Lover Awakened Review - J.R. Ward

Lover Awakened. Ahh, talk about one heck of a ride! We journey from the sweet and romantic story of Rhage to the terrifying and passionate one of Zsadist. If it weren't for other review obligations and work, I would have had this book read in a single sitting. It was fantastic, full of action and packed with wild romance.

Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Pages:464
My Recommended Age Group: Adult
Released: September 5, 2006
Other books in series: Dark Lover (Book 1), Lover Eternal (Book 2), Lover Revealed (Book 4), Lover Unbound (Book 5), Lover Enshrined (Book 6), Lover Avenged (Book 7)

From J.R. Ward's website:

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. Of these, Zsadist is the most terrifying member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her…

My thoughts:

As his name implies, Zsadist is full of pain and torment. He carries a very dark past with him and can't seem to escape from his tortured memories. He treats the Brothers with the barest amount of respect and often calls on his brother to do things that the gentler Phury detests. He knows all this and yet he simply just does not care. He's a loose canon just waiting to go off and when he does, he's likely to take everyone down with him.

Zsadist's story really begins in Lover Eternal when he meets Bella. The female is fascinating to him because of her obvious beauty and because of the way she can't seem to get her eyes off her. When dark forces come to play and Bella's life is suddenly threatened, Zsadist finds himself in an unfamiliar situation. He actually cares enough about her to save her. That can't be. He hardly knows her! If that's the case, then why does the male find himself fighting against the odds to protect her?

Lover Awakened is a passionate story full of hurt, betrayal and just a hint of hope. Zsadist finds the sensation of touch to be horrifying and physically painful. Yet, he finds himself drawn to Bella in more ways than one.

I absolutely loved the story of Zsadist and Bella. So far I haven't decided which relationship is my favorite, but Zsadist's and Bella's is definitely up there. This isn't like other romance novels where you can predict the meeting, the falling in love, the point of conflict, the tension and then the falling back in loving or forgiving each other bit. I love those kinds of stories. Lover Awakened is not that kind of story. It's dark and wild, full of anger and pain. Ward does an amazing job of creating tension just to the point of breaking and then giving us just the slightest hint of a Happily Ever After before ripping everything to shreds and building the tension again. My emotions were all over the place while I was reading. One moment everything would be fine and the next we were left begging for the author to go back and make everything okay again.

This was definitely an intense book. There was more than one occasion where I could feel my heart beating harder. Aside from the story of Zsadist and Bella, we continue with the stories of the other vampires and get pulled even further into the land of the lessers. If you want to talk about some tension, you need look no further than the inner workings of the lessers! Ward reveals quite a bit more about the lesser political atmosphere and really adds another layer of complexity to her story.

Fair warning time: Lover Awakened is a book with adult themes and adult scenes.

Writing: 10
Interest: 10
Passion: 10
Originality: 10
Characters: 10
Pace: 9

Overall: 59/60 - A

Book Cover: 2/3

I give Lover Awakened a well deserved A. I absolutely loved the story and would highly recommend it to any adult. The writing was, as always, amazing and the complexity of the characters was fabulous. Ward really has a knack for creating realistic characters and encouraging their emotions to jump off the page.