Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #4) by J.R. Ward Book Review

Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward. Photo: Goodreads

A slow start to the book but then Ward ramped up the drama to warp-speed. A sweet ending to another pair of well-mated lovers.

The fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series - this one is focused on the story between Butch and Marissa. Their story has been present throughout all the books from the first in the series Dark Lover. Their love story has been a complicated one - one with a lot of ups and downs. The main thing I have to say right off the bat is WOW - that ending! It was slow to start up for sure and even about 50% of the way through the book I felt as if it wasn't anywhere near the quality of the the previous two in the series. But the ending chapters just took the story to a whole new level! 

The whole premise of this book really starts when Butch is out with the Brotherhood at the bar and he is taken by the Lessers. The lessers torture him almost to his breaking point - but he never breaks and spills the secrets of the Brotherhood. But what the Omega does decide is to put a piece of himself - pure evil - into Butch's abdomen. Then they leave him to either die or be rescued by the Brotherhood. Of course, V saves Butch and discovers the torture and new evil that has been placed inside him.

Marissa soon finds that Butch has been brought to Havers to try and stabilize his condition - they haven't spoken since Butch called on Marissa and she didn't answer the door - ultimately in his mind - rejecting him. But now she sees him beaten to a pulp and very ill and she's overwhelmed by her feelings that sweep back in. 

The rest of the novel follows their bumpy relationship as they try and explore their feelings for one another. Marissa is basically disowned by her family and forced to stay with the Brotherhood and Butch has to deal with his failing humanity in more ways than one. Not only is his human body weak - which is the reason it's struggling to fight the darkness that the Omega inserted into it - but also because once he has been intimate with Marissa - he no longer wants her around any other males - period. But Marissa as a female vampire needs the blood from a male vampire to survive and that is just something that Butch can not possibly provide. 

The novel also follows Marissa exploring her own sexuality. Before meeting Butch she was a pure, untouched virgin - not wanted by her original fiancé, Wrath. But with Butch's love and patience, she gets to explore the pleasures of sex and intimacy. At points it's cringeworthy as she's a full adult vampire who just does not understand how sex works and what it is meant to feel like. But I think Butch handled everything perfectly - he was always patient, kind and respectful and I really liked that about him. The sex scenes were really sweet (and obviously sexy as well) but it never bordered on uncomfortable for force - I think the sex scenes in this book were very tastefully done. 

But of course there is a lot of back and forth between Marissa and Butch - a lot of walking away 'for good' and that gets tiring really easy. Either sit down and work it out whenever you have an argument - but if you first reaction each time to just throw your hands up and walk away - that's just not a healthy or strong relationship. And like I said - it gets old really fast. 

Now on to the best part of the book - the end. I'm talking about the last 20% of the book - not just the last chapter. Ward ramped up the drama in the book to warp-speed. We find out that Butch may have vampire blood somewhere in his bloodline - this means that there is a small possibility that he can be fully turned. This option was quite intriguing to read about - this meant that tough-as-nails Butch the human could be even more - he could in time be equal to those who he thought of as brothers. We work through, alongside Butch, his family issues and feeling as though he's always been on the outside. Even now with the brotherhood who love him so much - as a human he was always going to be on the outside. But if he can be turned into a vampire then he can be viewed as equal and not such a burden - or even a pet. 

I'm trying to keep as many major spoilers out of this review as I can, but I can honestly say that the ending of this book is what kicked it up an entire star rating from me. It was action packed - it was emotional and empowering and just a fantastic final couple chapters. I was delighted with how the novel wrapped up - I think Ward did another great job of wrapping up the main love story and leaving it in a happy place, but also leaving the door open on another aspect of the story for a subsequent novel. This time it's clear the next story will focus on V. And oh my gosh V in this book had a lot of character growth as well. It was quite interesting to get more insight into the relationship between Butch and V - and at sometimes it clearly wasn't platonic on both ends. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book - it was a bit slow in parts which is why I didn't absolutely LOVE this title - but the end really kicked it up a notch and made for an exciting four book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. After this I am going to be taking a break from the series - I believe for the time being that I enjoyed the stories that have to do with my favorite brothers - but that doesn't mean I'm off the series forever. I've really enjoyed my time with the brotherhood and I think the four first novels really are worth a read for any fan of paranormal romances - and I'm so happy with how things have worked out for Marissa and Butch in Lover Revealed. Bravo Ward - I'm delighted to have another great adult vampire romance series to call a favorite. 

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Buy Lover Revealed here.