Dark Lover: A Novel Of The Black Dagger Brotherhood

This book was hard for me to get into. I loved Twilight, and I expected that I would love this book as well. When it still wasn't doing it for me after a quarter of the way through the book, I wondered whether my expectations were too high after seeing all of the amazing reviews for this series!

It was hard for me to keep all of the characters straight in the beginning of the book. I think that was one of the issues that made it difficult for me to become engrossed in the story. It wasn't until halfway through the book when the main characters, Wrath and Beth, started to show some vulnerability that I began to connect with them. Once this happened, then I was hooked and I really began to enjoy the story. As we learned more about each member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, we began to see their weaknesses which made them seem more "human" and discovered that there really is much more to each one than just what we see on the surface.

One thing that I do like about this book more than I did about Twilight is the strength of the leading female role. Beth Randall is not Bella Swan, and I mean that in a good way. I did not care for Bella's utter dependence on Edward. Beth is a strong, tell-it-like-it-is, I'm-not-going-to-take-any-of-your-bull kind of woman. She is great!

It would have been handy to have a glossary with this book that laid out all of the odd terminology used such as "doggen" (servant), "Hellren" (a male vampire that has been mated to a female), "Lesser" (a de-souled human who hunts vampires), and "Shellen" (a female vampire that has been mated to a male).

My favourite quote from the book was from Fritz to the Brotherhood with reference to Butch: "If you're going to bloody the human, would you be good enough to do it in the backyard?" A little bit of the dark humor!

This definitely is a book that is adult-rated due to the explicit scenes. I have often heard it described as "Twilight for adults", which is certainly true although I do not hold it to the same calibre.

Now that the groundwork has been laid, I hope that I will enjoy the second book in the series more than the first.

I listened to the audio CDs: This is my first narration by Jim Frangione, and I quite like him! He does a nice job conveying emotion, and the subtle adjustments to his voice with each character makes for a nice distinction.

MY RATING: 3.5 stars! Were it not for the slow start, I would have given it 4 stars.

Yes, there certianly is a reason why this series is a hit and to be honest you just need to read a few chapters of this first book to get hooked and you'll quickly understand why. When Twilight came out and vamps became the next it thing I pushed the genre away as the market can become flooded with crap trailing on the tails of someone else's story. But this is way above and beyond. Charaters that you can connect with and want to get to know, a story line that makes you want to push the real world to the side and get totally lost and immersed in, this series has it all. You will not be disappointed. Can't wait to get lost in the next book in the series. Happy reading.

After his brother Darius is brutally murdered by his enemies, Wrath and his fellow brothers in their Black Dagger Brotherhood seek revenge for their lost friend. But first, Wrath has to take care of a little problem Darius left behind -- his daughter.
Beth Randall is about to undergo the Change to a vampire, but she has no idea of the other half of her life. When Wrath comes to her at night, she is surprised that she isn't afraid of the dark, mysterious stranger that had somehow gotten into her apartment. Instead, she feels a surge of uncontrollable lust that is mirrored in the deadly killer.

This was a great starter for a new series. There was enough action, romance and an incredible plot that left you panting for more. I can't wait to get started on the sequel.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it interesting, action packed and most importantly it was very sexy.
It took me a little while to get through the first few chapters because it is a different writing style that what I am accustomed to and I also needed to learn a few new words but this book absolutely captured my attention.
It was a pleasure to read through and through I can't wait to read the next one in this series