Lover Awakened: A Novel Of The Black Dagger Brotherhood

As with many other BDB fans this is definitely my favourite of the series. If you are going to read any of them this is the one I would recommend. The love and passion between Zsadist and Bella is the deepest and most beautiful of the series and will be the one to get you truly hooked and begging for more.

Zsadist has the darkest, most troubling past of all the brothers, and he has a reputation to be feared. As a former blood slave, he has suffered unspeakable acts, knows limitless pain and constant shame. His only purpose, and release for his anger, is to fight the Lessening Society. When Bella, a female vampire, is captured by a lesser and later rescued by Zsadist, she unlocks something deep within him. As Zsadist starts to feel and experience things he has never known, his desire to destroy the lesser that captured Bella starts to consume him. Bella must find a way to help Zsadist heal his tortured soul and prove to him that he is worth loving and capable of loving in return.

Lover Awakened should come with a warning: "Caution! This book is hot and may lead to scorched retinas and burned fingers. Sunglasses and oven mitts may be necessary when handling!" I didn't think J.R. Ward could possibly write a steamier book than Lover Eternal, but Lover Awakened has proven me wrong! Along with the incredible heat radiating from the pages, Lover Awakened also has an intense, dark vibe that separates it from the other novels in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The inter-novel continuing plot progressed moderately in this book, but I speak with complete honesty when I say I was so wrapped up in the romance plot between Zsadist and Bella and subplots involving other characters that didn't care about the continuing plot at all. I read as quickly as I could through those parts in order to get back to focusing on the brothers. There was a lot of groundwork laid in the form of subplots for the next novels in the series, but it all flowed smoothly. There was none of that out of place choppiness so common in genre fiction.

I adored the character progression and development in this novel. A lot was revealed about Zsadist, obviously, but Ward also spent a considerable amount of time on Phury and John Matthew. Each brother had some page time though, which is one of the reasons why these books work so well. Ward weaves everything together seamlessly and doesn't forget any of her characters even once they have already had their story told. Each character retains their appeal. The female characters from past novels get less attention, but they aren't forgotten either. Based on the past two books in the series, Zsadist held the most appeal to me of all the characters. I had very high expectations of how his story would be told, and Ward delivered! His past was explored in so much detail in the form of memories from both Zsadist and Phury. Ward seems very comfortable with exploring sensitive topics and the darker nature of her characters, and trust me, there is some seriously dark subject matter in Lover Awakened. Like I sad before, Phury had a considerable amount of focus in this novel. I was pleased with this because he had remained the most elusive and distant of the brothers up until this point. After getting a better idea of his background, readers will be eager to see where Ward takes him. Lover Awakened seems to have the most vivid, extreme character transformation so far, and I have a hard time seeing any of the other novels in the series beating it. I was impressed with the contrast seen in Zsadist and how he often shifted from cold to tender to hurtful to ashamed in such a short time. Ward tackled his emotions well, and they felt sincere and realistic considering his circumstances. A lot of careful consideration was clearly put in to Zsadist's character, back story, reactions, and emotional growth. It all made for a sensational, touching read! Lover Awakened has had some of my favorite romance novel moments.

As I mentioned before, this was one steamy read. It was practically toe curling. The characters complemented one another so perfectly that it would be nearly impossible to find a better paranormal romance novel pairing. The sex scenes were definitely X-rated based on the level of detail and explicit description. Those who don't like that sort of graphic detail should stay away from this series, but everyone else should read it ASAP. Even though this series borders on erotica, it possesses a great deal more than just sex. There is a lot of emotional content within these pages as well as action and unforeseen events. I was shocked and completely heartbroken for the characters in Lover Awakened more than once. Ward isn't writing something hot with lots of gratuitous sex. There is a well planned story with depth and feeling here! The heat and intimacy is just a delightful bonus!

Lover Awakened is one enticing that all paranormal junkies need to read! The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is one that should definitely be read in the correct order, so start with Dark Lover for maximum enjoyment. If you've read the first two books, I'm sure you won't be needing me to tell you to pick up this one right away!

Another great addition to the series. Absolutely wonderful. I think this book has to be the most emotional and touching of the books so far, definitely an absolutely amazing story. You would think that by book 3 some of the stories about the brothers would start seeming similar, but that is definitely not the case. This series just keeps getting better and better!

Zsadist is by far the scariest of all the brothers, he has eyes deep black, soulless eyes and a scar that stretches the length of his face. Add this to the ready to kill look that is always the expression you see on his face and it would be completely reasonable for everyone to fear him and give him his space. But can you blame him? He was not always like this, but driven to become this way from his horrible past experiences. Zsadist was a former blood slave, held against his will by a Mistress that did far more than just take blood from him, and he has the scars to prove it. His past has forged who he is now, broken beyond repair, not damaged.

Bella is a strong female from a powerful aristocratic family that has enjoyed living one her own just out side of town in a farm house. This is until her neighbour and friend got tangled up with the Black Dagger Brotherhood and by association so did she. Right from the first time she laid eyes on Zsadist she was completely captivated by him. She couldn't get him off her mind even after he made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. And than it happened, she was captured by the Lessening Society and held captive. And now Zsadist is set on finding her and seeking revenge against the killers that have taken her. All he can do is pray that she is still alive to be saved.

Another amazing novel by Ward. This one absolutely had it all from intense fighting to heart breaking discoveries. Zsadist story is by far the most moving and saddest one yet and I think that it may be my favourite one out of the first three. If you haven't read this one yet I strongly suggest that you do, I promise that you will not be disappointed at all. I recommend this book to anyone who has read the first two novels in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I am very excited to continue on in this series and to learn more about all of the brothers and their lovers.