Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #2)

by J. R. Ward

[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