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This book isn't for the light-hearted and I think you just need to give it a chance - These aren't no Dracula boys or even Anne Rice vamps - they don't listen to opera and wear puffy shirts. They are mean-mugging, jacked, tattooed warriors who dress in all leather.
Dark Lover is the first book by JR Ward in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The Brotherhood is a band of warrior vampires who protect regular or 'civilian' vampires from a group called the Lessening Society (who are their sworn enemies as the Lessers hunt them and are trying to exterminate the vampire race). The Brotherhood consists of seven warriors Wrath, Darius, Tohrment, Rhage, Vishous, Phury, and Zsadist. There is a whole lot of world building in this book which is needed to understand Ward's world. Just a sidenote: this is one of my favorite things about vampire books - I love when authors take the classic vampire lore and make it their own. Certain tropes and lore is used but if they're a great author then they will always put their own stamp on it - a creative twist if you will.
So being a vampire in Ward's fictional world means you have to have vampire parents - so the vampire trait is passed down genetically - humans cannot just be bitten and turned into a vampire. Wrath is the last purebred vampire left - his bloodline is completely pure. While lots of the other warrior's may have had human blood mixed in somewhere down the line. Some human blood in your lineage doesn't stop you from possibly going through what's called a transition. But it does make it harder and the chances of survival are lower. Also another notable element of Ward's world is that vampires really need to feed on other vampires - vampires of the opposite sex. Some can survive on human blood, such as Zsadist - but it makes them much weaker and they need a lot more of it just to carry on. Additionally, these vampires - specifically the warriors in the Brotherhood - are extremely animalistic. They are territorial, especially when they choose to mate. Ward here has made up some words that are specific to this world and in the books there is a short glossary so readers can understand the world she's built. But the warriors are on the look out for their shellan - that is a woman who is their wife and bonded partner for life. It's a deep bond and other vampires understand that if a female vampire is someone's shellan than watch out because the males can get very protective and just go mental if anyone disrespects or harms them. The opposite word is hellren - for a vampire who has mated - although not every hellren or shellan needs to actually bond with their mates. Also there is lore or really a higher being that the Brotherhood report to as she sort of rules the entire race - The Scribe Virgin. She's a mystical being who can grant or deny fantastical requests and the warriors protect the vampire race for her.
ALRIGHT now with some of the world building out of the way - there is much more but those are the biggest world points. So Dark Lover starts with Darius talking to Tohr about favor he's got to ask of Wrath - Darius has a human daughter named Beth who is a half-breed and doesn't know it yet. She will be going through her transition soon and if she doesn't get help from a male vampire then she will likely die. Darius hopes that Wrath's pure vampire blood will help her rate of survival. But Wrath denies Darius's request - Wrath has no love for humans, he either sees females for sex or males for killing. So his answer is a hard NO. But suddenly and tragically Darius is killed by a car bomb planted by the Lessers and now the Brotherhood is grieving for their fallen brother. Wrath now feels it is his duty to his dead brother to honor his request as he cannot leave Beth alone, unaware and unprotected. Beth is a journalist who lives a lonely life and feels sort of trapped by her dead-end job. That's when Wrath decides to visit Beth at her apartment, scaring the bejesus out of her, and the two are interestingly intrigued by one another. Soon after we are also introduced to Butch, a tough cop with a lot of issues - who is also interested in Beth and ends up getting tangled in the world of vampires (and honestly becomes a pretty major character throughout the rest of the series as he becomes best friends with V). Horrible plots by the Lessening Society ensue and Wrath must save Beth (who he has now developed feelings for) and in the end it may just be that Wrath needs some saving as well.
THOUGHTS:
Wrath is interesting - I kind of picture him like the WWE wrester The Undertaker - except hotter I think and obviously he's pretty much blind so he wears those horrible wrap around sun glasses.
Beth is cool - she's independent and got a fire in her - doesn't really take any shit even though she's in a mansion full of tough mean-looking vampires.
I LOVE the amount of world building in this story. It really sets up the whole series. To be honest, I found the scenes with the Lessers interacting boring - but I do really like the idea of them. They're very unsettling but I wonder why she made them smell like baby powder...
This book isn't for the light-hearted and I think you just need to give it a chance. Even though I'll admit to reading the synopsis at first and rolling my eyes at their ridiculous names. But honestly, coming out the other end I think it's such a refreshing take on vampires. These aren't no Dracula boys or even Anne Rice vamps - they don't listen to opera and wear puffy shirts. They are mean-mugging, jacked, tattooed warriors who dress in leather and wear what Ward refers to as 'Shit kickers' - their big stomping boots. And that they revel in the fact that they are scary looking and they LOVE fighting, but underneath all of that Alpha male exterior - they love and respect each other so much that they really would do anything for the group. It really is a Brotherhood. And same when it comes to their females - they might yell and rage at the world but honestly, they all melt into softies when a worthy female is around.
Talk about the language - male and female usage - it's very animalistic.
While Wrath and Beth's storyline wraps up nicely - Ward does hint to more to come in further books and it keeps readers wanting more. I read the 2nd, 3rd and now am currently finishing the 4th book in the series so she's good at keeping a continuous storyline flowing - this is not a series that you can really just dip into at a later book as it does build in each book.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Buy Dark Lover here.
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