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Zerosum is the hub of Rehvenge’s turf.  Drug-lord, pimp and half amoral symphath, Rehvenge looks after what is his very well and takes care of anyone who threatens that.  Struggling to keep his darker half subdued, he is approached by one of the council aristocrats with a contract to kill Wrath, the King of the Vampires.  If his dual natured secret was leaked, he would be arrested and deported to the Symphath colony.  After meeting Ehlena, a Nurse at Havers’ clinic who causes his vampiric half to become ascendant, he realises things have to change.

With the council in a panic over the recent spate of murders by the Lessening Society, the Brotherhood and Wrath being hard pressed to protect the civilian population, it only seems to be a matter of time before they suffer another loss.  Emotions run high when someone they thought they would never see again returns, but will he be able to stay?

When I realised the central character of this book would be Rehvenge, I wasn’t sure what to think.  As a minor character throughout all the other books, his actions weren’t always good and at the time I picked up Lover Avenged I didn’t particularly like him.  I thought it would be a major task for J. R. Ward to turn him around for me, maybe too major.  One day I’ll learn!  History plays such a big part in making anyone who they are – what they’ve been through, what they’ve achieved and a common theme for paranormal romance, what they’ve sacrificed.  Learning Rehvenge’s history and all the things he has done for his family and friends made me re-examine what I thought I knew of him.  I can’t say I ended up loving him as much as the rest of the Brotherhood but definitely as someone worthy of affection and respect.

Rehvenge is a character that on closer inspection is neither a good nor bad guy because he can’t be,  his dual nature ensures that.  What he is though is someone who cares deeply about those he is close to, tempers his darker side as much as he can with his vampiric half and while his choice of career may not be what can be termed as ‘good’, within it, he makes it as  safe and look after everyone as much as possible.  Except himself that is.  When you learn what he has to do to keep his secret and his family safe, your heart goes out to him.  Ehlena I liked from the beginning and her situation and father’s illness made me sad for her.  I couldn’t help but admire her guts and backbone which, along with her compassionate nature and ability to see Rehvenge through unbiased eyes, made her an awesome female character.  Their interactions were really well written and I found myself hope it would work out for them, even when I was sure it wouldn’t.

I also have to say, this book is almost a two in one.  There is a lot more side story going on with the Brotherhood and several threads that have been brewing over the last few books are resolved here.  The book itself is about twice the size the others are and I can only assume they were threads that needed to come into play but not enough on their own to be in their own novel.  Whatever the reason, it worked and while there were a lot of things being resolved, several new ones have been put into play and I can’t wait for the next one!

A special thank-you as well to J. R. Ward for Tohr.  I was in tears anytime he came up!

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Phury, twin to Zsadist is slowly killing himself.  His drug habit is spiralling out of control, he’s in love with his twin’s wife and he’s hearing a sadistic voice in his head.  It’s only a matter of time before he self destructs completely.  Having sacrificed his freedom already for Vishous’ happiness, he is now supposed to be the Primale, the Vampire race’s primary male to help refresh the gene pool with the Scribe Virgin’s Chosen.  Yet he remains celibate, as he has been since the vow he took when he went to rescue his twin.  Cormia is the Chosen who has been put forward as his primary female, having lived and grown up in the Scribe Virgin’s domain, never having been to the ‘other’ side, she is confused by the role that has been placed on her.  She finds she wants more than the simple life laid out for her but can Phury put enough of himself back together to fulfill his duty or will Cormia be sent back to the Scribe Virgin’s domain and resign herself to never living out her dreams.

I actually found this book very bittersweet.  Phury has been such a constant presence in the series and witnessing him slowly spiral out of control has been very sad.  Until now he’s always managed to pull himself back from the edge and I thought it would end up being resolved very quickly at the start of this book so that other events could take place.  I was wrong and it ended up being a very powerful and poignant journey with Phury and the fight for his life and mind.  Cormia is such an innocent having grown up in the scribe virgin’s realm and had never experienced life as we know it.  It was refreshing seeing certain things anew through her eyes, even such a simple things as colours.

At times I did want to shake both of them and point out the obvious but really, those parts were well done given what both characters had been through and their individual insecurities.  It’s easy to see what is right in front of someone else’s face, your own, not so much.

By the end I felt I’d read something special and been through an emotional journey that had sorrow, joy, sheer guts and above all, love.

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Vishous lives up to his name, in battle, in the bedroom, in the Brotherhood.  It’s the only way he knows how to be.  Gifted or maybe cursed with a hand that can cause death or healing, it seems he is doomed to be paired forever with Butch, his best friend and the Brother he fears he is in love with.  After being shot and nearly killed by a Lesser, he is accidentally taken to an ER where Dr Jane Whitcomb is on duty.  After starting emergency surgery, she is shocked to find her patient is something other than human and when the Brotherhood arrive in a hurry to bring him to their own medics, Vishous insists on Jane being brought along.  For a human Jane is tough and used to being in charge of her own life and work and being held captive albeit comfortably doesn’t sit well with her.  Something about Vishous intrigues her and for some reason she brings out the bonding instinct in him.  Can Jane be the one to help Vishous overcome his tortuous past and is he something to do with an odd event that happened in her childhood.  Only time will tell, and time is running out.

I’ve always loved the character of Vishous and the quirky banter between him and Butch.  Definitely up there as one of my favourite Brothers.  The confusing love he feels for Butch too tugs at my heartstrings and I’m glad it gets resolved in this book.  Jane’s character is sassy, no nonsense and you can’t help but admire her when she, as a human stands up to the Vampiric Brothers in the matter of medical issues.  She knows her work and woe betide anyone, even Wrath who gets in the way.  That Vishous is a Dominant sexually was really well handled and I have to say very exciting.  This only gets more so when Jane enters the picture and being such a strong willed personality herself, sparks fly.  I couldn’t help but cry at the big event at the end of the book and the resolution, it was very creative, well written and emotional.

As always there is more going on in the book than just the central characters, I love that there are always threads running from other books as the other Brothers and their lives are always involved too.  Keeps you glued to the pages with no mercy!

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Butch O’Neal is a former Cop and the first human to know of the existence of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Not only does he know it exists but is welcomed as a friend and ally.  Being human, he is kept apart from the nightly battles the Brothers go through with the Lessening Society and becomes increasingly frustrated at being unable to help.  Reckless with is own life, frequently drunk and disorderly and impossibly in love with someone he can’t have, the course of his life  changes forever one extraordinary night when he risks all to save a civilian.

Being the fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series makes Lover Revealed no less passionately absorbing and  emotional as the first three.  It was really good to see Butch as the central character as I was wondering how he was going to continue to fit in with the Brothers when he was ‘only’ human.  It seemed only a matter of time before he self-destructed and having liked the character right from the first book, it was the last thing I wanted to see.  I have to applaud how J. R. Ward resolved the issue and his helpless love for Marissa, seeing him become what he always wanted to be.  Himself.

I also loved the transition of Marissa from the obedient reserved aristocratic doormat she started as, into a woman who was worthy of being a Warrior’s mate.  Butch himself goes through several realisations about himself and every time you think it will mean his death, he comes through from sheer balls, force of will and the love of the Brothers, especially Vishous.  Another brilliant installment of the series!

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The Black Dagger Brotherhood are elite vampire warriors and brothers in arms trusting each other with their lives.  They stand between the civilian vampire population and the evil Lessening Society.

Zsadist is the most terrifying of them all, a former blood slave who was tortured and tormented so badly before his rescue, his mind was all but broken.  With a reputation for viciousness and feared by the lessers, he struggles to keep his rage leashed.  The only person who can even remotely control him is his twin brother Phury,  that is until the seemingly impossible happens.  Zsadist makes an emotional connection with the beautiful aristocrat Bella who was instantly entranced and saw beyond his scars and self-disgust to the magnificent warrior he should be.

When she is taken by the Lessening Society, Zsadist’s rage knows no bounds and everyone, even his fellow Brothers are wary of him and worried at what he might do.  The best they can do is help him and try and control the outfall.

Lover Awakened is the third book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and in all honesty they just keep getting better.  This is Zsadist’s story and I didn’t really know what to make of him when he appeared in the first two books.  It seemed he had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, too broken mentally to function.  You knew snippets of his history but not the major story of what had happened that made him become the vampire and Brother he was, with such a tenuous hold on his sanity.  The character of Bella, you first met in Lover Eternal and you already liked her by this book.  That only increases as their journey unfolds.

Having finished it, this book just made my heart bleed.  For Zsadist and all he’d endured, and the half-life he’d condemned himself to, for Bella not only surviving what she went through but coming through it stronger and still having such an enormous amount of compassion.  For the whole Brotherhood and their shocking losses that made me cry.

A book so skillfully written, I felt like I was part of the family too.  Just amazing.

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