Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #3)

by J. R. Ward

[kimbacaffeinate]

Zsadist better known as Z is perhaps one of the scariest and most volatile member of the brotherhood. Since the beginning, I have been drawn to Zsadist and Ward gave me everything I could have asked for. Z is severely scarred and bears the tattoo from his life as a former blood slave. He is the twin brother of Phury. He has anger issue, doesn’t like to be touched, denies himself pleasure, and sleeps on the floor. I delighted in hearing his story, even as I wept for him.

Bella and Zsadist met in the previous book when she made clear she was attracted to him. Bella was taken by a lesser and in Lover Awakened, he finds Bella and their relationship begins. I loved how Ward allowed their relationship to unfold. Zsadist shared his past, bared his soul and through Bella awakened.

Their romance has all of the feels and some were downright hilarious. Moments involving Bella’s cycle had me laughing so hard there were TEARS! While reading I laughed, cried, shuddered and cheered. Ward provided such an emotionally gripping romance. It was dark, and edgy, with as much pain as there was pleasure. I honestly did not know if Ward would give this couple an HEA. She had me flipping the pages and biting my nails. The book left me emotionally spent and I didn't pick up another book for almost two days!

If you are looking for a fluffy vampire romance skip the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Like the previous books, Lover Awakened was complex, with multiple threads and while at times I wanted to be with the couple, the other threads held weight and furthered the overall world and story ARC. We had threads involving John, Butch and Bella’s brother giving dimension to these characters.

Ward has us spending times with the Lessers, particularly our twisted villain David, who believes Bella belongs to him. The lesser thread is dark and these characters live and breathe evil. I shiver every time we travel in David's head. We meet other lessers and learned of some of their plots. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer