J.R. Ward
Signet
Release date: June 3, 2008
List price: $7.99 (560p)
ISBN: 978-0451222725
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Review - "Lover Enshrined"
Reviewer: Charise Payne
Rating:
Lover Enshrined is J.R. Ward's sixth book in her New York Times best-selling Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Ward has millions of addicted fans who clamor for her every word. But if you are like me and hadn't heard of J.R. Ward, please don't start with the sixth book. Go back to the beginning of the series and get caught up — you won't regret it.
Lover Enshrined is about Phury, a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood who, along with the other six members of the Brotherhood, has sworn to protect his vampire race from the lessers. Phury has always put everyone else in his life above his own needs. In book five, Phury gave the ultimate gift; he gave his friend and brotherhood member the gift of love by letting him marry the woman he loves. Phury allowed Vishous to be release from his bond to be the Primale of the Chosen, a group of women that are responsible for repopulating the vampire race and the brotherhood. That means that Phury has to mate with 40 women he doesn't know nor love. And to make things worse, Phury is celibate. He took a vow of chastity when a traumatic event happened in his life in order to make him stronger.
What we didn't know about Phury until this book is that even though he seems so pulled together on the outside, he is a mess on the inside. He has given so much of himself to others: his parents, his twin, the brotherhood, and the woman he thinks he loves — his twin's wife — that he has forgotten to take care of himself. The stress of it causes him to smoke an illegal substance to deal with the responsibility.
When Phury is called to go meet with the Chosen for the first time, he finds the woman whom he is supposed to be intimate with (his First Mate — an honor among the women) tied up and gagged. Phury is horrified. How can he mate with someone who is being forced into it? As he unties her, she is calmed by his beauty and his words. He learns her name is Cormia, and he decides to take her home with him so they can get to know each other before the mating is finished.
And this is the gist of the story: will Phury over come his demons in time to find love? Will Cormia discover what she really wants in life? Can they ever become a couple, or will Phury have to choose another?
Tons of other subplots are tied within their story, which makes it highly entertaining, but also frustrating. I found myself wanting just their story, but knew I had to be patient. War must happen, evil must be eradicated, other characters must be introduced, and other stories need to be tied up. But the yearning for their story didn't die, it just became more enflamed — I want to know everything about them now.
For all of the Stephenie Meyer fans out there who wanted a little more mature version of the Twilight series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood will quench your thirst. The novel is full of every emotion, love, hate, envy, lust, greed — it has it all. This is a great series and a wonderful book. I was completely enthralled from to cover to cover, and I eagerly await the next novel.
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