Review: "Lover Awakened" by J.R. Ward

Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4 1/2 stars



"Everyone" has already read this book, so I'm just going to rant a bit...

Zsadist had me intrigued since I read Dark Lover, because he was pretty much an outcast within the Brotherhood and I knew there had to be something "good" inside him. I also knew that his story would be "scary" (for lack of a better word) and, boy, I was not mistaken! I thought Sin MacAllister from Kinley MacGregor's Born in Sin was the most tortured hero in Romancelandia but, compared to Z's, Sin's life was a merry walk in the park. Z's mind was so twisted that, for a moment, I doubted the possibility of a believable HEA for him. I shouldn't have, though. Can I just say I loved the epilogue? :)

Bella was everything Z needed. She had been attracted to him since they first met in Lover Eternal and, for reasons he couldn't understand, he also felt a strong connection to her. When presented with the chance to be with Z, Bella was honest and direct about it - and I congratulated her for it. But then, Z told her to go away in the end and, instead of fighting for them, she just complied!?! Not what I expected from a woman/vampire who had just killed her kidnapper, but that gave room for the wonderful scene with Z writing her that sigh-worthy note, so I guess I can excuse that.

Now, Phury... Call me insensitive but, at this point, I almost despise him. I was probably supposed to embrace him as a larger-than-life, altruistic man/vampire, but he just came across as a pathetic loser - not to mention, drug addict - to me. Get a life, my brother!

And Tohr... Why, oh why did Ms. Ward feel the need to do that to him? Didn't we have enough wild and wrecked Brothers? Couldn't we have at least one "normal" guy among them? Based on some comments I'd heard before reading this book, I knew Wellsie was going to die, but that didn't make me less unhappy when the time came.

As it happened in the previous book, Lover Eternal, I didn't care for the scenes with the lessers in this book either and I wish Ms. Ward stopped giving them so much "screen time". I know I don't stand a chance of seeing this happening, so I guess this series will never get a 5-star rating for me. Oh well, it isn't like that would make any difference, because these books have already a gazillion rabid fans and I won't be missed, LOL.





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