Halloween Reviews 01: Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Since I can't do giveaways yet (I'm broke, sorry guys.) I'm going to celebrate Halloween by posting reviews of Paranormal books I've read and still reading through-out the month of October! I've yet to finish another YA book, so until I can post the staple 1-2 book reviews per week, I'll be posting these instead.

For this week, I'll be reviewing J.R. Ward's The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The first book is entitled Dark Lover.

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going 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 their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, 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 - orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate - Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead...

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn't there, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunger that threatens to consume them both....

A word to the unwise, this book is not for kids. Or the faint-hearted. You've been warned.

This book introduces us to Wrath. By birthright, he is the King. But Wrath had a score to settle with the Lessers, de-souled human beings whose main purpose is to kill vampires. Wrath lost his family in the hands of these powder white heartless creatures, and before he can rule, he has to get his revenge.

Wrath, however, was sidetracked when his dearest friend, Darius, died. With his death, Darius left in Wrath's hands the responsibility to take care of his half-human daughter, Beth, and see her through her transition to a vampire, which isn't a piece of cake considering that it is Wrath. How will he be able to deal with a female whose got no idea who she really is? He's got a whole race to think about, and he doesn't really have the time to babysit. But does he? Everything changed the moment Wrath met Beth, and the Blind King just might have met the one destined to rule by his side.

Wrath is my favorite character in the story. He's a delight to read! He's a 6 foot 9 menace who's a lot of things. Even after 300 years Wrath still struggles with the fact that he wasn't able to save his parents from being killed, blames himself for his weakness and thus thinks he doesn't deserve to rule.

Beth lives a very ordinary life. She works as a journalist in a not so popular newspaper, and nothing much really happens there. Not until her paths crossed with Wrath, and she was brought into the world of the vampires, the world of the father she never had the chance to meet.

It was an instant attraction for the both of them. You'll see how the love between Wrath and Beth blossomed as both characters struggled with themselves. Wrath with his decision to rule a kingdom desperately in need of a leader, and Beth, with the new world she had been thrusted into.

J.R. Ward has masterfully crafted a world where vampires exist. And unlike the typical vampire you see in a typical paranormal novel, they do not shine. No they don't. They aren't pale. They are not wimpy. No, they're far from that. Amidst their world is The Black Dagger Brotherhood. They're warriors, vampires who banded together to defend their race against creatures whose plan is to wipe them off the face of the earth.

I instantly fell in love with this book the moment I've read it. It's SCORCHING HOT right from the start! But what I loved most about this series as a whole is how fascinating the world of the vampires are in this story. It's very elaborate and detailed to the point that you can actually believe it exists. I have to admit I was worried at first because you will encounter a lot of new terms Ward has introduced (she included a glossary of terms, but you'll remember them by heart as you move along the story).

See, one of the reasons why I didn't like Twilight is that it destroyed the vampires in the eyes of a lot of readers. People I know laugh when I say the word vampire, and JR Ward's vampire is definitely what a vampire should look like. More believable. More... human.

As Rhage (in the book) had said "We're not monsters, just different. A different specie."

The first book will introduce us to most of the characters the other books will focus on as the story of The Brotherhood progresses. It's a great start in a wonderful series!

Rating: ★★★★★ : AWESOMENESS! MORE! MORE! - I can't believe such a book exists!