Black Dagger Brotherhood (6) - Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
Now to Lover Enshrined (Blutlinien & Vampirträume in German, L'amant consacré in French), I read it in German where it contained 367 & 351 pages. Originally published 2008.
Phury is in a downward spiral that will bring him directly into hell. He is a looser. He has been the curse of his family, nothing he ever did could make anything better – no matter for whom. And now he has forty women to care for, as their guardian and whore. And he has failed for the last five months. While his drug consume gets higher and higher, he can't help but hate himself more and more. Especially when he sees his number one, Cormia. How could he ever be near her? He's destructive, not worthy of anything... especially not of her. But the Brotherhood of the Black Dagger can not wait any longer for Phury to fix himself. Neither can Cormia. And Omega has found another way to hurt the vampires...
Okay, this book was really well done, especially the drug problem. I love the depth and the narrative execution of Phury's problem! Even though I'm sad that the wizard didn't show himself until this book (I mean, we had pretty bad scenes for Phury before, for example in Lover Awakened (D / E) – it would have been the perfect opportunity for his self-hate to resurface and hit him on the head), this was so damn realistic! And so sad. The litany is exactly what people will think when they hate themselves. Especially the fact that the moral standards and such usually change enough to be fit exactly as the self-loath (or here, its projection, the wizard) needs in order to make the person feel as bad as possible. Additionally, I like how the problem goes more and more real, worse and worse, how Phury has to use an immense amount of stuff and spends all of his time in the Red Smoke and with the wizard. How he hates himself for what he does. And how he begins to see what the drugs make with his personality, like in the scene with the addict. But still, he can't stop. It has been made clear in the previous book that Phury changes his hunting strategy – how he suddenly begins to see what he does, and what pain does to him. This is so... realistic. I also like how the Brothers react to this. How especially Z and Wrath struggle with seeing Phury like that and how they have to take drastic measures in order to at least try to make him stop. Which makes it worse, for a while.
Spoiler:
And then, Phury does something that goes too far, and this one act finally catapults him into sanity – long enough for him to realise he has to change, not hide in chemical substances.
This is immensely intense, realistic and... well, it leads to goosebumps, especially because you know that this is exactly what happens when you get addicted.
Spoiler:
What I like best about this aspect is the fact that Phury doesn't get a magical solution or a happily ever after. Okay, he does get a happily ever after, but this isn't a Simsalabim and the addiction is gone and you never have to struggle with it again. Instead, it's described how he still fights it, every day, and how others handle the same situation and have the same difficulties – for years.
This shows how much an addiction can ruin your life, even if you somehow manage to overcome it. I love the execution of this. Especially because addiction is something that you usually underestimate – especially when it's connected to “minor” drugs. And you can't ask people about that, since they usually don't want to realise that they actually have a problem. They lie to themselves and say that they always can stop – even if they can't. Or they do realise they have a problem, might even work on it, but don't want you to know how much they struggle – because they hate how much it costs them. When you read this book, you understand why your parents and teachers will tell you to keep your hands off the pills and smoke.
Another thing I really liked was Cormia. First of all, I loved how her struggles were executed. Her problems with the technical part of our day-to-day life were to be expected, but how she reacted to the colours around her? The smells and the tastes? Wonderful! And I love her relationships with the others. Especially with Bella, because finally there is a real friendship between girls even though one of them has boy-issues. Even though it's a little out of character that Cormia promises Bella to be there until Nalla's birth, but then leaves and doesn't even show up at the actual event. But still, Cormia really grows. I like how she struggles with her bad conscience because she feels like an individual and not one of many, and I love how she falls for Phury. And how she makes clear where her borders are. How she grows into a real person. I liked that she didn't flinch or hide herself when she was naked and met John and Qhuinn – because she didn't wanted to feel ashamed of how she looked like.
And Phury's reaction was nicely done. I also liked that Cormia didn't just melt, but that she fought him, even though she knew how it would end and wanted it like that.
Spoiler:
John's reaction to that was... huh. His past doesn't let him go, does it? I like the plot with John and Qhuinn – the former is actually standbale – how Lash attacks John and Qhuinn flips, how he pushed Blay away to protect him and how Wrath sets it right. Really nice! And how Qhuinn mocks John!!! :)
Blay is interesting as well. Not only is sexual preferences, but also his... well, he himself. He's a good boy, I like him.
Spoiler:
To Lash: first of all, I was right! Okay, done. I was pretty sure whom he was, but then I thought about it after there were these hints towards whether or not Qhuinn is part of his family. His family is insane, by the way. I was so sorry for him! But back to Lash: He, Omega's son, what he can do and what he has to do? Wow. I like his bad conscience, especially when it's about his parents. Everything else would have been cheap. And how this girl fought him? I have to admit that I'm not especially sorry for her – he's right that she basically asked for it, in a way, by making herself a whore – but his behaviour was anything but okay. And it's so cool that he gets to see that.
Rehv's side of the story was really well done. His problems with the princess – I wonder what Xhex did. She – and the princess – are very interesting persons, and the society as well. I'm excited as to how this will play out.
Spoiler:
And poor, poor Tohr! I hop he'll be fine some day. The wedding was... intense.
Apropos wedding. The ending was beautiful! How Z begins to sing again, Nalla, and the wedding. That the Virgin of the Script lets go of the rules and loosens up. Let's see how Payne will play out, she seems to be quite interesting... but I like how the chosen ones grow to be individuals and come to live together in the real world – especially Layla's cooking skills. I was so sorry for Layla throughout the book. Especially after John's trasition. That has to suck: Everything she prepared herself for was sex. And first Rhage, then the haunted John and then Phury. And she thinks she's responsible. Hey, how about Layla and Tohr? I think she'd be good for him. But hey, I'm not a Love Bird website or something like that.
In brief:
I give stars for ideas, story and style, plus ½ stars each for characters and the drugs.
Prequel: