any of the books. There was soo much I'd forgotten! In my review of Lover Mine I mentioned how I was so sad that JM's story was over because we'd been waiting for it since we met him in Dark Lover. Well, we didn't actually meet him in Dark Lover, it wasn't until Lover Eternal that we were introduced to JM.

Also, something that bothered me this time around, that I don't recall bothering me during my first reading of Dark Lover, was Beth's willingness to hope into bed with Wrath after having been sexually assaulted the day before. Something about that just grated on me. But it didn't hamper my overall enjoyment of the novel. It was just one of those things that annoyed me and I don't recall having been annoyed by it before.

Since I'd read the series before I actually skipped any of the sections that were from the lesser's points of view. I really didn't care for them the first time around and since I've read it before, I decided to completely skip these sections!

Even though my initial reaction to Jim Frangione's voice was not positive, after I gave him a chance, I really did get sucked into the story and barely even noticed his voice. However, he does a good growly voice that totally fits the Brothers! I wasn't even bothered by hearing the naughty bits read aloud. I've generally steered clear of romance audio books because I always felt a little pervy hearing the naughty bits but, yea, not so much when it comes to the Brothers! Rawr!

I'm already over halfway done with Rhage's book, Lover Eternal. Then I get to start, what is still one of my favorite books in the series, Lover Awakened! I'm finding more and more reasons to drive around, as I'm only listening to the audio books in the car. Lots of little trips I probably don't really need to take... :)

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Reveiw: Lover Mine by J.R. Ward

John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown to himself and to those around him. After he was taken in by the Brotherhood, no one could guess what his true history was- or his true identity. Indeed, the fallen Brother Darius has returned, but with a different face and a very different destiny. As a vicious personal vendetta takes John into the heart of the war, he will need to call up on both who he is now and who he once was in order to face off against evil incarnate.

Xhex, a symphath assassin, has long steeled herself against the attraction between her and John Matthew. Having already lost one lover to madness, she will not allow the male of worth to fall prey to the darkness of her twisted life. When fate intervenes, however, the two discover that love, like destiny, is inevitable between soul mates.

Before I begin this review I want to take just a minute to talk about reader expectations. I know I've mentioned this in previous reviews. Sometimes, as readers, we start a novel having certain expectations. Sometimes you have low expectations and then are pleasantly surprised by a book. Other times you have such high expectations that no book could possibly live up to and, every once in a blue moon, your exceedingly high expectations are met. Lover Mine is one of these books.

Fans of the Black Dagger Brotherhood have been waiting for this book since we met John Matthew as a lonely, scared "pretrans" in Dark Lover. We watched him grow, mature, change, fall in love, and get his heart broken. In Lover Mine, John and Xhex finally get their HEA but, as per usual with the BDB series, not without heartache and pain.

At the end of Lover Avenged, Xhex disappears having been kidnapped by Lash and is now being held prisoner. The Brotherhood, John specifically, is losing hope of finding her alive. However, as we all know, Xhex is a fighter and is not about to sit around and wait to be rescued. Xhex busts through the invisible barrier Lash has erected around her thanks to his waning strength. The rest of the novel is basically John, Xhex, and the rest of the brotherhood hunting down Lash. After a few twists and turns and a road block or two our beloved, John Matthew gets his female. I know this isn't much of a summary but those of you who read the series know the plot, those that don't well, all those details would just be overwhelming!

I was really nervous about reading Lover Mine. This was John Matthew's story and I wanted it to be perfect. But how often does that happen? Like I mentioned, it seems I had such high expectations that I didn't know how Ward would be able to live up to them. But she did. Not only did I love John Matthew and Xhex's storyline but we finally got some more Qhuinn/Blay face time.

One thing I'm really sad about going forward from Lover Mine is, what I assume will be, the lack of John Matthew's point of view. Since Dark Lover, we've always had a glimpse into John Matthew's head. However, Ward usually doesn't revisit previous hero/heroine's POV after she's given them their HEA. One huge exception was the return of Wrath's POV in Lover Avenged as his sight continued to deteriorate. It's just so sad, for me, to think about not having John Matthew's POV anymore. I am looking forward to more from Qhuinn and Blay and I really hope we get their story!

Anyway, I've fallen, like many before me, into a post-Lover Mine funk. I'm not ready to move on from the Brothers just yet. So I started The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide, that's right I hadn't read that yet either. And reading through it I'm half tempted to re-read the entire series. However, I have sooo many books in my TBR pile the idea of re-reading so many books makes me feel guilty! But I'm seriously not ready to move on from the Brotherhood just yet. I am feeling another intesnse read though. I was thinking I might acutally tackle An Echo in the Bone, the newest Outlander book. But I'm not sure...

Lover Mine is vying with Lover Awakened as my favorite BDB novel!

Those of you that read Lover Mine did it live up to your expectations? Also, are there folks out there that STILL haven't read this series? If so, what are you waiting for? (No seriously, that's not a rhetorical question, I really wanna know!)

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Review: Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward

Now, as the vampire warriors defend their race against their slayers, one male's loyalty to the Brotherhood will be tested-and his dangerous mixed blood revealed...

Caldwell, New York, has long been the battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the Lessening Society. It's also where Rehvenge has staked out his turf as a drug lord and owner of a notorious night club that caters to the rich and heavily armed. His shadowy reputation is exactly why he's approached to kill Wrath, the Blind King and leader of the Brotherhood.

Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the Brotherhood-even though his sister is married to a member, for he harbors a deadly secret that could make him a huge liability in their war against the lessers. As plots within and outside of the Brotherhood threaten to reveal the truth about Rehvenge, he turns to the only source of light in his darkening world, Ehlena, a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him-and the only thing standing between him and eternal destruction.

Alright y'all, I won't pussy foot around it - I was disappointed with this book. As I mentioned in my Goodreads discussion I think a lot of it had to do with my expectations. With Lover Enshrined I went in not expecting much based on a lot of blogger reviews; most people said it was their least favorite in the series. Because I started it with such low expectations, I actually ended up liking it a lot more than I had anticipated.

With Lover Avenged I went in expecting more, something better than Lover Enshrined and was pretty disappointed. I really didn't love Rhev all that much. *ducks* I enjoyed him in the other books but as a main hero he kinda fell flat for me. As others have mentioned I loved him with Bella, Nalla, and his mother. But with Ehlena...meh. I actually liked Ehlena a lot though. I thought her reaction to finding out the truth bout Rhev to be pretty realistic. I'da been pissed too. To me she was one of the stronger heroines of the series, but I still just didn't LOVE their story.

One thing I really enjoyedwas the Wrath/Beth storyline. We haven't seen that much of them since Dark Lover and it was nice to see more of their relationship post-HEA.

I think another reason I didn't like this one as well is because aside from the Wrath/Beth sub-plot I didn't care much for the other ongoing plots. There wasn't enough with John/Xhex (I know Lover Mine, can't wait!), there was like NO TEAM QHUAY in this one. *stomps foot & pouts* Now, I almost always just skim the lesser sections. I'm paying a little more attention now that Lash is Mr. Evil. But there just wasn't enough keeping me engaged in this one.

Overall, one of my least favorite in the series. Actually when I think about it, I enjoyed Lover Enshrined more because of all the other overarching sub-plots. It's official, this one is my least favorite of the series. It was just not satisfying enough, thus earning it only:

Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward

As Primale of the Chosen, the fiercely loyal Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of his race. But his first mate, the Chosen Cormia, wants not only his body but his heart for herself. As tragedy looms over the Brotherhood’s mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love…

One of the things I love about The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is that there are several plot lines going on at once. This way, if I don't care for the main h/h plot line, I can still enjoy the book overall. I know for some people these multiple story lines don't work, but it's something I love in a series. This was the case with Lover Enshrined. I think this is my least favorite book in the series thus far, mostly because I wasn't really all that invested in Phury and Cormira's story. However, there were so many other great story-lines that, overall, I enjoyed the book.

Lash is going to make an excellent villain. He's so tormented and evil!

We really start getting the Qhay storyline going here. I'm so rooting for these two to get it on. Sigh.

As always I love John Matthew. I've been scanning some of the reviews of Lover Mine and there seem to be two camps: those that love John Matthew and those who are less than impressed with his beta status. I'm totally in the fangirl camp in regards to JM. I'm so pumped to read Lover Avenged and FINALLY, Lover Mine. However, I intersperse my reading with other titles. I can't just read Lover Enshrined, followed immediately by the other two. I get burnt out reading that much of one world. I have to mix it up. So I figure I've got about 5 or 6 books to read yet before I get both of these finished. God I love this series. Even my least favorite in the series doesn't dishearten me. I know Ward has some great things in store in the next two books. I can hardly wait. . . :D Sorry this wasn't much of a review. . . but it's all I had in me today!

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