Lover Revealed, J.R. Ward, 2007
My favorite quote: “I liked you, cop. From the moment I met you. No… not the first moment. I wanted to kill you when I first met you. But then I liked you.”
Most interesting characters: J.R. Ward is always sure to give readers a good amount of every member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood in every book, but the main stars of Lover Revealed are Butch O’ Neal, ex-homicide cop, and Marissa, the beautiful aristocrat — and vampire — he’s fallen in love with
Opening scene: Lover Revealed, book 4 in J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, opens at a club called ZeroSum. While Butch waits for the Brothers to show up, he gets hit on by a beautiful blonde with the best breasts money can buy (J.R. Ward’s words, not mine)
The gist: The Black Dagger Brotherhood is in the midst of a turf war with the lessers — a group of soulless vampire slayers who have set their sights on the Black Dagger Brotherhood — and ex-cop Butch O’Neal wants to join the cause alongside the Brotherhood, who have become something of a newfound family for him. When Butch nearly dies saving a civilian, the Black Dagger Brotherhood calls on the beautiful Marissa to bring him back from the brink of death. But will love be enough to save him … ? (I think we all know it will)
Greatest strengths: For being so cheesy (and it IS cheesy, I don’t care who you are) the Black Dagger Brotherhood series is also strangely addictive. I don’t know if J.R Ward put drugs inside the pages or what, but no matter how cringey it gets — and hoo-boy, does it get cringey! — I just keep reading. Lover Revealed is no exception. Well done, J.R. Ward
Standout achievements: J.R. Ward has a way with star-crossed lovers that could give any old-timey Gothic Romance novel a run for its money — but with vampires. The Black Dagger Brotherhood — and that includes Lover Revealed — oozes with it, and even if you’re not really into that (and apparently, thanks to J.R. Ward, I kinda am) you’ll find yourself wanting more
Fun Facts: I’m almost positive I’m in the minority here, but I’ve always pictured Butch as craggy, crotchety, and middle-aged, probably with a limp on account of a bad hip or something. I don’t know if it’s because of the way he talks, or because he’s an ex-cop or what, but whenever he’s described as sexy, my knee-jerk response is, ‘Ewwww … ’ This is no fault of J.R. Ward’s, btw. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is full of “super-sexy” dudes who don’t do anything for me. It’s extra bad with Butch, though — and Lover Revealed is all about Butch — due to the grumpy old man my imagination has made him into
Other media: No film adaptations of the Black Dagger Brotherhood cuurently in circulation, but if they made a movie out of Lover Revealed, I think Clint Eastwood (present-day, 91-year-old Clint Eastwood) would make a perfect Butch. Again, I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority here
Additional thoughts: In each installment of this series, J.R. Ward focuses on a different member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Lover Revealed is about Butch and Marissa, and while not my favorite couple in the series (I’ll always picture them as Clint Eastwood and Salma Hayek — apologies to J.R. Ward) I liked Lover Revealed
Hit or Miss: While, for me, J.R. Ward’s entire Black Dagger Brotherhood has all the makings of a major miss, it’s somehow a hit — and this includes Lover Revealed. I know. I don’t know how to explain it either, except to say J.R. Ward must be doing something right. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is just … fun, I guess
Haunt me: alistaircross.com
Or start with book 1 of J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Dark Lover
Alistair Cross 