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. And now, a dutiful twin must choose between two lives…Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male … the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood’s bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.
As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself- she sees the emotionally scarred male behind all his noble responsibility. But while the war with the Lessening Society grows more grim, and tragedy looms over the Brotherhood’s mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love.
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This series just continues to amaze me. It is so original and unique that I can’t even begin to describe how these novels make me feel. Of course, this book was no different. There were times I was so engrossed in the story that I didn’t even know, or care, what was going on around me. My husband would give me those weird sidelong glances when I would sniffle, laugh, or yell out incoherent babble. (Yeah, I am one of those readers.) I bet he is happy that I finally finished this because I have been ignoring EVERYTHING since I started reading it. Little does he know, I have more of this series locked and loaded on my kindle. *insert evil laughter*
It had been a while since I had visited the BDB world. Thank goodness for my embarrassingly long reviews on the previous books. I referenced those before starting this one just to bring myself up to speed. Because this series is just a continuation of one wonderfully written story, I am going to go in a different direction than my past reviews. Mainly because I cringed while reading my past reviews. Hey, we all start somewhere. And everyone should know by now that you have to read these books in order. I mean, I am late to the BDB party so I know that everyone knows not to treat these books like standalones.
There was a lot that went down in the book – way more than I can mention and/or touch on. But I have to share one thing: Never doubt these novels. I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a big fan of Phury. He and I have had a weird love/hate relationship since Z’s book. While I’m still not his biggest fan, I do have a lot more respect for him. I was blinded by Z, and I didn’t realize the inner turmoil that Phury went through all those years. Now, however, I am pleased with what Ward did with his character. Phury’s story was totally unexpected and touching. We got to see him overcome a lot of his grief and anger. Cormia was just the icing on top. I adored the way she cared for him. Like I said, I couldn’t have been any happier with Phury’s story.
If you have been around for a while than you know that I have some mad love for our boy, John. I loved the major role he has been playing in these books. I literally got giddy when it changed into his point of view. The way he handled Cormia had me swooning. The moments he shared with Xhex… dang! Can I just read his book now? LIKE RIGHT NOW!? I love the friendship between him, Blay, and Qhuinn. AND OMG THAT MOMENT BETWEEN QHUINN AND BLAY. I have been keeping myself away from future books, so I had no idea that that was going on! Oh, and the ending absolutely shattered me. I can’t even begin to say how emotional I was reading it.
They both cried until there was no breath with which to wail.
This was the gift of recovery, he thought. The ability to be here in this moment with the female he loved and be fully aware, fully awake, fully present. Undiluted.
Next time say my name. You’ll come more.
I totally fangirled at that line – not gonna lie.
”Daughter,” the Scribe Virgin said.
She was not surprised at the reply.
“Fuck you.”
Z smiled and nodded. “Yeah, she does. Bella says she looks like me…which means she looks like you. Come meet my little girl, brother mine…”
Yes, all of the above happened towards the end of the book. Now can you understand why my heart felt like it was on a roller-coaster ride? I am sure that you all felt the same way when you read it. If you didn’t then you most certainly don’t have a heart.
5 stars!
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3.5 stars
I wasn’t very eager to read this book, not like the previous ones. I’ve read some reviews and most readers agreed that this one was their least favorite book in the series so far. Sadly I have to agree with them.
I had seen how Phury was treating Cormia in the previous book. His indifference to her was disturbing and I couldn’t see how he’d develop feelings for her since he is so obsessed with Bella.
Just like with the other books, there are many things going on. A new revelation about the Omega and the Lesser’s Community, makes things even more difficult for the Brotherhood.
It was really frustrating seeing Phury and Cormia making 1 step forward and 3 back. If either of them talked to the other maybe things would have worked out more easily. Phury’s issues are too deep and he really need to fight with himself and his addiction to win.
The ending was by far my favorite part of the book and I was happy to see all the other characters moving on with their lives. Even though this book wasn’t my favorite, I’ll definitely continue the series!!
The author always has a way with their words. It always keeps you wanting more. Can’t wait to read more.
Not what I expected. I was not a fan of Phury’s storyline. The secondary storylines are what I enjoyed and they are vital to the Black Dagger Brotherhood world.
This was amazing! I loved the complicated characters and the elaborate and detailed world. I was hooked on every detail, loving everything learned and rooting for Phury and Cormia to get to their HEA in the midst of all the drama and personal battles. Excellent story!
Love the whole Black Dagger Brotherhood series.
I read this awhile ago and really enjoyed it, as I have the other books in the series. All are a nice escape, and time well spent.
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I love J.R. Ward’s writing. This book was a great disappointment to me.
Loved this book . I am huge fan of The Black Dagger Brotherhood and look forward to each new book in the series.
Black Dagger Brotherhood. One of the best series ever!
I love the Black Dagger series. While Phury’s and Cormia’s story was not my favorite, it really changed the dynamic of how the vampire race functioned and it was a good read. You have to read all of the books in order to know what’s happened and how it’s going to fit into the next storyline.
Phury’s book. Phury was cool until his book. He was boring. Cormia was boring. Bella, still pregnant and very much mated to Z, but still flirting with Phury. She brushes his damn hair, WTF!
I always tell people this book is boring, it’s a step book. BUT it’s important. Lots of important info about Rehvenge.
Definitely an excellent read, though Phury and Cormia aren’t a favorite. Nonetheless, you couldn’t ask for a better mate for Phury. And as the plot of the series progresses, you are dying to know what’s going to happen. Excellent novel!
Best series ever!
I finished reading Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward for the 2nd time. I read this book back in 2009, but never typed up a review of it. Well, I’m making up for it now.
The sixth book in the BDB series does not have much sexual scenes to it because if you’ve read the previous books the main male character Phury is celibate. He’s been celibate since the beginning. He’s one character that has not been much in the limelight because he puts others before him. He’s so protective of others, which is why he’s perfect as being Primale.
The previous book is where he steps in as Primale, instead of Vishous. Phury’s First Mate Cormia was definitely an intriguing character to get to know because of how she has lived. She’s one of the Chosen, which means she has lived a strict life and poor Cormia never chose to be Phury’s First Mate. She was forced to be the First Mate thanks to the old Directrix. Phury saw her stress, so he took her back to the BDB mansion. Cormia gets to see how the other lives live in the real dangerous world. Unfortunately, it’s not easy since the Primale hasn’t filled his obligation and now the Directrix is becoming impatient with both Phury and Cormia. Cormia thinks there’s something wrong with her, but the real problem is how Phury thinks of himself.
I won’t go into the story much since I don’t want to give anything away. I did enjoy Phury and Cormia’s story, but there was the issue of Phury being a pain in the butt most of the time, which is why it didn’t get 5 stars. I felt terrible for Cormia most of the story. Her emotions were always being played with due to Phury battling his inner demons. Phury has a lot going on in this book and he loses a lot. He finally gains something at the end of the story, but so much has changed with him. Cormia though made him change in the story, which is why I liked her a lot more than Phury. Cormia deserved happiness.
There’s also a lot of other back stories happening in Lover Unbound. John Matthew is one character that I definitely continuously grows on me in each book. I’ve adored him since he was first introduced. There’s also Quinn and Blay.
Overall, this may not be my favorite book in the series, but I still give it 4.5 stars. Now I’m reading the next book already in the series. I just need to find more time to read it in between my crazy busy life.
Oh God where do I start with the hot mess that is Phury? This book is the one I like the least of all the books in this series and that’s because I really don’t care for Phury. Let me just say that I like Cormia but I don’t really understand how she and Phury fell in love. He totally ignored her for like 6 months. When did they spend enough time together to fall in love? Phury is a total drug addict for 85% of the book. He spends almost the whole book doing drugs, buying drugs, and talking to an imaginary voice in his head that he called the wizard. And us readers had to deal with The wizards constant stupid, boring chatter for like 90% of the book. Was J.R. Ward watching the Flintstones when she wrote this book because the wizard was just like the great gazoo and drove me crazy!
Phury was so annoying to me. He was always playing the victim, feeling sorry for himself and whining about how bad, his life was, how much he failed everyone, but instead of getting off his stupid butt and doing something about it he just got high.
Cormia was likable but not real deep as a chosen she doesn’t really have any personality. It was cute when she would learn something new since she was kinda like a newborn with no knowledge of the world around her. But it was sad that everything she would newly discover she did it with John Matthew because she was completely abandoned by Phury. He was getting high while she was going outside for the first time, running in grass for the first time, watching tv, a movie, eating M&Ms, etc. Which just made me dislike Phury more. He should have been there!
I feel like Phury and Cormia didn’t really have a relationship. And what little bit of one they started to have Phury ruined by casting her aside as first mate and trying to take another. I don’t care that he didn’t end up sleeping with anyone but Cormia. He hurt her and rejected her. Yes he does redeem himself a little at the end but it was just too late for me. I was glad the chosen were freed and with them V’s twin sister. I also really loved all the parts with John Matthew and Xhex. They have such strong chemistry. I also melted when Blay and Qhuinn had their first kiss. Overall it was an okay read but all the stars are for everyone but Phury. If I was rating this book on Phury and Cormia alone I would have gave this book 1 stars.
Ups and like crazy in this book. Phury’s struggle is unique to vampire stories I’ve read in the past. I also had times where I feared I wouldn’t like how the story ended up. Ultimately, though, I was very pleased with how things worked out for him. The added story line with John Matthew and friends was very intriguing and I can’t wait to see how things progress from here. And the ending was phenomenal and brought tears to my eyes.
This was fantastic, can I mention that there are not so many words I can describe this series with, it is that good. I love this series so much that I have to give it 5 stars for the real reason that I just love this series so much right now. FAIR WARNING MATURE CONTENT IN THIS BOOK PLEASE BE ADVISED 17+.