Lover Enshrined: A Novel of The Black Dagger Brotherhood (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #6)

by J. R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other—six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. And now, a dutiful twin must choose between two lives...

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood's bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.

As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself- she sees the emotionally scarred male behind all his noble responsibility. But while the war with the Lessening Society grows more grim, and tragedy looms over the Brotherhood's mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love.

• ISBN10: 0451222725
• ISBN13: 9780451222725
• Publish Date: 3 June 2008 (first published 1 June 2008)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: AU
• Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
• Imprint: Signet
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 560
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451222725

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

3.5 Stars

It's been so long since I've read any books in this series and I'm glad I decided to give them another go. They are over the top and a bit too "edgy" but enjoyable nonetheless, and I love all the world-building that Ward includes. This one was packed full of action and the romance was kind of surprising, but very slow burn as Phury worked through his problems.

I'm definitely curious to see where things will go for the Brotherhood

[scarr]

I have to agree with the dissenters - Phury is a total let-down.

Hated the wizard-inner-voice thing.
I was so bored of Phury’s story thruout this book. All of the side storylines were far more interesting.

Big fan of the John developments tho. I’ve loved seeing his character develop in each book.

[nitzan_schwarz]

2015 tbr challenge

3.5 stars
I thought the love story itself was seriously lacking--I mean, there is no why or how or when to their love. It's just POOF and suddenly she soothes him and he thinks he's fallen for her.
But I did really enjoy their personal journey. I even cried for Phury when the pivotal moment the entire story was building to with the Wizard happened. I mean it was seriously heartbreaking.
Curious to see where everything will lead from now on, with Lash and everything like it is. Then there is Thor and Lassy, and of course John and OMG Qhuinn and Blay!!! They are kind of perf for each other, aren't they?...
I'm definitely feeling the addiction with this series...

[celinenyx]

Phury is the celibate, reserved brother with a slight drug addiction. His personal story might not be my favourite, but I adore all of the other story lines we see in Lover Enshrined. I'm falling in love with the younger vampires, John, Qhuinn, and Blay, and it's been heartbreaking to see the precarious balance between the vampires and their mortal enemies being upset. The scope of the world is steadily increasing, and I can't wait to read more about all of these fascinating characters.

[EBookObsessed]

I hated Phury and Cormia wasn't so exciting either. Since these books are only about 1/3 about the characters whose romance is featured, I had to finish it because there was all the John Matthew stuff going on as well as the other brothers.

The only reason I finished this book is for the secondary story. Phury and all his drug taking and "I'll be the Primate, I dont' want to be the Primale" BS was annoying. If I wasn't listening to it on audiobook, I would have skipped all chapters involving Phury and Cormia.

[littleread1]

This story had no climax. Not really. I can see where it was many people's least favorite.

[Angie]

"He was sick to fucking death of everything, including himself."

Oh, Phury! He is so blind to how amazing he is. Sure he's going a bit off the deep end lately, and is in a constant drug haze, but at his core he is the most selfless of the Brothers. I really enjoyed learning about his past. We did get some of it in Zsadist's book, but here we go more in depth. He's been plagued with the knowledge that he's the "evil twin," having been born second. A single live birth among vampires is a miracle, so twins? Well it should be considered a blessing, but Phury is cursed by "the wizard." I found this a little strange at first, but reading what "the wizrd" plants in Phury's mind certainly explained his irrational behavior.

Lover Enshrined is a lot slower and lot more detailed than the previous books. There's less focus on the romance this time around, as we're following a lot more characters than usual: Phury, Cormia, John, Quinn, Blay, Xhex, Rehv, Mr. D, Lash, the Omega, and an unidentified male vampire!

This book also marks the return of a Lessening Society plot, which dominates the book. There is a total shock that I was not expecting at all. Ward certainly knows how to keep the plot fresh and intriguing! But the promotion of a new Fore-lesser means more trouble for the Brotherhood. The lessers have infiltrated the vampire world, and the casualties are piling up. It might be too much for the Brothers to handle.

So much happens in such a short period of time in this book. It's very different than the previous books, so it'll probably be a hit or miss for fans of the series. I enjoyed it, but it was also frustrating to get through. Ultimately, it felt like a filler book. There's a lot of changes happening within the Brotherhood, the Other Side, and vampire society in general that take place here. It was a bit overwhelming, but I'm excited to see where all of these plotlines go.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Amanda]

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/01/23/review-lover-enshrined-by-j-r-ward/

I am just going to come out and say it: Phury is kind of pathetic. This BDB book felt less like Phury’s story, and more about furthering the overall series. Of all the books that I have read so far, it seems that there was far less focus on one specific brother (i.e., Phury) and more on Rehvenge (next book) and John Matthew (eighth book). There was even a focus on Qhuinn and Blay, which I totally and absolutely adored. And Lash? I abhor him.

In many ways, though, Phury’s story is important to the overall story arc for the series. I’m not sure exactly how it will influence the rest of the series, but it’s a big enough change that makes me wonder what is in store. There is also the development with Lash and his general awfulness. I am trying to figure out why Phury’s story holds less of a draw than others. Phury is just as tormented and broken as the other brothers. But there is something about him that is not quite as appealing as the previous brothers. Perhaps it is because much of it seems to be that he put himself into the mess he is in. He makes some really stupid decisions, and it’s hard to understand them. There is also less time spent on building the romance between Phury and Cormia, which is sad given that part of the reason I enjoy this series as much as I do relates back to the emotions that the romance J.R. Ward writes evokes.

Lover Enshrined is a necessary continuation of the series, but not exactly a story that will captive you like previous books. There is a good amount of time spent on the lesser POV, but in this case, I do believe it is necessary, albeit somewhat boring until about halfway through. It really is the secondary characters that make this book what it is.

[RoXXie]

As a pretrans, Phury tried to please everyone, his mother, his father. The whole wide world. He wanted his "mahmen" to stop suffering over the loss of his twin and start notice him. He wanted to hear his father say three letters to him, at least for once. But he'd never been called 'son'. Never. Ever.
His only family member left, can never thank him for being recued by him. So what did he do, to kill his inner voice, the "wizard"? He started drugs. He wanted to kill and calm that inner bastard. The one who always did everything right so to suit everybody around him. But did he ever ever lived his life.
When Phury realizes that he needs to stand up and fight for what he wants, he almost dies on an OD.
And next to Phury you read about John, Blay and Quinn struggling, Rehv trying to suviving the meetings with his blackmailer, and an angel finds a lost piece of the Brotherhood.

[wyvernfriend]

Not as good as previous stories this is the story of Phyry and his coming to terms with being the chosen (or not) and the growth of his first mate. It's also the story of John, and his friends and a growth of power of the Lessers.

It's a bit of a mess of a book, several of the plotlines could have been abandoned and used in another book and it would have made this one tighter and flow better. I do get the why of a lot of the storylines and many of them are concurrent but still it didn't keep my attention as well as some others in this series.

Still quite readable though.