Review: Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood #3) by J.R. Ward

 

 

Even within the vampire brotherhood, Zsadist is feared. Still bearing the scars from a tortured past, he is renowned for his unquenchable fury. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion-until he rescues a beautiful female from the evil Lessening Society

My Review:

In every book series, there is always that ‘one’ book which stands out to a reader as being their favorite, and Lover Awakened is it for me as I am completely enthralled by the tragic story behind the most feared of all the Brothers – Zsadist.

Lover Awakened tells of Zsadist’s past as a blood slave and how his twin brother, Phury, saves him from captivity. However, as the years pass, both brothers create an entirely different prison for themselves as neither one can let go of the guilt their torrid pasts have branded them with.

Then comes Bella, the beautiful aristocratic vampiress who is inexplicably drawn to Zsadist. Throwing caution to the wind, she pursues him, feeling she can rid Zsadist of the ghosts of his past.

Phury, Z’s brother, tells Bella that his twin is not broken, but ruined and she is fighting a losing battle. But there is another side to Phury’s caution as well as he - who has taken a vow of celibacy – finds himself attracted to Bella. Every time she is around him, he can’t seem to control his feelings for her.

So begins the love triangle between them – though Bella makes it very clear – Zsadist is the one she wants. Zsadist, coping from his experiences as a blood slave and the disfiguring scars adorning his face, can’t fathom why Bella would pick him over his handsome and perfect brother. At every turn, he tries to steer Bella to Phury, and Phury seems to be caught in the middle.

Throw in a demented lesser, O, who’s also obsessed with Bella and who had kept her in captivity for 6 weeks before Z and the Brothers rescued her, and you’ve got an action packed plot that always keeps you guessing and wanting more.

But the best part of this book was Bella’s patience with Zsadist and how she works through his walls to get him to love her. The love scenes were amazingly hot and heartbreaking at times since we learn Zsadist has never allowed himself sexual pleasure or release due to his past captivity. We also get to experience the famous female ‘needing’ period and Zsadist more than comes through for Bella! *fans self*

There was only one low moment for me in this book as one of the Brother’s shellans is killed by O, and by the end of the book, the Brother is nowhere to be found. So heartbreaking! *sobs*

But besides that, Lover Awakened was perfect and the ending made me cry at seeing the changes Bella made in Zsadist’s life. We meet a completely different Z at the end, and I burst in tears when he wrote the note to Bella telling her that he loved her! *bawls* Lover Awakened is definitely one book I will always look forward to re-reading – I loved it!

Zsadist was quiet as he stole back into his room. After he fixed the thermostat and put the medicine on the bureau, he went over to the bed and leaned against the wall, staying in the shadows. He became suspended in time as he loomed over Bella and measured the slight rise and fall of the covers that marked her breathing. He could feel the minutes dripping into hours, and yet he could not move even as his legs grew numb.

In the candlelight he watched her skin heal right in front of his eyes. It was miraculous, the bruises fading from her face, the swelling around her eyes draining away, the cuts disappearing. Thanks to the deep sleep she was in, her body was throwing off the damage, and as her beauty was revealed once again, he was so damned grateful. In the lofty circles she ran in, a female with imperfections of any kind would be shunned. Aristocrats were like that.

He pictured his twin's unmarred, handsome face and knew Phury should be the one taking care of her. Phury was perfect savior material, and it was obvious he was into her. Plus she would like to wake up to a male like that. Any female would.
So why the hell didn't he just pick her up and put her in Phury's bed? Right now.

[…]

He went over to his pallet and realized he was curiously tired. Exhausted, actually. As he stretched out on the floor, his leg throbbed like a bitch.

God, he'd forgotten he'd been shot. He stripped out of his shitkickers and pants and willed a candle to light beside him. Cocking his leg around, he inspected the wound on his calf. There was both an entrance and an exit hole, so he knew the bullet had passed through. He'd live.

He extinguished the candle with his breath, draped his pants over his hips, and lay back. Opening himself up to the pain in his body, he became a basin for the agony, catching all the nuances of his aches and stings- He heard an odd noise, like a small cry. The sound was repeated, and then Bella began to struggle on the bed, the sheets rustling as if she were flailing around.

He shot up from the floor and went around to her, just as her head tilted toward him and her eyes opened. She blinked, looked up at his face... and screamed.

[…]

A female scream ripped into the lobby, as if the sound were alive and had taken a nosedive off the balcony.

Phury's spine turned to ice. Bella.

He bolted up to the second floor and pounded down the hall of statues. When he threw open Zsadist's door, light spilled into the room and the scene was instantly carved into memory: Bella on the bed, cowering against the headboard, sheets clenched to her throat. Z crouched in front of her, hands up, naked from the waist down.

Phury lost it and launched himself at Zsadist, grabbing his twin by the throat and throwing him against the wall.

"What is wrong with you!" he yelled as he crashed Z into the plaster. "You fucking animal!"

Rating:

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