The Black Dagger Brotherhood – and Dark Lover Review

Posted 24 May, 2010 by Danny in Danny / 19 Comments

Heard about this series?
But never came to pick them up?
Same here!
I heard about the books but somehow was not interested enough. I even remember when I was last year on the airport ( back then I didn’t have my Kindle yet and therefore whenever I’m at the airport I HAVE to buy a new book). Anyhoddle, I asked for the Sookie books and they didn’t have it, so she proposed me the Black Dagger Brotherhood. After reading the back cover I was just not interested.
Beginning of May, my friend FireCrotch however told me she liked them and I should give them a try. See, recommendations from people you know is something else, so I started.
Booommm! Wooooosh! Swooooon!
How the heck could I have missed those? This review here is not only about the first book, but also about the entire series and why I think you should give them a shot. Before I go on, a fair warning: If you are under age, or feel easily offended by violence and graphic sex – don’t start and don’t read on!
After finishing Dark Lover, the first book, I read all books that are out so far in a row and finished the last book Lover Mine (book 8) yesterday! I even started research about the author (something I usually do when I become obsessed like this about a book) and I read the Insider Guide! A must have for a fan!

Obsessed much? Yup!
Let me start with something J.R Ward said herself about those books when proposing Dark Lover and the whole idea to her editor:

Okay.Right. Horror meets romance meets erotica meets fantasy meets hip hop. Throw in some leather and some Miami Ink shit, stir with a Baseball hat and a tire iron, sprinkle on some baby powder, (…)

This exactly describes what you will find in this series! The language is something you imagine bad boys talk on the streets and the boys are cursing a lot.
The World and The Plot
These are the stories of the Brothers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Brothers not by blood, but by the fact that they are all in a circle that fights to protect their race from their enemies. Their race: Vampires! The Vampires here live besides the human race but they actually don’t care about humans. They cannot survive by taking human blood, they need Vampire blood from the opposite sex to survive. So, our Vampires here are not a cruel bad race that just lives to threaten humans. They don’t care about them! Apart from that they have society structure within they race with Nobility and it feels like back in the middle age.
The Brothers are warriors, fighters that protect their race, they are lethal and speak like the bad-ass guys they appear. They are huge men (or rather males, as they are called in J.R. Ward’s world, to differentiate them from mortal men) and they are all incredible hot-hotter- HolyHottness in their lethality. (Well, who would like to read books about the ugly duckling?)
The Vampire race is created by the Scribe Virgin ( imagine herself as god’s daughter) while her evil brother creates the lesser society that only want to kill each Vampire on earth. And there you have the war in which our Brothers fight every night.
So we have the war against the evil and then we have the love stories! Swoooon and you will have incredible, emotional, heartbreaking, utterly erotic love! Promise! You have to deal with a lot of loss, darkness, tragic and violence.
Each book tells the story about one of the Brothers and how he finds love in all the evil for which he would sacrifice everything. Sounds boring? Nope, not so much! Truly.Not.Boring!
J.R. Wards genius way to
mix dark angst with love and laughter

All of the Brothers have “issues” but this doesn’t fit it entirely. It might be more accurate to say that they all have pasts that made them as bad-ass as they are now and I’m not just talking about some small issues. Nope, this really goes much deeper and it’s extremely cruel and it will break your heart. For example, one was a sexual abused for around 100 years. Yep, we are not talking about mini trauma here. J.R. Ward isn’t nice to her characters and she’s not all sunshine with them, they have to go through a lot, like a really awful lot. She doesn’t even refuse to let characters die and I read it broke her heart just like the readers!
But believe me all this mixed together makes those
books so incredible powerful!
Dark Lover – Book 1

Dark Lover is the first book in the series and you have to read it to step into this world. It tells the story of Wrath – one of the Brothers and the only remaining pure breed Vampire left (Vampires are born here, not made!). By fulfilling the last wish of his best friend he takes care of the half-breed Beth (born of a human mother and a Vampire father – Wrath’s best friend). But when he meets her the world for him changes because she’s not just a obligation but he feels so drawn to her like he never felt before. Now, he has to protect her like he never wanted to protect someone before.
In Dark Lover we get to know Wrath and his Brothers and start digging into the world, how this world is formed and we learn the basics of the world.
Dark Lover is your ticket into this world of
8 books and 8 swoon worth male!
More to come!!!!!

You need to read this book before you can read the others, so I’m begging you when you don’t like the first so much (let’s assume a 3 star rating) don’t give up! You need to read the next, because they are getting better and better! Well in between there are two not as good, but overall the good books are coming! In each book the plot is set already for the next, which is cruel and clever. Cruel when you have to wait, clever because you connect already to the next characters and dying to read the next!
Ok I give the entire series 5 bewitched books
because they just deserve it!
I will review each book over time here at the Bookworms but I needed to get you into this world here and I hope you give them a chance! But, don’t read them if you can’t stand violence, drama, angst and bad-ass language. Just a warning!
Useful and important links to stalk the author when you become obsessed:
Last but not least, I found a video to wet your panties …uhm… to get you an idea about what to expect. There are no movies or series plans right now and this video is fan made but she had a great pick for the character and might help you to get a vision of the Brothers!

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Danny

Obsessive Reader by Night - Scientist at Day! You can also find me on goodreads. I'd love to get to know you so, don't be shy and say Hello!

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19 Responses to “The Black Dagger Brotherhood – and Dark Lover Review”

  1. Jenn

    Really? I have heard such good things, even have 7 of the books, picked up one once, maybe it was timing read a few pages but did not get hooked, maybe I should try again – ain't nothing wrong with a little hotness right? Thanks for the recommendation how long did it take you to get into the first one?
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  2. DannyBookworm

    Give it some time and I would even say the first one is one of the weakest in the series, which is a pity because this should get you hooked.
    The second is awesome and the third incredible heart breaking. But, you have to get through the first to read on.

    Read it again, even if it hurts ( giggles) then read the second and if you still don't like it, then you also won't like the rest.

    Oh one more advice, I read "over" the Mr.X part and you can easily do that. The important stuff about the "lessers" comes later in the book, so you can focus on the brothers:)

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  16. allstarme

    Really like your review; I totally fell in love with this series – way more than I thought I would – and also got the insider's guide. You said two of the ones in between weren't that great. Phury's book and which else? Phury bored me to TEARS. Other than that, I thought all the other ones were great. (Esp. Rhage and V, my favorite guys.)
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  18. Batalha LiterĂƒÂ¡ria

    Great review! I love this series.
    It's a combination of so many different elements to real human issues and yet with the glam of the vampire world.
    I was looking for some pointers to a series somewhat like this one that might be recommended.
    I'm already itching to buy the 4th book.
    It's so hot and i love hot things.

    Ps. Sorry! I have a bad english.

    Kisses,

    Lilia Reis :p
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