J.R. Ward

A warrior with inner demons falls for a woman who could save his soul in this seductive novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Within the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Rhage is the warrior vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the deadliest fighter, the most voracious lover, the quickest to act on his impulses. He’s also been cursed with two hundred years of hell. Possessed by a beast, he lives in fear of the times when his inner dragon comes out and he’s a danger to everyone around him. Mary Luce has unwittingly found herself in the vampire world, and under Rhage’s protection. With her own life-threatening curse to bear, she’s not looking for love. Besides, she’s stopped believing in saving grace and miracles long ago. But when Rhage’s intense sexual attraction turns into emotional bonding, he knows he must have her for his mate. As their enemies close in, Mary finds herself praying for something she fears she’ll never have: life eternal with the one she loves.

A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood

Lover Eternal

J. R. Ward

Fierce warrior and legendary lover, Rhage, a vampire cursed by the Scribe Virgin and owned by the dark side, finds salvation in Mary Luce, the innocent young beauty he has sworn to protect.

Haleigh Marshall

   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. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...

   Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetite. 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. When Mary Luce is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world, she must rely on Rhage's protection. Knowing that Mary feels the same intense animal attraction, Rhage must make her his alone...

Black Dagger Brotherhood #2

The misunderstandings were a little annoying at times but Mary was a FMC that I could get behind. 

Monserrat Navarro 

Rebecca Hurd

Another great story by JR Ward!! Love how this series is coming together, the world building, and the multiple perspectives!!!! Getting to know all the brothers, their abilities, and back stories is the best part!! I love their devotion to each other and their ability to accept the females that their brothers mate with!! It truly is beautiful and I can’t wait to read the next book and continue the fight against the lessers!!

Annalissa Powner 

Talk about an ending that gave you emotional whiplash! 
Absolutely loved this book, despite some mild irritation with both main characters from time to time. I loved Wrath but the more I read the more I start to love his brothers even more.

Ella Zegarra

Adoro a Mary!!!
Aunque hubo muchas partes donde me aburrí, el final... no me convenció del todo, ¿quién dice que la lastima no es buena?

Annabella

I> 3.5  
My internet left me hanging for a few hours earlier. This book was a great distraction

In this follow-up to "Dark Lover," Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetite--he's the best fighter and the most voracious lover, for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. When Mary Luce is thrown into the vampire world, Rhage knows he must make her his own. Original.

Janna Niemi

Ooh! I'm in love although I liked Wrath and Beth's story better. This was good too and I liked how there were more humans involved and John is a very interesting character and I can't help but want to read more about his fate and if he really is the person I think he is. Now I have to get my hands on the next book in the series. I loved this book and I love this series!

Missy Zuber 

Dawn Keiser

I had forgotten the emotional damage these books inflict

Celeste Richardson

Oh, man. I can’t believe I was this emotionally invested in a book that I’ve read before. My heart hurt the entire time I was reading. In the best way. These are so dramatic, but right now I’m thirsty for that for some odd reason. As long as I can be fairly certain that everything is going to work out in the end, which is why I think I’ve been so drawn to the romance genre this year. I’m pretty sure these books are better on a reread than they were the first time around. I’m ready to see if that holds true for more of the series.

Jaclyn

I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS WORLD! 

In this one we follow Rhage and  wow  his story with Mary was beautiful and I couldn’t get enough of it! I’m in love J.R. Ward’s writing, her world and these characters! I can’t wait to find out what happened to Bella and read her story with Zsadist!

Sarah Escorsa

Warning: this one should take a while. So go do whatever it is you have to do, grab a picnic (a bottle of vodka should do) and take a deep breath. Here we go.

Be glad and rejoice, dear friends and enemies, for my PNR allergy has come back full force. Well no, that's not exactly right. It's my romance allergy that's alive and kicking. And I have J.R. Ward to thank for it, yay! Because, seriously, this book? It's so packed with romantic crap that it would break even the most hardened of serial killers.

When I started reading this luuurrrrrve masterpiece, I was prepared to love it. Hey you there, no fainting, ok? You did enough of that after Dark Lover happened. Time to man/woman/whatever up! You are strong! You can do this! Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. I was prepared to love this book. Belief suspended to the power of 100 and all that. Only that there is only so much I can take. I am a cold-hearted cynic after all, and attacking me with an army of fluffy bunnies and pastel-colored rainbows is guaranteed to unleash the homicidal maniac in me. 



In my Dark Lover review I pointed out all the things that should have made me want to throw the book across the room in complete exasperation and utter desperation, but didn't. For this book I shall therefore list all the things that should have made me want to throw the book across the room in complete exasperation and utter desperation, but didn't. Because I was reading on my Kindle and didn't want to break it in a fit of sugar shock-induced violence.

① Welcome to the greatest pity party on earth!
Please meet I'm-Not-Worthy-Mary and Woe-Is-Me-Rhage: she is annoying as hell, has no self-respect (more on that later) and whines 24/7. He revels in self-pity and has as much charisma as a cardboard box, which is quite ironic for a guy nicknamed Hollywood ← and the award for the silliest names & nicknames ever goes to…J.R. Ward! Congratulations, the winner is you! Such a delightful couple, these two. They really are a match made in heaven. 



② Holy Bloody Mary Mother of God.
Mary, Mary, Mary. What should we do with you? You must be one of the most exasperating female characters I've ever come across. You know J.R. Ward, the whole "I'm so ugly and boring and uninteresting and a burden and Rhage-only-wants-to-be-friends-with-me-ha-figures and why-would-Rhage-want-to-be-with-someone-like-me-when-he-can-have-the-hottest-chicks-in-the-universe" act gets old really fast. And when I say really fast, I mean REALLY FAST. 



✉ Private message to Mary: stop thinking, start humping. Or grinding. Or whatever. You get the idea.

Not only does Mary have no self-esteem whatsoever, she also has absolutely no self-respect! Isn't she a dream come true?! Get this: her mate/boyfriend/whatever (you know, the guy she's not good enough for) refuses to have sex with her (I could tell you why but [spoilers]). He goes off to have sex with some unknown chick in a bar (he's classy like that) ← yes, people who have read this book, I know he supposedly HAS to do this (view spoiler)[personally, I would have gone and killed a few things instead, but it's his life, not mine (hide spoiler)] but that's not the point here, so lay off me. Thank you. ← Listen people, if you keep distracting me like this, we won't go anywhere. So, where were we? Oh yes. Rhage, bar, classy sex. So dear Rhage gets home after getting it on with that unknown chick (did I mention the chick was hot? J.R. Ward doesn't describe her but I'm pretty sure she was hot as hell. I mean, Rhage is a hot chick magnet so she's gotta be hot, right? Right.) 



Okay, okay, I'm getting there! So Rhage gets home. Mary is suitably pissed off/heartbroken and her self-esteem is shattered once again (sob sob). So far so good. What does she do next? Why she jumps his bones, of course! Because what self-respecting woman wouldn't have sex with her boyfriend/mate/whatever who just had classy sex with some unknown hot chick in a bar? Yep, self-respect is seriously overrated these days. But that's not all. Oh no. It gets much better. Because what does dear Holy Mary do next? She apologizes to You're-Too-Good-For-Me-Rhage for "using" and "violating" him. Way to go, girl. I think you'll be my role model from now on. 



③ My ridiculous name is Rhage and my stupid nickname is Hollywood.
I am at a loss for words here, J.R. Ward. So here you have this super cool character idea and the only thing you manage to do with it is turn the guy into a teary-eyed, love-sick puppy bore? You have got to be kidding me. He should have been tough as iron nails (yes, there is such a thing). He should have been excruciatingly aggravating. He should have been a total asshole. But no, the guy is freaking nice. Yes, NICE. Seriously, J.R. Ward? Need I remind you that your character is supposed to be a freaking [BEEP] (view spoiler)[← this is a new kind of spoiler. It's specially designed to prevent self-spoiling temptation. No tag to click on, no self-spoiling temptation. Pretty neat, huh? (hide spoiler)] ?! *shakes head in desperation* Anyway, long story short: Rhage is a pathetic crybaby, so I shall (very graciously, I might add) leave him for you ladies to fight over. The guy's infected with the deadly Sick Lurrrrve Disease (SLD), there's no way I'm letting him into my harem. Do you seriously think I'd let him contaminate my delicious gang of truly aggravating assholes? 

④ The greatest cheese fest on earth
You don't know what cheese is until you've read this book. J.R. Ward has bravely gone where no author had ever gone before. Let me tell you, The Duke and I is nothing compared to this. And when I say nothing, I mean NOTHING. Bloody hell. It's a miracle I'm still alive. Well, I must say I do have a weird rash all over my body right now, but I guess that's a side-effect of level 10 sugar shock poisoning (the deadliest kind).



And how does this delightful utter cheesiness and total mushiness fiesta end? Why in a glorious blast of MEA (Miraculously Ever After), of course! Because J.R. Ward doesn't do HEAs, oh no. HEAs are totally out these days. And terribly depressing, too. So when happiness no longer cuts it, what does J.R. Ward do? She throws in a freaking miracle! YES!!!! My life is now complete!!! I shall be miraculously ecstatic ever after!! Hallelujah, all my prayers have finally been answered!! 

 ⑤ Boredom, Inc
No I am not talking about my review here. You're hilarious, you know that?
In Dark Lover, there was a plot. In Dark Lover, there was a story. In Dark Lover, there was world building. In Lover Eternal, there is a BIG FAT NOTHING. It's all Mary & Rhage, blah blah blah, whine whine whine. The John subplot is YAWN, the Mr O & Mr X subplot is please-someone-slap-me-I'm-falling-asleep. The little action there is is yeah-yeah-yeah-fascinating-please-get-own-with-it-thank-you-very-much. Damn, the whole thing is so desperately dull and lacklustre even the sex scenes are boring as hell. Yep, you read that right, boring sex scenes. Now that's quite an achievement right there. 



J.R. Ward. Sigh. To think I almost loved you when I finished reading Dark Lover. I mean, you were the person that finally managed to make me love like a Freaking PNR Novel. You, however, nipped this young PNR love in the bud, so I can't say I like you very much right now. Yes, I still plan to read Z's book. Because, you know, Z (view spoiler)[he's mine (hide spoiler)]. But he better keep his ass in check. And you definitely better not pull a Barbara Cartland on me, J.R. Ward. Because sadistic bastards and pink fluffy bunnies don't mix well. Not in my world, anyway.

• Book 1: Dark Lover ★★★★★
• Book 3: Lover Awakened ★★

Samantha Hernandez

Over all a good book but repetitive in emotions between mary and rhage. I enjoyed it but the plot was also very predictable. If you like romance/ paranormal with some steaminess it's a good read.

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. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood... 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.

Number 2 in series

Jessica Flores

I absolutely love this book! I love how caring and honest Rhage is and how strong Mary is. Although I did want more emotion from Mary (like anger lol) at times she isn’t like that and it totally fit her character to not hold grudges. I did feel like the ending was rushed a tad bit but I still enjoyed it. The love Rhage has for Mary is a 5/5. Spice was not the best but it was romantic. Spice: 2/5🌶

Kelsi Proulx

Wow...as someone that doesn't read erotica very much (I don't consider myself a fan) I love this series. I am so attached to the characters and I love the world Ward has created. The Brothers are fantastic and I am enjoying the war between them and the lessers. I am really excited for the rest of the series.

As for this book, the only complaint I have is that Rhage and Mary never just talk to each other! He is constantly asking why she doesn't talk to him but he never tells her anything either out of fear of hurting her. If they would just communicate they wouldn't have any problems. I guess there wouldn't be much to say about their relationship in that case though.

4.5 stars overall.

Denise La Greca

I don't understand how people are disappointed by this book. Hey guys, it is just one book! If you are looking for something more complex, smart, erudite, well this is not the right choose for you. Otherwise, if you can appreciate a relaxing, hilarious, lovely love-story read this series! :)

A good second installment of the BDB, this time following Rhage, whom is seen as a bit of a player. He finds a woman he truly cares about and their journey to loving one another is a good one. I felt my heart strings being tugged more than once when reading this book.

Sasha Mann

Tatyana

This is now Rhage's story and I loved it. Funny, intense, sexy, and heartbreaking at some points.  Mary who's dealing with a deadly sickness finds herself mixed up in the vampire world after Rhage just can't stay away from her.
The connection and chemistry between Mary and Rhage is amazing. Definitely a good vampire romance with some action scenes.

Amy Grieve

WARNING: THIS BOOK CAN MAKE YOU CRY LIKE A BABY. Sorry for that bold statement but I feel like its my duty to warn future readers about that certain possible outcome of reading this book. 

Lover Eternal is the story of Rhage and Mary. Mary is a 31-year-old with a tough past. She has lost her mother and battled cancer all on her own. Rhage is a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and a pretty good fighter. But the vampire has a curse that makes him lose control of himself. 

By simple chance Mary and Rhage meet. In so many ways they are perfect for each other. The are both tough cookies and lost souls but things threaten to rip them apart. Mary's illness may be back. Rhage's beast is stirring and it's hungry... 

I just have to say what an epically amazing story this was. It made me cry, laugh and read on till the end. Rhage and Mary's story broke and warmed my heart at the same time. I think that ending was so lovely and I can't wait to hear Zsadist's story.

Averi Hobbs

I liked this even more than the first, Rhage is my fav so far but I'm excited to read about the other brothers too!

Jade Flynn

*4.5 stars.

I must admit going into this one I was a bit hesitant because each book focuses on a different brother and his love interest. The first book on Wrath and Beth, this one on Rhage and Mary. I felt like I bonded with Wrath and Beth and I really enjoyed their story and cared about them as characters. So at first, it was kind of strange.....for me to be reading from Rhage's perspective. But needless to say I LOVED IT! 

I hope this series will continue to get better and better! 

NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES - LOVER AWAKENED #3 (Zsadist's Story)

celeste

It's funny how our experiences with books we've read a long time ago change over time. I remember this was one of my favorite books out of this series when I was in high school, mainly because Rhage was one of my favorites out of all the brothers, but now after rereading it, I don't think my opinion is the same as it was before. Even though I love Rhage, I have other characters that have become my faves and as for Mary, I have to be honest that this time around I found her quite... annoying? I don't remember being annoyed by her when I first read this book, so that was quite a surprise for me. I just wanted her to make up her damn mind already! Anyways, there are a lot of things I do love about this book, like, John Matthew, one of MY ALL TIME FAVORITE CHARACTERS OF THE BDB gets introduced? his whole dynamic with Tohr and Wellsie just makes me cry every fucking time, because I know what's to come in the next books. I also love that we get a peak into Z's backstory with the introduction of Bella's character as well. I'm not gonna change my ratings on these books because I wanna maintain the rating I gave them the first time I read them. But, like I've said, I remember loving this one much more than I did the second time around.

Sara Gaspar Farinha

“It was right then and there that she’d realized there was no quota in misery for people, no quantifiable threshold that once reached, you got miraculously taken out of the distress pool.” J.R. Ward ‘Lover Eternal’

“Mary stayed frozen in place, her mind skipping like a needle on an LP record. Eyeing the DVD collection, she decided there was something to be said for escapism. Especially when a person had had too much weirdness, too many reorientations to reality, too much… everything.” J.R. Ward ‘Lover Eternal’

** spoiler alert **
           I might do a longer review later.... I skimmed most of this book, I read parts of the Lesser plot so I knew the gist of what was happenign there, but skimmed a lot of their development (because I can). I felt that the cheese of the 00's dialogue pulled me out of the story several times and that the writing overall was considerably poorer compared to book 1, and book 3 (Z's book, gimme). 

I love Rhage and I enjoyed his pursuit of Mary and the development with the Beast was great. I'm glad that in the end the Beast is permanent rather than him being "cured" of it, which would have been predictable and cliche. It really just boils down to the writing. Some shit felt rushed, some felt silly, some unbelievable - moments when the dialogue was just ridiculous, no one talked like that even in the early 00's. BUT ... it's worth it to push through for Rhage's story. He's great. We stan.

Lover Eternal A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood

Reviews

Highlights