Review by Vicky London

I must admit that I’m addicted to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Yes, parts are cheesy but it’s like crack, one hit and you’re done. Lover Avenged is the seventh book in the series and the first in hardcover. Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten a review copy, I’d be getting mine from the library. I don’t understand why publishers do this, but I digress. Lover Avenged contains the love story of Rehvenge and Elhena (the extra h’s have struck again). I say “contains” because even though the book does have a romance, it’s only about a third of the book. The rest is about the other characters in the series and surprisingly quite a bit about Wrath, the king. Here’s the book cover blurb:

Caldwell, NY, has long been the battleground for the battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the Lessening Society. It’s also where Rehvenge has staked out his turf as a drug lord and notorious nightclub that caters to the rich and heavily armed. His shadowy reputation is exactly why he’s approached to kill Wrath, the Blind King, and leader of the Brotherhood. Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the Brotherhood, even though his sister is married to a member. Because he’s a sympath, his identity is a deadly secret- the revelation of which will result in his banishment to a colony for sociopaths. And as plots within and outside the Brotherhood take their toll against Rehvenge, he turns to the only source of light in a darkening world- Elhena, a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him- and the only thing standing between him and eternal destruction.

Rehvenge meets Elhena on one of his trips to Haver’s medical clinic where he gets the dopamine he needs to function. Elhena is the only nurse who isn’t afraid of the big bad male and she finds herself drawn into caring for him. I have to say that Ward did a good job working around Rehvenge’s impotence. It sounds kind of odd but I think his impotence made the imbalance in the relationship disappear. I like that Rehvenge is someone who has very good reasons for all of the bad things he does but it makes him kind of a fake bad boy. Ehlena definitely isn’t as interesting to me as Rehvenge. She seems rather one dimensional but I did appreciate her tenacity and determination towards the end of the book. She didn’t give up even with the possibility of her own death. Ultimately, the relationship lacked sizzle for me.

The second major plot line in the book had to do with Wrath and his return to fighting against the lessers. He makes a very bad decision deciding not to tell anyone other than Butch. Wrath also begins to have frightening episodes with his eyes that threaten to truly make him “The Blind King”. Other MAJOR sub-plots are about John Matthew and Xhex, Tohr and Lash, son of the Omega and the new leader of the lessers.

Lover Avenged was a satisfying read for me, although the love story was not as spectacular as I expected. I’m very interested in seeing what happens with John Matthew and Xhex. Since characters don’t really get their own books anymore in this series I think that this developing relationship will drag out a bit longer as a sub-plot in future books. If you’re a fan of the series you should definitely read Lover Avenged. Whether you should wait for paperback or not is up to you.

Want to read an excerpt? Click here.

Release Date: April 28, 2009
ISBN-10: 0451225856

Popularity: 19% [?]

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