Lover Eternal: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #2)

by J. R. Ward

A warrior with inner demons falls for a woman who could save his soul in this seductive novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

Within the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Rhage is the warrior vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the deadliest fighter, the most voracious lover, the quickest to act on his impulses. He’s also been cursed with two hundred years of hell. Possessed by a beast, he lives in fear of the times when his inner dragon comes out and he’s a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce has unwittingly found herself in the vampire world, and under Rhage’s protection. With her own life-threatening curse to bear, she’s not looking for love. Besides, she’s stopped believing in saving grace and miracles long ago. But when Rhage’s intense sexual attraction turns into emotional bonding, he knows he must have her for his mate. As their enemies close in, Mary finds herself praying for something she fears she’ll never have: life eternal with the one she loves.

• ISBN10: 0451218043
• ISBN13: 9780451218049
• Publish Date: 7 March 2006 (first published 1 March 2006)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
• Imprint: Signet
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451218049

Reviews

[Caitiebelle]

After finishing the first book ( [b:Dark Lover|42899|Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #1)|J.R. Ward|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1429676285l/42899._SY75_.jpg|2158128] ) I went straight on to this one, didn't even wait. And let me tell you it was a journey.

It's been a while since my heart has been sqeeeeeeezed so hard, since I've cried so hard...since I've loved so much... This book really took me on a heck of a roller coaster! And it does not disappoint!

You CAN NOT MISS THIS BOOK! It gutted me to the core more than once, but it's beautiful.

Our heroine is so so strong...and in so much pain... and you feel EVERYTHING. And Rhage...my man... you pulled out all the stops.

Rhage has his...well... issues, as we saw in the first book. You see he shares his body with a terrible beast...blood thirsty, a being that literarily eats Lessers. Comp = gone.

But our dear Mr Hyde is somewhat of a conundrum. And as Mary says...he's kind of beautiful in his terrifying, I will eat you kind of way.

But fear not. The book is not going to only make your gut hurt. It's packed full of good action, we get more close and personal with several of the other Warriors and some Civilians as well.

Mr. X and Mr. O though...they've got plans...big plans... and they are moving into new territory and bringing out new methods.

[thebookdisciple]

I love Rhage and Mary! Full review to come!

[kimbacaffeinate]

Rhage is a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood ruled by the Scribe Virgin who band together to protect humanity and vampires from the Omega and his legion of lessers. Whenever Rhage gets upset, angry, or over stimulated he transforms into a Dragon beast. The beast is bloodthirsty and a danger even to his brothers.

Mary Luce a volunteer at a suicide prevention hotline finds herself entering the vampire world when she helps a young deaf man. Mary catches the eye of Rhage when her voice soothes his beast. The tale that unfolds was filled with danger and a complicated, sweet romance that had me shedding tears.

I mentioned how much I loved the banter between this motley crew and that continues in Lover Eternal. We get to know more about them and watching them tease and protect each other is an aspect I love about this series. The things we learn about Phury and Zsadist. Gads I want need Z's story. We get updates on earlier couples and learn more about the lessers, Mr. O. (David Ormond). The Omega terrifies me, but I am not in love with Scriber Virgin either.

Ward sets a delightful tone weaving side threads around central romance. She allows you to slip into the story and managed to keep me flipping the pages. I find the world she created fascinating and appreciated all the new things we learned. We alternate between the Brotherhood and the Lessers, particularly the thoughts of Mr. O. I appreciated Ward’s ability to balance all of these threads.

Rhage, dubbed Hollywood suffers because of his beast, but maintains a cheery, carefree persona even as he deals with the constant buzzing and need to unleash. Trying to keep his beast from Mary complicated the romance as he felt the change coming on when things got heated between them. This caused miscommunication that frustrated me, but once these two finally came together, I could not help but swoon over them. I was so connected I cried right along with them and flipped the pages hoping for a miracle.

Eternal Lover torn at my heart and further entangled me into this world and brotherhood. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[celinenyx]

Although many people find Rhage very swoony, he's not the Brother for me. Lover Eternal is the story of Rhage (also called Hollywood for his looks) and Mary. Mary is a cancer survivor that has had a hard life. But Rhage has a curse of his own too - a monster inside of him that comes out when it gets pissed off. This quote from the first chapter is brilliant:

The creature stopped right next to the SUV and fell into a crouch. It was close enough so its breath fogged Butch's window on the exhale, and up close, the thing was hideous. White narrowed eyes. Snarling jowls. And the full set of fangs in its gaping mouth was right out of a fever nightmare. Black blood ran down its chest like crude oil.

The beast lifted its muscled forelegs.

Jesus, those claws were like daggers. Made Freddie Krueger's set of fun and games look like pipe cleaners.

But Rhage was in there. Somewhere.

Butch put his hand to the window, as if he could reach the brother.
The creature cocked its head, white eyes blinking. Abruptly it heaved a great breath, and then the massive body started to shake. A high, piercing cry came out of its throat, cracking through the night. There was another flash of brilliance. And then Rhage was lying naked on the ground.

I love the monster, but I don't like Rhage's personality. Sometimes he acts like a spoiled child, claiming whatever he feels like claiming. Maybe it has something to do with his beast being territorial, I don't know, but it's not a nice characteristic. He is big buds with V and Butch though, and seeing their bromance always makes my day.

Mary I did like. She's not a very happy person because of the things that happened to her, and who can blame her? I like how she is befriended with Bella, her neighbour, and I wish there was more page time of them together. There is this recurring theme in the books where the men get more "friend page time" than the females. I wonder if this changes as the series progresses, because the females are just as interesting as the males. Mary isn't always very subtle or very nice to Rhage, but I could understand where she's coming from, and I liked seeing her soften up throughout the book.

The last few chapters of Lover Eternal both serve as a resolution to this book and as an intro into Lover Awakened. The action in this book sets the wheels in motion to create the setting in which the next will play out. I love how these story lines kind of overlap, and when I finished Lover Eternal, I wanted to continue immediately. Since I love Lover Awakened so much, Lover Eternal feels a bit like a middle book for me - probably because I'm so impatient to get to Zsadist's story.

[EBookObsessed]

Alright, I admit it. This book was much better than book #1 and I rushed through Rhage's and Mary's story.

Be back with a full review.

See more at http://ebookobsessed.com

[Mercy]

3.5 en realidad.

Al igual que el anterior me gustó mucho, pero no más. Rhage era de mis favoritos y su historia me intrigaba, pero he quedado un poco decepcionada. La historia de amor con Mary la sentí muy falsa. Y él, da un cambio de 360° de un día para otro luego de conocerla y ella, es una boba, vale, está enferma pero no debería portarse así. También la sentí falsa a ella, un poco Mary Sue ¿Coincidencia que sus nombres se parezcan? Leía las escenas dónde ella demostraba valentía y coraje y fiereza pero no me lo creía, sentí que me mentían, que se inventaban todo. No es por su enfermedad, no discrimino, es sólo que lo sentí así. El muy happy end tampoco me agrado, lo odié un poco, quería un final feliz para Rhage, pero la manera en que sucedió todo fue malo, malo. Hecho muy a la carrera, fue como un último recurso poco aprovechado. Anda, yo quería más acción. Los restrictores siguen siendo la peor cosa jamás creada, que son malos son malos, pero no hacen lo que deben de hacer y parecen en momentos inoportunos. Afortunadamente están los hermanos y Butch y también alguien más: Jhon (aunque con el spoiler que me tragué le resta gracia u.u) Otro que cobra importancia acá es Zsadist y el siguiente libro es de él *———* Creo que será mi próximo favorito :D En fin, una historia agradable, pero no mejor que la anterior, protagonistas que ganan y pierden interés y un final precipitado y un tanto sin gracia. Pero hay que agradecer a los secundarios que si tienen sus momentos :D

[littleread1]

Ok, so I've decided a few things:

1. The scribe virgin is a hateful bitch that I want to punch in her glowing face. I wasn't a fan in book one, but this one sealed the deal.
2. The brothers are all "tough guys" but are some of the whiniest characters I've ever seen. They throw the biggest tantrums, and pout. Sometimes I want to tell them to grow the fuck up.
3. I think Butch is the best.
4. Just as the story was rolling, the end. What? That wasn't an end of a book. It was the end of a chapter.
5. I have a problem - I will continue to read this series. Because I know it has an end (unlike Anita Blake where I finally had to throw in the towel). It is a sick addiction of mine to see a series through.
6. The unquestioned acceptance of the humans to the vampire's weird terminology, calling people male/female instead of man/woman, for example, baffles me. I would turn to someone and at least raise an eye brow.
7. Since when did the ability, or lack there of, to have kids make someone's life worth more or less in a book? Or in real life? And what does that say about those of us who are childless by choice?

All that aside, the overall story is good. I was able to get into the story more with this one, since there was less "getting to know you" even though the focus was on a different pair.

The Lessening Society make for creepy ass bad guys. And the fact they smell like baby-powder, well thanks for ruining THAT smell for me.

And I have to mention, that I listened to this on audio. The narrator is horrible. Very monotone. No inflection, and no different tones for each character. Which makes it hard to decide who is talking in long conversations. And the editing is bad too. There are some parts that have too long a pause, up to 15 seconds. Long enough I think it might be broke. Then there are the parts where a break is needed and there is none.

But like I said, the overall story is a good solid one, and I have a problem that compels me to continue with a series. But it won't top my TBR list, that's for sure. I know several people have loved this series, and especially certain characters, but I just ... can't.

[leelu92]

I loved this one. I had moments where I thought I was going to cry! Mary and Rhage were fantastic together and I loved how the protected and cared for one another...when Mary FINALLY gave in. I almost lost it again at the very end. Great series.

[ellieroth]

Adoro a Mary!!!
Aunque hubo muchas partes donde me aburrí, el final... no me convenció del todo, ¿quién dice que la lastima no es buena?

[Angie]

Back to the wonderful world of vampire warriors, outdated slang, and 90's rappers! This time the story focuses on Rhage, which I was quite excited to learn more about after his shapeshifter scene in Dark Lover. It turns out that his ability is actually a curse. I felt terrible for what he has to go through both physically and emotionally. Despite his playboy facade, he's hurting. Of course that's where the woman comes in: Mary.

Mary's story is a bit of a sad one. She has leukemia, and after a remission, it's back. She's dealing with this when she meets Rhage, but it doesn't completely dominate her plot. She wasn't defined by her cancer, and we got to know many aspects of her personality. The end of her and Rhage's story made me a little teary eyed. Oh, how I love happy endings.

Mr.X is back, but this time he's got help: Mr.O. After the events of the first book, the "lessers" have decided to stop going after civilian vampires and go straight for the Brotherhood. However, it seems like Mr. O isn't completely on board for their mission. And Mr. O was pretty darn interesting, since he seems to have a wider range of emotions than the other lessers. This continuation of the plot wasn't as interesting as the first book in the beginning; there was too much construction and self loathing, but it's obvious that something major is building up. I can't wait to see what comes next.

The one subplot I wished there was more of was John's! We don't really know much about him, and I wanted to. His unknown past is very intriguing, so hopefully the next books get into it more. This time we also get to know Zsadist a bit better, and OMG I need to read his book immediately!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.