Dark Lover

Dark Lover by JR Ward

Wrath, son of Wrath, is the last pure-blooded vampire left on Earth, and their unwilling King.  Though mostly blind since his transition, Wrath is the defacto leader of a band of warrior vampires known as the Black Dagger Brotherhood.  Despising humans almost as much as he despises his own fate, he is left reeling when one of his warriors dies leaving his half-human daughter in his care just as she is about to transition herself.

Journalist Beth Randall has always been alone.  Raised in foster care, she knew nothing about her parents, and never really felt connected to anyone.  Suddenly her life is thrown into a tailspin when a series of seemingly unconnected events begin take on rather sinister implications, and a massive stranger arrives in the night claiming that her father sent him to protect her.  She is left unsure about what is more terrifying:  the dark world Wrath is leading her into, or their unexpected need for each other.

Honestly, I have never been able to get into Paranormal Romance.  Typically it is too dark for me, and I am not a fan of the excessive language normally used by the genre.  That being said, this series really surprised me.  The story actually has a great amount of general appeal.  The writing sucked me in quickly, and I found myself turning pages, wanting to know how things were going to turn out.

Even though the main protagonists of the story are Wrath and Beth, there are many stories that begin to form throughout the book.  Butch and Marissa have a great deal of their stories told, with Tohr, Rhage, and Vishous getting story teasers woven in.  We also hear little bits about Phury and Zsadist, too.  It was this style of multiple points of view that pushed me to finish the book and helped me overlook some of the less pleasant aspects of the story.

Those unpleasant aspects for me are mainly during the points of view of the antagonist, Mr. X.  As a leader in the Lessening Society, Mr. X is overly fond of torture, and his points of view are full of disturbing details.  I found myself wanting to skip over the scenes involving Mr. X. every time I saw his name pop up.

Over all, I would say that the book is definitely worth a try for anyone wanting to try something a bit out of their comfort zone.  Also, if you are a fan of the Paranormal Romance genre already, then this is a definite must read for you.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 5

Sex – 4 

Language – 2

Storyline – 4

Overall – 4