Review: “Lover Mine” by JR Ward

Those who know me are probably already aware of my complete obsession with JR Ward and The Black Dagger Brotherhood.  Kick-ass vampires, huge Alpha males, tough & intelligent heroines… what’s not to love, right?  But what I have come to appreciate from a writer’s standpoint is how brilliant these books are constructed. 

Briefly, the series revolves around the members of The Black Dagger Brotherhood, a group of warrior vampires charged with protecting their race against the evil slayers called the Lessers.  Each book revolves around a different member of the brotherhood.  While it is possible to read the books out of order, I strongly recommend taking them in order.  The first book does a lot of setting up the world, but stick with it.  By books two and three you will be hooked. 

Lover Mine focuses on John Matthew and Xhex.  (I’m not giving any of the plot away, so forgive me for speaking in more general terms.)  In the previous book, Xhex was captured by the evil, Lash.  Lover Mine tells the story of Xhex’s kidnapping and the fallout for both her and John Matthew.  It also explains John Matthew’s “Darius history,” and why he is so drawn to Xhex.  What makes their love story so cool is that Xhex is every bit a warrior as John Matthew.  The fight scenes where they both don their leathers and go into battle side-by-side are amazing.  Even though Xhex is as tough as any of the Brothers, Ward never lets you forget that she is a woman.  Because of this, she might possibly be my favorite female character in the series. 

In the previous BDB books, John Matthew and Xhex have played prominent roles, which have opened up many questions about their histories.  Lover Mine satisfies all of those questions by tying up a web of plotlines.  These plotlines, all told in multiple points of view that show exactly how genius Ward is as a writer.  This world she has created truly feels like a real parallel universe.  The characters go on living after the last page of the book.  I don’t know of another series which is able to do this so well.  Ward also has perfect timing.  She is able to keep the reader poised on the edge of their seat.  Each chapter seems to end on a cliffhanger, and you just have to keep reading.  If it wasn’t so fun, it would truly be maddening! 

I can’t recommend this series enough.  Men would like it as much as women!  And Lover Mine was worth my waiting for.

Overall, I give Lover Mine by JR Ward…

Plot – 5 bookmarks

Character Development – 5 bookmarks

Fight Scenes – 4 ½ bookmarks

Love Story – 4 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – A young Carrie-Anne Moss (Xhex), Chad-Michael Murray (John Matthew), Tom Felton (Lash)