Lover Eternal by JR Ward: Review

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward
Pages: 468


Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #2
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Also in this series: Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound, Where Winter Finds You, The Sinner, A Warm Heart in Winter, Lover Unveiled, Lover Arisen
Also by this author: Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound, Consumed, Blood Truth, Where Winter Finds You, The Sinner, The Jackal, A Warm Heart in Winter, Lover Unveiled, Claimed, The Wolf, Lover Arisen

Goodreads

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves...

Lover Eternal
JR Ward

So, yes, I am just now reading this series. Why did I wait so long? Honestly, because I thought they were erotica. While there is a LOT of sex, its not erotica and I am really enjoying the series and Lover Eternal was amazing!

Rhage and his beast are fascinating characters. It reminds me a bit of a twist on shifters in addition to being a vampire! He does everything he can to control the beast because once its out it could kill anyone-friends, loved ones, etc. And, recovering from its appearance takes him days and is very painful. So, to keep the rage down and the beast happy, he has LOTS of meaningless sex and gets into fights.

Mary is a tough woman with a tragic story. Her father died when she was young and her mom passed away of an illness just a few years prior to the story. She is all alone and is dealing with a cancer diagnosis. Her friend Bella takes her to the Brotherhood as a translator for a young, unsuspecting vampire and Rhage is drawn to her instantly. Unable to stay away, their relationship begins to bloom against all odds. Rhage is torn between pushing her away to keep her safe and keeping her close because he loves her. This push and pull continues throughout much of the book as these two explore the possibilities of a relationship even though Rhage is a vampire with a beast inside him and Mary has terminal cancer and only a few more months to live.

While the story of Lover Eternal centers around their relationship, there is, of course, the lessers. This book focuses more on Mr. O and his story. He comes across as a more human lesser and that was really interesting to me!

I will say for my safety gang readers, there is a point where Rhage sleeps with another woman after he has moved Mary into his house for protection. He and Mary haven’t slept together yet, but they are essentially living together and sharing a bed. As someone who loathes cheating, honestly, this didn’t feel so difficult to bear. Maybe because he was only trying to hold off the beast? Maybe because he does view it as a curse? But, it might upset some of my safety gang friends so consider yourself warned!

• POV: 3rd
• Tears: no
• Trope: vampires
• Triggers: none
• Series/Standalone: series
• Cliffhanger: not for this couple, but there are parts of the overall story left for the next book!
• HEA: View Spoiler »Mary is saved by the Scribe Virgin and made immortal. She and Rhage stay together. No epilogue. « Hide Spoiler

Similar authors:

Kresley Cole, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Laura Adrian, Dannika Dark, Lyndsay Sands…then you will probably like Lover Eternal!

 

Related Posts