Lover Awakened

This book is gritty, hard-hitting, and beautifully written–blood, sweat, and tears on a page.

I loved this book because the author did not pull any punches! The main male character was broken, his life had been tragic, and he didn’t just magically morph into some perfect model hero. While yes, I both see and imagine vampires as capable of incredible, deep love and loyalty, I also see them as a distinct species with an alternate nature, possessing the capacity for raw, animalistic pain, deep anger (even brutality), and the ability to act from all three places. This author nailed this,… show more.

Love alpha males?

The men in the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. Ward are the original bad boys of vampire romance. With her street-slang style of writing, Ward is one of the best in the business at immersing a reader into deep POV.

Lover Awakened (book 3 in the series) is one of my favorites because of the compelling hero. Zsadist, a former blood slave, bears so many internal wounds that watching the psychological growth he must conquer to find love with Bella is truly enthralling. 

This may very well be one of my absolute favorites, not just in this series but in this genre. I love my complicated and broken heroes and this one takes the mantle. It does help to read some of the earlier books to get a better feel for the character but it can also be a really great stand-alone if you wish. The relationship is the backbone of the story but the character growth, the secret world within our own, the side characters, and side plots weave together to make such an intriguing and tense read. I’ve read this book… show more.

For the brotherhood, the angriest, scariest, and one of wicked deeds title belongs to Zsadist and he has no regrets. He is the brother who the brothers are weary of. And with good reason. He lives in breathes in his own private hell of his past that haunts him. And what can bring him out…yup, you’ve guessed it, love. And when he meets Bella, his heart softens but only for her. Bad until the end…

Anyone who reads steamy, gritty Romance has probably already found the Black Dagger Brotherhood, a bunch of vampires fighting their own brand of bad guys in Caldwell, New York. My favourite of all these very hot guys is Zsadist, who was kidnapped at an early age and turned into a blood and sex slave. His story starts in the earlier books, but it's in this one that he finally gets his love interest, the beautiful Bella, who helps him heal and saves him from himself.  

There is so much going on in these very long books, most of it violent… show more.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is my go-to re-read because of the graphic action and intense romance. Book three features Zsadist and Bella, who is my ultimate favourite couple within the long series. A high society beautiful woman finds herself captivated by the clearly damaged self-destructive barbarian. Firstly, what’s not to love about that much-loved trope? In Lover Awakened J.R.Ward’s character development really tugs on your heartstrings, which forces you to root for the barbarian who needs to accept his traumatic past before he can allow himself to love. Heat level: 4/5