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

Love the Series, Tolerate the Narrator

This may be the third time I've read Dark Lover, but it's the first time I've listened to the audio version. While I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood and will continue on with my audio re-read (for now), I am not impressed with the narration. Some narrators perform a book, while others simply read it. Unfortunately, the narrator, Jim Frangione, does little more than read the book when I was really hoping that he would add more depth and emotion into the world. I was expecting a great Southie accent for Butch, but didn't get it.

Maybe once Jim Frangione gets more involved in the Black Dagger Brotherhood, his skills narrating the world will grow. If not, I may not finish this series via audio. I give Dark Lover 5 stars and give Jim Frangione's lackluster narration 3 stars. Guess that gives us a decent balance at 4 stars this go round.

Original review:

This is a book that had been sitting in my TBR pile for a long time. Now I'm kicking myself in the ass for not reading it sooner.

First I want to say that I love that there was a glossary of terms at the beginning of the book so that I could read through them before starting it. Most books don't include a glossary (even when they need one) and those that do always put them in the back. In the case of this series, you really need to understand the terms to follow the story. Props to J.R. Ward for being smart and putting the glossary first.

The world that J.R. Ward has created is different and very interesting. I enjoyed the fact that vampires are born in this world and that they can not be "turned" like most vampire novels. That makes for a very interesting world and opens up the possibility of extinction since it is hard for the vampires to breed. Vampires in this series must feed off of members of the opposite sex within the vampire race in order to be healthy and strong. Though they can feed off humans, the blood doesn't sustain them.

The Brotherhood is a group of warriors that protect the civilian vampires from a society of soulless humans referred to as Lessers. The Lessers are pure evil and will do anything to kill vampires, even murdering humans to lure them in. After many years of taking joy in killing civilians, the Lessers have decided to aim higher and take out the Brotherhood.

After the Lessers kill one of the Brotherhood, Wrath, the vampire King (who just happens to be legally blind which I thought was beyond cool), feels the need to step forward and take his dead friend's daughter under his wing to help her through her transition to vampire. Little did he know that she would change his world.

I really enjoyed Dark Lover and the character development. The villains in the story are flat out creepy and Mr. X is a whole new level of bat shit crazy. This book opened up a lot of possibilities for the other Brothers and I can't wait to get to their stories.

Fantastic Book!

This was a fantastic book. I am on to book 2 and it's great so far. I dont usually listen to male narrators but I have gotten used to him while listening to this story. Jim Frangione did a pretty good job. I totally recommend this book.

Great series

I have this series in e-book and hard copy but still enjoyed audio version as well. Listening to story I was able to catch things that I had not noticed while reading. Even though whole series so far has been great. The first one is still my favorite

Liked the story but the change of chapters was off

I enjoyed listening to Jim Frangione tell the story but towards the middle of the book whenever a new chapter would start, there was a lot of quiet when you thought Jim should be speaking. It’s like the timing was off and the story would just go silent until the announcement of the next chapter.

Totally enthralled

I have listened to this first installment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood several times and I never grow tired of it. it is riveting fast paced and it makes you look forward to the next chapter and the next book.

Great beginning to a great series

I have to say, the Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of my all time favorite series. I can (always) hardly wait for the next book to come out. I buy them all on audible so I can listen to the stories as I work. This is the first book of the series and it is really good. It introduces the characters and is a very good stand alone story, with no cliffhanger, but it gets you ready for the upcoming books. J R Ward weaves more and more story lines into the books as the series progresses. I love how all the stories come together and you are you are catching up with each story line as you read successive volumes.

In this story, you meet Wrath, the isolated king of the vampires and the Black Dagger Brotherhood, his society of warriors who fight to protect all vampires from the evil lessers who want to destroy them. He meets Beth, the half human daughter of his recently deceased friend who was also a member of the BDB warrior society. The two fall in a very intense love affair and it was so fun to listen to. I have read the book before and it is such a good story that I reread it while I listened! Also, it is fun to remember what the characters were like in the beginning, as they grow and change throughout the series. The narrator is good. I really really enjoyed this audiobook.

GREAT SERIES ONE OF THE BEST READERS

What did you love best about Dark Lover?

The changes Wrath and Beth make and making the "Brothers" a true family,

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dark Lover?

When Wrath bathes Beth during her change.

What does Jim Frangione bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

You can hear his voice change with each character - How is he so convincing? I can almost see them in my mind. Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who was the most memorable character of Dark Lover and why?

The butler is so normal and willing to please in such a bizarre household, it makes me laugh.

Any additional comments?

This is a must hear series, it doesn't compare to reading it yourself.

better than it started

I have always loved vampire stories, and since I have exhausted many other sets, I needed a fresh series. I will say, that in the beginning of the book I was hating it. I didn't understand much of what was happening and had a hard time keeping the vast number of characters straight. But don't give up! It really does get better! I ended up really loving the book, and the fresh take on vampires and their society. The author does a great job of allowing the story to give you the angle of all the characters, and in the end there is good character development. The guy's voice annoyed me a little at first, too, but it also grew on me once I understood the characters better. I hope the succeeding books are as good.

A different type of love story

I heard great reviews in this book,was hard to follow at first,but then the story sucked me in.Glad I read it

Love this book.

Would you listen to Dark Lover again? Why?

Yes, I love the thrill and passion the story gives.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love Beth, she is strong and knows exactly what she wants.