Writer's Blog

Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, Book 3) by J.R. Ward may not keep you awake

Book description:

Zsadist, a former blood slave, is a tortured soul. Because he was sexually abused while in captivity, he had given up on the thought of any possible romantic involvement; feeling unworthy of any such attention. As a result, he is angry and viewed as dangerous by both humans and vampires.

Then Bella came along. Bella had been kidnapped by the Lessers, the dire enemies of the vampires and Zsadist rescues her. Their passion for each other is followed around by Zsadist's consistent self-loathing. His obsession to go after the Lessers who tormented Bella, overpowers him and he finds himself in a life-and-death situation. Does he find true love or is his existence on this planet finally over.

My review:

'Lover Awakened' is the third book of the'Black Dagger Brotherhood Series.' These books have at least three storylines going on at one time. This particular book had more than that. There were so many things going on at once that the main characters seemed to take a backseat at times. The storyline about the Lessers was dull and uninteresting. These books are already very long, yet the Lessers’ storyline seems to feel like filler.

That being said, the part of the book where the bond between Zsadist and his twin was being explored, was moving and heart warming. There certainly should have been more of that and less filler. The love story is dark and unpredictable. J.R. Ward cleverly leaves you guessing as to how this book is going to finish. Just when you think you have it figured out, you will be tossed into a situation you never expected. I loved the ending but I will probably not read the next book in the series. Although I realize that I am in the minority when I say this, the books are kind of dark and unsettling. There is also a foreshadowing of homosexuality in the future of this series, which may be discouraging for some of you reading the book for the romance. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It took me forever to finish, which is unusual for me. I got to the point where I just wanted to get it over with. I skipped through the gigantic book continuously, just to get back to the love story, which didn’t get enough airtime.