Lover Avenged

La Ward non si smetisce, libro da leggere tutto in una volta.Finalmente la storia di Rehv, il Reverendo, e la Sua Elena...

I just read this book in record time. For its size and my busy schedule, getting it read in less than 4 days was an achievement, and a testament to how hard it was to put this book down.I don't need to bore fans of this series with details and descriptions of the characters, because if you've been paying attention through the first several books of the series, you already know all that. And if you're just coming into this series now, do yourself a huge favor and go back to the beginning and read all the other books in order before you read this one.With that said, what I liked about this book was how the author stripped down Rehvenge's and Xhex's characters. I also was thrilled with the reintroduction of Tohr (continued from the last book, so this isn't a plot spoiler) and delved deeper into his life and integration back into the Brotherhood. And the setup for John Matthew's character for the next book has me looking forward to what happens with him and how he gets himself out of his funk. I will not spoil the plot twists in this book, but there were many...and they all made for such enjoyable reading. A couple I kinda saw coming, but most caught me by complete surprise.More specifically, I liked the author's witty analogies like, "...he was Kissinger without a president when it came to politics: all analysis, no authority," which started me off right on page one of chapter one. And it just got better from there. I laughed out loud numerous times - something I only seem to do with this series of books. The humor is exquisite! It kinda slaps you in the face when you least expect it, catching you off guard with a chuckle. Every page has a spark of wit or wry humor, which makes the BDB series so entertaining and refreshing, and brings the characters to life.Also, I know the BDB is classified as paranormal romance or erotic romance (erorom), but I've read a lot of books in this genre. The BDB is NOT even remotely in the same league as most erorom. It is in a league of its own. Here's why: With other erorom I've read, the story seems to revolve around the sex. The protagonists seem to hate each other -- are repulsed by each other -- and yet they end up in the sack and fall in love, anyway. The writing isn't very clever and the plots are usually openly apparent. In comparison, J.R. Ward has created in the BDB a story and a world that has depth and dimension, and then she puts in a little spice and icing with some good (very good) sex scenes. The sex is written AROUND the storyline, rather than the other way around with all the other erorom I've read. With the BDB, the sex is a cohesive part of the story - not the reason for the story. The characters are genuinely drawn to each other, and the only reason they hold back is due to their individual flaws...so you don't get those hokey, not believable, insanely absurd I-hate-you-but-I'm-going-to-have-sex-with-you-anyway-and-fall-in-love-with-you scenes. PUH-LEEEAAASE! Yawn, snooze, ho-hum. BOOOORRRRING! Honestly, I've become so bored with other erorom that seems to force the story around all the sex that I can't read it anymore. Not so with J.R. Ward's BDB. I can't put her books down --- because I want to see how it's going to end, not because I want to read all the sex scenes (which I'll admit are pretty juicy...Ward can sure build up the tension between her fated-to-be-together characters...and as a reader, I'll confess it can be very exciting to read *wink*wink*).My only criticism of Lover Avenged is that there wasn't the usual sneak peak of the next book at the end. I love whetting my appetite for the next book with these little "previews," but alas, it was not to be with Lover Avenged. I'll just have to wait for the next book to be released so I can get my BDB fix.

*NO SPOILERS*And with these four words so begins J.R Wards 7th instalment of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I couldn't wait to read LOVER AVENGED and at 527 pages JR does not disappoint. She has encompassed it all; Surprises galore, evolving storylines, several POV's, plot-twists, humour, action, romance and of course heartbreak.I won't spoil things for you here by giving away too much, I'll just give you a brief rundown of all the goodies involved in this intricate story. First off, and this was important to me. All the brothers make an appearance and are all involved to some degree within the story. So yes, we get shots of V, Butch, Zsadist, Rhage, Phury, Tohrment and Wrath, Ah Wrath...Although pegged as Rehvenge's book, LOVER AVENGED belongs equally to Wrath and his continuing story. And oh how sweet it is to be back with the King. We haven't seen much of him since DARK LOVER (Book 1) but his character takes up a significant number of pages here as Wrath goes rogue from his royal duties and ultimately has to pay the consequences. John Mathew and Xhex also get a fair amount of attention and in secondary roles we have Blay and Quinn, Tez, iAm, and Payne. We are also introduced to George, a new companion to the King. Lassiter is back as the hilarious fallen angel, sidekick of Tohrment and the battle continues with the Lessers. Speaking of the Lessoning Society, Lash is simply awesome as their evolving leader taking things to a whole new level of evil.I've never really been a fan of Rehvenge (he kind of creeped me out) but I have to say my opinion of him has now changed. His and Ehlena's love story is well done and surprisingly sweet. Ehlena makes a worthy mate but alas their romance never takes center stage (much like Phury/Cormina in LOVER ENSHRINED book 6.) Ehlena is a nurse from the clinic who treats Rehv after he develops sepsis from repeatedly injecting the dopamine he must take to hide the fact that he's a sympath. It's an unlikely pairing that somehow works even though Rhevenge is still a major drug lord/pimp and has his hands full running the nightclub Zerosum and being a leahdyre on the council. We do get to see a whole new side of him however and gain a much greater insight into the world of sympaths. JR manages to weave all her POV's and storylines together for one explosive (literally) and nail biting finale.My one and only gripe would have to be that JR's brotherhood language has evolved. I don't mean the terms (but yes there are more of these as well) but the actual street lingo that the brothers use when speaking to each other. I occasionally found it hard to understand what they were talking about and had to re-read their dialogue several times before I could figure it out.I can't imagine how you could ever start the series with this book, so please don't try. The BDB is so involved and complex with so many major characters, interweaving stories and POV's that you would be utterly lost plus you'd miss out on the other 6 great books in this fantastic series, but if you're a fan you won't be disappointed, true. The brotherhood undergoes some changes and there are major developments in all ongoing storylines but the hilarious banter we all love, the intensity and excitement are all still here. LOVER AVENGED made me laugh, made me cry and I didn't want it to end yet JR has done a great job in setting things up for the next book which is to be John Mathew's story (LOVER MINE).

Ce septième volume de la confrérie de la dague noire est consacré à Rehvenge, qui n'est pas un des frères mais appartient à leur entourage. C'est un homme "mauvais": il gagne sa vie grâce aux drogues, aux filles, aux boites de nuit qu'il possède et il est à moitié sympath. Les sympaths sont des êtres dangereux, ils sont violents et ont des pouvoirs psychiques puissants. Voilà pourquoi les sympaths doivent être dénoncés pour être exilés, loin de la communauté des vampires.Pour échapper à l'exil, Rehvenge tente donc de garder sa double nature secrète. Seulement, il est la victime d'un chantage depuis vingt-cinq ans et doit payer durement le silence du maître chanteur. Et une autre personne connaît sa vraie nature !Ce livre nous dépeint un vampire qui a un coté terrible, mais qui a également un courage énorme et est prêt à se sacrifier pour les siens. Son histoire d'amour avec Ehlena, une infirmière, est au centre de ce livre. Si j'ai trouvé cette histoire d'amour trop "simple", j'ai adoré le caractère de Rehvenge, même si j'aurais aimé que son coté sombre soit plus noir encore.Deux autres intrigues prennent beaucoup de place dans ce tome : d'abord Wrath, et c'est avec plaisir qu'on retrouve le héros de "Dark Lover", le premier volume. Il devra affronter une épreuve personnelle et j'ai adoré. Et puis (encore) John Matthew, qui, enfin, abandonne ses lamentations, perd son innocence et devient plus froid, plus dur. Il était temps, il commençais à m'ennuyer.Un petit plus : pour une fois une femme forte arrive sur le devant de la scène (Xhex, le bras droit de Rehvenge). Ouf. J'en avais un peu assez des Blanches-neiges !Dans l'ensemble, un excellent tome. Pas le meilleur de la série, mais il reste excellent, surtout pour un septième volume.

Der 7. Teil der Black-Dagger-Brotherhood-Serie, konzentriert sich im Kern auf Rehv und Ehlena sowie Beth & Wrath. Außerdem wird die Geschichte von John und Xhex weitergesponnen, um die es im nächsten Teil, "'Lover Mine"', gehen wird.Obwohl es auch hier viele parallel laufende Handlungsstränge gibt, konzentriert sich Ward diesmal auf die Hauptfiguren, sodass es in diesem Band keine Verwässerung der Kernstory gibt, wie das im letzten Teil mit Phury und Cormia der Fall war.In "'Lover Avenged"' ist es Ward auf beeindruckende Art gelungen, die einzelnen Fäden der Haupt- und Nebenhandlungen zu entwickeln, die sich im Verlauf der Story verdichten, und immer mehr miteinander verwoben werden. Das Ganze läuft auf einen Plot in der Symphath-Colony hinaus, der Ort, an dem im entscheidenden Endkampf mehr oder weniger alle Protagonisten aufeinander treffen.Neben der Spannung (ich konnte das Buch nach dem ersten Viertel kaum aus der Hand legen!) hat mich in diesem Teil besonders das bemerkenswerte Fingerspitzengefühl angesprochen, mit dem die Autorin die einzelnen Beziehungen beschreibt. Hierbei wird eine erholsame Tiefe sichtbar, die ich bisher in keinem anderen Vampir-Romanen finden konnte.Dieses Einfühlungsvermögen zeigt sich u.a. in der Weiterentwicklung der Beziehung zwischen Wrath und Beth: Seit einiger Zeit hat der König Geheimnisse vor seiner Beth, denn er geht ohne ihr Wissen auf Lesser-Jagd. Dazu kommt, dass seine ohnehin schon schwache Sehkraft schwindet, bis er plötzlich gar nichts mehr sieht. Hier ist nicht nur die Königin gefragt, sondern die gesamte Bruderschaft, denn wie man sich denken kann, nimmt Wrath das Ganze nicht gerade gelassen auf. Nur gut, dass die Scribe Virgin ihm Payne schickt, die den erbosten König ordentlich vermöbelt, und damit einen "'Wake-Up"'-call verpasst.Interessant fand ich auch die Entwicklung der Lesser, deren Part mich in anderen Bänden manchmal gelangweilt hat. Lash, Vampir-Sohn des Omega, braucht Geld, und zwar pronto. Da bietet sich der Drogenhandel von Caldwell an - stören nur noch die Dealer, deren Platz er einnehmen möchte. Nach und nach schaltet er die Konkurrenz aus, bis er sich zum großen Fisch hochmordet: Rehv. Hier schließt sich der Kreislauf zwischen Nebenhandlung und Hauptstory, denn nachdem Rehvenge's Erpresser angekündigt hat, ihn als "Sympath" zu outen und seine Tarnung auffliegen zu lassen, hat der Besitzer des ZeroSum vor, von der Bildfläche zu verschwinden. Wäre da nicht Ehlena, in die er sich gegen alle Vernunft verliebt.Ein super spannender Teil - einer der besten dieser Reihe - den ich allen Ward-Fans wärmstens empfehlen kann!Zur Übersicht:- Dark Lover - Nachtjagd (Part 1) und Blutopfer (Part 2) -> Wrath & Beth- Lover Eternal - Ewige Liebe (Part 1) und Bruderkrieg (Part 2) -> Rhage & Mary- Lover Awakened - Mondspur (Part 1) und Dunkles Erwachen (Part 2) -> Zadist & Bella- Lover Revealed - Menschenkind (Part 1) und Vampirherz (Part 2) -> Butch & Marissa- Lover Unbound - Seelenjäger (Part 1) und Todesfluch (Part 2) -> Vishous & Doc Jane- Lover Enshrined - Blutlinien (Part 1) und Vampirträume (Part 2) -> Phury & Cormia- Lover Avenged - Racheengel (Part 1) und Blinder König (Part 2) -> Rehvenge & Ehlena- Lover Mine -> John & Xhex (Erscheint im April 2010)