Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

Title: Lover Eternal
Author: J.R. Ward
Info: Website | Facebook
Release Date: March 7th, 2006
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Pages: 441
Format: Paperback
Acquired: Bought
Interest: Series
Others in the Series: Dark Lover
Age Group: Adult

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 ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Owned by this dark side, Rhage fears the time 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 to Rhage's protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. She lost her faith in miracles 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...

Reader's fell in love with these characters in the first book and now the brothers are back and hotter than ever.

In the first book there was Wrath's story with his lovely Beth, but now it is Rhage's turn.

Known as the "play boy" of the brothers, Rhage takes sex and violence as a medication in order to keep the creature that rests inside of him at bay. And the idea of ever finding anyone because of the beast seemed to lessen within him. Until the day he meets Mary.

With her own body betraying her, Mary has very limited time, but when she runs into Rhage a world of possibilities start, but both of them will have a difficult time finding that peace they are looking for. Rhage, who has the beast that is stirring inside of him and Mary, who is fighting her own monster.

This book was a little different because it really started to bring out some subplots in the series. New characters are introduced and a bridge is formed between this book and the next one. 

In the plot line of Rhage and Mary, I almost burst into tears. Honestly, I had no idea what this Scribe Virgin was doing or why, but I just wanted to punch the woman. And I almost just stopped reading all together. I never realized that by the second book I would have become so emotionally tied with this book. And really, Ward does an amazing job really bringing out the emotions of the brothers. She brings them to light in a way that breathes lives to these men.

Despite the heavy hand that both Rhage and Mary have been handed they are determined to fight it all to be together.

I felt like this book was emotionally charged from page one, and the way things ended for Z, one of the brothers, I can tell it will only go up from here.

This might be a little early to state, but I can already sense a pattern so I'm just going to say it. I know that this book has been classified in some places under Erotica, but I feel like that does not describe this book series well at all. Erotica focuses more on the sex, and for these brothers it's obvious that what gets focused on is the love and the connections that are formed. Mates are slowly found and these brothers soon make connections while at the same time strengthening their brotherhood. And with these mates it's getting to know them and healing from the past in order to have a better future. To me it seems like that theme will play out a lot. 

Ward wrote a masterpiece about deadly vampires and a society of lessers that are growing by the minute and challenging the brothers where it hurts the most: the females.

Of course since I'm only on book three I could be wrong, so anyone can feel free to disagree with me on that, but that's the vibe I'm getting.

I cannot wait to read the rest of the continuing series because they are just amazingly hot and dark and seductive and full of dangerous men in leather. What more can a girl ask for, really?