Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series #4) by J. R. Ward

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Ready for your next J. R. Ward adrenaline rush? We're back in Caldwell, New York, home of the Dark Brotherhood, but this time the focus is not on one of J. R. Ward's irresistible big bad vampires but on Butch, the only human allowed in the inner circle. An ex-homicide cop with a number of issues, Butch fell in with the Brotherhood through a bizarre series of events. He has what seems to be a hopeless love for the elegant, aristocratic Marissa, the only unmated female in the glymera, or vampire aristocracy. When Butch goes down in a fight, the lessers try to use him as their own Trojan horse, implanting a piece of evil in his belly, but he is saved by Marissa. The heart of the book is the love story between Marissa and Butch, and the transformation each undergoes, but Ward also offers other characters to follow -- in particular, the ongoing secondary story of the adolescent John. Ginger Curwen

From the Publisher

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

But fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

Romantic Times

It's tough to keep raising the bar in a series, but the phenomenal Ward manages to do just that! From book one, human ex-cop, Butch O'Neal has seemed like the odd man out in her vampire brotherhood, but in this amazing novel he definitely comes into his own. The world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to grow and become more layered, ramping up the tension, risk and passion. This is awesome stuff. A Romantic Times Top Pick, 4 stars

Publishers Weekly

Newbies to Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood may struggle to fill in the backstory, but these erotic paranormals are well worth it, and frighteningly addictive. The six "brothers" are vampires: enormous, tattooed, tormented warriors who protect other vampires from destruction by the "lessers," desouled humans in the evil Omega's Lessening Society. Hero and ex-cop Butch is the only human allowed into the Brotherhood's inner circle, but Butch is no mere human, a fact suspected by one of his vamp colleagues, and confirmed by the sinister plans of the Omega. The book is fully committed to its urban sensibility, the vampires' rarified language (a glossary is provided) and their revved-up sex drives, and it all works to great, page-turning effect (with the notable exception of a chick lit–like attention to designer brands). Though Butch's love interest, the virginal, aristocratic vampire Marissa, initially elicits more annoyance than empathy, she grows a spine as the book progresses and Butch's destiny comes to light. In just two years, the first three books in the series have earned Ward an Anne Rice–style following, deservedly so; this entry should prove no less popular. (Mar.)

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Interviews & Essays

Table of Contents

Interviews & Essays