Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward
Sep. 7th, 2006 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmc_bksI zipped right through a first read of J.R. Ward’s Lover Awakened, then went back and read it more carefully. First thought – I really like Ward’s world building. Second thought – I am bored by the time spent with the lessers. Sometimes the villains and their motives matter to me, and I want to know and understand them. Here? Not so much.
Bella and Zsadist met in the second Black Dagger Brotherhood book, Lover Eternal. She was attracted to him, but he more or less scared her off. At the end of the book, she was kidnapped by one of the lessers. Lover Awakened picks up six weeks later. The Brotherhood is hunting lessers, as usual, and Zsadist is obsessed with finding Bella. He wears her necklace and haunts her home. Her family have assumed she is dead, and held her funeral, but in fact she is being held by her lesser captor, who is obsessed with her and calls her his wife. When the lesser makes a mistake, a captive vampire (brought to feed Bella, who can only drink from her kind) escapes, bringing the Brotherhood to where Bella is being held. Zsadist takes Bella back to the Brotherhood’s compound, and nurses her.
Caring for Bella and being close to her physically awakens sexual feelings in Zsadist, who has never been involved in a healthy relationship, sexual or otherwise. His years as a bloodslave have crossed his wires, sexually speaking and relationship-wise. He is an outsider among the Brotherhood, keeping even his twin Phury at a distance. He feeds only on human blood, which barely sustains him, and does not even trust the food provided by the Brotherhood’s loyal servants. He thinks of his penis as “the it” and is disgusted by it, refusing to touch it even to urinate, never touching it for pleasure. Its arousal disgusts and unnerves him, and at one point he even hurts it (by refusing to adjust it) and is pleased because he think it deserves it for being so nasty as to become aroused by the unconscious Bella. He sees himself as unclean and undeserving.
Bella’s & Zsadist’s attraction to one another is complicated by Phury, who is also attracted to Bella. Zsadist would give her up to Phury, thinking him a better mate, better suited to her, “a worthy male” as he puts it. Except Bella isn’t interested, she only wants Zsadist.
The backblurb makes a huge deal out of Zsadist’s desire for revenge, and it plays an important part in the plot. And the lesser who mourns Bella and seeks her still plays a role as well. But in my opinion, the larger obstacle between Bella and Zsadist is his steamer-trunk-sized bundle of personal issues. He keeps pushing her away until she is tired of trying. He reaches out to her only in order to save his brother, then she fades out of his life. He’s left behind, trying to change who he is and mend his relationship with his twin and the remaining Brothers. Eventually though, Bella returns with news – she’s carrying his young.
Okay, my thing: I hate it when pregnancy is used as a comeback reason. I’d’ve liked it better if Bella hadn’t been pregnant, and if Zsadist had gone to woo her after “finishing” himself. But that’s just me.
There are a lot of other things going on in the background, while Zsadist and Bella are circling each other. Wellsie is organizing a vampire festival of sorts, trying to revive old customs now that Wrath has ascended as Vampire King. John, the orphan who was taken in by Tohrment and Wellsie in the last book, is assimilating into the vampire life, although he has not yet transformed. It is discovered that he is the son of Darius, a member of the Brotherhood who died in the first book, Dark Lover. A new character, The Reverend (aka Rehvenge, Bella’s brother) is introduced, and I’m not sure how he’s going to fit into the scheme of things.
I loved the interaction of the members of the Brotherhood. At their core, they are a family. They work together, hang out together, and try to help each other, but in the end, they can only watch each other court disaster in their own way, then be there to pick up the pieces.
I liked Bella as a heroine much more than I liked Mary from Lover Eternal -- Mary seemed a little vague to me, kind of ~meh~, beaten down by her sad life and history. Despite the fact that she needed rescuing at the beginning of the book, Bella came across as a much stronger character to me. She stood up for herself; she argued to Zsadist and didn’t let him push her around. When it was clear that he wasn’t going to be able to give her what she wanted and needed, she moved on (or tried to). She rescued Zsadist and Phury by confronting her lesser “husband”; she stood up to her overprotective brother.
Zsadist as a hero required a little bit of suspension of disbelief for me. Yes, he was tender with Bella and clearly loved her. He wanted only the best for her, even though he was convinced that the best is not him. But his history and the fact that he clearly had not dealt with it was a huge stumbling block for me. He redeemed himself in the end by working on himself – reaching out to Phury and the other Brothers, working with the students, learning to read. But I still wonder if that much damage can be repaired without professional help…which is clearly available and not frowned upon in their world.
Niggle about the cover art: Bella has dark hair – I think it is even referred to as mahogany. The cover model clearly has blonde hair. Couldn’t the art department fix that?
All in all, I enjoyed Lover Awakened very much, and am looking forward to the next book, which will be Butch’s story. I’m curious to know more about Vishous, and why he made Butch drink his blood. Grade: B+.
ETA again: I forgot to mention the nekkid guys, but reading Dear Author's review reminded me. When Bella goes into her needing (basically, she's in heat), all of the guys respond. But only Zsadist "serves" her. So the other three self-medicate on red smoke (a sort of marijuana-ish drug, I think) and Scotch. And all fall asleep together, and wake up together, more or less naked. ::puzzled:: I know they are brothers, but all three in the same bed? Naked? Screams M/M action to me, because even the least homophobic guys I know would NEVER sleep naked with another guy, not even their best friends. Especially not their best friends. And the hint about Vishous being down for that type of thing earlier in the book? An evil tease by Ward. Because now I want to know more, and I'm wondering about what kind of HEA he's going to have, and how he may be involved with Butch and Marissa's story.
ETA: A scroll bar has appeared at the bottom of this post for some reason. Anybody have any idea why? The content is regular text, the only html are the italics, a single uploaded photo and the blockquote.
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, a deadly turf war rages between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Of these, Zsadist is the most terrifying member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.
A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion and terror his only passion – until he rescues a beautiful female from the evil Lessening Society.
Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for each other begins to overtake them, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past and find a future with her. . . .
Bella and Zsadist met in the second Black Dagger Brotherhood book, Lover Eternal. She was attracted to him, but he more or less scared her off. At the end of the book, she was kidnapped by one of the lessers. Lover Awakened picks up six weeks later. The Brotherhood is hunting lessers, as usual, and Zsadist is obsessed with finding Bella. He wears her necklace and haunts her home. Her family have assumed she is dead, and held her funeral, but in fact she is being held by her lesser captor, who is obsessed with her and calls her his wife. When the lesser makes a mistake, a captive vampire (brought to feed Bella, who can only drink from her kind) escapes, bringing the Brotherhood to where Bella is being held. Zsadist takes Bella back to the Brotherhood’s compound, and nurses her.
Caring for Bella and being close to her physically awakens sexual feelings in Zsadist, who has never been involved in a healthy relationship, sexual or otherwise. His years as a bloodslave have crossed his wires, sexually speaking and relationship-wise. He is an outsider among the Brotherhood, keeping even his twin Phury at a distance. He feeds only on human blood, which barely sustains him, and does not even trust the food provided by the Brotherhood’s loyal servants. He thinks of his penis as “the it” and is disgusted by it, refusing to touch it even to urinate, never touching it for pleasure. Its arousal disgusts and unnerves him, and at one point he even hurts it (by refusing to adjust it) and is pleased because he think it deserves it for being so nasty as to become aroused by the unconscious Bella. He sees himself as unclean and undeserving.
Bella’s & Zsadist’s attraction to one another is complicated by Phury, who is also attracted to Bella. Zsadist would give her up to Phury, thinking him a better mate, better suited to her, “a worthy male” as he puts it. Except Bella isn’t interested, she only wants Zsadist.
The backblurb makes a huge deal out of Zsadist’s desire for revenge, and it plays an important part in the plot. And the lesser who mourns Bella and seeks her still plays a role as well. But in my opinion, the larger obstacle between Bella and Zsadist is his steamer-trunk-sized bundle of personal issues. He keeps pushing her away until she is tired of trying. He reaches out to her only in order to save his brother, then she fades out of his life. He’s left behind, trying to change who he is and mend his relationship with his twin and the remaining Brothers. Eventually though, Bella returns with news – she’s carrying his young.
Okay, my thing: I hate it when pregnancy is used as a comeback reason. I’d’ve liked it better if Bella hadn’t been pregnant, and if Zsadist had gone to woo her after “finishing” himself. But that’s just me.
There are a lot of other things going on in the background, while Zsadist and Bella are circling each other. Wellsie is organizing a vampire festival of sorts, trying to revive old customs now that Wrath has ascended as Vampire King. John, the orphan who was taken in by Tohrment and Wellsie in the last book, is assimilating into the vampire life, although he has not yet transformed. It is discovered that he is the son of Darius, a member of the Brotherhood who died in the first book, Dark Lover. A new character, The Reverend (aka Rehvenge, Bella’s brother) is introduced, and I’m not sure how he’s going to fit into the scheme of things.
I loved the interaction of the members of the Brotherhood. At their core, they are a family. They work together, hang out together, and try to help each other, but in the end, they can only watch each other court disaster in their own way, then be there to pick up the pieces.
I liked Bella as a heroine much more than I liked Mary from Lover Eternal -- Mary seemed a little vague to me, kind of ~meh~, beaten down by her sad life and history. Despite the fact that she needed rescuing at the beginning of the book, Bella came across as a much stronger character to me. She stood up for herself; she argued to Zsadist and didn’t let him push her around. When it was clear that he wasn’t going to be able to give her what she wanted and needed, she moved on (or tried to). She rescued Zsadist and Phury by confronting her lesser “husband”; she stood up to her overprotective brother.
Zsadist as a hero required a little bit of suspension of disbelief for me. Yes, he was tender with Bella and clearly loved her. He wanted only the best for her, even though he was convinced that the best is not him. But his history and the fact that he clearly had not dealt with it was a huge stumbling block for me. He redeemed himself in the end by working on himself – reaching out to Phury and the other Brothers, working with the students, learning to read. But I still wonder if that much damage can be repaired without professional help…which is clearly available and not frowned upon in their world.
Niggle about the cover art: Bella has dark hair – I think it is even referred to as mahogany. The cover model clearly has blonde hair. Couldn’t the art department fix that?
All in all, I enjoyed Lover Awakened very much, and am looking forward to the next book, which will be Butch’s story. I’m curious to know more about Vishous, and why he made Butch drink his blood. Grade: B+.
ETA again: I forgot to mention the nekkid guys, but reading Dear Author's review reminded me. When Bella goes into her needing (basically, she's in heat), all of the guys respond. But only Zsadist "serves" her. So the other three self-medicate on red smoke (a sort of marijuana-ish drug, I think) and Scotch. And all fall asleep together, and wake up together, more or less naked. ::puzzled:: I know they are brothers, but all three in the same bed? Naked? Screams M/M action to me, because even the least homophobic guys I know would NEVER sleep naked with another guy, not even their best friends. Especially not their best friends. And the hint about Vishous being down for that type of thing earlier in the book? An evil tease by Ward. Because now I want to know more, and I'm wondering about what kind of HEA he's going to have, and how he may be involved with Butch and Marissa's story.
ETA: A scroll bar has appeared at the bottom of this post for some reason. Anybody have any idea why? The content is regular text, the only html are the italics, a single uploaded photo and the blockquote.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 05:41 am (UTC)I'm beginning to think that Butch and V were made for each other ;) That whole scene with the blood was just a wee bit sexual - okay, I thought it was a whole lot sexual.
I missed that all three guys woke up naked. I thought they were clothed.
I'm also sick of the lessers. I'm not sure I'm going to read their parts anymore because I'm always dying to know what happens to the couple I'm reading about. I even found John to be a pain in the ass at first!
Do you think the next book will start from where this one left off? Was the end an epilogue or do you think 24 months had passed? Two years would be a long time for Butch to get over Marissa but from the excerpt I would say it didn't happen ;)
CindyS
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 01:11 pm (UTC)I assumed the guys were naked because Ward referred to them as being uncomfortable in their clothes. I don't have the book at hand, but maybe I assumed a little too much :)
Butch and V do seem like the perfect couple, don't they? I guess it would be pushing the envelope of the romance genre to have V, Butch and Marissa as a happy "couple", wouldn't it?
~jmc
no subject
Date: 2006-09-15 01:03 pm (UTC)U didn't assume too much. I figured that also... I had to reread that scene again the other night to make sure what you thought was right. And now that I had a second peak, it does sound that way... the book says the clothes were uncomfortable and their modesty was long forgotten.
-Trish
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-14 08:15 pm (UTC)Anyway... this book really moved FAST. And it was so enjoyable.
J.R. needs to write faster. I can't wait for Phury's book.
-Trish
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 07:08 am (UTC)The ending
Date: 2006-09-08 01:59 pm (UTC)Re: The ending
Date: 2006-09-08 04:14 pm (UTC)I wonder, though, if this is going to be a recurring problem as the series continues, considering the increasing complexity of the external conflicts and the new secondary characters that were introduced in LA.
- Kat (katmayo.blogspot.com)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 01:33 pm (UTC)Tara Marie, romancereadingmom.blogspot.com
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 02:03 pm (UTC)I couldn't figure out a way to say what I liked about LA without spoilers, hence the text cut. :) V and Butch (and their relationship) really have me curious. Between the roommates, sharing clothes, the blood-drinking, I'm antsy to know what comes next.
I think Phury's kiss/bite of The Reverend was supposed to grab The Rev's attention and surprise him, but that Phury was clearly not gay. Well, I guess he could be bi, but I thought his pining for Bella and possible contest with Z made it clear where his preferences lie. (Or lay? I'm bad with that verb usage.)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:41 pm (UTC)I just can't see this happening, but boy it would be interesting. Do you think a mainstream publisher would be willing to actually do this? Unfortunately I don't.
Tara Marie...
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:00 pm (UTC)Although, really, how would that be all that different from LKH's revolving bedroom door for Anita Blake now? Anita-JC-Richard-Asher-Micah-whoever else is in reach. At least B-V-M would be limited to three ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 06:16 pm (UTC)But wanted to say... love love love this book ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-09 12:59 pm (UTC)CindyS
no subject
Date: 2006-09-10 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-15 12:57 pm (UTC)-Trish
Book Review
Date: 2006-09-12 07:11 pm (UTC)Re: Book Review
Date: 2006-09-13 07:54 pm (UTC)