Black Dagger Brotherhood (2) - Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward
Black Dagger Brotherhood 2: Lover Eternal (in German Ewige Liebe and Bruderkrieg, in French L'Amant éternel) I read it in German where it contained 267 and 296 pages. Originally published 2006.
The only way Rhage can survive every day until his release from his curse is through killing Lesser and sex. And even this is not a guarantee that he won't loose control and endanger every breathing thing in sight – like his brothers. And the worst thing? People admire him for what he has to do. His life is a disaster.
Until Mary comes along.
But Mary is a human and has her own life to live – and she hasn't that much left of it.
Okay, this book did surprise me a few times. I guessed part of the ending and who John Matthews is, but what I'd never really think about was that Rhage could hate his life. His curse? Sure. The rest of it? This surprised me, but it does make sense – lots of sense. You see that Rhage cares far more about the ones around him than you'd think – especially about women. He hates to use people and only does it when it's absolutely necessary. And then he uses only those he can't hurt. The way he got the curse is well done, too. You learn a lot more about this mysterious enemy of Omega. However, to get back to Rhage: I'm so sorry for him, I mean, seriously, his life has to suck! He spends his time killing things or wasting himself on women he basically hates – which makes him hate himself even more. This makes Rhage seem more... human, somehow, less perfect. But I like how the author builds up a threat that shows how he accepts the curse more and more. This makes the ending – and the relationship between him and Mary – somehow more beautiful.
Spoiler:
It's not only a sacrifice, it's also that Rhage accepts the part of him that isn't in control.
It makes sense, it's like a character development – and a really good one as well. And this is built up from their first meeting – it's really, really well done, every part of it (I'm especially a fan of reading how he begins to get more and more entangled with Mary, and how he hates erasing her memories).
Apropos ending: What surprised me was that the VoS didn't know about Mary's little handicap. I'd thought that she's some sort of goddess, but... well, seems like she's not. But I like her sense of humour and that she stays fair.
Well now. To main character 2: Mary. That poor girl. I can totally identify with her.
Spoiler:
She had to watch her mother die, that get what she did as well. She fought, survived, but now it's starting again.
And this guy is showing up on her doorstep to complicate her life even more. I so get why she treats him like this in the beginning (by the way, their first meeting was, like, really funny (nothing)), even though I am sorry for him.
Spoiler:
And I get why she flips out after he's doing his thing. I mean, seriously, this does seem twisted, if you don't understand this. She's completely vulnerable, but he stays in control! This is sort of degrading – even though Rhage never intended this. He only wants to keep her alive!
Thankfully, she stops shoving him away after a while and they begin to really understand one another. These are some beautiful (and morbidly funny) scenes. I like how she treats the beast. Purr. And this thing with the chains? Damn it.
Okay, so far so good. Of course, there are other characters in here as well. It's so clear who John Matthews was – at least it was for me – and I must admit that I like him. He's cute: So protective and thoughtful, even though he has a bunch of problems as well. I like how his behaviour and the fragility of his appearance stand in contrast.
Bella seems very nice – I like her. Especially how honest she is with herself. She knows what she wants and she doesn't shy away from anything to make her wishes come true. Even if this hurts her. Additionally, she's a good friend to Mary.
What I actually disliked was that Mary basically forgot John Matthews and Bella over Rhage. Especially John: She didn't even try to contact him after everything! This is a) pretty crabby and b) seems a little out of character. But she HAS to think about a lot, so...
To the last and probably most fascinating character of the book: Mr. O. Huh, he's a villain with a personality. I'm actually almost sorry for him. Even though... what he did with his former girlfriend. Yeah, really loving and all.
Spoiler:
I'm curious as to see how the relationships between Zsadist and Bella and Butch and Marissa are going to play out. Well, I'll see.
The style was either a little better than before, or I got used to it. I really don't know, but it didn't irritate me as much.
In brief:
Okay, the book definitely deserved a star for characters, ideas and content as well as half a star each for style and for the way Rhage begins to accept himself. So, four stars it is!
Prequel:
Sequel: