Brigid Downey

Synposis

The only purebred vampire left on the planet and the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who killed his parents centuries ago. But when his most trusted fighter is killed—orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate—Wrath must put down his dagger and usher the beautiful female into another world.

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 the Brotherhood and blood frighten her. Yet his touch ignites a dawning new hunger—one that threatens to consume them both…

Goodreads

Review

This book. Damn. 

The Black Dagger Brotherhood series was recommended to me by the gorgeous Josie @ Josie Pozies (aka my gorgeous girlfriend) and damn did I get sucked in! I’ve been really into paranormal romance for a while now and practically devouring books in this genre. (Which is great because that’s what genre my WIP is in). It’s also no secret that I love vampires so of course Josie would run to her bookshelf and pull out this wonderful series for me.

Taking place in modern-day New York State, the series itself focuses on a different brother from the Black Dagger Brotherhood in every book. However, the POV switches between all of the different characters. This first one, Dark Lover, follows Wrath as he falls in love with Beth. Beth, in turn, has just discovered the father she never knew was one of the Brotherhood and thus a vampire, and she’s beginning to turn into one herself. Wrath is then faced with not only falling in love with her (even though he believes himself too broken to be capable of love), but also helping her through her transition and welcoming her into the new and dangerous world of vampires.

On top of all that, there is a war raging with a group called the Lessers who are hell-bent (pun intended) on destroying the Brotherhood and vampires in general.

This book has flaws. The Lesser arc is kind of annoying if you’re like me and you only care about the romance because some chapters focus primarily on building that side of the story. The characters are also so very flawed, but I really liked that about them. The boys definitely struggle with toxic masculinity as they learn how to deal with the women in their lives, but at the end of the day, they are fiercely protective and honestly pretty endearing. I love the brother bond between them and the moments where they are major dorks. Some of my favorite male fictional characters are protective dorks! I definitely have a type.

The character development in this book is pretty kick-ass. Just in one book, they are completely different at the end than they were at the beginning after learning so many lessons about themselves and the world around them. Beth is honestly amazing because she’s fierce and strong and doesn’t take any of the boy’s shit, but she’s also really feminine and soft which I love about her. I love the characters so much because they have so much depth which is so rare for a romance novel. Beth is strong and feminine. The boys are flawed, but also so sweet and charming. Some people might be put off by some of their actions, but I find the fact that they learn and grow from thier mistakes to be the best part of the story. I can’t wait to read the next one!

Have you read this book or series? What did you think?

Check out J.R. Ward’s Website here.

Read my other Black Dagger Brotherhood Reviews here.