I am really kinda speechless after reading this book. Saying that I LOVED IT is kinda putting it mildly. Honestly, the other paranormal books I have read in the past few months have paled in comparison to these books so far. What makes it so different is the camaraderie between the Brothers and the heroes themselves are so unique in their own way.Rhage is such a womanizer. I really didn't know if I would like him or not. But, as the storyline progressed and his true nature starts to reveal itself, he was easily one of my favorite heroes of all time. He definately rates top 5 easily. For such a bad-ass, he was so tender and loving with Mary. His sacrifice at the end for her was amazing. I loved him. He is worthy of a happily ever after. Mary is another really well written heroine. I really liked her. I felt her insecurities, her hope that she may get better and the love she had for Rhage and the beast within him. Get your tissues out girls because I cried in this book. When Mary finally breaks down in front of Rhage, I literally had to put the book down and wipe my eyes for several minutes. It's not all sadness and tears. It has some very funny moments in it. It is just the total package all around.Gosh between Wrath and Rhage I don't know which one I liked the best. Now I am off to read Z's story...I have a feeling I will like this one too!

**2.5**Lover Eternal frustrated me in much the same way Dark Lover did. I don't like Ward's depiction of women, nor do I like the whole bonding experience. From the main character Mary to the Scribe Virgin's Chosen, the female characters only find some confidence when a man deems them worthy. Up until then, they're easily cowed damsels who gasp and flutter and lament their unattractiveness. This makes the mating game exasperating. It also makes my teeth itch on general principles. Mary's self-deprication is over-the-top and embarrassing on her first date with Rhage, with her trying to run for the hills before the man can even introduce himself. Annoying.Once she accepts him, she gains more strength and courage. It makes her far more bearable--even likable--but it doesn't change the fact that I constantly rolled my eyes at all their drama. Around every bend was another cry of but we can't. Get over yourselves and enjoy life already.Then I cackled and shook my head every time Mary's core bloomed and she gushed all over the place. Like gysers, these women. The Chosen. Their entire existence irks me: a group of women bred to serve the Scribe Virgin, feed unmated warriors, and pop out kids. I understand the necessity of their role, but must they spout phrases like, "I have been properly cleansed for your use. You may inspect me, should you wish..."? All said in a mournful tone implying shame at not providing sexual service. It's offensive.Let's move on to the Brothers themselves. This is where Ward shines and where I wish she'd spend more time. (Seeing as how her women are so meh yet her men so vibrant, maybe she should give up the het and write M/M. I think she'd be better at it.) The Brothers' interactions are great. There's a sense of deep connection between them. They are there for one another no matter the circumstances. (Even the damaged, anti-social Z reaches out in his own way.) V and Butch remain favorites for their easy natures and capable attitudes. Although technically not a Brother, I loved seeing Butch settling into place and his hopes to do more for the BDB.My one big gripe with the Brothers is the illogical adoption of gangsta culture. All the "straight up" and "you feel me" doesn't ring true for any of them, with perhaps the exception of V. He's the only one who seems relatively consistent with it, while the others pepper their more formal speech with random slang--like kids trying to fit in with the cool crowd. They're hundreds of years old. These aren't speech patterns they grew up with. I oh so dearly wish it would stop.In the midst of the angst and shitkickers is a mysterious side story. This book introduces John Matthew, a scrawny kid who is destined for more. He's the kind of character who begs speculation, while also adding a thread of desperation and a new corner of the BDB universe to explore. With John Matthew's arrival and the set-up for Z's story, I can see how this series could easily move to UF. It's a change I'd welcome, since I think Ward needs to beef up her world--in particular, her antagonists.The lessers are incredibly weak as Big Bads go. Sure, they kidnap civilian vampires. But since Ward never shares their torture techniques or interrogation sessions, the threat feels remote. I know they're supposed to be dangerous slayers, but without more information they merely come off as inept redshirts. The Brothers easily shake them off and take them down. Their leader, Mr. X, does nothing but boss his underlings around and threaten them with the Omega. Who is this Omega? What's his gripe? What's he capable of other than making one dude scream? If he's so powerful and intimidating, why can't he make his forces more capable? And why do they smell like fricken baby powder?! For God's sake. The Brothers can smell them coming a mile away. Why saddle your forces with an early warning system that alerts the enemy? Madness! Mr. O is the only villain of substance, and it's because of who he is rather than the organization he's in. He's a creepy, twisted guy with a destructive and defiant streak. He's full of calculated malice and likes getting his hands dirty. The lessers could be very different were he at the helm--they might actually get something done.Overall, the romance clichés in Lover Eternal were painful. For me, there was no thrill in the chase. Instead there was a lot of eye-rolling and innappropriate laughter. I'd hoped the background story of the Scribe Virgin, the Omega and the lessers would be enough to pick up the slack, but Ward's world has almost zero development outside the Brothers' door. I know this is PNR and so the focus is supposed to be on the romance. But if you are going to hand me a passel of warriors and expect me to believe they are Big Strong Males fighting the Good Fight, give them a worthy foe. Give them a society worth saving. Give them a purpose outside of listening to rap, stalking women, and beating up some baby-powdered freaks. The current formula just doesn't do the trick.

Crack. Crack laced with rat poison. Thats what this series represents. Ive now read the first two books in this series and feel that both have been pleasantly distracting, entertaining and I intend to finish the series post haste. However, Im definitely camping out with everyone whos ever read these and gone, huh?!? How could I possibly be enjoying this? The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a group of warrior vampires who are fighting to protect weaker civilian vampires from evil, soulless, albino vampire slayers who smell like baby powder. If thats not compelling enough to get someone to pick this series up, I dont know what is. (HA!!!!) Each book focuses on the romance of one brother and the female of his destiny. In this particular book, the brother in question is Rhage. Rhage is an oversexed vampire with a dragon curse (oooh, dragons outside of a medieval mystery or epic fantasy!) Whenever he loses his temper, he turns into a dragon and kills everything in sight. Sex helps him control the dragon. Sex and fighting. Duly noted and kind of hot, so I was intrigued. Rhages lady friend is a human woman named Mary who volunteers for a suicide hotline and also happens to be dying of leukemia. Obviously shes being set up for some kind of immortality deal. Sort of boring when youre dealing with a vampire story, in my opinion, however, I should note that in Wards world, vampire bites do not turn humans into vampires. Vampires are born, not made. So I was also intrigued how Marys inevitable death due to cancer could be worked into immortality if the restrictions of the world prevent her from becoming a vampire herself. ***spoilers past this point***In addition to containing spoilers, this is the part of the review where I will complain about the things I did not like about this book and then try to pinpoint the exact reason this series has me panting for more (that shipment from booksfree.com cant get to my mailbox fast enough)! For starters, lets start with the overarching complaints that have impacted the first two books in the series and will likely extend to the rest (based on the series research Ive conducted thus far): --The heroes names are insane. And not in the good way. Wrath? Rhage? Phury? Zsadist? And in this particular installment, an adolescent vampire who dreams of the name Tehrror is introduced to the mix as well. Give me a flipping break! --Shitkickers annoy the bejeebus out of me. Apparently to be a fully-fledged member of the brotherhood, one cannot wear boots, one must wear shitkickers. --The tough guy dialect shared by the brothers makes me cringe and I feel embarrassed for them whenever they talk to each other. Actually, come to think of it, the affected vernacular (it has to be affected because literally NO ONE ELSE in their world talks that way except the brothers) reminds me of people Ive met in real life who are emotionally weak and/or were picked on *horribly* as children and have adopted a tough image to overcompensate. Maybe thats not too unheard of given the fact that pre-warrior vampires are born as weak, pencil-necked geeks. But even if thats the case, the way they talk to each other annoys me. --The rap music. Um, no. Just no. The references were over-the-top and ridiculous. And they made me laugh, which I dont think was the point. The reason I did not particularly like this book was because I felt it fell apart in the middle. It started strong. It was intriguing. And then something happened that turned me off so badly that I realized Id reached the point of no return with this couple and regardless of how they worked the problem out amongst themselves, I was done with them. Despite the fact that sex supposedly calmed Rhages dragon beast, being with Mary had the opposite effect. As he kisses her and tries to be intimate with her, he can feel the beast coming closer and closer to the surface and is reluctant to have sex with her for that reason. She doesnt know about his curse so hes scared of frightening her or hurting her and tries to prevent this from happening by backing away from her when it becomes too much to handle. At one point, he decides to go to a bar to meet a strange woman and have anonymous sex with her, which will then allow him to be with Mary without losing control. Mary doesnt know his reasons, but she knows he leaves her in his room to go out and have sex with a stranger. I think most romance readers would be annoyed by his decision to do something like this. However, knowing there was a fairly legitimate reason for doing this bought him a small bit of leeway from me. I didnt like it, but it wasnt completely out of character. However, immediately after he returns from the bar where he admittedly has just had sex with some strange woman, she jumps his bones and they have sex for the first time. WTF??? That pissed me off BIG time. OK ladies, if your man leaves you alone in his bedroom and you know hes just gone out to have meaningless sex with an anonymous stranger, the first thing you do NOT do is share your holy of holies with him the second he returns, mmkay?After that happened, I didnt really care less about what happened to either of them. I had a hard time taking either of them seriously after that point and the fact that the last portion of the book spent more energy in setting up the next installment in the series rather than in resolving the plots within its own pages also irked me to no end. The book just sort of ended. It wasnt even on a cliffhanger. Marys civilian vampire friend, Bella, was abducted by the evil slayers. Bella is being slated to be the destined female for Zsadist in the third installment of the series and it peeves me to no end that she was abducted in the second book and not even mentioned in the last chapter. The last chapter of Lover Eternal was a happy, sappy ending between Rhage and Mary and had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that her friend had been abducted a few chapters earlier and never rescued. Lame.