Me and a Vamp named Z
“Lover Awakened” of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward
You know you’ve got it bad when instead of going about your normal routine, your day is spent huddled over the computer feverishly looking for new information about The Brotherhood (no, I am not a member of the Aryan Nation).
For the uninitiated, welcome to the wonderful world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, where daggers, hip hop and hot, killer vampire warriors come out to play and political correctness gets checked at the door. Remember all those old Romance novel stereotypes, where the vampires were called Jean-Claude, Pierre or Pepe le Peu, and swished around in poncy capes and had the general menace of a 2 day old diabetic kitten? Well this is a new breed of vampire. Say hello to Wrath, Rhage, Zsadist, Vishous, Phury, Tohrment, Rehvenge and Butch, the vampires of the 21st century. (And no Ma’moiselle Mimi, the names aren’t spelt that way because of their lisping fangs!!)
The Black Dagger Brotherhood are a group of warriors who protect ordinary vampires (known as civilians) from the society of Lessers (which are basically albino vampire hunters who smell of Johnson and Johnson— yes, they are scarier than they sound.) And the biggest bad-ass of the Brothers is Zsadist, whose face is marred by a scar running from his eye to his lip, drawing it up into a perpetual snarl. He’s got serious anger management issues, and even the other Brothers keep their distance from him. Let’s just say he’s not going to be appearing on “Touched by an Angel” anytime soon. At the start of “Lover Awakened”, Zsadist is searching for Bella, a vampire female whom he met in the previous book in the series, “Lover Eternal“. Bella has been abducted by the lessers and has been missing for more than a month, but fortunately, Zsadist manages to rescue her at the beginning of the book, so that we get to read about their developing relationship almost immediately.
Honestly, I find JR Ward’s heroines a bit boring, especially when contrasted with the vividness of the heroes, and Bella is no different. But everyone knows you don’t read romances for the heroines. It’s Zsadist, with his tortured past and savage nature who grabs you from the first page, and doesn’t let go. He’s feral and has been described as “ruined” by his own brother, and yet he allows Bella to get close to him when no one else can. The scenes where he nurses her back to health, or discovers what torture she went through are amazingly well-written. You get the sense that this vampire who has never allowed himself to care about anything or anyone, has finally met his female, and God help anyone who tries to harm her. Although because he thinks that he isn’t good enough for her, it does take a while for him to stop pushing her away. (Take me instead Zsadist!! I’m crappy myself, so you’d be too good for me! None of this inferiority business!) And when they finally consummate their relationship in a 16-hour sexathon, my advice is to keep both the air-conditioning and the fan switched on. And the ending scenes? Sublime. I should buy stock in Kleenex, because I must have gone through so many boxes. They get a truly wonderful happy ending, and it’s not syrupy at all.
Don’t read this book by itself. You need to start with the first 2 in the series— “Dark Lover” and “Lover Eternal” to get a feel for the visceral, violent and utterly engaging world that JR Ward has created. And since Bella and Zsadist’s relationship first began in “Lover Eternal”, you’ll miss seeing the transition in their relationship. Hot damn, sign me up for a band of vampire brothers, who are clad in Armani, drive around in Porsches and Escalades, listen to 50 cent and Jay-Z 24/7, and are packing some serious gun-power. (Their glocks, I mean their glocks!)
My only complaint is that it’s 6 months to the next book! Withdrawal symptoms kick in, and even loading my brother’s entire collection of hip hop and rap into my car doesn’t help. (Hello, I used to listen to Air Supply for God’s sake!) And when you start to address everyone you meet as “brother”, you know you’ve gone over to the dark side. Rock on my brothers!
Ma'mselle Mimi said,
March 20, 2007 @ 6:41 pm
Vishous is mine!! MINE!!
Sayuri said,
May 30, 2008 @ 10:04 am
Aww, the ending, the note….It kills me every time. Sob. My. Heart. Out.
*sigh* I love Z but Butch will always be my fav, with a little V on the side. Manwich!
La Lola said,
May 30, 2008 @ 10:42 am
Wow Sayuri, you’re really taking this “claim on Butch” thing seriously!
Sayuri said,
May 30, 2008 @ 6:29 pm
Totally. Next time you do that ritual thing, I want in.
Gummy Bear said,
October 19, 2008 @ 2:40 am
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Z!!! MINE! my heart wrenches every time i read this book (i like to re-read.. um.. certain parts) and Z always gets me. it’s soo good. you know, i really liked Bella (why is it that Bella is such a popular heroine name…? wild card, twilight…..). she was better to me than Mary. well, i have my border’s coupons in hand and am going to buy 4-6 and maybe the guide (just for Z).
La Lola said,
October 19, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
“Lover Awakened” has my vote for best BDB book ever! Sadly, wondering if she jumped the shark after that.