Dark Lover

The Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1

By: J. R. Ward

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The first novel of J. R. Ward's New York Times best-selling Black Dagger Brotherhood series features a unique take on vampire lore and heavy doses of sensuality.

The vampire Darius fears for the life of his half-breed daughter, who is unaware of her unusual destiny. To oversee her transformation, Darius seeks help from Wrath, a dangerous loner and the world's only purebred vampire.

©2005 J.R. Ward (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

YES YES YAAAASSSSSSS!

WOW!! I'm HOOKED!!
I've been looking for a great series I could dive head first into. Although when I first started the book I will admit, it was SLOWWW! I didn't realise this was going to be such a slow burn until just over halfway through. but I'm glad i held on until the end. this is "only the beginning" as they say. so It really doesn't get good (for me) until chapter 19 or so. plus the CONSTANT CLIFFHANGERS! dear lord!
but its still very enjoyable, I am honestly used to things getting a BIT more..... steamy. but this book is written very tastefully.
I love the world building, I love the camaraderie, I LOVE the raw and passionate LOVE between the whole family as well as the couple. It was/is a little difficult with all the names of the characters since I don't have faces to associate them with (besides a couple in my minds eye) but I am officially hooked and lining up book 2 next!
I highly recommend it, so far at least lol!

Grand

This is my second time listening to this series! Can’t get enough!!! I’m going back to listen to all the Novelas inside stories now with the other books that I’ve already read. So I just started it over a couple weeks ago and can’t wait to listen to all of them

So good, I literally listened for over 7 hours in a day!

I’m so thrilled there are so many books in this series so I don’t have to leave this world anytime soon. All of Ward’s characters are dynamic and interesting and I can’t wait to see where she takes them next.

Jim Frangione’s narration took a little time to get used to but once I did I enjoyed his reading. His voices are subtle but enjoyable.I’m glad he lends his voice to the other books in the series.

A new kind of vampire book that is very enjoyable.

Enjoyable to listen to, a lot of action, exciting and will keep you on edge. Not your typical vampire book by no means.

Hotter than I expected! Now I need another fix.

What did you love best about Dark Lover?

The angst between Wrath and Elizabeth. They both read things into the other's actions that weren't right. But Ms. Ward, didn't make it trite as can often be the case.

The chemistry between the two whas HOT.

What did you like best about this story?

The other characters (non-human and human alike) were well developed and I grew to love or hate them as necessary. I want to know what happens to them next.

Which scene was your favorite?

I had two which were unexpectedly my favorites, even though neither have the two main characters in them. They both center around the cop Butch and his confrentation with two other members of the brotherhood. I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

If you could rename Dark Lover, what would you call it?

I can't think of another name. The title was one of the things that caught my attention when it was listed with other first books in a series.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this books to others who like vampire stories in a similiar vein. I will be adding Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series to my reading list with Adrian's Midnight Breed, Duvalls' Immortal Guardians, Feehan's Dark, and Kenyon's Dark-Hunters.

Bring on the hot, sexy, dominant vampires for me to devour!

Amazing

I loved the book, every word spoke left me wanting more! Absolutely stunning, well written.

I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood

Jim Frangeone is one of best Narrators I've heard so far
excellent book. loved the plot

Hot, steamy ear candy. I couldn't get enough of it

If you enjoy a story that has heated romance, vampires, good vs evil and tortured souls that don't believe they're good enough yet they find out they deserve the joy they're getting, then you will love this book. I simply could not put it down and I will be going back for more. ..

Dark Lover

This was my first audio book this year, and my second audio book ever. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a huge series and I figured it was about time to get started on it. I wasn't disappointed. The story was exciting and really held my interest from start to finish. There's an interesting mix of traditional lore and the author's own little twist. I loved the concept of the Lesser society. It was a new look at vampire slayers and demons that added a nice layer to the world Ward has created.

The Brotherhood was a little over the top - and I know they are supposed to be - but they were just too "big" for me. The saving grace was that they each seem to have some serious flaw in their physical-self, personality, or haunted past to help balance out their amazing power and size. Their leader, Wrath, is quite a hard person that is very driven in his task of taking out Lessers, even more so after the one of the Brotherhood is killed. There's quite a bit of suspense and excitement in the story that revolves around this death and the rise of power in the Lessers that takes the Brotherhood by surprise.

But this is a romance, and quite a good one. Beth is a unique woman, She's not a vampire, but she's not a human, and Wrath can't seem to stay away from her. I loved her fire and her spunk. She wasn't one to let a big vampire walk all over her and tell her what to do. Her introduction to the vampire world was great. I'm a big fan of the freak-out moment. The moment where someone realizes all those scary stories are real and they just walked into one. Beth's realization was great and it only made me like her more.

The narrator of the audiobook took a little getting used to. Partly because it was a male, and the voice in my reading head has always been female. But he told the story well and drew me in quickly. He was quite a nice companion on my daily walks.

Wrath and Beth

Wow! This story really pulls you in. I usually limit my listen to my 90 minutes commute, not with this book. Once I started listing, it was like a roller coaster. You only exit at the end of the ride! I was totally hooked on the story and the reader.