TBR Challenge Review: Lover Unleashed

Format: Hardcover (available as a mass market paperback, ebook
Pub Date: March 2011
Publisher: NAL
Length: 489 pages
FTC: Borrowed from Mom

I've had Mom's copy of this book sitting in my TBR for nearly a year now. Which, in terms of TBR Guilt, is a pretty long time. I don't think she's read it yet, either. There's a new Black Dagger Brotherhood book coming out this month, and this month's TBR Challenge theme was series catch up. Coincidence? Maybe. But it worked to make me get off my duff and read this book.

Part of my reluctance about reading this book was the hero's name: Manuel Manello. DUMBEST. NAME. EVER.  Sorry, was I shouting? But seriously, in a world where superfluous Hs dominate and everyone's name sounds angry, this name takes the prize as the worst name ever. And that's not even counting that a diminutive of Manuel is Manolo...which makes his name Manolo Manello. *snicker*

These books are silly. There's no getting around that. Ward's writing style is so over-the-top that I find myself guffawing over the word usage, product placement, or WTF dialog. But they are also angsty and addictive. And every so often Ward writes a paragraph or three that really hits me in the gut with its simplicity and power. When you strip away the trappings of the BDB world, Ward can write emotion so well you feel like sobbing ugly, heaving sobs. (Not that I can find any quotes right now, because my kids removed my bookmarks. *growl*)

The saving grace of this book is that it really isn't about Manello or Payne, our supposedly kick-ass but really quite passive heroine. It's V's book, part II. And I'm fine with that. He got screwed in his own book, so I'm fine with him getting another one. There's some interesting relationship stuff with Butch and V, too, and we get a few emo scenes of the Qhuinn, Blay drama.

I'd say this was the worst of the series, but that honor will always belong to Phury's book (Lover Enshrined) thanks to the whining. As long as you ignore that this book was supposed to be about Manello and Payne, it does just fine. The gaping absence of the other Brothers seems a bit weird, especially when they pop in midway through the book all beat up, only to disappear again. Lover Unleashed is just not as good as the first few in the series, and I'm deducting points for the wimpy ass heroine even if that is a Ward tradition.

My Grade: C

Review: Lover Eternal by JR Ward [Audiobook]

Audiobook Review: Lover Eternal by JR Ward
Black Dagger Brotherhood series #2

• Narrated by Jim Frangione
• Run Time: 14 hrs 11 min
• Unabridged
• Publisher: Recorded Books
• Format: Downloaded via Audible.com
• Also available directly through Recorded books in CD and cassette formats.

As with all of my Black Dagger Brotherhood audiobook reviews, this is essentially a reread. I've read them all in print, but listening to them is a bit different.  This is one of my favorite BDB books, but I think the cinematic melodrama suffered a bit with the audio format.

Rhage is known as Hollywood within the Black Dagger Brotherhood ranks. He's a vamp who has sex often with multiple partners--sometimes in public--and is considered the playboy of the group. But his laid back attitude is actually a façade, carefully crafted to keep his darker nature in check. Because once he loses his temper, his curse takes over--turning him into a dragon-like creature with little sentience and no ability to tell friend from foe.

Lover Mine by JR Ward

 This is going to be a short, sweet review because I don't want to try to write a detailed review that avoids spoilers. I'm just too lazy.

This is absolutely not a book to read as a stand-alone. Too much back story is needed to explain what happened to Xhex as well as the current state of multiple relationships. So, if you have not read the rest of the series, do not start with this one.

Ward has always been big on the melodrama. She has an almost cinematic style of writing, where actions often speak louder than words. And, given John Matthew is mute, that writing style is even more apparent here. In fact, the lack of extensive dialogue adds to the charm.

John Matthew definitely feels years older in this book. Which is both weird and necessary. We first meet John Matthew as a skinny pretrans in Lover Eternal (#2 in the series). We watch him develop from a lonely, but almost adolescent, vampire to one who has experienced trauma, seen violence, and been forced to grow up emotionally way too early. Who is still incredibly lonely.

I could have done without all of the subplots and story archs. It just felt like too much. And, although they do tie with the main plot at the end, I didn't feel like they added any real depth, except for the Qhuinn and Blay scenes. Midway through, I began skimming those side stories.

Without those scenes, this would probably have been one of my favorite Black Dagger Brotherhood books. I was amazed by how Ward was able to show Xhex as both strong and vulnerable. And the interactions between John and Xhex, their conversations, are probably the most romantic I've read in a long, long time. Bordering on the sappy, perhaps, but while you're reading them, they seriously tug the heart strings.

My Grade: B+

Dark Lover by JR Ward [audiobook]

I've already read Dark Lover in print format, but the great thing about audiobooks is that you often get an entirely different experience listening to them--as if they are a completely different book.  I don't often listen to male narrators. I'm not sure why, but I tend to prefer women as narrators because too often the men employ an annoying falsetto for the female characters. Luckily, Jim Frangione does not do this. But he does have an understated style that takes a bit of getting used to. And an almost William Shatner-esque cadence to his speech that--once I got used to it--I found quite charming.

Dark Lover is the first of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books. And, as most BDB fans will tell you, it's not the best of the series. But, surprisingly, I enjoyed this book more on audio than I did in print. There's just something about the format that helped me focus on the words instead of the sometimes annoying extra H's in the names or the over-the-top product placement that the series is known for.

Before deciding to purchase (or rent) this, I highly suggest going to audible.com and listening to a preview. It will help you decide if the narrator will work for you.

Dark Lover is available in CD and cassette format direct from Recorded Books. You can also find a much more economical digital download on Audible.

Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward

After blasting through the rest of the series at breakneck speed, I rushed out and bought the newest Black Dagger Brotherhood book in hardcover. It's the story of Rehvenge: drug-dealer, business tycoon, in-law to a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. It's hard to believe, but J.R.Ward continues to reinvent how we view paranormal romance. Each story is different. There is no confusing one character for another. The same plot is not rehashed over and over with minor changes in cast and location. To me, it seems nothing short of miraculous that she's managed to create a world filled with truly unique, believable characters without falling into the plot and character traps so many authors seem to fall victim to.

Rehvenge is an anti-hero. Someone who, in another genre, would be the villain. He's not just a little bit bad. He's ordered assassinations; he's a pimp and a drug dealer. Making the reader sympathize with that sort of character is no mean task, but Ward pulls it off brilliantly. And she doesn't pull any punches with the reality of what Rehvenge does.

One of the best assets a series has is the sense of history created by past installments. This is not a series to read out of order, because Ward uses that historical real estate masterfully. The relationships formed in previous books are shown as they really are: evolving, complex, and needing in maintenance. She makes sure that we know the "optimistic outcome" we've seen isn't set in stone. That the people in those relationships are capable of screwing them up. That just makes everything you've read seem that much more believable in a genre that usually demands a HEA (Happily Ever After.)

I'm also continually impressed by the themes Ward tackles head-on. Racism, sexuality and sexual identity, the concept of evil, domestic violence, drug addiction, medical ethics, freedom of choice, political machinations and the role of wealth. Nothing is off limits.

The subplots and story archs are also compelling--particularly those of John Matthew and Xhex. I love authors who whet the appetite for future installments as much as I hate them for making me wait to find out what happens next. What is really fascinating to me is that if you stripped away the paranormal aspect, this series would still work. You could move the time period, and it would still be compelling. The series would thrive based on the characters and writing alone. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series is one of the best series I've ever read--regardless of genre.

Lover Eternal: Black Dagger Brotherhood #2

The second installment in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series was just as satisfying as the first. The characters continue to be engaging, the plot full of suspense, the narrative voice truly edgy and unique.

My only complaint is that Ward was a little too skimpy on the important details revealed in the previous book, meaning those who start the series with THIS book will likely be a little lost. It's always a tricky balancing act to provide back story without sacrificing the current story's excitement. That's one of the pitfalls of series.

The good news for those with vampire fatigue is that this is not a series where the same character types appear over and over. Each character is VERY distinct. They are not interchangeable and you can't predict the twists and turns based on previous characters and plot lines.

The strangest thing for me is how Ward channels urban male culture here. I'm a rural country girl, so the urban slang and dialogue seems just as foreign as the more formal translated "vampire" language. That's part of what makes this series so engaging though. You can see that Ward has a good grasp on how men really are when they hang out away from women. What's important to them, how they communicate on a minimal level but understand each other nonetheless. In a lot of romance, you really don't get that deep into the men's thought processes. Or, if you do, they have a female-interpreted veneer over them. Ward's men are unfiltered, raw, and utterly believable.

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

I normally prefer my vampire romances on the lighter side. Give me a Katie MacAlister or Lynsay Sands and I'm happy. Of course, it could be I prefer those two authors because they have quite distinct narrative voices. Those vampire romances don't sound the same as the other hundred or so published every year.

After reading glowing praise for the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward, I decided to take a chance on a 'serious' vampire romance. I was immediately struck by how very unique--edgy-- the writing was. While Ward's stories are a far cry from the almost giddy stories by Sands, they are just as distinct in their style. The urban feel, language, grittiness made me feel like this was truly a cross between a police procedural, a fantasy novel, and a vampire romance.

It's a rare book that lingers with me longer than a day or two. I read so many. This one left me not only thinking about it, recommending it, but also seeking out the next few in the series.