Lover Eternal - J.R. Ward

Lover Eternal
J.R. Ward
Signet Eclipse
Copyright: 2006
0451218043

From the cover of the book:

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…

Lover Eternal is the sequel to J.R. Ward's first book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Dark Lover. I've read the series before and my original review of Lover Eternal is here. I have to say though, the books are just as good this time around as they were on my original reading.

Lover Eternal is the story of Rhage, but it also sets up the story for Zsadist and Bella in the next book, Lover Awakened. One of the things that makes this series so good in my opinion is the character interactions. Well, that and the overarching story arc that spans the whole series. The books are romances, where each of the Brothers gets his happy ending, but at the same time, there's more going on.

At this point in the series, it's quite clear that none of the Brothers are exactly what you'd call role models. The books are rife with drinking and drug use, not to mention prostitution and other less than savory activities. That's something different from the usual 'hero' in my limited experience with romances. It's just one of the things that makes the Black Dagger Brotherhood series original.

I think I've said this before, but this whole series is one that I end up racing through, leaving me with a backlog of books to review. At the moment, I'm reading book five, but this is the review of book two. Only a couple more months until Lover Mine, the newest book and the story of John is due out at the end of April. I can't wait.