Book Review | Lover Awakened – J.R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, Book Three)

Lover Awakened
By: J.R. Ward

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood
Book # in Series: 3 of 23
Genre: Romantasy
Trope: Vampire, band of brothers, found family, Romantasy
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: September 5th, 2006
My Rating: ✮✮✮✮½
My Reading Format: Physical Copy

Synopsis:

#1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward’s ferociously inventive series continues as the most fearsome member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood discovers just how tempting the night can be…

A former blood slave, 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 female from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the Brother’s seething power. Except even as their desire for each other begins to overtake them, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against her abductor drives him to the brink of madness. Now Bella must help her lover not only overcome the wounds of his tortured past, but find a future with her…

honey-script.light

I’ve made it my mission in 2025 to read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. After spending years collecting the books, I finally have all the released books on my shelf! I just finished the third book, Lover Awakened, and I officially feel like I’m getting somewhere! YES! If you’re new to J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood Series let it be known that this series should be read in order. These books are NOT featured as standalones. I can say that with an honest.

It never fails, I always cheer on the underdog, the bad boy, and the most cryptic of characters. That fits Zsadist’s character profile perfectly. Zsadist’s story has been one I’ve been looking forward to since I started the first book in the BDB series. You have no idea how excited I was to dive into Lover Awakened.

Zsadist was exactly who I had pictured him being. I loved the fact that he was a fierce warrior on the outside, but beneath the surface, this warrior is the most vulnerable and fragile warrior in the brotherhood. Oh my lord, this warrior literally broke my heart over and over and over again. I was in tears for him and all the trauma he experienced in his past. I knew the woman he would find as a mate would have to be sensitive, understanding, and fiercely be able to fight his inner demons. Let me also state that his past goes into grave details that require content warnings such as being a blood slave which described sexual abuse of the harshest forms . So, if you find this to be triggering, I highly recommend you skip the moments that are written in the italic font.

Now we have Bella! Bella had a horrible time during this novel. And herein lies another trigger warning: Abduction. There was a moment when I didn’t think Bella was going to get out of her situation alive. I haven’t had a ‘sit on the edge of my seat’ moment while reading in a very long time. I really loved her mentality when it came to Zsadist. THis woman was NOT afraid to put him in his place. Her inner warrior was quick to put his warrior in place. I loved those moments when she left him fumbling over his words. She brought the inner emotionally fragile Zsadist out of his cave. I LOVED IT!!

J.R. Ward captured my attention from beginning to the very end. I have to say, in my personal opinion, It’s going to be hard to top Zsadist and Bella’s story. I say that because this novel gave so much emotion and growth. I loved watching Zsadist warm up to someone who wasn’t his twin brother. I loved the vulnerability he showed and the ability to put his turmoil and triggers to the side in order to see to Bella and her moment of needing. Let me tell you, this moment may have been one of the hottest sexy time scenes I’ve ever read! Holy Crow! Let’s get back to the task at hand, Bella brought a softer side to Zsadist that I really loved! I couldn’t get enough of these two.

Now, for the reasoning behind why I dropped a ½ star on my rating. I decided to give Lover Awakened a 4 ½ Star rating because I felt like the epic fight scene between Bella’s captor and Zsadist was a little anticlimactic. Given the past two books, with Wrath’s epic fight and Rhage’s fight, I expected Zsadist’s fight to be even more epic than the two that came before. I wanted more from this scene. I initially was going to rate this a 4 star, but Bella stepping in and saving the day had me adding a ½ star.

Overall, I have a strong feeling that Zsadist and Bella’s love story is going to be one of my most favorites by the time I finish this series and it all comes down to the emotion and inner turmoil of each character that had me loving this novel. Now, I’m getting ready to dive into Lover Revealed. I’m excited to read more from this series! Bring on all the vibes!

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