The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series

I just realized that some of my earlier reviews, specifically JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood, were never posted here. I think i started the blog after I'd read the series. But in talking with a new friend, about it, i decided to update my blog with some of my reviews from "pre-blog days".

I've read 9 of the 11 currently in this series and really need to get caught up before "The King" comes out on 25 March, 2014!

The Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of my favorites in the PNRe (Paranormal Erotica) genre, right along with Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed Series.

So, come along with me as I share my reviews of some of my past favorites that didn't make it to my blog.... YET! :)
~~~***~~~***~~~ Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

More please!

After reading the Midnight Breed Series, I saw reviews that compared it to The Black Dagger Brotherhood series, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm SO glad I did! I absolutely LOVED this first book (and have finished the 2nd one, but that's another review!).

I enjoyed how this book set up so much of the storyline, I felt like I really got to know something about each of the characters and have something to look forward to.

This book is about Wrath and Beth, a blind vampire and a half breed. Two people that should never have met are thrown together after the death of Wrath's "brother" and Beth's father. Wrath meets her the first time and it's like fate for the 2 of them from there on out. I won't go any deeper so as not to spoil anything for you.

All I can say is, get this book and start reading.. you won't want to put it down and you'll look forward to the next installment for sure!

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~~~***~~~***~~~ Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rhage and Mary...

Ahhh, Rhage and Mary. What a beautiful love story. Rhage is the perfect combination of tender and tough, sexual and sexy, trusting and controlling. A man that is not afraid of protecting his mate, or letting her hold him when tears overcome him.

Mary doesn't believe she has anything to offer a male, she's not the classic beauty that she (believes) Rhage wants, but she's wrong, she is exactly what Rhage never knew he was looking for. She's got some internal and external scaring from losing her mom to dealing with her own terrible bout with cancer.

Rhage believes he can handle her, Mary is quite sure he can't. There is so much tenderness and love in this book, lots of great sex between the main characters, and a lot of action too!! All of the brotherhood, and Butch, will come together to help this couple. But it's Rhage who will alone have to make the ultimate sacrifice, will it be the love of his life or the beast that controls him? It's sad and it'll have you in tears I promise. It's the ultimate love story!

Oh and throw a few "lessers" into the mix, and the beast that rages within Rhage, and you've got one helluva great action story too!

I can't wait to move on to Zsadist's story in book 3!

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~~~***~~~***~~~ Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

LOVER AWAKENED tells the painful story of Zsadist, who is a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, twin of Phury and a former blood slave. His past has left him scarred on the inside and out.

When Bella is abducted something stirs within Zsadist, he realizes that he MUST find her at all costs. Bella, he realizes is the only female who seems to be willing to look beyond his fearsome appearance and find that, perhaps, there may be more to him than even he is willing to believe, but most importantly, she is the only female he has been willing to care about and not wanted to kill.

Their lovestory is wrought with twists and turns, love and hate, torture and healing. Each helping the other to become whole again.

There are many twists and turns in this story. Parts of it are so sad it made my heart hurt for Zsadist and Phury and for Zsadist and Bella.

But when all is said and done, I really enjoyed this story.

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~~~***~~~***~~~ Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hmmmm... seems I didn't review this one! I need to remedy that in the near future!

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~~~***~~~***~~~ Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What can I say about this book other than... Oh. My. God.! This was such an emotional ride. Touching, Romantic & Thrilling all get 5 stars from me!

So touching and so sad in so many ways. I actually cried reading this book. The life that V started out with, having the Bloodletter for a father. The guy lived up to his name that's for sure. And finding out who his mother is (I'll not say here, so you'll be surprised) and finding that after all his years with his father, dreaming of a loving and caring mother, then to be sooo let down. He goes through so many emotions with his best friend, Butch, then finding the love of his life.

This book has so many twists and turns. Some of them will make you want to cry for him, cheer for him, and hope for him... and at some points you'll hold your breath for him. This is my favorite book so far in the BDB series, but then again, V has been my favorite character from the beginning. Don't worry about some of the other reviews that are upset with the ending to this book. It's about love and sacrifice and that life isn't always fair and it's all how you interpret "Happily Ever After".

I can't wait to read the next chapter which is Phury's story!

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~~~***~~~***~~~ Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was good, but it was also EXHAUSTING! There was a LOT of information to absorb, a lot of side stories, and a LOT of characters.

The only major thing that wrapped up was, of course, Phury & Cormia and how they interact as the Primale and one of the Chosen. I thought I would like Phury, and really looked forward to his story, but he wasn't really what I expected him to be. The "exhausting" part comes a lot from these two potential mates ducking and dodging, for way too long and Phury & "The Wizard", all the drugs, and for most of the book I felt that Phury was depicted as "weak". I really think that *maybe* a lot of this story could have been told without Phury being an "addict".

Cormia, isn't my favorite Shellan either, but she does work with Phury, which, in the long run helped me to come around to her character. It was interesting watching her grow in this book from one of "The Chosen", which is a whole other looong story in and of itself, to being on, "The Far Side". I won't go into too much detail about them, as it would give too much of the story away.

There were a lot of new side stories that will carry over into the next book(s). I'm really looking forward to some of these stories concluding so we can concentrate on the really *important* things.. the Brothers and their Shellans! :) Okay, okay, I know, there must be other things going on in order for these books to be interesting, but after finishing "Lover Enshrined", I need something a little less "busy".

I love John Matthew, but it was really hard to imagine him as "all grown up" after his transition. He is still a child in a lot of ways. Even as a pretrans it was hard to wrap your head around the fact that he was 25 years old! I hope he is portrayed as much more mature in the next chapter of this series, along with Qhuinn and Blay. I also can't wait for the fact that he is a "wahlker" (Darius) to come out... or at least I *hope* that what all of this has been leading up to. I will really be disappointed if that part of the plot never comes to fruition.

The one new character I'm most looking forward to more of is Lassiter, The Fallen Angel. I loved this new addition and his humor, and I'll bet he's sexy as hell too! This is one new plot line that I can't wait to see where it leads.

We see much more of Rehvenge in this book, which, I'm sure, is leading up to Lover Avenged which is about him. He is a unique character for sure, so much dark and mysterious about him. I'm curious to nail down all the blackmail/Princess stuff.

Lash... now there was something I didn't see coming. I despised this character from the first mention of him, and my opinion just got progressively worse from then on.

Although I love The Black Dagger Brotherhood series and all in all, I did enjoy this book and I look forward to seeing where all the new plots will lead. It's a *MUST* read in order to know what's going on in the next books. I can't stress enough how important it is to read these books in order or you will be totally lost, I'm sure!

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~~~***~~~***~~~ Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the story of Rehvenge, half symphath half vampire and truly a whole "Male of Worth". Which is very surprising considering all we knew about him from previous chapters in this series. To find that he is such a kind and loving soul was really a testament to "don't judge a book by it's cover".

We also meet Ehlena in this chapter, the woman with whom he falls in love, but is afraid to show her the "real" him. But what he *does* show her is pretty amazing! Ehlena is a nurse at Havers' clinic where she meets Rehvenge for the first time and only because none of the other nurses want to take care of him! She also takes care of her father who has a mental illness. She is the good girl to Rehv's bad boy.

A lot of our old friends from previous chapters are in this chapter too, thanks to several sub plots. Wrath and Beth, Mary, Bella, Qhuinn, Blay, Xhex, and JOHN MATTHEWS!

This is a very "busy" book... lots of things going on, and whenever anything starts to really pick up or something is about to be revealed, you are derailed to another sub plot. Keeps you on the edge of your seat for sure! Although the book was good, I think it was a little longer than it needed to be. There was a lot of things going on that were 'over described' and other things that were important that were either 'under described' or, what seemed to me, wrapped up a bit quick. Like the ending for instance, I felt like Rehvenge and Ehlena were just kinda glossed over in the very end. This was suppose to be their story, not Wrath and Beth's story. But that's just my take on it and may, in no way, be your experience.

As I've stressed in my other reviews of this series, it's very important to read these books in order, you will be pretty lost in this book if you haven't read the previous books.

Happy Reading! :)

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~~~***~~~***~~~ Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so looking forward to John Matthew's story, and even though I struggled a bit with this book, I can't say I was disappointed.

This book was passionate and complicated. My only wish was that the plots had all come together better. There seemed to be a lot of back and forth. I know it was suppose to make it more intense, but it got a bit frustrating every time you thought you were going to find out something and were tossed into another subplot.

Other than that, I enjoy this book, it was the page turner all of the previous books have been. This is one of the best series of books I've read in pnr.

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~~~***~~~***~~~ Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love the BDB! I love each and every character that the WARDen has created. However... I really felt like this book was just a continuation of Lover Unleashed, a lot of V & Jane, who I love together, don't get me wrong, but there should have been more of Manny & Payne.

And I felt like there were a lot of unanswered questions. What happened to Murhder? Where did his character go? There was such a build up of him in the last book, then in this one, nothing, nada, zip... What about the Scribe Virgin and the Omega? There are a lot of questions about what's going on with the SV, but it was just glossed over.

Quinn & Blay... this story line just kinda fell flat for me. No resolution really. But some things that were leading up to maybe a resolution in the future.. hopefully.

But, I would recommend it as a necessary part of the series. But there was just way too much left hanging to have to wait a year for the next book to come out. All in all, I still love this series!

I saw a short video recently of J.R. Ward announcing the next book will be Tohrment's story... I hope we also have answers to a lot of questions.

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Review: Knots

Knots by Chanse Lowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I was given the ARC copy of Knots by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to do so, Chanse. :)

What a sweet story! It was a bit romanticized, but, it's a work of fiction, so artistic license is part of the deal.

For the most part, I would say that in most situations that the author stayed true to the BDSM lifestyle. Showing the honesty and openness that a Dom demands from His sub.

The story itself I fell in love with. Growing up in Hawaii as I did, it was fun to read some of the references and know exactly what they meant, and actually slipping into Pidgin English in my head while reading some of the chatter between Mark and Jay. The food references and customs were pretty dead on too.

I liked the fact that Mark could be the commanding Dom and a tender and sweet man at the same time, and as circumstances dictated. It showed that just because he was a (sadistic at times) Dom, that he was also strong enough to show emotion. Let his guard down, so to speak.

The main characters of Mark and Jeanie were written as loving, caring people. Jeanie had a lot of demons to overcome mainly her life with Pono, her husband of just a few years that passed away. And how she fell in love with his best friend, Mark. But also, to me, it seemed that she had a lot of scars from emotional abuse at the hands of her parents. All Jeanie wants is to love and be loved and to be accepted for who she really is.

Mark, Pono's best friend has always loved Jeanie, but would never do anything to upset their marriage, which when it comes down to it was a farce, Pono was a man child, and Jeanie did nothing but try to please him at all costs. Mark was able to take Jeanie and show her that she isn't the person she's been made to feel she is. That she's not useless or worthless. And he does it in a very loving and gentle way.

Secondary characters, Pono's family, were very accepting of Mark and Jeanie being together, even so soon after their son/brother’s death. They knew Mark, and knew that he would take care of Jeanie. And they made sure that Jeanie knew she was still their "daughter" and she was their O'hana... family.

Other secondary characters, Mark's mother and Jeanie's parents were all character well written, even though I didn't like Jeanie's parents.

One character in the book that I think should have been expounded on was Tia. She could have been a very useful tool in explaining more of how the lifestyle is. For a new sub, such as Jeanie, having the support of a sister sub is very important. Writing more of Tia into the book instead of leaving Jeanie much like a fish out of water, would have been a bit more believable in that aspect.

This book was a fun quick read, and gets a solid 4 stars from me.




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Review: The Agreement

The Agreement by S.E. Lund

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This was a DNF for me. I couldn't get past the whining of Kate and I couldn't put my finger on what it was I didn't like about Drake. It wasn't that I didn't like him really, it was that he didn't seem like a Dom to me. 28% in and finally a kiss.. and she runs. She's suppose to be this very independent woman, self sufficient, but she's a mess.

She was always running away, hiding. And the "he was too beautiful, gorgeous, etc., to look at...", was so overplayed. Okay, I got it, he was hot, good looking, blah, blah, blah.. but the book just didn't seem to move forward for me. There didn't seem to be any depth, nothing to hold on to.

I may try to come back to this book another time, pick up where I left off and see if I can finish it then. But when I'm reading a book and my mind drifts, or I dread picking it back up, it's time to put it down and move on, at least for now.



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Review: As She's Told

As She's Told by Anneke Jacob

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I've been wondering how I was going to review this book since about midway through it. I'm still not sure what will end up flowing from my keyboard to this big empty page.

I enjoy BDSM fiction... the taboo of it all. And this book started out feeding what i enjoy. Then it made a right turn into UnbelievableVille and it didn't slow down until it ran right out of the other side of town.

As I said, i enjoy BDSM Fiction, but it has to be plausible... and towards the end of this book plausible was removed from the dictionary.

I understand kinks and fetishes, nothing wrong with them in the least, but, please.. keep is at least a tiny bit real.

The Labia Majora Ring scene. Umm. I understand the power exchange.. or the power flow being all one way. But a little warning for Maia, a tiny heads up, something, would have been nice. "Hey sweetheart, got a friend dropping by to throw 6 10-gauge locking rings through your labia. And to make it fun, you'll be strapped down and gagged.. and panicky, but don't worry, i won't give you anything in the way of comfort. Oh and as an added bonus, how about a nice hole through the septum! What fun! Oh, i'll give in and stroke your hair through that one. But that's it.

After that's done, He is generous enough to get her a drink of water for all her hard work. No, no, not Maia! I mean what did she do other than lay there, right? No the woman that *did* all the work actually *doing* the piercings!

Ahhh, and lets visit the ladies room. Pretty little powder room, and Maia can even reach it while she's chained up. Isn't that nice. And ohh! It beats the chamber pot in the front room by leaps and bounds! Right? Ahhh, hold those pretty little labia rings Maia.. Master has a nice surprise for you! What's this behind door number one?! *pause and re-read... 3 times* A litter box? Really? Oh. Okay then. Lets see how *that* works. Back in, squat, pee. Easy peasy! "Cover it". Cover it? Oh yes, cover it with kitty litter, and is instructed to do that even if her hands are tied behind her back. Yeeaahh. Okay.

I think this book lost me an the trip to the farm. The pony play was taken to such an extreme that I didn't believe it anymore. Not that pony play bothers me, that's not the case at all.. but I want to to at least be plausible. The last bit while they were there when Val and Ria were "riding Maia"... was just utterly ridiculous. No, no.. not because it isn't something that is an actual fetish and I'm sure does happen, but because Maia is described throughout the book, in great detail, of being this tiny little thing. 5'1 or something, and here she has these 2 women putting their full weight on her, riding her, whipping her, and she never crumbles under the weight. She stumbles, but never crumbles. Kinda like a weeble wobble.. she weebled and she wobbled but she never fell down.

She's used to plow a garden spot. Really, little tiny Maia in all her harnesses, weights, etc. She's going to pull a plow through unbroken ground, over and over.

A large Maple slab of wood, made to fit across her back, to help her be a better coffee table.. tiny Maia.

Yes, the farm.. that is where i started skimming. A lot. This book felt like the never ending story, it was ohh so long for a book that page wise wasn't really overly so. It was filled with, well.. a lot of filler.

I didn't give 2 labia rings and a litterbox about some of the over descriptive ramblings that went on in this story. It could have been much shorter and the same book without some of the over descriptiveness.. such as Anders on a job site, measuring, making another cut, etc. Not to mention the conversations he was having with these other people, sometimes you knew who he was talking to, sometimes you didn't and the format of them using > and sometimes >> it was a guessing game, and it was unnecessary usually.

I didn't feel engaged with the other characters. Val & Ria, the whole story could have been improved by running these 2 characters off a cliff early on. Didn't much care for either of these characters, and when it comes down to it, they were just bullies, not Dommes or whatever it was they were suppose to be.

So, you may ask.. was there anything i *did* like about this book? Well yes! Yes, there was!

I enjoyed the beginning when they met and were starting the journey, some of the middle as Anders took more and more control of Maia, this is where descriptive came in quite handy! And quite frankly the end, because it finally ended.

It's a stretch giving this a 3 star review.



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Review: Friday's Lesson

Friday's Lesson by Felicity Brandon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Recommended for: Anyone the enjoys a quick, hot, lunchtime read!
Read on September 16, 2013 -- I own a copy

What a fun quick read! And hot too! Just perfect to read over your lunch hour or while sitting in a nice warm bubble bath!

A husband and wife on the verge of splitting up until the husband tells her what he wants from her and exactly how he wants it.

She's taken aback, but even with the shock of it all she notices this change that has come over him in this situation, and she likes it! But will she like it when He takes complete control?

Read it and find out! 4.5 stars



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Review: Sensation and Magic - A woman's erotic journey through Submission and Mastery

Sensation and Magic - A woman's erotic journey through Submission and Mastery by Germaine Gibson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Ok, this one was an odd one. I'm giving it 2.5 stars... barely, but rounding it up to 3 to account for the time the author put into writing this one.

I'm not sure how to describe what I read here. For me it was kind of like a train wreck, no matter how much I tried to look away, I just had to see if the crash didn't happen. It did.

This is a quick read, but if you're looking for a book with a connection to characters, a plot, or any follow through, then this isn't the book for you. It's just kinky and without depth.



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