Title: Dark Lover [Black Dagger Brotherhood #1]
Author: J.R. Ward
Length: 400+ Pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Heat Level: 
Moderate
Overall Rating: 
2 hearts
Synopsis: In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.
The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.
– via GoodReads.
Review: This series was recommended to me by several people. I personally love vampires so I’m always on the lookout for a new one. And this one is fairly long at 11 books, I think? Now, that can be good, or that can be bad. It’s hard to tell just starting out, but I hope that the author hasn’t stayed too long at the party if you know what I mean.
Honestly, I was not at all thrilled with this book. Typically, I am a very forgiving reader. If the story draws me in, I can overlook a lot. That said, this didn’t have much going for it other than people telling me I had to suck it up and get through it in order to enjoy the rest of the series. About the only redeeming quality to this book was the last 15-20%, where things finally started to get a bit interesting.
Personally, I would never lead a series with this book. It’s choppy, overwritten and cluttered with stilted dialogue. The characters are flat, and sometimes laughable. Baby powder smelling zombie like things? Really? I’ll never forget that one. Mostly though, I was bored to tears.
It took me four days to read this book. (The same amount of time it took me to read an epic called, Evenfall, which was almost 4X as long at some 1600 pages I think. Despite all it’s faults, it drew me in and I couldn’t stop reading.) Man, was this one a chore.
However, having said that, I found myself liking the brothers a little – I just wish there had been more to them. I get that this was an introduction, more or less, but I think the characters suffered at the attempt to create this world. There was nothing that really stood out about them aside for their odd names. Except Zsadist. For some unknown reason, he intrigues me. There were a few hidden layers to him. I’m curious as to why he is the way he is. If it was stated, I missed it somehow.
So y’all win, I will give this series one more shot, read book two and pray to God it gets better. I’m told that it does and that I will be glad I persevered. We’ll see. Thankfully, a kind friend loaned me this series b/c as it stands – I wouldn’t have paid for it.
Purchase Links: Signet Eclipse (Penguin) | Amazon
