Yorum: Lover at Last

Böyle uzun seriler genelde bayar insanı; bir yerden sonra devamını merak etmez olursunuz. J.R. Ward’un Blackdagger Brotherhood serisi, hep söylerim, arada baysa da merak uyandıran, bir sonraki kitapta “buyrun size heyecan!” diyen bir seri… Beni bu vampirlerle tanıştıran Kathy’ciğimin anlattıklarından ve internette gördüklerimden anladığım kadarıyla da hayranları bu durumu kabullenmiş durumda ve her seferinde heyecanla bir sonraki kitabı bekliyorlar.

Lover Reborn - J.R. Ward

Lover Reborn is the 10th book in J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Now, I must say that I wasn't too crazy about the previous one, Lover Unleashed. Mainly because a brand new character kind of dropped into the story, and the rest of the characters weren't as involved in the story as they usually are. Lover Reborn, in the other hand, is about a character we've known from the beginning, and he's also an important soldier of the Brotherhood. 

Even though Lover Unleashed had made me go 'ehhhhhh,' my faith in Ward's story telling was restored in Ward. I believe the lovers of the series are going to enjoy this one.

Bu seri hiç bitmesin!

J. R. Ward'un Black Dagger Broterhood serisi kitaplarının 10'uncusu Lover Reborn. Bir önceki kitap, Lover Unleashed, pek hoşuma gitmemişti açıkçası. Yepyeni bir karakter pat diye hikayeye girmişti çünkü. Lover Reborn'da ise serinin en başından beri tanıdığımız, Black Dagger Brotherhood'da önemli biri olan bir savaşçının kitabı. Bir önceki kitabın 'mehhhhhh' olmasını affettim valla çünkü Ward döktürmüş yine.

Seriyi sevenler bunu da severek okuyacaklar.

Of Amazon!

Kindle'ımla büyük aşk yaşıyor olsak da yeni kitaplara gelince bozuşuyoruz. Black Dagger Brotherhood'un 10'uncu kitabo Lover Reborn mesela. Çıktı çıkmasına ama Simay Amazon Kindle Store'dan alışveriş yapabiliyor mu? Hayır. 

Korsanlık yapayım dedim, onu da beceremedim. Bütün indirdiklerim bozuk çıktı. Hayat çok zor, çok!

J.R. Ward'un Türkçe'ye çevirilmeyen kitaplarından bir tane daha!

Bu seriyi cidden niye halen Türkçe'ye çevirmiyorlar anlamıyorum. Baymadı mı insanlar gençlik kitapları okumaktan? Tamam, Alacakaranlık furyasına katılanlardanım ben de ama bir yerden sonra hepsi birbirinin aynısı gibi değil mi? Ben de mi sorun?

Lover Unleashed Türkçe'ye çevirildiği zaman pek çok Türk hayranı da olacağına emin olduğum Black Dagger Brotherhood serisinin 9'uncu kitabı. Böyle uzun süren her seride fasa fiso bir kitap oluyor. Bundan önce Butch adlı karakterin kitabı öyle gelmişti bana. Arada 4 şahana kitap olduktan sonra yine 'ehhh' diyeceğimiz bir kitabın olmasını doğal karşılamak lazım. Fakat ben baştan bunun da çok iyi olmasını beklediğim için hayal kırıklığına uğradım. Siz öyle yapmayın.

Black Dagger Brotherhood serisinde her kitap bir savaşçıyı konu alıyor. Bu kitabın değişik yanı ise ilk defa bir kadının hikayesinin anlatılmasıydı. Ama olmadı, olamadı. İkiz kardeşi savaşçılardan biri olmasına rağmen (Vishous isimli olan) Brotherhood'la bir türlü kaynaşamadı. O nedenle bu koca vampirlerin çocuklar gibi eğlendiği zamanlar başta olmak üzere serinin sevilen pek çok yanı bu kitapta yoktu.

Bence ilk kitaptan başlayın. Buna gelene kadar o kadar seveceksiniz ki, aynen benim gibi 'arada olur böyle şeyler' diyerek bir sonraki kitabı beklerken bulacaksınız kendisini. Bu arada 10'uncu kitap bu yıl Mart ayında çıkıyor!

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Title: Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #9)
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: March 29th, 2011
Number of Pages: 489 (Kindle Edition)


Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

This review might have spoilers only for those who haven't read the previous books in the series.

I believe I made a mistake in thinking that Lover Unleashed, the 9th installment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward, could live up to Lover Mine (You can read my Lover Mine review here). I so did not expect to get bored either, which happened more than once, I regret to say. It took me forever to get a hold of this book, and when I read after months of anticipation, it was a bit of a letdown.

Lover Unleashed is the story of Vishous's twin sister, Payne. After her 'paralyzing injury,' Vishous's wife, who's also the Brotherhood's doctor, insists on getting her ex-colleague Dr. Manuel Manello to take a look at her. Even though she goes through a successful surgery, Payne still can't move her legs, until she's with Dr. Manello, whom she refers to as "healer" throughout most of the book. In the end, we discover Payne has a healing power (she heals Manello's sick horse and the doctor himself), and it only comes out when she's around the doctor. And then, just like it happened in the previous books, Wrath, the king, allows the doctor to stay with her at the compound to live happily ever after.

I say it this way because that's how easy it felt. In all the other books, I felt there was much more depth to the characters, both due to their being what they are and their internal conflicts. Especially after stories like John Matthew's and Zsadist's, this one just felt like "your legs are okay, we love one another, let's go!" 

Also, this felt like Vishous Part II instead of Payne's story. Vishous has always made me uncomfortable, and I've realized once again I'm not crazy about him and Jane as a couple either. And I'm also mad at him for making Butch go through all that which I won't reveal here. I guess my biggest problem with this book is that it was so outside of the Brotherhood. There was Payne and the doctor, Vishous and Jane, and then a little bit of Butch. I was very, very excited when Ward switched to Qhuinn and Blaylock in between, but those were tiny, tiny parts of the book. (Between, I honestly CANNOT wait for them to have their very own book.)

Because the story was so outside of the Brotherhood, everything I love about them -- the loud rap music, the cracking jokes, the playing Monopoly, the Last Meal atmosphere -- wasn't in the book. I mean, not once did we see Rhage suck on a lollipop or Zsadist burst into song. In addition, the new 'vampire clan' also felt out of place even though I'm guessing they're going to be big trouble for the Brotherhood in the future.

The tenth book in the series, Lover Reborn, will be Thorment's book. I'm hoping what Payne's story lacked will reveal itself with Thor since he's been in the Brotherhood for a long time, and there's no way Ward can leave them out. Even knowing John Matthew is an important part of his life makes me believe he'll be around more, and I can't help but get excited. Lover Reborn will be out on March 27th this year, and I'm hoping I get a hold of it in time.

Kitap Yorumu: J.R. Ward'un Türkçe'ye bir türlü çevrilmeyen kitaplarından...

Bunun da Türkçesi yok maalesef arkadaşlar. Bunları niye çevirmiyorlar anlamıyorum. Koca koca insanlar bile (bakınız ben) çoluk çocuk için yazılan vampir hikayelerini okuyor, bunları niye okumasınlar? İşin içine seks meks giriyor, olaylar azcık abarıyor diye olabilir gerçi ama bana mı düşmüş nedenini bulmak?

Bu kitap, J.R. Ward'un Black Dagger Brotherhood serisinin bir nevi perde arkası. Ward ablamız kitapları nasıl yazdığını, nasıl sattığını, vampir aşklarımızın kafasında neler yaptığını anlatmış gayet güzel. Kitaba başladığımda ne beklediğimi de pek bilmiyordum açıkçası. Bu kitapları başıma saran (iyi ki sarmış gerçi!) arkadaşım Kathy kitaplarda sözü geçen eski dili falan öğreneceğimi söylemişti. Başka birşeyler de söylemiştir kesin ama benim aklımda bir tek o kalmış. O yüzden çok heyecanlandım tabii ama bilmiyordum ki koskoca kitabın tek bir sayfası için heyecan yapmış olduğumu...

Öncelikle Ward'un yazı sürecini okumak şahaneydi benim açımdan. Yazarlar genellikle 'geliyor, yazıyorum' tarzı bir havayla anlatırlar bu süreci. Tamam, gelmeden yazılmaz ama 'hiç mi zorlanmıyorsun be adam!' diye bir omuzlarından tutup sallayası geliyor insanın. Ward da geliyor yazıyorum diyor ama aynı zamanda zorluk çektiği karakterleri, bölüm ve olay sıralamalarında çektiği zorlukları da ayrıntılı bir şekilde anlatıyor. Ve benim için en önemli olan tarafı, zorluk çektiği zamanlar olduğunu idare ediyor. Resmen kadına daha çok saygı duydum ve daha bir sevdim kendisini.

Beni en heyecanlandıran bölümlerden birisi bu yazım süreci olsa da kitap aslında Bella, Zsadist ve Bella'nın yayımlanmamış bir hikayesiyle başlıyor. Bu hikaye hem çok şirin, hem de çok depresifti. Zsadist'in kitabı üçüncü kitap ve o kitabı cidden içiniz acıya acıya okuyorsunuz. Adamın başından neler neler geçmiş, psikopat ve insanlardan kopuk olması kadar normal birşey yok yani. O nedenle yeni doğmuş bebeğiyle ilk başlarda ilişki kuramaması ancak sonrasında duruma alışmasını izlemek bayağı ilginçti.

Her bölüme teker teker yorum yapmayacağım çünkü sabaha kadar kalırız burada. O nedenle diğer favori bölümlerimden bahsedeyim... Bir Kicks and Giggles bir de BDB forumlarından alınan kısımlar şahaneydi. Özellikle brother'ların forumlara girip de saçma sapan muhabbetlere başlamalarını okurken kendi kendime güldüm durdum. Artık hergün aynı otobüse denk geldiğim insanlar kesin deli sanıyor beni ama değer valla. Kitabını okuduğumdan beri (merak ediyorsanız ikinci kitap) Rhage'e aşıktım zaten ve bu board olayında da o muzur karakteri direk ortalığa dökülüyor. Özellikle V'yle didiştiği kısımları okurken katıla katıla güldüm manyaklar gibi. İyi de geldi, ne yalan söyleyeyim.

Bu kamera arkası tarzı kitap Phury'ninli olan altıncı kitabın peşinden yayımlanmış. Ben ta sekizinci kitabı da bitirdikten sonra okudum. Doğrusunu isterseniz bir şey farkettiğini pek sanmıyorum. Tek söyleyebileceğim kitap şu an çıkmış olsaydı Rehv ve John Matthew hakkında da bir kaç birşey bulunurdu içinde, iyi olurdu. Artık bir altı kitap daha sonra yazsın bir tane daha! Bu seriyi mutlaka bulun, alın, okuyun.

Book Review - The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide

Blogger is finally unbanned in Turkey, but it still isn't working. So even though I've written this review last week, I'm finally just able to post it. In the midst of all this commotion, I've also realized that I totally missed the first year anniversary of my blog! It didn't really start taking shape until April, so I guess celebrating next month shall be fine. Now onto the review...

Prepare to enter the dark, passionate world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and get up close and personal with each of the Brothers....

You'll find insider information on the Brotherhood, including their dossiers, stats, and special gifts. you'll read interviews with your favorite characters, including a heartbreaking conversation with Tohrment and Wellsie, conducted three weeks before she was killed by lessers. You'll discover deleted scenes -- accompanied by the whys behind the cuts -- in addition to exciting material from the J.R. Ward message boards and the answers to questions about the series posed by readers. you'll learn what it's like for J.R. Ward to write each installment of the series, and in a fascinating twist, you'll read an interview with the author -- conducted by the Brothers. For the first time ever, you'll see an original novella about Zsadist and Bella, and witness the miracle of their daughter Nalla's birth and experience the depth of their love for each other. Also, you'll receive a sneak peek at the much anticipated next book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Lover Avenged, Rehvenge's story.

This is a compendium no black Dagger Brotherhood fan should miss...and an insider's guide that will seduce you as powerfully as the sexy band of Brothers and the "ferociously popular" world in which they live.

In J.R. Ward's The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide, you really do see the inside of EVERYTHING: from how Ward created the characters to her writing and publishing process and to what the brothers and shellans are up to outside of the books. When I first started the book, I wasn't too sure of what to expect, honestly. All I remembered was my friend Kathy -- she's the one who got me obsessed with the series-- telling me we got to see the Old Language. For one reason or the other, that was the part I was most excited about.

Boy, was I keeping my expectations low! First of all, I absolutely loved hearing about Ward's process. No offense to any of them, but authors tend to not be able to explain HOW they write, and they tend to end up giving vague answers like "I just put what's in my head on paper." Ward does say the same thing as well, but she goes on further: she talks about how she struggled with certain characters and story lines and how shit actually got "hard" at certain points. To me, that makes her real and honest, and I appreciate it.

I'm going out of order here, actually, since the book starts with a story of Zsadist, Bella and Nalla. I must say, Father Mine was absolutely heart-breaking and lovely at the same time. Knowing Zsadist's past, you can imagine him having problems with having a 'young,' but seeing how he evolves and comes in terms with it was amazing.

I think I shouldn't go into every single section, 'cos this could go on forever! So, my other favorite parts were J.R. interviewing the brothers, Kick and Giggles, Slices of Life from the Board. Especially the brothers going on the forums and starting shit up got me laughing out loud and lead to people on the bus staring at me like I'm some sort of freak, but I couldn't care less. I've been head-over-heels in love with Rhage, a.k.a. Hollywood, ever since I've read his book, and that has not changed. Therefore, the shenanigans he started up got me giggling like a school girl. And him and V going at it to get back at one another was just flat out hilarious.

The Insider's Guide came out after the sixth book, Lover Enshrined, which is Phury's book. I didn't read it till after Lover Mine, though, and I don't think it makes that much of a difference except it would be pretty cool to get some insight on Rehv and john Matthew as well, which came after the Guide was published. All in all, if you love the BDB series, you're definitely going to enjoy the extras in this one.

Once more, with the official cover!

Crazy-for-Books is not loading for me today for some reason, so I'm gonna have to hop around tomorrow. In the meantime...

Remember when I got all excited when they released the synopsis for the 9th Black Dagger Brotherhood book, Lover Unleashed? Well, now we have the official cover, and I'm even more excited. On the left is the US cover, and the one on the right is the UK version. The release date for the book is March 29th, 2010.

 

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself-only to face a devastating injury. Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can-but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates them?

I cannot wait.

Hurry up, J.R. Ward!

Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #9) by J.R. Ward to be released on March 29, 2011

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself-only to face a devastating injury. Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can-but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates them? 

If you haven't read this series yet, the description above will make no sense. But if you have, you can go ahead and start squeeing like I have. 

Why am I getting nuts over a book that doesn't even have a cover? Am I crazy? A little bit, but that's not the point. All the BDB books up to now have belonged to a male warrior. Payne is the first female to get her own book, and this time we're up for a female vampire - male human romance.

Exciting, no? March 29th feels so so so far away right now, but I'm hoping it'll get here in the blink of an eye.

For more information about the Black Dagger Brothood Series, click here.

* * *

Eğer Black Dagger Brotherhood serisinin kitaplarını okumadıysanız, yukarıdaki ürün özelliklerinden hiçbirşey anlamamanız normal birşey. Fakat okuduysanız siz de benim gibi kendinizi kaybederek sevinebilirsiniz.

Peki neden kapağı bile olmayan bir kitap için böyle heyecanlanıyorum? Delirdim mi? Delilik her zaman var biraz ancak konumuz o değil. Şimdiye kadar BDB kitaplarının her biri bir erkek savaşçının hikayesiydi. Payne hikayesi anlatılan ilk kız ve bu sefer vampir kız - insan erkek aşkını okuyacağız.

Heyecanlı değil mi? 29 Mart şu anda çok çok çooooook uzak görünüyor ama umarım göz açıp kapayıncaya kadar burada olur.

Black Dagger Brotherhood serisi hakkında daha fazla bilgi için buraya tıklayın.

Black Dagger Brotherhood News

Just found some exciting speculations about the Black Dagger Brotherhood series at Book Thingo.

The fact being that I'm already having BDB withdrawals, of course I'm excited. But I was honestly hoping Qhuinn and Blay would get their own book instead of a novella. Oh, well...

Book Review: Lover Mine by J.R. Ward

Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
(Black Dagger Brotherhood Series #8)

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. Long divided as a terrifying battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

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.

Two words: JOHN MATTHEW.

We'd met him in Lover Eternal, the second book of the series, when he was a tiny, mute kid living on his own in a destroyed apartment building, carrying a big secret. Now, though, he's become a strong, powerful vampire fighting with the Blind King and the Brotherhood. Oh, and, he's in love.


What I love about this series is that in each book we get to know more and more about particular characters while we meet new ones, new mysteries build up while the older ones resolve. Even though they're all written in the third person, Ward switches points of view in such a crafty way that we usually get to live the important parts of events twice, each more exciting than the other. The way she lays out the chapters and the sequence of events makes you whoosh through a chapter and keep going just so you can find out what's going to happen next.


Most of the time, when I was reading about the lessers (the Brotherhood's enemies), I used to try to read quickly so I could get back to the vampires. Since Lash joined them, though, even they've gotten a lot more exciting. Especially in this book, Lash has so much to do with everything that instead of thinking "Die already," I found myself think, "Oh, they're so coming to getcha!" And he's even fun at certain points, which doesn't make him any less evil, but impossible to ignore and even enjoy.


I liked the way Xhex and John's romance worked out: she's a powerful, kinda manly-featured assassin who is used to taking care of herself and not letting anyone in. He's been in love with her ever since the first time he saw her, but he also knows who she is and doesn't expect anything from her. That's doesn't mean, of course, that he doesn't find her and save her and revenge her and give her what she wants. And it's a good thing he does because that's how she realizes that she, too, is in love with him. Most of the hard times they went through in the past bring them together, as well as other surprising things that I'm not going to get into here.


As much as I love John Matthew and loved seeing the world through his eyes, another super-exciting part of the book for me was the relationship between Qhuinn and Blay: it's as if they started cracking and soon there will be a big explosion, which I cannot wait for. I hear Ward's discussing with her editors whether or not they should get their own book or just a novella, and I honestly think they deserve their own book: whoever has a problem with gay characters should feel free to not read it.


Having said that, though, it does look like the next one will be Payne's--The Scribe Virgin's daughter-- book. Up to now it's been the brothers, and not it's going to be a female related to the Brotherhood. It might reveal more about The Scribe Virgin and what she had been up to (no good!), but I'm afraid we're gonna lose John Matthew, whom I'm used to being around. Hopefully J.R. Ward's dedication at the beginning of the book will keep its promise:


I cannot believe you and I have come so far.
Your book is not a goodbye, however--
just another beginning.
But you're used to that...

Another international giveaway, and it's Monday; what are you reading?

I'm loving the fact that there are more and more international giveaways lately. Even if I don't win, just being able to enter is very exciting since most of them are "US Only." Anyways... This time Book Chick City is celebrating their first year by hosting a give away for 6 days! Check it out here.

 It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is hosted at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books, and it's where bloggers gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I'm reading Lover Mine (Black Dagger Brotherhood #8) by J.R. Ward. I have been reading this very slowly because it's the latest one in the series, and I have no idea when we'll get the next one. If you've read the series and are a fan, you know the Brotherhood withdrawals get unbearable, so I'm taking my time with it.

I think that in the meantime I might also start reading the first book of the Vampire Academy since I was able to find and buy it a while ago.

Lover Avenged Review

Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood #7) by J.R. Ward
J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood novels have introduced readers to a "different, creative, dark, violent, and flat-out amazing" (All About Romance)world. 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...

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. 

There isn't much to say about this one: Ward just keeps getting better and better. This wasn't my favorite in the series 'cos I wasn't able to really get too interested in sympaths, but Rehvenge and Ehlena's love story is to die for, and even though some bad things within the brotherhood keep happening, they get through it.

I really want John Matthew and Tohrment to be okay again. Hopefully in Lover Mine! 

 

Teaser Tuesdays (3) & other things

• I've finally found a layout that I like, so hopefully I won't be changing it every week. It should be less annoying for those of you who check it out, and I'm sorry I've been a pain in the butt for so long.
• Leanna at DaisyChainBookReviews was the first person to suggest I read Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. She has posted a link to the first chapter of the second book, Crescendo, and you can get it here.
• I'm giving a teaser from the book I gave a teaser from last week because it's just been one of those weeks where I kept carrying the book around with me and only got to read a few pages here and there.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 Rehv stalked up to her, took her face in his hands, and kissed her hard. When he pulled back, he said darkly, "Only because of you."

Book #16 of 2010

Lover Enshrined (Black Dagger Brotherhood Novel #6) by J.R. Ward
Published 2008/534 pages

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood’s bloodlines alive.  As Primale of the Chosen, he is obligated to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that traditions of the race survive, and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.
As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself.  She is drawn to the noble responsibility behind the emotionally scarred male.  But Phury has never allowed himself to know pleasure or joy.  As the war with Lessening Society grows grim, tragedy looms over the Brotherhood’s mansion, and Phury must decide between duty and love….

I don't even know where to start with this one-- I guess I should start by saying that all of you paranormal romance fans should definitely read these books and start from the first one, Dark Lover. I'd given it to my sister who finished it a few days ago, and her comment was "I think I'm gonna fall in love with all of [the brothers] as I read the books." I have to second her on that one because that's just how it works.

Lover Enshrined, unlike the first five books of BDB, especially Lover Eternal and Lover Awakened, wasn't that big of a romance novel. This sounds negative, but it's not, really, because there was so much more going on.

Phury, unlike the other warrior brothers, puts himself before others first. Having saved his twin Zsadist from slavery after searching for him for an eternity and losing his lower leg in the process, he has his own demons and turns to drugs to ease the pain. As he turns to drugs more and more often, he also steps up to the role of the Primale so his brother Vishous can be with his shellan, which means he's expected to mate with the Chosen-- except he falls for Cormia, the first mate, and doesn't go through with the whole Primale thing. It was rather amazing to see what was going on inside his head, and I very much enjoyed reading him connecting with Zsadist finally.

Apart from Phury, finding out more about the Chosen and the "other side" was rather exciting for me as well. The more I found out about it, the more hated it though because it reminded me of my strict, annoying high school. I was glad in the end when Phury talked to the Scribe Virgin and brought them out of there. I especially enjoyed the last chapter where we get a glimpse of the Chosen's daily activities living all together at Rehvenge's property.

Rehvenge... The next book (and I'm STILL waiting for it to show up at my door) is his. I'm not sure how I feel about him. He's always seemed cool, and I like his sense of humor and everything, but I don't know how exactly I feel about sympaths. I guess I just don't get their whole deal yet. Hopefully Rehv's book will clear that up a little bit.

Like I've said, there's so much going on in this book. My favorite parts were definitely the ones about warrior-to-bes John Matthew, Qhuinn and Blaylock. And I'm very very excited about John Matthew's book, Lover Mine, showing up at my door with Rehvenge's.

I genuinely do think J.R. Ward just keeps getting better and better. Yes, the romances are to die for. But that's not the one main focus of the books, which I think is one of the reasons why they're so addictive. I'm so looking forward to more exciting plots now that Thorment is back and Lash (hate him!) is playing for the enemy's team.

Covet

COVET
by J.R. Ward
October 2009

Redemption isn’t a word Jim Heron knows much about—his specialty, both personally and professionally, is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. His weapon: the power of love. His enemy: the darkest of evil. And failure is not an option.

Vincent Di Pietro has surrendered himself to his business—until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior, and a woman who will make him question his destiny. With an ancient evil ready to claim him, Vin has to work with a fallen angel not only to win his beloved over…but to redeem his very soul. 

Has anyone read this? 

My friend Kathy, who got me started with J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series said she wasn't too crazy about it. Honestly, I've never read any fictional angel books before-- Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick is going to be my first when it gets here. Still, I'm thinking if Ward is as good with angels as she is with the vampires, it might be worth checking out.

For those of you who are interested, you can read an excerpt form the book at the author's website.

 

Lover Mine

I'm currently reading the sixth book (Lover Enshrined) in J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and I've already ordered the seventh and eighth books. The eighth book, Lover Mine, was recently released on April 27th.

I was searching for something completely different when I came across a video of J.R. Ward talking about the book on Penguin's YouTube channel. Now, since I have to read two more books before I can get to that one, I tried not to watch it, but I failed miserably. The spoilers aren't too bad, and I'm excited about the fact that she says she doesn't really see the series ending because there are so many possibilities.

She makes another good point about Lover Mine: we really did follow John Matthew through so many books, still are (well, I am due to where I am in the series) witnessing his physical and emotional development. I'm very excited to finally read all about him.

Book #15 of 2010

Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous son of the Bloodletter possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a pretrans growing up in his father's war camp, he was tormented and abused. As a member of the Brotherhood, he has no interest in love or emotion, only the battle with the Lessening Society. But when a mortal injury puts him in the care of a human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels him to reveal his inner pain and taste true pleasure for the first time- until a destiny he didn't choose takes him into a future that cannot include her.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Is Vishous an interesting character? Yes-- he's a tech-savvy, bisexual warrior vampire who's into BDSM and can heal or electrocute humans/vampires with his magic glowing hand. Since the beginning of the series, I've thought he was pretty cool and especially enjoyed reading his interactions with Butch. In this book, however, I wasn't as curious about him as I'd expected I would be because there was so much more going on. The biggest shocker about him is the fact that we (and he himself, too) find out The Scribe Virgin is his birth mother. His back story with his father, Bloodletter, was rather interesting as well, but, like I've said, failed to be the center of my attention because there was so much more going on.

• Phury loses his virginity after a forever-long celibacy. He's still hung up on Bella, which makes me rather sad to read about because she's his twin's shellan. Because of all this, he takes Vishous's place as the Primale, which I have mixed feelings about, yet I cannot wait to read about him and The Chosen, Cormia, in the next book.
• John Matthew was the most interesting part of the book. He finally went through his transaction and is a warrior-sized vampire, who uses the daggers with his left hand like Darius used to. I remember Darius making a request to the Scribe Virgin in the first book, so I have my suspicions about this, but I'll just wait and see instead of dwelling too much on it.
• Lash is a whole different story. I felt like something was up with him, too, and I'm hoping I'm right and that I'll find out what it is in the following books.
• Jane, the female Vishous falls in love with, was alright. The way she comes back after she's killed by a lesser feels kinda funny to me, though. I'm not too crazy about the whole "Jane, the Friendly Ghost" kinda deal. 
• The lessers weren't around as much in this book, so I'm expecting them to make a strong comeback.

Bad, BAD Zim!

I've gone and bought books AGAIN. After paying off credit card, it's seriously the first thing I do as soon as I get paid. At least, this time, I didn't go overboard like I did last month. So, these are what I'll be expecting in the mail this month:

Lover Avenged (#7) and Lover Mine (#8) are the only books of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series that I don't have. I'm on book 5 right now (Lover Unbound), and I'm pretty sure I'll be done with that and book 6 by the time these arrive.

I'm also rather excited about Hush, Hush since everyone I know kept saying I'll love it. I wish I could have a week or two all to myself to just read. Dream on, no?

P.S. I've just realized I lied. I don't have The Black Dagger Brotherhood Insider's Guide either, but my friend Kathy --who got me obsessed with the series by sending me the first book-- said she'll get it for me, so I'm good.