Customer Reviews

Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 7)

5 star:		(212)
4 star:		(74)
3 star:		(50)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

*No Spoilers*

As a fan of this series I expected a lot with Ward's first foray into hardcover especially now since she moved beyond the original six brothers. Despite my misgivings with the last few books, the seventh book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series delivers and then some. Lover Avenged is chock full of romance, action and suspense. A worthy addition to my shelf, but I did have some problems.

There are three main story arcs unfurling simultaneously, these include Rehvenge/Ehlena, John Matthew/Xhex and Wrath.

Rehvenge and Ehlena's romance is excellent. Pairing the dedicated, caring, put-everyone-above-myself goody two shoes nurse with the drug-dealing-pimp/club owner who happens to be sympath works. And although Rehv was not as bad-a** as in previous books and Ehlena a bit too saccharin sweet, their love story was believable. I only wished that it took up more than a third of the book.

Secondly John Matthew(who seems to a favorite with Ward) takes a major role as well. The recently transitioned vampire struggles with emotions pertaining to his obsession with Xhex (the mannish zena-warrior-princess head of security at Rehv's club Zero Sum), his inability to get through to his recently returned "father" Tohr and his lack of definition of self. He also racked with a sense of loss, it seems that everyone has abandoned him, first Wellsie, now Tohr. With that he feels doesn't belong to anyone or anywhere. His emotional journey is played out and sets up for the next book.

Finally fans of Wrath will by sighing in sweet bliss with the Dark Lover (book 1) hero's role in Lover Avenged which takes up a surprisingly huge amount of pages in the book. Wrath struggles with being the King of Vampires and perhaps makes some poor choices, the consequences of which he has to deal with.

Other worthy mentions are Lash and Tohr (and of course his sidekick Lassiter). Both play significant secondary roles. Minor roles are taken up by Tez, iAm, Payne, Blay and Qhuinn.

On to my gripes. There are two main problems which I had with this book, and thus the four not five star review. Firstly the main romance, which I enjoyed thoroughly, does not take center stage, unlike the first books of the series. This is supposed to be Rehv's book but his love story is overshadowed at times. Second is the shock factor. I don't know, maybe its just me, but some of the stuff written felt like it was put in there to shock the average romance reader and served no purpose otherwise. Some of it bordered on bizarre as well. I mean scorpions?. Really?

Other than that its an excellent book and I highly recommended. If your a fan of Wrath and John's by all means buy the book. But if your only looking for Rehv I would wait it out and borrow it from the library or a friend first.

New readers to the series don't even bother, you'll get lost easily and the first books in the series are definitely worthy of your attention.

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1)
Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 2)
Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 3)
Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4)
Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5)
Lover Enshrined (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 6)
The Black Dagger Brotherhood. An Insiders Guide

Readers lying in wait for Rehv's story will not be disappointed. With more than one surprise, fans of the Black Dagger Brotherhood will engulf LOVER AVENGED and then go back and reread it once more!

Rehvenge is living in two worlds - a half breed. His vampire half is the leahdyre of the council and his other half, the side he must keep hidden, is symphath. Symphaths are forbidden to live in vampire society and it is against the law to not report one. Feared for their abilities to manipulate the minds and emotions of others, a symphath is banished upstate to a hidden colony as soon as their symphathic abilities are revealed. As a major drug lord in Caldwell, Rehvenge must straddle the line between good and evil on a daily basis. He has people who depend on him so when he is approached and asked to execute a vile plan, Rehvenge does what he does best and that is to get rid of the problem quietly and efficiently. If only getting rid of blackmailers was that easy.

Knowing his life, his hidden nature, and his dependence on anonymity, Rehvenge has no business even contemplating a relationship with Ehlena, a nurse he can't get out of his mind. Her compassion and innocence strikes a cord in Rehvenge and makes him wish he were a better man. What he never realizes is that in Ehlena's eyes, he is a man worthy of forever.

In all honesty, I was scared to read LOVER AVENGED. Simply petrified. Having been a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood since the release of DARK LOVER, I had no earthly idea how Ms. Ward would be able to redeem a man such as Rehvenge in my eyes. But she did. She did so thoroughly that I am shocked I never saw the man he was underneath the superior attitude and trappings of wealth. He was a son, a brother, and a lover. That isn't all - he was so much more. Readers will simply be wide eyed at the strength and fortitude of his character.

LOVER AVENGED also deals with more than Rehvenge - I was shown plot twists and intrigues and I couldn't read fast enough. Surprises were read, tears fell from my eyes - more than once I might add, and I simply adored this amazing book.

Releasing in hardback, Amazon Kindle, and Audio CD with a paperback release in mere months, LOVER AVENGED is going to fly off the shelves. It is boldly written, passionate, and often hard core. The Lessoning Society hasn't given up the fight - but the brotherhood hasn't either. Rehvenge and the Black Dagger Brotherhood are heroes through and through.

Natalie S.

I must say that I started this book not really "feeling" Rehvenge. Not so much the look, the attitude or the person I thought he was. Once it was all over, I was as in love with him as any of the other leading men in Ward's other novels. How the heck did she do that? By crafting a beautiful, romantic and believable plot that had me glued to the book from beginning to end.

I loved Ehlena, who was strong and beautiful. The perfect match for Rehvenge who we learn through the novel is very deserving of an awesome mate. Happily, the brothers are truly back in this book, with all the hilarious banter we've come to look forward too, as the Brotherhood goes through some major changes and comes out of it together, stronger than ever.

I have to add that Lash makes a kick-butt bad guy and he's taking the "lesser parts" from something you had to get through to get on to more of the "good stuff", to something that you can't wait to get to.

And to many of her past readers that felt as though her last few novels were not "romantic enough", I believe we can see here clearly that every character in the BDB world is different and that Ward has done them all justice in a way that was true to that character. Sometimes is was all mushy and romantic, other times is was gritty and disturbing, all the time it was well written. These are NOT formulaic romance novels. Thank goodness!

With that said, this story has tons of romance, is often sweet, and has the constant intensity and excitement we've come to expect of Ward's books. There were a few side plots that were critical to the story and also very satisfying, especially to long time followers of this series.

I can't recommend this book enough for lovers of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, fantasy and well...reading! You'll wish it had 1000 pages.

First off, I loved, loved Ward's first books in this series. I think she's a great writer but it seems like the last book and even this one are not the same Ward as the initial books of this series. I don't know what is happening with this series but I am dissapointed. I feel not enough time is being spent on the focus couples of these books. This was suppposed to be Rehv's and Ehlena's story but they got very minimal book time. This was also not the same Rehv that we have seen and loved from previous books. Where is sexy, strong Bada@# Rehv? He was so insecure in this book I couldn't believe it was the same character from previous books. Rehv was castrated in his own book. You got the impression that Sympaths were these strong, scary beings and that was why they were contained outside of society. You saw none of that in this book. Wimpy. I waited all year for this book (although after Lover Enshrined I was not keeping my hopes up) and I have to say I was disappointed. The steamy scenes which were such a staple in Ward's first books were luke warm in this one. I don't know why she changed this series but Rehv was my favorite and I am dissapointed. I have re-read the other books many times but I don't even want to pick this one up for a re-read right now which is what I would normally do. Just dissapointed. Go to the library and borrow it or wait for the paperback.

I wasn't going to read this book after reading Lover Enshrined....I really wasn't. I gave Lover Enshrined a mere 2 stars because I felt NOTHING in the "chemistry department" between Phury and Cormia. This is NOT a problem in this book. The chemistry between Rehvenge and Ehlena is unbelievable, and I'll put up with a lot of "things" as long as I believe in the main couple. Rehvenge and Ehlena made me BELIEVE!

Ward is definitely telling a BIG story with this series. There are multiple story lines going on, and again, I will deal with that as long as I feel a connection to the book's main couple. Rehvenge "the symphath" is a unique character that I've been itching to hear more about. This book scratches that itch! Rehvenge is devoted to the women he loves...his mom, Bella (his sister), Zhex (his "partner"), and mostly Ehlena (his mate). He is as "bad" as they come, but has incredible sweetness and vulnerability when it comes to his ladies....don't you love that common "vamp" trait. He also is a "tortured soul", as so many members of the BDB have been, and his "redemption" is just as satisfying.

Like I said....this is a BIG story and the layers and complexities are mounting. John Matthews and Zhex are going to get their book next..and let me tell you, I think we'll all be standing in line for that one! Wrath and Beth play a HUGE part in Lover Avenged and I like when Ward brings back the HEAT from past books. Most all the brothers get some "time" in this book and the pages fly by as you "devour" this book to see what's going to happen next.

I have come to accept that this series has "morphed"...ie.(no longer just paranormal romance). I have new expectations. I now know that the "main couple" of a book will not always get center stage. There will be multiple story lines happening (all equally important to the story), and there is a definite new level of violence going on in the war. Knowing all this, I will keep reading as long as the chemistry stays hot between the "leads".

Recommend Reading....and Enjoying!

..."Man he was big and scary-looking. And nearly getting mowed down by him put the final frazzle candle on the drama cake." LoL! I loved that one best (although there were a ton of brilliant one liners that I'll never forget).

I'm not sure whether "Lover Avenged" stood it's ground to all the hype for me personally though. One of the main things that p'd me off was how Ward weakened Wrath. I know...I know! I'll probably get tons of "WTH?!" comments for that one but that's just the way I see it. Wrath is the King for petes sake and pretty much all the way through the first half of the book he does nothing but wine like a baby because of it. The Wrath in this novel is not the same Wrath that I used to know (and love). And what's up with Beth? She never even "sensed" her man was out every night doing God knows what until after she found out?! I thought since she was Wraths "shellan" and they were linked through each others blood they pretty much knew where each other was and what they were doing at all times through emotions...I'm sorry but that kind of thing don't fly for me just because the author decides to change the rules for just one circumstance.

I do love the bad boy going good thing Rehvenge's got going on, but I thought all the "Let me take you to bed" stuff was cheesy. I'm mean come on that's pretty much all he said to Ehlana throughout the first half..."How's your father?"..."Let me take you to bed"..."How was work?"..."Let me take you to bed"..."Is your cell phone ringing?"..."Let me take you to bed"..."Oh, you got fired because of me?"....well hell "Let me take you to bed" (For all of you who've read this you know I'm right! LoL!)

Ehlana wasn't (for me) the type of women I envisioned for Rehv. She seemed way to clueless about stuff and never really tried to figure him out (well she did, but it was almost to late). I mean where did she think he got the money to cruise around in a Bentley or wear thousand dollar jackets? Ok I can understand she was ignorant and just took his word on the BS that fell out of his mouth but she forever lost my respect when she turned tail and walked away from him when faced with what she really "thought" he was.

Xhex and John Matthew?! Now that's another story...Wo-Buddy!!! I can't wait until Ward puts their story on paper. Xhex must have man issues that we'll undoubtedly find out about in the future...because I'd take some of JM any day any way and any how...hmmm (sigh!); He's my fav of the Brotherhood....

I'm really trying not to nit pick this newest edition but like I said earlier I'm not sure it lived up to all the hype that was/is created around it. I do give it a full star for the "I couldn't put it down factor", that's always a make or break for me.

So yes, even with all my complaints about Avenged I still immensely enjoyed the book with all it's great one lining humor, sordid romance and drama.

First I have to say... the cover is HOTTT!

***SPOILERS***

Rehv & Ehlena- Their story was great! I got to see another side of Rehv, which I knew he had given how protective he is of Bella. (Come on, every bad boy has it.) My only complaint is I wish there was more of it. I didn't feel it was only their story. The other stories seem to have equal time as much as theirs and that's where I feel they were gypped when compared to the other books (although I did notice the same trend with Lover Enshrined). I mean, were the other stories necessary? Yes. However, it didn't have to share equal time as the main characters. Anyway, I still think it was a beautiful story. The reason for only 3 stars is based on the book as a whole. If rated for Rehv & Ehlena alone, definitely 5 stars! And I have to add that it's very well written just like her other books. In fact, I believe he's my favorite of all the men in the book. I love tortured heroes!

Wrath & Beth- It was only a matter of time until he was completely true to his name, the Blind King. It was nice to get an update on Wrath & Beth even though I wasn't ecstatic about it sharing equal time with Rehv.

John & Xhex- I don't know why, but I still think it's an odd pairing. For some weird reason I keep imagining Xhex as Annie Lennox in her Eurythmics days. LOL! Go figure... LOL! Maybe that's why I'm finding the whole attraction between the two a little far-fetched... Anyway, the whole threesome thing John seems to have with Qhuinn is another "huh?" for me. I mean, I understand the first time, but when Xhex predicted who would be following the goth girl and Qhuinn out of the bathroom stall... it tells me it's a common occurance.

Lash & Xhex- OK... How hard is it to tell the Brotherhood, "So hey, btw, I saw Lash the other day, but isn't he supposed to be dead? Oh and he also smelled like a lesser too, so you might wanna check on that." LOL! Instead Xhex's response when they saw Lash was, "You mean you didn't know?" Huh? Wha??? I mean, I know Xhex and the Brotherhood aren't buddy buddy, but a little FYI would've been common sense. LOL!

Lash & the Princess- That coupling was just bizarre. Well, at least his feelings for her was. I knew he was crazy, but then he started reminding me of the guy who kidnapped Bella... w/o the whole "she reminds me of my wife" thing. He was like a 3 yr old going around saying "mine!"

Tohr- Poor Tohr... it's about time he opened up his eyes to see who he needs to be fighting for and who he's fighting against. I think his story needs to be the last book of the series. Being mated, explained in all paranormal books is supposed to mean more than marriage, a metaphysical bonding, something you can't get away from nor do you want too, you're tied to each other as if you're twins, it's for life or until death and in his case it was death. (I hope the depth of being mated came through.) To make me believe his and Wellsie's love was as significant as the other mated brothers, it needs to be a looong while before he finds another love. In the interim, he can exact his revenge on the lessers. But then again, time can move along quickly in books if the author chooses...

My future predictions:

- John & Xhex (obviously) although the story will probably be similar to Z & Bell although not as equally tragic to Z's back story. Lash will most likely rape Xhex and in that regard John will help heal her pain since he can relate to the violation.
- Payne & Trez or iAm, but I'm more in favor of Trez
- Once Lassiter completes his mission, which was sent by Wellsie, his character will be a spin-off for Covet: A Novel of the Fallen Angel. He is a fallen angel. Somehow I can totally see JR Ward tying the two series together, but of course keeping them seperate.

Side Note: Love the Brotherhood bromance! It's classic! lol!

Last bone to pick, I promise! And this goes out to all paranormal books who have a glossary. Is it too much to ask to add the pronunciation on the specialized words?

I think the book was better than 1 star but other than that I have to agree with the 1 star reviews--Rehv was an afterthought and the book jumped around too much.

I'm sure the author was trying to build tension, make dull scenes interesting or something but holy crap--I don't think one phone call, doctors appointment, conversation, fight scene or sex scene was allowed to play out start to finish without being interupted by cutting away to something completely different. I know JR Ward does this in all of her books but with this one it was so over done it ruined the flow of the story for me.

And then there were so many major sub-plots woven into this story and no main focus of the book. There was the Wrath assasination, blindness story. The John, Xhex and Tohr plot. As always the Lash, Lesser plots and then the Rehv/Ehlena story. I felt like I was reading a collection of short stories except the pages of each individual story were shuffled together. A few pages of Wrath, some Lash, a dash of John and a pinch of Rehv. All interesting stories on their own but totally unsatisfying mixed together without a main storyline to get back to and revolve around.

The Wrath and Lesser story lines would have been enough as far as sub-plots go. I feel like I got jipped on the Rehv storyline. It started out fine but I felt like Ehlana, the sympaths and becomming King were all short changed and too much was left unsaid.

Why not save the John, Xhex, Tohr story lines for John's book? With so much of John's story told in Rehv's book am I going to feel jipped when it comes time for John's book as well? I hope not.

Anyway, the story isn't bad but I was disappointed, for the first time, in a BDB book.

*NO SPOILERS*
And with these four words so begins J.R Wards 7th instalment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I couldn't wait to read LOVER AVENGED and at 527 pages JR does not disappoint. She has encompassed it all; Surprises galore, evolving storylines, several POV's, plot-twists, humour, action, romance and of course heartbreak.

I won't spoil things for you here by giving away too much, I'll just give you a brief rundown of all the goodies involved in this intricate story. First off, and this was important to me. All the brothers make an appearance and are all involved to some degree within the story. So yes, we get shots of V, Butch, Zsadist, Rhage, Phury, Tohrment and Wrath, Ah Wrath...

Although pegged as Rehvenge's book, LOVER AVENGED belongs equally to Wrath and his continuing story. And oh how sweet it is to be back with the King. We haven't seen much of him since DARK LOVER (Book 1) but his character takes up a significant number of pages here as Wrath goes rogue from his royal duties and ultimately has to pay the consequences. John Mathew and Xhex also get a fair amount of attention and in secondary roles we have Blay and Quinn, Tez, iAm, and Payne. We are also introduced to George, a new companion to the King. Lassiter is back as the hilarious fallen angel, sidekick of Tohrment and the battle continues with the Lessers. Speaking of the Lessoning Society, Lash is simply awesome as their evolving leader taking things to a whole new level of evil.

I've never really been a fan of Rehvenge (he kind of creeped me out) but I have to say my opinion of him has now changed. His and Ehlena's love story is well done and surprisingly sweet. Ehlena makes a worthy mate but alas their romance never takes center stage (much like Phury/Cormina in LOVER ENSHRINED book 6.) Ehlena is a nurse from the clinic who treats Rehv after he develops sepsis from repeatedly injecting the dopamine he must take to hide the fact that he's a sympath. It's an unlikely pairing that somehow works even though Rhevenge is still a major drug lord/pimp and has his hands full running the nightclub Zerosum and being a leahdyre on the council. We do get to see a whole new side of him however and gain a much greater insight into the world of sympaths. JR manages to weave all her POV's and storylines together for one explosive (literally) and nail biting finale.

My one and only gripe would have to be that JR's brotherhood language has evolved. I don't mean the terms (but yes there are more of these as well) but the actual street lingo that the brothers use when speaking to each other. I occasionally found it hard to understand what they were talking about and had to re-read their dialogue several times before I could figure it out.

I can't imagine how you could ever start the series with this book, so please don't try. The BDB is so involved and complex with so many major characters, interweaving stories and POV's that you would be utterly lost plus you'd miss out on the other 6 great books in this fantastic series, but if you're a fan you won't be disappointed, true. The brotherhood undergoes some changes and there are major developments in all ongoing storylines but the hilarious banter we all love, the intensity and excitement are all still here. LOVER AVENGED made me laugh, made me cry and I didn't want it to end yet JR has done a great job in setting things up for the next book which is to be John Mathew's story (LOVER MINE).

I was so hoping that Ward's writing style was going to get back to the way she wrote the first 3 books. No such luck! She is not writing her books focusing on the romance. In LA there is just too much going on at times that the romance between Rhev and Ehlena seems rushed to me. If I started the series by reading any of the last 2 books she has written I would have not purchased any more from the series. I would have given it a 1 star but the cover model is HOT. The first half of the book was quite frankly boring, but the last half started picking up. I actually really enjoyed the developing love story between John and Xhex. If you are a die hard fan of Ms. Ward, you will love this book. However, if you love romance in a paranormal romance novel you may not love this book. If these series of books continues in the hardcover format, I know that I will most definitly wait for paperback. I think that I am done with buying this series and will only get it from the libary. It's too bad since this series was really great at the start and just kept going down hill from the last 2 books.