Title: Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1)
Author: J.R. Ward
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Publication Date: September 6th 2005
Content: Sex Scenes

Goodreads Summary:
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.

My Thoughts

“It was chemistry, she thought numbly. Pure, raw, animal chemistry.”

So a while back I was asking for recommendations of adult books that I should read. I mostly read YA but I was ready to dive in and begin to read some adult books. Eventually I did a poll asking which book I should read first and Dark Lover won. The poll and the fact that Alexa said I must read it made me eager to give it a chance and OMG I loved it! I even read it twice before even writing this review.

I have said it before (many times) and I will say it again, I love Vampires and the fact that Dark Lover wasn’t just like any other vampire story brought me joy. Of course like I said I haven’t read many adult books and that could be a big reason why it was so new to me but I really though J.R. Ward did a great job introducing me to a new kind of vampire.

There was so much going on in this book. There were unknown terms I had to learn (glossary in the beginning that I skimmed) that could make things a little confusing for a second but you eventually just pick it all up. There were also many points of view in this story. So many that you would think it would get annoying or confusing but it is all written so well that it all flows together. I really enjoyed how all the pov’s tied together in some way. There are many characters and how everything and everyone connected was great.

“Man, he was so cold. Cold down to his marrow. And she was hot. Hot enough to make that ice go away, at least for a little while.”

Wrath isn’t the type to do favors and he definitely isn’t the warm and fuzzy type so when Darius asks him to help his daughter through her transition Wrath has no qualms about turning him down. But then Darius is gone and Wrath feels like he owes him. All Wrath has to do is protect her long enough to help her make it through her transition and then he can cut all ties but once he actually meets Beth things get more complicated than he could have predicted.

“This half-human was the hottest thing he’s ever gotten anywhere near. And he’d cozied up to a lightning strike once or twice before.”

Beth doesn’t have much of a social life. She works at a paper where her boss is a dick and she isn’t given much credit. Work and home is pretty much it for her and she hopes for change, for something exciting. Growing up in a foster home she has no idea about the change that is about to happen to her. She doesn’t know Wrath and definitely doesn’t know what to think of him but when she meets him she does know one thing, she is insanely attracted to him. She wanted excitement and she definitely gets it.

I loved both Beth and Wrath. Wrath just had so much responsibility he didn’t want to take on and didn’t feel like he could even manage if he tried. He has a past he can’t come to terms with and hard decisions to make about his future. I loved Beth because she didn’t back down. No one told her what to do and even in the worst situations she could hold her own. She was far from weak.

“Yeah, no Tom, Dick, and Harry names for the vampire types.
But come on, could you actually imagine some lethal bloodsucker named Howard? Eugene?
Oh, no, Wallie, please don’t bite me.“

Dark Lover had great characters, both ones I loved and hated, with depth and histories. It was full of action, romance, steamy scenes, and funny dialog. Oh and don’t even get me started on all the brothers. This book had a focus on Wrath but from what little I got to read about the personalities of Rhage, Phury, Vishous, Tohrment, and Zsadist I can’t wait to read more!