Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)

by J. R. Ward

As the vampire warriors defend their race against their slayers, one male’s loyalty to the Black Dagger Brotherhood will be tested in this breathtaking novel in J. R. Ward’s #1 New York Times bestselling paranormal romance series.

Caldwell, New York, has long been the battleground for the vampires and their enemies. It’s also where Rehvenge has staked out his turf as a drug lord and owner of a notorious nightclub that caters to the rich and heavily armed. His dangerous reputation is exactly why he’s approached to kill the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood—Wrath, the Blind King.

Rehvenge is used to living in the shadows and keeping his distance from the Brotherhood. As a symphath, his identity is a deadly secret—the revelation of which will result in his banishment. But as Rehvenge is pulled into plots both within and outside of the Brotherhood, he turns to the only source of light in his darkening world. Ehlena is a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him—and the only thing standing between Rehvenge and eternal destruction...

• ISBN10: 0451225856
• ISBN13: 9780451225856
• Publish Date: 1 May 2009 (first published 28 April 2009)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 27 August 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: New American Library
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 527
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

Lover Avenged is the book focussing on Rehvenge; drug dealer, pimp, and sympath. His love interest is Ehlena, a former member of the vampire aristocracy, whose family fell from grace and now takes care of her mentally ill father.

Lover Avenged has all of the elements that make a successful Black Dagger Brotherhood book, but in the end it didn't make me feel as much as the other books have done. I felt there was too much time spent on irrelevant points of view, and the book was unnecessarily long. I really liked Rehvenge and Ehlena together, and I wish they got to spend more time with each other than was shown in the book.

[littleread1]

This one was much better. But the books are so predictable, and everyone is kidnapped at some point. Goodness.

[Angie]

It seems like Lover Enshrined marked a turning point for the series. There were a lot of smaller plots happening in the larger scheme of things, and the romance took a back seat. It was also missing a lot of Ward's token slang, which I oddly missed. Now in Lover Avenged, we continue to get many smaller stories, but this time each chapter only has one or two POVs, rather than three or more. This had been one of the things that bothered me most in the earlier books, so I'm glad for the change.

This is Rehvenge's book, and I was definitely curious about him. I didn't really like him when he first appeared in the books. He's kind of scary, but getting little glimpses into his life in the last book helped change my mind about him. He's struggling to control his sympath side with drugs, and attempting to keep it a secret by giving into blackmail. I wasn't really clear on what sympaths were, even after meeting the creepy ass princess (whom we learn a bit more about and makes their relationship all the more distressing). I definitely wouldn't want to cross one of them, and it definitely explains why other vampires are nervous around him.

His story is utterly heartbreaking. While it's not as good as Zsadists, Rehv's is definitely one of the best. He's a good man caught in a horrible situation. He's doing the best he can to protect those he loves, even if that costs him his life. He's doing all the wrong things, but for the right reason, until he meets Ehlena. Then he tries to do all the right things, for the right reason, but hurts everyone along the way.

I really liked Ehlena. Her family has falling quite a way from the glymera and she's barely covering her father's medical bills with ner nursing job. She's determined and devoted though, and has a no-nonsense attitude when Rehv acts inappropriately toward her in the examination room. Both of them are similar in their loneliness, and it was great watching them find each other. It's not an easy road by any means for these two, but I couldn't get enough of them.

We also finally get back into Wrath's head! The Blind King has been mostly sitting at his desk since the first book, but he's sick of it. He reluctantly took his place as king, and he's beginning to feel useless. He misses being out in the field and being an active Brother, especially now that the Lessers seem to have the upper-hand. Vampire high society isn't too happy with their king either, so Wrath needs to be careful around his own, too. Treason isn't the also problem our king has to face this time around: one of Vishous' visions is finally coming to fruition, and Wrath will never be the same again.

We also get the official return of Tohrment! His story is heartbreaking as he tries to find his place in life again. He's let down John in every way, and now he has to watch him on his downward spiral. However, Lassiter provides some much needed comica relief in this otherwise heavy book. I wasn't sure about the angels' addition to the series in the previous book, but his banter with the Brother's has landed him a special place in my hear.

I am utterly addicted to this series. After the disappointment of the last book, Lover Avenged has got this series back on track. A ton of separate plot lines collide into one giant action packed, heartbreaking, shock inducing, adventure. We also get to see different sides of all of the characters as they deal with all of the issues that arise in this book. Especially Xhex. She may not be as tough as she's made out to be, and I'm so glad her book is next, more so since her tale ends on a cliffhanger.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Amanda]

Actual rating: 3.5

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/01/25/review-lover-avenged-by-j-r-ward/

As this series progresses, it seems that each books spends less time on the main couple, and more time is devoted to secondary characters. For secondary characters like John Matthew and Xhex, this is not really such a big deal, because their stories are intense and fascinating. Lover Mine promises to be a good story. But I was also surprised to find that Wrath dominated a good portion of this book. There are reasons for this, of course, but when I read a paranormal romance, I want the featured couple to steal the show. I am not sure that they really did.

We have known for a few books already that Rehv is a sympath, and the complications that being a sympath presents. Lover Enshrined gave us a bit more of a glimpse into Rehv’s life and I was looking forward to learning more about sympaths and how they are different from normal vampires. While we did learn more, I am not sure that I was fully satisfied with what I know now. I can only hope that the exploration into the sympath world continues with Lover Mine and Xhex.

Lover Avenged shows us a different side of Rehv. Though we have known he is strongly protective of his family, being the club owner/drug dealer does not exactly paint him in the most flattering light. We learn more of his motivations for doing what he does, and though one may not necessarily agree with what he does, it is easy to appreciate his motives. Still, there wasn’t much of a focus on Rehv and Ehlena as a couple, and for that, I was a little disappointed. I wanted more.

Also, Lash is an ass.

[RoXXie]

J.R. Ward knows how to keep you totally thrilled by her books. Even though you find multiple little stories of different character within one big stories and all those have a "meet-and-greet" at the end.

From book to book you get deeper inside the Black Dagger Brotherhood. In "Lover Avanged" the main focus is Rehvenge's life, past and present. We all have our little secrets we don't even wanna tell our partners, because we know this could destroy anything. But with Rehvenges' secret past and keeping it from his sister Bella and his love, to protect both of them. Also keeping away information about his "business" life for the same reason. Sometimes you past crosses your way again, especially when your information are in the hands of your "enemies". Unfortunately he failed in keeping it away from his love and he knows it breaks her heart, he only sees one solution to keep the pain and shame away from his sister. His death. But is he really dead?

Also we are able to get closer into the feelings for each other of John and Xhex. One is already a wrack, if it comes to love and tenderness. The other one becomes heart-broken and cold lover, who will never ever get to close to others.

"Lover Avanged" is full of emotions. A great ride through the adventures of the Brotherhood.

[mitabird]

Re-read: 5/13/13

I liked Lover Avenged, but there was something about the book that didn't quite work for me. There seemed to be a shift somewhere; it didn't read like a Black Dagger Brotherhood book, IMO. Maybe it's because the book was about Rehvenge and he's not a brother. Also, this is the first time that I became annoyed with the lessers. They are an integral piece to the on-going war, but it was just about Lash finding ways to make money and it was boring to read about. Besides what's going on with Wrath, the storyline did not move forward in this book. The whole war issue with the lessers was at a stand-still and I wished there was some type of progression with it.

With my complaints aside, I loved Rehvenge and Ehlena. I liked how gentle he was with her and there was true emotion when they were together. I thought the revelation of who, and what, Rehvenge was handled beautifully. Ehlena's feelings and reactions were spot on and I admired how she was able to forgive him.

I felt so bad for JM in this book. He got kicked around too much, but I hated how he decided to handle everything. He's never had much guidance, and the one person he looks up to, was not around when he needed it. I am looking forward to his book, which I believe is next. Honestly, I hope it's not as long as this one was. 3.5 stars