Book 4), Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood

This book was listed under Award Winners by the store. What award did it win? I read this book and it was entertaining but I wouldn't guess it won any award. I hope to everything that the store's recommendations are independent. If not, trust is broken.

I became more interested in John, Rehvenge, and other characters at this point in the series. I mean, Butch's story was okay, but the ending wasn't all that rah-rah, yay-for-women-vamps in my eyes. Maybe if we'd been allowed better glimpses into Butch's past, I'd have more sympathy, but with this and the next installment, I didn't care about the romance, nor the sex, just, "How is John going to develop?"

I have one more installment in me, then I'm off to find another romance genre...the vamp/wolfie thing is getting played out.

The Vampire Within: The Bookbabe Reviews Lover Revealed by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood #4)

First let me start this review by apologizing for not writing/posting it sooner. Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward was an unexpected addition to the Black Brotherhood Series; mainly because it deals squarely with Ex homicide detective Butch O'Neal. Honestly with this series I would have never in a million years imagined a book based on Butch, mainly because I saw him only as a secondary character. I was pleasantly surprised by this book but it was also a bet predictable. About a quarter of the way in I saw the outcome of Butch's storyline because it just made sense. With this book we are re introduced to Marissa, the female vampire that Butch is carrying a torch for. We learn a little more about her. Such as that even though she is carrying on with the owner of on of the most popular clubs in the area her feelings for him are not concrete. We also know that she is a part of the vampire elite. Also, at her age she should have mated with another vampire but it has not happened yet; this makes her a bit on an outcast in their society and she is practically shunned. She hides the fact that her shunning bothers her and that she is in love with a human. As the book goes on she and Butch find themselves back together again after he is captured and tortured by members of the lessing society; because something has been done to him and she runs to his side she ends up being quarantined for days along with him. Even though she is with him he still finds a way to push her aside. She convinces him to let her in and it leads to her brother, Havers, walking in o them in a very compromising position. After this incident her brother puts her out of their home right before dawn; telling her that she is no longer his sister. She goes to the only place she knows that she will most likely be take in. The Brotherhoods compound. By this time Butch has come back to the compound as well and he still feels compelled to keep Marissa away as he works through the damage that that lessers have done to him.
As the story continues we find out that Butch can sense the lessers, and he can also kill them without the use of a blade. It is not until the brotherhood decides to find out more about Butch's genetics that they find out about his vampire ancestry. (This is where it got predictable). The Scribe virgin allows for Butch to transition to a vampire after she hears that he is directly related to Wrath (the king of the vamps). Even before his transformation and induction into the Brotherhood Butch displayed some of the marks that members of the Brotherhood does. Such as the "bonding" scent whenever he is around Marissa and his fierce need to protect those he loves. It is for this reason that he pushes her away during this tough period and also the reason why he tires and fails to keep her out of the way. While he is fighting his own battles Marissa finds her own voice and takes it upon herself to make some decisions for herself. By the end of the book Marissa is stronger, and more outspoken then ever before. She is also working to help vampire women and children that are victims of domestic violence.
What I loved about this book was Marissa'a development as a character. She grew into someone with gentle strength and one hell of a backbone. I really can not wait to see more of her in the upcoming books. I have the book a 4 out of five stars on Goodreads.com.

Quotes I Loved:

"I Love you, to Butch"
"Now, why you want to go and do that, baby? I'd figured you as a smart female"

For more reviews and information on my bookish adventures be sure to follow me at www.delawarebookaddict.blogspot.com / www.facebook.com/thebookbabeofde

“The Destroyer has arrived and you are he.”

With lines like that I was expecting this book to be awesome. Parts of it were, but then there are all those other parts where I totally rolled my eyes in frustration. This is one of the books where I grew so aggravated with the romantic couple that I almost wanted to skip some of the story.

Butch – I usually like the sappy guy. But he is having some sort of identity crisis throughout most of the story and his ego is in overdrive. He is living on the fringes of the vampire society and the brotherhood. He has a lot of nice stuff but he doesn’t feel like any of it is his and then he has this great overbearing need to protect and feed Marissa and since he can’t do either of those things he lashes out weirdly.

“Butch didn't live in his own place. He didn't spend his own money. He had no job, no future. He was a well-kept pet, not a man.”

Okay I get it but the author kept hammering away at his insecurities and it got so tiresome. I did enjoy the Butch/V moments and those were actually my favorite until it started to go from bromance to BROmance. I’m not sure that I like that V wanted Butch as a lover later in the book and treated his relationship with Marissa as a break-up for them. I have 0 problems with M/M stuff (so don’t hate) I just love their friendship so much that I didn’t think it needed to be an actual romance.

Marissa - Is such a freaking victim for most of the book. I found it really hard to bond with her character. She spends so much time feeling lost, broken and waiting for a man to take care of her. She is an outcast in society, her brother is trying to run her life and Rev has taken a special interest in her. Sure by the end she has sorted some stuff out and becomes a little more proactive but she spent so much time feeling broken that that was all I saw her as.

“All right, then, her first rule for the rest of her days: no more looking outside for definitions. She might not have any clue who she was, but better to be lost and searching than shoved into a social box by someone else.”

Butch/Marissa together had some very cute tender moments but most of the time they were just too whiny for my taste. I did like them together at the end of the book but man it took soooo long to get there. The one moment that was totally real to me was when it took her virginity. Thank you, it is not always wonderful and blissful after a moments pain, the fact that she actually didn’t like it rang true and I appreciate that the author didn’t gloss over that and make it completely orgasmic.

V - Was the savior of this book for me. His moments with Butch and the brotherhood are why this isn’t 2 stars. V/Butch have the best dialogue moments and I really love the friendship they share.

“I liked you, cop. From the moment I met you. No… not the first moment. I wanted to kill you when I first met you. But then I liked you. A lot.”

The way that V always looks out for his best friend and does what is best for him no matter the cost to himself is what I totally love about V. I can’t wait to see what his story is in the next book especially with all the trouble he is having with his visions.

Best parts of the story for me were the cute moments we get to see of Z and Bella together. I also very much liked the getting an inside glimpse at one of the BDB rituals to bring in a new member. Also, Mr X’s struggle to escape his fate with the Omega and the lengths he would go to I found so interesting.

All and all this is my least favorite story in the series to date. But on to V’s story now so I am happy.

There may be spoilers...

This is the first book in the series that I'm not completely crazy about. It's good, but not as engrossing as the previous three.

I love the story between Butch and Vishous. I love their friendship, their connection. It gives me a whole new appreciation for the complexities of a "bromance." (More on this in a bit.)

But the story with Marissa just doesn't seem interesting. There's no real spark between the two of them like there was between the other brothers and their mates… She's just a whiny, selfish wuss. And the repeated use of the word "baby" makes me cringe! I find myself being rather bored by them

As with all the other books, I largely skip over the scenes with Mr X and O, etc., not finding their stories to be compelling or necessary to my comprehension of the lesser vs vampire outcomes. I just don't care about their personalities and motivations.

As for Butch and Vishous, well... the scene toward the end when Vishous opens up to Butch? Deep and emotional. When Vishous realizes he's missing and saves him? You could feel the panic, determination and love. And the induction scene?! Hot, and a rare reminder that these guys are vampires and not just tough guy urbanites, "true?" It should be noted that I have no problem with the bisexual nuances. I've always viewed vampires as being highly sexualized creatures with somewhat blurred notions of gender anyway (thanks Anne Rice!). Regardless, the real love story in this book, plutonic and/or otherwise, is the one shared by Butch and Vishous. These few awesome B&V scenes make this rather slow-paced book worth plodding through.

4.5 stars I think is an accurate rating but I gave it 5 on here since the store doesn't allow half stars, which I think they should but that's beside the point.

There were some major new development in this 4th book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I don't want want to give away spoilers so I'll try to keep the review in the abstract more.

Coming off the last book I was really looking forward to this one, it was a bit of a let down. It was still good and it is deserving of the rating I gave it as an individual book though as part of the series I felt that JR Ward gave us a bit of a let down. The relationship between Butch and Vishous is slightly hinted at but it seems at an odd place or time. We know they are best friends but if there is something more I feel that it would have been hinted at sooner or building more.

And what is this with Havers?! He was a jerk in the first book trying to kill Wrath but then all seemed forgiven, he learned his lesson, and was thankful to be left with his life. Now he is treating Marissa like crap. He does says horrible things to her. However Ward did strengthen Marissa's character in this book which made me happy. She is much more independent and modern now that she is away from the glymera.

(Slight spoiler coming up) There were also some very interesting developments with Butch, a bit far fetching when all of the sudden they decide he had vampire DNA in him and want to turn him into a full vampire. But it does solve the issue of how he and Marissa can be together long term.

There are some things over all that bugged me about this book or about how JR Ward is writing this series. I can't imagine all of the brothers talk with exactly the same slang as well as John Matthew, Blay, and Qhuinn. Rhevenge and Xhex too. The weird half words and odd slang tend to draw me out of the book. Also I'm so tired of reading "shitkickers" when referring to any male's boots. Ward is such a wonderful author and creates wonderful worlds for her characters to live in so you'd think she could use "boots" or "shoes" on occasion. There are other example of this throughout the books and I'd just really like to see a little change in some of it. I swear she uses slang no person has ever used.

WARNING -- SPOILERS
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Couples who are pulled apart more than once by misunderstanding should not be together. Butch and Marissa had the worst communication throughout the entire book. They would get together and then he or she would think the other didn't want him/her and then they'd part and be miserable and then they'd figure it out for a few pages and then they'd misunderstand again ... just TALK TO EACH OTHER!!!

The aspect I liked the most was the action/adventure in this book. Butch's transformation was great and finding out that V would be able to heal him every time he contaminated himself with a lesser was a great pay-off to V's visions about him. It was very understandable that Butch would be discontented with his role in the group so this whole twist was very satisfying.

One thing that bugged me throughout though was Butch's willingness to get Marissa to feed from him and to 'finish' inside of her. After he had the experience of his blood and other liquids turning black, one would think he'd be a little reticent until he was absolutely, 100% certain of his cleanliness. I couldn't stop thinking about his sooty secretions every time they would get together. Especially when she fed from him after he'd consumed 3 lessers. He may have been zotted by V, but who knows how much of the evil could be still swimming around in his blood-stream? I don't know if this bothered anyone else, and obviously it wasn't supposed to bother me or it would have been addressed in the book but ... ick. Marissa actually brought up the fact they didn't know how it would affect him long-term and yet it never seemed to occur to her that her own suggestion was a good reason for the two of them to be chaste for a while -- at least until they knew a little more.

Technically Marissa and Butch have a lot in common (rescuers, rejected and uncomfortable in their own worlds, lonely), but somehow I didn't feel the chemistry upon reading their story. I am not a proponent of the V/Butch pairing so that's not what got in the way. I guess I felt like they spent so little time in accord that I couldn't see what had attracted them. This goes back to Dark Lover. I thought the whole 'ship was a bit precipitant and I'd hoped to be brought around in this book but unfortunately wasn't.

I give it 2 stars because Ward has set the bar pretty high with all the other books and I thought the romance portion especially could have been handled with a lot more finesse. It breaks my heart to leave a not-so-good review but ... here it is. :(

I wasn't entirely certain how I would feel about Lover Revealed, particularly because it was about Butch and Marissa. While there's nothing really wrong with either character, they weren't really my favorites and I worried that it would affect my feelings for the book overall. I shouldn't have worried, because the way Ward told their story drew me right back into the series! The fight with the lessers is still going strong in this one, but we also learn more about vampire aristocracy. Plus, there's the big bonus of the Brotherhood bromances that are a big part of this story, particularly the one between V and Butch!

Marissa was in an unfortunate position as a vampire who was supposed to be Wrath's shellan/mate, which clearly did not happen given the events in the first book. As a member of vampire aristocracy, she tries to handle herself with grace, dignity and composure, even as she feels a little insecure. It was interesting to see how drawn she was to Butch, and how she appreciated all the ways he made her see herself through new eyes.

Butch is a badass, New York cop... but he's human. Even though he's been let into the inner circle of the Brotherhood, everyone knows he's more vulnerable than they are, and they're a bit overprotective. It grates against Butch's nerves, of course, because that makes him feel like a liability and useless. But over the course of this book, quite a few things are revealed to us readers -- one big thing in particular that I guessed at and was really glad ended up actually happening! It surprised me how invested I ended up being in the outcome of Butch's story, and Ward certainly did a good job of keeping my interest in this series strong.

I'm not sure why but I was let down a little by this story. It was a great story and beautifully written, don't get me wrong. JR Ward can not write a bad story. I was confused by this story since it seems like the author was setting up Butch and V to be together but then had a change of heart. Even in this story, I felt more of a connection with Butch and V, then with Butch and Marissa. It felt forced in a way. Overall, again it was a great read but I felt like the story was meant to go another way.

I'm having a bit of a love/hate relationship with this series I was so disappointed with the first two books but so intrigued by Zsadist that I had to read his book and then I'd told myself I was done but then I loved 'Lover Awakened' then Butch was next, how could I not read Butch's book.
Butch is a fabulous character and a lot of this book was great but I struggled with Marissa, initially I found her very wishy washy and sort of forgettable now I know you could argue it's her upbringing and she does develop more as a character but she wasn't what I wanted for Butch at all.
This book did its job because now against my better judgement I'm going to read 'Lover Unbound' there was enough here to make me intrigued by Vishous even though the repetition is really starting to get to me.
I also want to read John's book but that's number eight and Rehvenge is something of an enigma and while they say never say never I can't see me making it that far....famous last words? we'll see.
Butch - 5 stars
Marissa - 2 stars

I love this series. In the beginning of this book I disliked Marissa she was too naïve I mean she is over 300 years old and a virgin who had never worn pants I am so glad she grew a backbone. Butch has been in love with Marissa since the first time he met her she was Wraths shellan who he had never taken. Butch touches something deep inside her and only her feelings of unworthiness combined with her fear that if she feeds from Butch she will kill him, keep her from falling into the arms of the human who has touched her in these unknown ways. Her relationship with her brother has fallen apart because of her feelings for a human. Her brother is a doctor and has placed Marissa on a pedestal he in unable to forgive her when she falls in love with a human. Butch runs into a situation where he chooses to save a pre-transition vampire from the lessers who are attacking him. He is captured and tortured by the lessers. When the Omega finds out who Butch is he inserts an evil part of himself into Butch. Now only Marissa, the Brotherhood and the Scribe Virgin may be able to save him. But even with the changes in his body he is determined to fight and serve the ones he trusts and loves. Butch as it turns out is a cousin to Wrath therefore he can turn into a vampire hear is where the story gets weird he is part lesser and part vampire. Vishous was in this book a great deal and helps Butch with the change We also discover why there is the special bond between Butch and the brother Vishous. I felt for Vishous who saw Butch as 'his', not in a sexual way, but in a brotherly love kind of way. Though he is happy for Butch, he can't help but feel more lonely than ever. It was also good to see John Matthews and the other pre-transition warriors, become friends and allowing for this series to go beyond the main brotherhood characters I also liked that John stood up for himself against Lash, but John seems so lost and I was glad that Wrath stepped in to help him. I am looking forward to reading the next book about V and his BDSM.

This is going to sound crazy, but Lover Revealed is probably my favourite and least favourite of the series so far. If it had just avoided all the romance and communication conflicts it would have been 5 stars easily. Sadly, it blundered through the romance to the point I just didn't care about Marissa anymore or even their romantic storyline for that matter.

Lover Revealed does do something good: Butch. His storyline is literally going to blow you away when you read it. I always knew Butch was a good character, but this definitely sealed it. Not just that, but Butch becomes more than just the human sidekick. We see things happen to him that are mind numbing and then extraordinary to the point you're own the edge of your seat wondering just what is going to happen next. Just how is it going to play out. He has one hell of a storyline and it is good. I wish I could share the nitty gritty details, but I would ruin it, sorry. I'm still literally blown away by how awesome reading about him way.

There also a little side...whatever you want to call...it between Butch and Vishous. Not quite romance, not quite brotherly love, but more...? It's hard to explain, but it's more than just affection (at least to me). It puts Vishous in a new light. The scenes between the two are wonderful, but it leaves me wondering just what is going on between the two. There is a huge massive spoiler that could solve it (located within Lover Revealed), but I just don't know. Vishous's story is next in line so maybe I'll get it figured out then.

Now for Marissa and Butch. Holly hell at the major communication problems. It's like having two cups and long darn string. You can't hear one another even though your speaking. You thought Zsadist had problems...that was a cakewalk compared to this. Yes, the sex was good, but mostly it was angry sex or either sex that was stopped because they couldn't tell each other what was wrong. "Oh he doesn't like me." "She's yelling at me to leave, she doesn't want me anymore." I seriously do not care that Marissa is a whiny virgin because even after sex she is still that way (also my least favourite character now). I do not care that Butch has daddy/family issues. What I do care about is how stupid their relationship is. There. I said it. They have the stupidest relationship ever. They're so worried about hurting one another that they do the worst thing and avoid asking and telling the number one things to each other that could have solved it all. I don't know how many times they argued, assumed the worst, and left and fought all because of this. Why are they even in a relationship if they're just going to assume everything? You cannot read his mind or vice versa, so why are you even assuming what each other feels? **And why is this such a big thing with these books? The assuming, the arguing. It's OK in moderation, but when you can't even have a conversation without assuming and then run off only in the end to miraculously overcome it all...WHY?** I'm almost to the point where I wish these books were less focused on romance with "the one" and just let them go off and have casual sex while taking down lessers and continuing the plot.
I'm done with their relationship and I don't even want to think about it anymore.

We still get multiple POVs and I still do not like reading about the lessers. I do, however, love reading about John. Absolutely love him. He's a great big shiny light amongst all this and I just feel for him so much! Definitely a great character that I can't wait to see more from.

All in all, the awful romance really brings me down, because that all-over-the-place thing just doesn't work for me. There's a such thing as having to work for your love, but this is just conflict central. BUT, I think it's a great read solely for Butch, Vishous, and John.

I do not recommend skipping Lover Revealed because you will be missing out a HUGE, massive, shock worthy plot line- and I vouch for its awesomeness.

I love this series. I can't get enough of "The Black Dagger Brotherhood". Each story is so unique and yet intricately intertwined with those that preceded and follow. Each books gives wonderful insight into each individual character and leads to another book, making you itch for the next book. I find myself unable to put this series down once I start a new book.

This book was about Butch (their human friend) and Marissa (a Vampire woman of nobility). In many ways their kind is still stuck in old time views of women. This book talks about many of those issues and the Vampire King, Wrath, tries to find a way to help with Marissa's assistance. Another part of this book that I love is about John. He is a vampire child that has been in every book. I love how complex his story is and I can't wait to see how he turns out.

I'd ardently recommend this book to anyone into books about Vampires. This book is unique and each books is different enough to keep you hooked.

Butch has been one of my favorite characters of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series since he was introduced. What attracted me the most about him was the fact that he is the only human out of the bunch and yet he still manages to hold his own in the vampire world. This alone makes him the most badass of them all in my opinion! His story is different from those of the brothers in many respects but it's just as riveting and heartbreaking. Plus, it's about Marissa too who's a phenomenal character in her own right. Lover Revealed will make you weep, seethe with anger and then weep some more. It's a killer ride but the ending makes it all worth while.

Lover Awakened is a hard act to follow but Ward still manages to deliver a solid fourth installment. I particularly enjoyed the friendship between V and Butch in Lover Revealed. It's not easy to convey brotherly love without having their manhood take a slight hit but this book succeeded. The level of devotion and honesty that comes through in this novel is breath taking. The characters try to play it down with some manly joking which made the emotional elements both moving and funny at the same time. Butch puts up a strong front but on the inside he's really quite vulnerable. I liked reading about his personal conflicts and his struggle to find a place to belong within the brotherhood.

Marissa is just as troubled as Butch but because she's a female her emotions are always close to the surface and sometimes make her appear weak. I found that she grew a lot as a character in this book. She finally takes charge of her life and even pulls a few ballsy moves that really impressed me. Oh, and she finally gets laid! Anyone who's capable of remaining a virgin for over three centuries deserves some credit. As a result, in true Black Dagger Brotherhood fashion, Lover Revealed is as scorching hot as its predecessors. Needless to say that after Marissa discovers what all the fuss is about she is hooked! The fact that she's getting it on with Butch doesn't hurt either.

This was my first audio book experience with a male narrator. It definitely took some getting used to and I found the female dialogue a little comical at times but overall Frangione does an excellent job. He has a great tone and accurately portrays the badass attitude that's prevalent throughout this series. Jim also reads the action-y chapters with enthusiasm and the sex scenes with heat.

The ending sort of wraps up Butch's humanity "problem" with a nice, neat bow but I think that it was fitting and that he deserves his happily ever after just as much as any of the brothers do. Lover Revealed is impassioned, dramatic and delivers a great story. Lover Awakened retains its top seat among my favorites in this series but all bets are off because Vishous is up next in Lover Unbound!

Butch O'Neal had been a cop with a shady record and a painful past the night that a car bomb exploded and Black Dagger brother Darius was executed by lessers. The investigation into that homicide pulled him out of the world he knew and life he half loathed and dragged him into a world of vampires and battle, expensive suits and beautiful females. He is the only human to have ever gained entrée into that world, into the haven of a brotherhood of warriors. Not that his rise in station did much for the poisonous maw of guilt and self loathing, really, but it did clothe his posterior much better.

Still feeling the sting of rejection by the aristocratic vampire female Marissa and at a loss what to do with himself amongst vampires who see him as someone to protect, not someone to depend on in a fight, Butch's growing depression is putting a hurt on his liver as he wallows in booze and escapes in random sex. On his own, he's a disaster waiting to happen, so when he's snatched by lessers as he steps in to save a civilian vampire, he's not all that surprised at what goes down. What one lesser and his master the Omega do to him, though, is a vicious, unending nightmare of torture and defilement.

As Butch lies broken and eternally corrupted by the poisonous evil inside him, he knows that none of the brothers, not even his best friend V, will be able to save him.

J.R. Ward's trailblazing Black Dagger Brotherhood series kicks off its fourth installment with the human cop Butch, whom fans will remember from previous installments, as the main character. His well-documented love for the vampire female Marissa is twisting him up even more than normal as he tries not to be too pathetic about it, but as all males in this series, human or no, Butch has a lot of scars on his soul and doesn't always make good choices when he's hurting. Some of those choices will change his life and the lives of the members of the brotherhood forever.

As much as I enjoy this series and recognize it for the innovative fiction it is, I can't say that Lover Revealed is a favorite of mine. In fact, it's my least favorite of the first four books, and after my shameless worship of Z and Bella's story and the supporting subplots in Lover Awakened, this book was a sharper disappointment than I had anticipated, even on this second reading.

The book stumbled as a paranormal romance because I couldn't warm up to Butch, who came off as sort of pathetic with his poor-me attitude, depression, and willing self destruction throughout most of the book, and I detested the prim and proper and oh-so-spineless Marissa for a painfully equal length of time. In Marissa's case, even when she grew a spine and started to stand on her own two feet, the relationship evolution with Butch was painful, with rocks the size of prehistoric land mammals on the thin, overgrown path towards a shaky HEA. I didn't care much for either character individually, and I didn't like them together at all - and, according to most of the book, neither did they, which is a pretty darn big problem.

Hell, best friends Butch and V had more scintillating sexual tension and romantic presence, not to mention wicked stronger bonds of trust and concern than the supposed main romantic pair of Butch and Marissa. There is something seriously wrong with that in a het paranormal romance. When all was said and done, I would have preferred Butch kick Marissa to the curb and strap himself down for a little bromance V-style - it would have been a hell of a lot more interesting, anyway.

If I ignore the 'romance' and focus on the book's urban fantasy elements, the book fares much better (it would sort of have to). The Warden's imagination and ability to weave complex subplots into a cohesive and darkly delicious whole are what makes this series so very special to me, and there was some serious new development and a few twists and turns that I hadn't expected on the first read several years ago, and on this reread got to sit back and just enjoy.

The subplot with John was well done; very thorough, believable, and flashing big neon signs of impending explosion. I'd have to be dead not to feel for that poor kid. The weightier presence of the Omega was also important...if not a bit ironic considering how that all works out. I wasn't as interested in Van's descent to the dark side - it felt a bit too similar to a plot thread in a previous book, but it wasn't bad, and the fore-lesser Mr. X's issues were an interesting twist.

I wish that Marissa's project had been initiated earlier in the book and given more page time, because it was a good and worthy cause with a ton of potential plot development, and maybe I wouldn't have disliked her so much had I seen more of her coming into her own and at a quicker pace. On the other hand, I didn't at all care for the glimpses of Butch's sister's life and could very well have done without them. I was so annoyed in those passages I skimmed most of them and wish Ward had found another way to get the character development and information they imparted out to her readers.

As a romance, this book doesn't work for me, and as the book that directly followed Z's, it failed pretty handily in that regard, but the other elements make it a worthwhile read and at least a decent installment in the series. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is definitely not a series you should read out of order, regardless. Each book is so very well written to build up and around the romance of each main couple that single installments become individual stepping stones towards the evolution and eventual culmination of a fantastic overall series arc. Miss one and you may just fall off the path and get hopelessly lost. And what a shame that would be.

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Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

Sexy Butch, (Its okay you are human) Lovin’ Stars

Butch was one of my least favorite character, but after reading Lover Revealed, I LOVED HIM!!!!

Oh my goodness, what a read. So Butch is human, but is thrown into this vampire world. In the previous reads, there is some minor Marissa and Butch interaction.

Small recap:

Butch and Marissa meet = INSTA-Attraction

Kiss, make-out, break chair

Then book drama, Butch goes to see Marissa, but Marissa doesn’t want to see Butch

Marissa asks Butch to court her, but Butch declines

And we are where Lover Revealed is starting…..

Being human sucks since Butch is weaker and can’t do a lot of things. He can feed Marissa when she is hungry because his blood is too weak. He can’t protect Marissa physically because Marissa is stronger than him. He can vanish into air, like other vampires. It’s just a sad situation.

Awwww….. you want to say, cheer up buddy, you are still sexy!

Stuff happens to Butch that kind of tests his nature as a man and oh boy if you ever want to lift a dog beaten down…

Then Butch’s crazy attraction towards Marissa and not only do they have to deal with Butch’s physically state, but Marissa’s V-card.

I really liked Marissa even though I kind of wanted to punch her a few times, but she’s like this sweet, adorable, “innocent” thing and she just wants to be loved.

To be a virgin for over three hundred years, you want to give the poor girl a hug and a dick!

Lover Revealed was crazy good and there were plenty of twist and turns. As, Butch is trying to find himself and Marissa and Butch have crazy steamy scenes, it was all a treat!

Lover Revealed is about Butch having a whole lot of issues to deal with. First off, he loves Marissa, but feels like he can't be with her because he's not worthy, not a vampire, and oh yeah he thinks she doesn't want him. Then at one point things get sort of straight with her. Things go bad again when Marissa is banished from her house by her brother, and forced to live with the brotherhood.

With all of this drama going on Marissa and Butch are still trying to find how to be together with all of their problems, and everything else going on.

I have to say I had a hard time liking this one. And It's only a three star for a few reasons. I really liked what happened to Butch in the end, and I loved the HEA. Not only that, I loved finding out at the very end more information about Butch's family.

Other than that I really couldn't stand Marissa through out most of the book. I felt like she treated Butch pretty crappy. Then I hated the whole together, not together every five seconds thing. It drove me nuts. And the whole weird connection between "V" and Butch bugged me as well. Plus it was never really explained why they were like that to begin with.

So over all I must say this book was only okay. It's probably my least favorite one of this series so far. I was very frustrated with it at times, and just wanted to stop reading it. But then I knew I had to know what happened so I could read the next book. I hope the next one will be much better than this one.

Brian "Butch" O'Neal has never fit in anywhere. His family hated him and blamed him for his sister's death. As a cop he bucked the rules and broke his share of laws. Now that he's encamped with The Brotherhood, he's still the outsider, the only human brought into the fold. He's good for doing things for the Brotherhood during the day, almost like being a cop again, but they will not let him go out and fight with them. Something has to give though. He seemingly has a deathwish, slowly killing himself with scotch, and a few fights here and there with Lessers. The only light in Butch's life is Marissa, a female vampire he's fallen in love with. She is however way out of his league as he's apart of the glymera, the highest class in the vampiric aristocracy.

When Butch ends up saving a civilian from the Lessers, he gets more than he bargains for. Thrown into the middle of the war no one wants him in, Butch learns more about himself than anyone could have ever guessed.

Lover Revealed is a great book, however the weakest of the first four in the series. The character progressions for both Butch and Marissa are fantastic. I especially loved Marissa in this one. From being the meek, virgin that no one wants, to the strong female that not only Butch needs, but for herself as well. Just fantastic.

I am a little put off by how things went with Butch though. Yes, I loved learning more about his past, and who is really is, but there's just something about the whole thing that rubbed me the wrong way. It just seemed... like JR Ward jumped the shark, and it was way too early in the series.

The secondary leads for absolutely fantastic, as they usually are. Poor Vishous, I love him so. I don't think there's a brother I really don't like. But yes, Vishous... I felt so bad for him in this book. From his losing his visions in the previous book to his love for Butch, he just has been suffering. I can only hope it gets better for him in the next book.

Overall, it is a great book like I said. I only wish it didn't drag towards the end. I don't know if the author needed a specific word count or what, but it got really slow.

As like all the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, there exists around the town of Caldwell, NY the secret band of brother vampire warriors who are the defenders of their race in a life and death battle with the Lessors - a group of soulless once human beings that have been turned into pure evil by the most evil of them all - the Omega. Their goal is to wipe out the vampire race and the Brotherhood which is intent on holding the lessors at bay. Each of the books so far has highlighted each of the Vampire Warrior brothers. Book 4 - LOVER REVEALED is the story of Butch O'Neal - the human who was befriended and allowed into the inner sanctum of the Brotherhood, loved and trusted and treated almost as if her were born of the vampire strain. This is Butch's amazing story and revelations.

*** A fighter by nature, Butch made his living as an ex-homicide cop so he knew how to fight, nothing as compared to the men he now called `brothers' but he could hold his own if the brothers' were less magical and strong as powers inherent in their bloodlines gave them. Butch was more or less adopted and became best friends with Vishous who plays an important and vital spot in Butch's story as does Marissa, a full-blooded aristocratic vampire, who is far beyond Butch's reach and his love interest.

In LOVER REVEALED, many things come to light which push this story forward and make it one of the more exciting edge-of-the-seat volumes in this series. In this, our favorite `cop' Butch gets caught by the Lesser's and not only is he tortured, but something is done to him by the Omega that makes Butch a walking time-bomb - but for which side? And who ultimately will be able to save him - Vishous or Marissa?

The skill and artistry Ms. Ward has for creating unbelievably tense situations that turn and twist all over the place as she tells the stories of these fabulous vampires is simply awesome! She continues to dazzle and enthrall me with each layer of loyalty, bravery, and yes, humanity for these amazing warriors have for each other and their kind. Ward simply covers all the bases, consistently adding in more and more layers of revelations about each of characters lives and hinting at even more to come.

Bottom line: In LOVER REVEALED, J.R. Ward delivers in spades another fabulous volume to this a totally captivating series that has me completely entranced! WOW!

Marilyn Rondeau, for [...]

Execution, delivery, writing, structure, culture ... never doubt those aspects of this series. There is almost no need to comment on any of the above. They are always on point and in detail. Even in the land of make believe, there is reality where this novel and series is concerned. I am shocked at Marissa's fear of the brotherhood's nigh job, being Wrath's previous sheelan, but it is real and therefore can't be dismissed.

Now Butch and Marissa, I never really gave much thought or attention to them as a couple. I didn't hate them, but I found them solid and was a little surprised with their main problem. Once again, lack of communication was a bitch! However, they were just as good as all the mating's before, if not even better. There is a certain air of uncertainty and mystery where Butch is concerned now and I know his story and legacy will resonate through this series. It still leaves a feeling of something being incomplete, and for that, they are the most interesting couple so far.

One of my absolute faves of this series is V, and he gets more air time in this novel. Whether because of his closeness with Butch or maybe his story is coming. I am fascinated by him, his gifts and the many things he leads in this novel. I love him and secretly hope for a little rendezvous with him and Butch truly. I don't know ... maybe I am crazy o.O

I love that we keep in touch with John. Even though he is going through quite the changes, I love his development and the time we spend getting to know the incoming generation of the Brotherhood. Lash is kind of hilarious when in trouble and Rehv isn't so bad. I know he has a story, so I look forward to seeing what the sympath is capable of. The deeper this story goes, it's the more intricate and difficult the web gets. If you ain't packing an extra power, you might as well stay home in the mhis!

Marissa really grew into herself with this novel, and Havers kind of disappointed me. Everyone is finding purpose and you feel as if you are creating history with these characters. The fact that it doesn't take only a stake through the heart already gives this novel an edge. This is history, genes and so much more.

As small as the snippets of Butch family were, it was nice to get his background also. I don't know if anything will come of it, but I am glad that we are never left with basic questions when it comes to this series. Any unanswered questions is for a reason and I have no doubt it will eventually be addressed.

Experiencing another ceremony in the cave was astounding. Once again, the culture and roots of this series are marvelous! By the end of this series I will feel like I am one of them and apart of their world. Yeh, it's that intense -_-

I'll probably even be learning the Old Language and ASL. You can see the effort, time and research placed in making the novel. Imagination or not, there is depth and a twinge of the real world. All bases are covered.

It's hard to put into words the pull this novel and series has. You would have to read it to experience the hold this story has on you. It's more than just a romance. It's love, lost, understanding, acceptance and the biggest of them all? ... Purpose.

I think this will be my last BDB novel. I fond myself more interested in the other perspectives in this book than in the main characters' and I think that's a sign that I need to be done with the series.

I felt like the author gave Butch and Marissa short shrift. Butch is an outsider in the extreme, as is Marissa, but both of them had fairly bland personalities. Butch reads as another self-hating member of the BDB minus the vampireness. Marissa is basically a whiney doormat for 50% of the book and then a huge witch with a capital B for the rest of the book. Most of their misunderstandings are totally contrived and either stem from outside sources or minor misunderstandings (i.e. Marissa prefers to run away crying v. actually talking about her feelings). By the end, when they were still fighting, I found myself not even caring whether or not they ended up together. Not a good sign.

Both characters had a TON of potential to be interesting because of their family lives, but the author barely touched on these issues. Butch's family life is almost an afterthought, despite the fact that he is totally messed up because of it. Marissa has a PSYCHO for a brother who just never gets his and she never seems to care.

Not to mention the fact the Lessers are the most ineffective villains ever. I've been skipping their parts since book 2.

I want to hear V's and Phury's stories, but I just can't bear another rinse and repeat of messed-up he-man meets wooden, one-sided sweet, virginal girl who he inexplicably is madly in love with and they proceed to evade the "threat" that is the lessening society while learning zero about each other and fighting for no real reason at all. (Zsadist story is not included in this criticism).

Read: If you are planning to continue the series no matter what. Don't read if you want a good romance or story.

Basically, this book is about Butch O'Neal. Remember the human cop that joined the Black Dagger Brotherhood unofficially at the start of the series? Well, yeah, he's about to get his happy ending and it is EPIC. I'm sure if you've been reading the first three books in the series, you would've figured out that Butch is head over heels in love with Marissa, Wrath's ex-mate. Like really completely gaga over her. Which is super cute, because yknow, Butch is human and Marissa is like a vampire, heck a very atas vampire. (PS. Atas means yknow "super higher up"?) But then his human existence got turned upside down when he sacrificed himself to save a civilian vampire from the lessers. Which is really bad, because he came out of it being all darkness and s***. Scary. Honestly, throughout the book, a part of you will start to doubt him. Because you don't know whether he'll become good or evil. Sighpie. But still, read it, because for the first time in this series, you get a human's perspective and also a vampire's perspective, especially through the Transition. Ouch. HAHA.

Being relatively new to this series I have to say that I love the bond of the brothers. It is one of the biggest draws for me in this series. That being said, of the 4 stories I have read thus far, this is my least favorite.

Butch O'Neil is your average everyday cop, well ex cop. He's human and normal and lives a modest life. Until of course he made new friends with the Black Dagger Brotherhood, now he drives expensive cars, wears expensive clothes, lives on a secret compound and is used as V's companion of sorts. Vishous is a member of the Brotherhood that has bonded with Butch the most, and in my humble and lowly opinion, should have been his love mate.

Butch meets Marissa in a previous book and falls instantly head over heels in love. Problem is, he is human and she is vampire, so it makes their love kinda difficult. Add to this that Marissa, for the first half of the book, is meek and the second half of the book is whiny and you will understand how I am confused as to why these two have mated. Butch turns out to be very powerful and becomes a brother and somehow Marissa, instead of embracing this new powerful male, decides she can't hack it and tries to back out.

I just felt that we hear so much about Marissa being a female of substance and Butch being unworthy of her that maybe J.R. got confused and accidentally switched them. Marissa, with all her whining and complaining, is the one who I felt was unworthy. But enough about our spoiled little aristocrat, let's talk about the awesome that is Butch and V!

Butch becomes crazy powerful after having a rather rough go early in the novel. V, being his true mate in my opinion, helps him through and guides him through not only a near death experience, but a transition that changes his life. I LOVED these two. During his initiation into the Brotherhood, I actually got emotional. V and his bond is that powerful.

I loved V & Butch. I loved the story. I hated and still hate Marissa.

I give it 3.5 lipsticks. Marissa's character seriously damaged this novel for me.

Lover Revealed is Butch and Marissa's story. Butch is taken by the lessers very early on in the book after saving a civilian vampire. He is tortured for information about the brotherhood, but never gives in (Go Butch!). However, something truly evil is done to Butch before he is left for dead in the middle of nowhere. After the brotherhood rescues him, they question his fate and allegiance. Butch is no longer the same "cop." After healing from his stay with the lessers, he starts to notice some changes: his body is letting off an odd spice scent around Marissa, he is much more aggressive, he can suck lessers into himself, and his blood turns black whenever he destroys the lessers his way.
Marissa and Butch's relationship had so many "aw" moments but there was one thing that seriously annoyed me; when Butch called Marissa "baby," I cringed. I really don't know why that bothered me so much. Other than that, everything was fine. Butch wasn't my favorite character, even in the beginning, and this book didn't really change that for me. Although, there were some aspects that really stood out and made me love Ms. Ward's writing even more.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is a romance book series (just look at the titles). The characters in the series have so much depth, not often seen in adult romance novels. With each book, Ms. Ward astounds me with the way she skillfully balances the passionate love scenes with actual plot. In Butch's story, just like Zsadist's, the central characters grow and change through the story. Butch starts out insecure in his place in life. Later in the book, when Butch is telling Marissa about his past he comments, "I've always been different from other people, not just in my family but when I was working here on the CPD force, too. I never fit in...until I met the Brotherhood...I've been living on the fringes all my life...(325)." As the story progresses, the Butch becomes a part of a family, a part of something he never had. Marissa also finds herself. Even though Butch and Marissa fought a lot in this book, I think it was appropriate. Neither were secure with themselves. After Havers forced independence on Marissa, she started to follow her "Rule Number One: Right or wrong, she made the choices in her life. No one else did (402)." Of course, Marissa doesn't become independent overnight. In fact, she moves in with the brotherhood. Slowly, she begins to become her own person. Her transition from flowing gowns and corsets to pants and turtle necks was very symbolic of her transformation from a push over, aristocrat to a fully independent woman, free of the cage her brother and the glymera had forced her in all her life.
Lover Revealed was definitely a huge step forward in the war between the vampires and the lessers. What happens to Butch changes everything. The Black Dagger Brotherhood have a whole new deadly weapon in the war. As the Scribe Virgin said, "Now the new era in the war begins (399)."
In this installment, Vishous and John Matthews also share some narration time. Vishous has to deal with his confusing feelings towards Butch and Marissa. John Matthews has to come to terms with Wellsie's death and Tohr's leaving. Honestly, I felt bad for Vishous (his book is next!), but not John Matthews. Seriously, John truly annoys me. I feel like every time Ms. Ward writes a John Matthews part I have to fight the urge not to skip forward, mostly because all he does is whine! It's all poor-weak-me. I'm not strong enough to beat up Lash. I'm so weak. Etc. *
While this wasn't the greatest of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, it definitely is worth the read. Fair Warning: like all the BDB books, there are quite a few graphic sex scenes, violence, profanity, and of course blood and gore. If you haven't picked these books up yet, then I suggest you buy them...yes, buy them. They are too amazing not to purchase because you will want to reread them over and over again.

*note: I've actually read up until and part of the way through Lover Mine (John Matthew's book) and I do like him, much much much better, in that book.

Lover Revealed

I always liked Butch "Hard-Ass" O'neal since the first book of the BDB Series. His smart ass attitude, gravely voice she makes him have, doesn't take crap from anyone, love it! Thru the books she makes it seem like he could have been just as equally tortured as Zsadist was. Ward fills us in on why Butch's family has always despised him and then wraps it up in the end.

I kind of want to write this up as a Butch and Vishous love story with Marissa who?!? These two have so much strange sexual tension between them it was comical and maybe somewhat disturbing. I told my friend who also read the book that it would have been hilarious if J.R. Ward went ahead and set up a little three way action between Butch, Vishous, and Marissa just to get it over with. =P

I am glad that the cop finally got his family he had been missing his whole life and that he's officially a part of the Brotherhood. I liked how the author described the induction ceremony for the BDB.

Pretty neat to learn about when the Lessers go all poppin and bright flashes of light that they just go back to be a part of the Omega, and that they're a part of his life source. So with Butch having this "Special Ability" he'll able to put a stop to the Omega once and for all. Poor little Mr. X tho, all the guy wants is to end his miserable existence and be done with the Omega lol.. This guy's going to need his own book when everything's all said and done Haha!!

I think it would have been a little better if Marissa would own up to the fact that, "Yes, the person you are in love with hangs out and helps the brotherhood, yes he is going to fight and be put in danger from time to time, and yes he does love you. Put on your big girl panties and deal with it!! Kind of straddled on going over the top with her dramatic self, but she was apart of the Glymera so it's in her breeding to be that way I guess.

I miss Tohr and can't wait to hear more about what's happened/happening to him..

Good read!!

"Family, after all, was the staff of life. The very staff of life."

That, in two sentences, sums up the overarching theme of Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4), my most recent juicy read in JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series.(Yes, I know I am reading them out of order but I am okay with that right now.) Oh how I love her books!

The Good: Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4) focuses on Butch, his love for Marissa and their need for Family. As you may know, butch is an Irish white boy. A hu-man. Yep. And he is completely head-over-heals in love with beautiful, innocent Marissa (Havers sister) making her-yep, you guessed it-a vampire. Not just any vampire either, a member of the elite upper crust of the vampire bloodlines, the glymera. To say they have nothing in common would be an understatement... except their love for one another and their need for Family. Now I won't spill the beans on the details but sufficeth to say, they are apart, they are together, they are apart, they are together... You get the gist. As this goes on, HUGE changes occur in both of their personal lives. Are they good or bad? Only the book knows.;) As usual in Ms. Ward's books, the characters are all so real, so believable that you feel right along with them. When they hurt, you hurt. When they love, you love. Happily, some of your other favorite characters make appearances throughout the story: Rhevenge, Wrath, Vischous, Rhage, Beth, and more. This all comes together to tell Butch and Marissa's story as well as shed light on some important Vampire information, more on the Omega and Scribe Virgin as well as a smattering of other tales. Oh, and you get your HEA too in the end.

The Bad: Ah the Bad. I could say that there was just not enough of Rhev in the story.;) Actually, there was more than I would have liked in that he is his amazing multifaceted self in this story but ends up getting hurt. But that is just my personal opinion.;) The real only negatives I can say are that there were a few time that I was unsure of what was really going on with V and that the Butch/Marissa on again/off again bit got kind of old. That and I didn't really like Marissa's character all of the time. Otherwise it was a well written book.

The Snuggly: Being mated, whether physically or legally, is an intense and sensual thing in the BDB series. Ergo, there are some smokin' hot scenes between Butch and Marissa. Certainly for no one under 18.

Final Thoughts: While I didn't enjoy Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4) quite as much as Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 7), that may just be personal preference. The book was well written, exciting, intense and amazing. If you love Vampires, Paranormal Romance, Action and some Erotica, you don't want to miss this book! Enjoy!

No matter how much and how far I get into reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I can't get enough of its musky, spicy and all too good snarky New York/Boston accents, dialogue and so much more. This series is about an entirely different scope of vampires. Vampires that have their own society and live amongst themselves, feed amongst themselves and have their own Police system which they call call The Brotherhood. They are a big brooding bunch of immensely good-looking men or vampires, who protect themselves from their own type of evil known as the Lessers. The Lessers are soulless, used to be humans who fight and kill vampires for their own enjoyment. They are under the control of The Omega. The Omega can be thought of as the Satan of this all new world. The demon that all vampire civilians run away from and fear.

Now, that we've got that covered. Lover Revealed is the 4th installment to the BDB (Black Dagger Brotherhood) series. Like all the other books in the series. This one is the story of BDB's human pet, Butch O'Neal. In the first few books, Butch was a cop, a detective that was laid off from the force for going too far with a suspect. After getting laid off, he found himself poking around the wrong areas of Caldwell, New York. Or in other cases, he met a bunch of vampires and one of them (a.k.a. Vishous) was absolutely smitten on him. Butch, ended up being Vishous' roommate at the big, dark and scary mansion of the Brotherhood. While he's stay there, he met a beautiful vampire aristocrate named Marissa, who he instantly fell in love with.

As the book continues on, we are thrown into Butch's story of his human life before the Brotherhood and how little life he had. How Butch captures Marissa's attention, and all the tortures he goes through to be by her side, his best bud Vishous' side as well as maintain his loyalty to the Brotherhood.

The world Ward writes, is absolutely enthralling. It's unique and nothing matches it's realism, form, style and everything else that comes into literature. Hats off for Wards writing style, imagination and for bringing to life yet another wonderful installment to the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series.

Lover Revealed
Reviewed by Suz & posted at Under The Covers Book Blog

The WARDen manages to do it again! I can't get enough of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, the world, the Brothers and at the moment Butch O'Neal.

Butch has been living with the Brotherhood for months, ever since he got kicked off the force for brutality against POS rapist. But he finally he has found a place where he belongs or almost belongs as the only human in a house of vampires he is still on the fringes. Marissa, the Blind King's former shellan is shunned by the members of her race, although she is a great beauty, everyone believes her to be defective and much like Butch she lives on the fringes of her society; barely tolerated but never accepted.

When Butch and Marissa met months ago they had an instant connection, but events, misunderstanding and meddlesome relatives have kept them apart. But after Butch gets captured by lessers and has a tete a tete with the Omega, they find they need eachother more then ever.

First off, I have to get this out my system: I LOVE BUTCH! Phew that feel better, I have found reading these books that I am a complete BDB whore and I love them all, although Wrath holds a special place, but I can't resist J.R. Wards alpha males! She brings each character to unique vivid life through her fantastic use of language and long after I have finished the last page I find myself thinking about them. Marissa is also a favourite of mine, I know a lot of people don't like her, but I love seeing her grow in confidence and spread her wings after so long being trapped and shunned inside her gilded cage.

Together Butch and Marissa fit perfectly, they both seem so different, Butch is distincly blue collar and Marissa is from an aristocratic family, but the tragedgies in their lives are remarkably similar, they both live on the outskirts of a society that doesn't accept them and they both have the experience of a familial rejection. They also really crank up the heat, one of the things I love most about Butch is that he is such a talker in bed mmmmm...., these two really burn up the sheets. I couldn't talk about Butch's book without mentioning V and Butch. I am not a massive Vutch fan, but the friendship is another intense relationship explored in this book.

Although JR is strong on her relationships and her characters, it's got to be mentioned. Lessers, they have got to be the most ineffectual enemies. This is the one aspect of the books that is disappointing, there are less then 10 warriors to defend a whole race, yet a whole society of bad guys don't ever seem like a threat.

Regardless of this though, I adore these books, I am addicted to them and crappy enemies of not, I can't get enough of this series, the combination of JR's writing and her beautiful romances are enough to cover any shortcomings for me.

Butch on Marissa...

It wasn't like any woman in this club or on the face of the planet could come close to Marissa. She had been pure in the manner of crystal, refracting light, and life around her improved, enlivened, coloured with her grace

Marissa on Marissa...

Marissa started to cry, not because she thought she was going to die, but because she new she wasn't.

~~~

She'd spent three centuries waiting and hoping for a male to notice her. Three centuries trying to fit in with the glymera. Three centuries working desperatley to be someone's sister, someone's daughter, someone's mate. All those external expectations had been the laws of physics that had goverend her life, more pervasive and grounding then gravity.

Except where had trying to meet them gotten her? Orphaned, unmated and shunned.

Vishous...

How did she take Butch to a place were sex was communion?

I've waited for this book ever since Butch and Marissa met in the beginning of the series. I'm so happy that they got their HEA!

Butch is a tough-ass cop who will sometimes step over the law to get what he wants. All his life he's never fitted in, until he met the Brotherhood. Yet, as a human, he couldn't completely join in the fight against the lessers due to his lack of strength. When he first met Marissa, he was a goner. I love Butch's dedication to Marissa. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the series is that despite these men's tough and merciless and dangerous nature, they're all saps over their female. Butch is no different.

Marissa. Man, I felt so bad for her. She's one of those heroines that really stood out for me. Born in an aristocratic family, she was the unwanted shellan of the Blind King. Now the aristocracy avoids and ostracizes her so that no one will even get near her. Poor Marissa. Nothing was her fault. While her insecurities did get somewhat bothersome, it felt realistic and normal after what she'd been through in the last three hundred years. Ward did a great job describing her panic attacks and the claustrophobic and trapped feelings Marissa had. I was really glad when she stood up for herself and became independent in the end. Go Marissa! I'm always cheering for you!

Butch and Marissa are great together, once they each get over the hurdles. I have no complaints with Butch. I felt he did everything right to support Marissa. However, I got really mad at Marissa near the end where I just felt she didn't understand Butch. Yet, Ward gave us a nice explanation for how she came around to finally accepting Butch for who he was.

Plotwise, there was a lot of sex. Oh man, this one felt like one non-ending sex scenes after another, but at the same time a lot of other things went on. In a series, I love reading about the other characters as long as they don't take too much of the story. V is a mess (thus the next book is his). I did feel a little uncomfortable about his man-crush on Butch. John is getting better. I really like reading about John and can't wait till his book. The war with the lessers is escalating, but now the Brothers have a new weapon. I wonder how everything will turn out.

Great addition to the series! Moving on to the next one!

Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire

I am going out on an emotional limb with this review. Yes, in book one Butch was portrayed as an alcoholic, hell he admits it. But, let's be honest can we. Why is he an alcoholic? I know alcohol doesn't solve problems, yet you show me a real life cop working homicide in a major crime city that doesn't drink and I will introduce you to a closet drunk. Plain and simple the needless killing gets to you and what starts off as blowing off steam turns into full budded alcoholic. It happens time and time again and there is no shame. It's only a shame when they don't reach out for help and end up eating a bullet.

That said back to Butch. Now why is he a drunk? His father never liked him, beat him as his mother and siblings stood by and watched doing nothing. His sister was kidnapped and murdered and his whole family blamed him though he was a child. (Hello, where were the parents???) As a child carrying the weight of a family that hates him alone in the world he never felt he belonged to and the belief that it was his fault his sister died; he became a homicide detective. For every dead girl to Butch it was just like the sister he didn't save. So yeah, he had some issues.

As for the stretch that Butch had vamp blood... Not a stretch at all. Ward used the character Darius in book 1 to explain that sometimes half-bloods don't transition. Darius was wanted Wrath just in case Beth transition. Which leads me to believe that Ward had already had Butch's story outlined as she was writing book 1. Never underestimate the weave of a highly thought out story line, including that of the annoying Lesser's plot.

Now that I have had my rant back to focus. Ward has did it yet again. Her writing speaks volume to her creative imagination. She has built a world that to me is just as captivating as LJ Smith's Night World only with a little spice. Now if you haven't started the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by now.... Get your heads out of the sand and dive into the series. It will not disappoint. However, I would start with book 1 Dark Lover as the story begins and grows as each book is released.

Disclosure: I participated in Books for Review Club and a copy was provided to me by the author. No payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was not any obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely mine and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist, or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

J R Ward's "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series is a fantastic read. Although the subject matter (vampires) is hardly original there's something about the earthiness of her writing style which is fresh and interesting in this often tired genre. The Black Dagger Brotherhood are vampires who protect the others of their race (civilians) against the 'lessers', ex-people without hearts who exist to kill vampires and are ruled by the Omega. The previous three stories have focused on members of the Brotherhood and their discovery of their mates, although with several other side-characters introduced.

"Lover Revealed" is different from the previous books. Not in terms of writing style (J R Ward's marvellous turn of phrase is still there, there's a huge amount of earthy Anglo-Saxon and fairly graphic descriptions - this is not a book to lend to your granny) but in terms of hero. This time we're following the trials and tribulations of Butch, the human ex-cop and roommate of Vishous, one of the Brotherhood. At the end of the last story Vishous tricked Butch into drinking a cup of his blood - Vishous didn't know why he had to do it, he just did, and it becomes clear in this story what that was about. Butch has always existed somewhat on the sidelines of the Brotherhood; not being a vampire they don't let him fight with them but he has some advantages in that he can go about in daytime. He's hardly a normal human, though, being very strong, rather self-destructive and with enough of a death wish that he was able to stand up to the vampires initially, thus to be accepted by their group. Right from the beginning Butch noticed Marissa but over several books their relationship has ground to a halt.

In "Lover Revealed" we learn much more about Marissa and her dissatisfaction with her life. Despite being the top of the aristrocracy she's an outcast and has no real role in life now that Wrath is mated to Beth. In this story she and Butch are thrown together again but any relationship between them is never going to be simple - and then when Butch is captured and tortured by the lesser it seems that any future for them is impossible.

This book definitely felt like a continuation of a series. A new reader, coming directly to this story, might struggle to work out what's going on. We also continue to learn more about John Matthew, the pre-transition vampire, and there are lots of references to events in previous books without them always being clearly explained. Rehvenge/The Reverend is becoming more clearly defined and it wouldn't surprise me if he features more significantly in future books. The list of characters grows longer and longer, too, which could be confusing. And my one real niggle with this whole series continues of course - and that's the cheesy names of the brothers. Zsadist, Vishous, Phury... doesn't really work for me, but as that's my only real complaint about these stories you can tell how much I like them!

The Scribe Virgin, the vampires' deity, makes appearances again in this book. Sometimes I wonder if she's a cheap plot trick, a Deus Ex Machina, especially at the end of Rhage and Mary's story, "Lover Eternal" - in the story to deal with a fundamental problem in the plot: oh no, there's something that's not optimal for our love story, but poof the Scribe Virgin fixes it. In this novel there's an even bigger example of that (although not entirely caused by the Scribe Virgin) which felt slightly like the author was cheating in the way that she got round a major stumbling point for the happy ever after, and yet it's obviously something that's been planned from the beginning as there are clues to it way back in book 1. In fact it becomes clear, reading these stories, that J R Ward has very strongly mapped out what's going to happen with whom as the series progresses and that conscientious attention to detail is very much appreciated by this reader.

In short, if you liked the other novels in this series you'll like this one. For me it didn't quite hit the heights of Zsadist's story ("Lover Awakened") because that was an amazing work of psychology and healing of someone's past wrapped up in a vampire love story. But there's a huge amount of interesting stuff in this book, particularly in the friendship between Butch and Vishous and in the way that Marissa is able to change her life and her submissive nature and to strike out on her own. Definitely one to read!

I so wasn't sure about reading this. I absolutely adored the first three books in this series and when I saw this was Butch's story, I was hesitant. I found myself wondering - how could a "human" possibly beat anything the Brotherhood could deliver? Let me just say ... I'm not afraid to smack my head against the wall moaning, "Why were you so scared? WHY did it take you so long to read this amazing story?" Where I thought the series should end with Zsadist because he satisfied all my cravings, Butch delivered such an emotional read and yes, he may just be my favorite.

I don't know what it is about these books that just suck me in. Maybe its the uber Alpha males who are equally tortured in their own ways or the women that drive them to their knees. Maybe its the way the fight evil with a single mindedness, never worried about themselves as they throw themselves into danger. Maybe its the evil that is so profoundly evil and disturbing, that you can't put the book down until it's vanquished. Maybe it's the emotion that I feed on, like a junkie, because there is ALOT of it. With the different story lines weaving in and out, there's quite a bit happening but the author does a remarkable job and making sure it all ties in, leaving you wanting more.

I don't know where to begin... this book truly took me by surprise. There was the relationship between Butch and Marissa - the longing they had for one another and they way they worked around their differences. They were definitely opposites but they fit together beautifully, as if they were made for each other. Here is the rough man, who's coarse and constantly surrounded by danger but he's so incredibly gentle with Marissa, the aristocrat who steals his heart. The things he whispers to her melted me, the amazing love he felt had me swooning. Who would've thought this man had it in him? NEVER underestimate a human in a paranormal romance because when you do, you miss out on men like Butch. My heart broke for him when he felt he needed to keep away, how tortured he must have felt thinking he wasn't enough and I cried when he risked it all. Even though I understood Marissa's fears, I wanted to shake her at walking away from his sacrifice, at her not seeing into his heart and realizing - what other choice did Butch have? Love him, hold on to, cherish him all the days you have together. Yep, Butch really won me over and even though he was full of flaws, he was perfect and I would've been his shellan in a heartbeat!

There was sooo much going on in this book. My heart bled for John as he continues to struggle with the death of Wellsie and disappearance of Tohr. So much pain and anguish in such a small person. All that rage and fury with nowhere to go but out. I LOVED the way the Brotherhood was there for him and how Wrath especially, reached out and made a difference. Even Zsadist was amazing and it made me love them all more. Vishous .... my gosh .... this was the other part of the storyline that just ripped my heart out and stomped all over it. That poor man and what can I do to ease him! I loved that the author didn't drown me in his story but gave me enough to know his turn will be spectacular. There's so much going on there and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

I'm so glad I started reading the series again. If you'd all have seen me, I was sighing and pausing through the whole book, up to all hours of the night reading because I couldn't put it down. It was like an addiction and I couldn't get enough. Even when my Kindle started acting up, a sign to go to bed, I pulled it up on my phone and kept reading. Amazing book.... amazing characters. If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it. It's full of the good stuff - swoon, action, humor and sexy males just dying to melt your hearts! Happy reading!

Lover Revealed is the fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R.Ward and tells Butch O'Neal's story. While saving a civilian vampire, ex-cop Butch is overcome by lessers and left for dead in the snow with an unwanted legacy from the Omega. Rescued by Vishous, he is placed in a contamination unit at Haver's clinic, where the woman he loves, Marissa keeps a bedside vigil until he recovers. Of course, the path of true love never runs smoothly, and it is some time before Marissa and Butch are finally mated. In this instalment, Ward gives the reader a bit more background on Marissa and Butch, as well as the Omega, the Scribe Virgin, Vishous, Rehvenge and John Matthew. She also introduces some new characters. With Wellsie dead and Tohr missing, the Brotherhood is short a member, but this is rectified in a novel way, and the new member, the Dhestroyer, has a surprising power to offer in the war against the lessers. Ward also hints at what might happen to Vishous in the next instalment, Lover Unbound. The world Ward has created is wonderfully original and each book adds to the overall story, as well as highlighting a particular Brother. The interaction between the characters is delightful, and Ward manages to tug at the heart strings as well as creating suspense and throwing in plenty of humour. This series is very addictive.

I enjoyed this story. What I like about this one is how everyone is going through such major life changes, and that they're not always sure they're doing the right thing, but they keep on trying. The transformation of Butch was very powerful writing.

Now, Marissa. This series is full of black leather to go with the black daggers, and we have some she-men as the series goes on. So I get that not everyone can relate to Marissa. But you know what? Her evolution is stronger than any other character in the series. She's a product of her upbringing, and when she tries to be a stronger person she is thrown out of home and denied by her brother. And yet she's strong enough that even then she persists. Even then she goes out in the world and makes something amazing of her life. That's a hell of a lot better than fan favourite - Bella - who starts off her story as a pathetic Brotherhood groupie, and finishes as a pathetic Brotherhood groupie. Nothing like that for Marissa. She not only gets the man she wants - the man nobody wants for her - but she goes out there and works towards an amazing career. And all the while she maintains her heart and is gracious towards those (such as Wrath and Beth) who wronged her earlier on.
I had to wonder though, why Ward equates the wearing of trousers with inner strength - I wear skirts and dresses and don't feel like a weaker person because of it! I liked Marissa's breakdown and subsequent burning of all her fancy gowns, but becoming a stronger person doesn't have to mean turning your back on everything from your past!

On the other hand there're the Chosen, and...well, they're pathetic, but that's for another review!

The Brotherhood is full of complex characters in complex relationships, and perhaps that is never more evident than in this entry to the series. Of course there are going to be people out there who wanted Vishous and Butch together (and so turn their anger towards poor Marissa for ruining their chance at hot gay vampire sex!), but the Butch/Vishous relationship is shown as such a special friendship here, such an important bond, I can't say I was disappointed.

I think the ending was a bit rushed, and I would have loved to have seen a stronger resolution between Butch and Marissa, but it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the book.

Rated 4.5/5

Butch O'Neal has been living amongst the Brothers ever since following Beth into the vampire world in Dark Lover. He is comfortable with his new family, even though he is the only human to have ever been included in their world. He doesn't have the same strength or abilities, but his warrior nature allows him to be an effective part of the team.

Marissa is Wrath's former shellan, and Butch has been obsessed with her since the day they first met. Marissa has feelings for Butch in return, but how can an aristocratic vampire build a future with a human? Eventually the day comes when Butch is critically injured and he is brought to the hospital where Marissa lives with her brother. Forced to face the thought of losing him, Marissa finally opens up to the possibility of loving him. It is the care and love from both Marissa and his devoted friend Vishous that eventually saves Butch's life.

Butch has a lot more than just his love story to experience in this book. He also learns more about his connection to the Brotherhood, his place in an ancient prophecy, and his possession of a strange new power. His personal storyline is fantastic, and it allows us to see some of the Brotherhood's most sacred rituals.

In addition to Butch, a good portion of this book explores John Matthew's progression with his training. He is having a very tough time dealing with Thorment's disappearance. His bitterness and anger is so sad to read, and this made me ache to see him find peace. Hopefully, when he goes through the vampire change he'll finally find his place in the world.

The disturbing Mr. X is back in this book. He has evidently been given new life from the Omega, likely because he was the most successful recent leader of the lessening society. He is on a new mission which involves an ancient lesser prophecy, and Butch seems to be the key. His motives for deciphering the prophecy might surprise you.

Butch and Marissa are wonderful characters in the series, but their story has the unfortunate fate of following my favorite book in the series, Lover Awakened. By comparison to Zsadist and Bella, any other couple is going to fall a little short in my eyes. Butch is a great character, but he isn't as dark or sexy as Zsadist or Wrath, and I don't think Marissa has as much depth as the other women. Because of this, the love story in this book was slightly less satisfying for me than the earlier books in the series.

With that said, I thought the rest of the content in this book was outstanding. This installment finally connects the dots between Butch and the vampires. There is an intense mystery surrounding the events that happen between Butch and the Omega at the beginning, and his resulting powers as well. The progression of the other storylines in the book is fantastic, as is the introduction of new characters. The entire book is crammed full of action and emotion, just as I have come to expect from this author.

I think JR Ward does one thing more successfully than any other author in this genre: develop subplots. Each book has so much crucial content for this world, it is easy to get completely absorbed in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Don't expect plotlines to be neatly resolved at the end of each book, this series is far more elaborate than that. It could be several more books before you find the answers you crave.

I LOVE Ward's BDB series. I highly recommend it for fans of both Paranormal Romance and Paranormal Thrillers. This is definitely an adult series because of the sexual content, harsh language and violence.

This is the story of Butch O'Neil The 4th member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood to find love. A former cop, he's been living amongst the Vampire Warriors since stumbling into their secret world back in book 1 (DARK LOVER.) Unable now to return to his old human life yet not really fitting in with the Brothers either he is a man lost between two worlds. He's also hopelessly in love with a woman far above his station. The beautiful socialite Marissa, but she hasn't spoken to him for 2 books now and despite his pining and continual drive bys of her house no longer knows he exists. Butch's only constant would be his "tight" relationship with his best friend Vishous, although he's been acting a little strange lately. In any case the roommates have become increasingly close, sharing everything. And as Butch goes through some major changes during the course of this book their bond will only grow stronger as they face life and death together.

LOVER REVEALED is quite the ride and a great addition to this series. Erotic, thrilling, with non stop action and revelations galore. Of course all the Brothers stories continue and their ongoing sub-plots will keep you completely absorbed.

Butch is feeling sorry for himself, drinking too much Scotch, longing for Marissa and wondering where he belongs. Forbidden to fight for the Vampire race that has adopted him he is beginning to feel worthless. Living in their house, wearing expensive designer suits and driving a flash car all paid for by the Brotherhood. He can't respect himself and is finding little comfort in his new lifestyle.

One evening after leaving the nightclub Zerosum Butch has a chance encounter with some Lessers and after saving a young Vampire is taken hostage. He is then tortured for the location of the Brotherhood and when he refuses to break, the Omega (Lessers Leader) places a piece of his evil self inside Butch. Then he is left for dead. The Omega's hope is that Butch will act as a homing device after the Brothers find him. Vishous rescues Butch in scenes very reminiscent of Zsadist going after Bella in LOVER AWAKENED. (Bordering on obsessed) Then transports the half dead cop to Haver's medical clinic where Butch is placed in isolation due to the black body fluids he's spewing and the fact that he now smells like baby powder. At V's request Marissa comes to the clinic to help Butch recover and our love story begins.

Marissa is a sheltered, virginal, aristocrat who has never forgotten the cop and after a week together in isolation the two have fallen hopelessly in love. When Marissa needs to feed however there is a problem. She can't use Butch because his blood is weak and eventually she would kill him so she is forced to use another male (I won't tell you who.)
This makes Butch crazy. Causing him to get drunk. Again. And this is the first of our couples many annoying break-ups and make-ups. Back at the mansion V and Butch grow even closer as V heals the evil within Butch. There are suggestions of feelings deeper than friendship here and they are explored beautifully. I think the innuendoes show the depth of their feelings and V's true loneliness. Anyways. Butch and Marisa get back together and have a lot of great sex while V searches for an explanation to Butch's bonding scent and how to make him into a true member of the BDB.

Marissa and Butch's continual conflict and angst annoyed me to a degree but this is such a great book that I was able to overlook it. There's just so much else going on too. The little snippets of Wrath, Phury, Rhage and Zsadist's lives are excellent. Rhevenge takes on a bigger role and John Mathew ups his training as he tries to come to terms with the loss of Wellsie and Tohr. Zsadist is an unexpected help here. There's the usual witty humour and fabulously erotic love scenes. And the ending is per usual JR Ward jaw-dropping awesome.

I can highly recommend this book however I would suggest reading this series in order to get the full affect of these sexy Black Dagger men.
Vishous is up next in LOVER UNBOUND and I am wondering who could possibly love this sexy yet nasty BDSM Brother?

Okay, I'm back again to do a little more imbecilic gushing.

I didn't expect to enjoy this one so much. I expected it to lack the oomph of the first three simply because the MC was human, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

There was such excitement and fast paced action, it was all could do to take a deep breath and hold on tight for the ride.

I LOVED Butch and his tale. Yeah, his lineage seemed a little contrite but, really, who cares?

Book 2 topped book 1, then book 3 topped book 2, and I pretty much thought the series had reached its peak at that point, but so far these stories have just got better and better.

The relationship between V and Butch, whilst a little freaky, was awesome and I loved the bond they had going on and the explanation for the why of it.

And it was awesome to have the insight into the acceptance to the Brotherhood from a new-to-it-all character.

Will I read on?

Hell yeah-I couldn't stop myself even if I tried.

This is the fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. It was a decent book, but not my favorite in the series so far. I did enjoy that the plot was more filled out and seems to be leading up to something bigger. I listened to this on audio book and although the guy reading is sounds a little too dramatic for my tastes; he does a decent job overall.

This book tells the story of Butch and Marissa. When Butch is captured by the Lessers and horribly wounded he ends up in Haver's clinic where only Marissa can help him fight to stay alive. Things are complicated by Butch being a human and by some strange powers Butch has gained from his stay with the Lessers. The story of John Mathews continues throughout this book as well. We also learn more about Rehvenge and a lot more about Vishous and his past.

It was great to finally get the story between Butch and Marissa; this is a story that started developing in the second book and kind of stalled in the third book. This book had more plot development than previous books and I really enjoyed that. Based on this book it looks like Ward is finally developing a set-up for an epic battle between the Lessers and the Brotherhood. It was nice to have a plot that is actually a big part of the story rather than just a vehicle for the romance.

I also really enjoyed watching both Marissa and Butch grow as characters. They change a lot throughout the book and it was fun to witness this growth; especially in Marissa's case. The back story for Vishous was wonderful too and his powers were intriguing to learn about. Butch developing these strange powers and the way they tie in with the Lesser prophecy made this a more interesting read than the previous books.

There was one major thing about this book that drove me crazy and that was Butch and Marissa being on again and off again so many times. They went through the "I love you" "I hate you" cycle a couple too many times. It got to the point where it wasn't generating tension between the characters; it was just eye-rolling and obnoxious. It seemed like for some reason Ward drew the story out way longer than it needed to be.

Overall a solid addition to the series. I really enjoyed having a fuller plot and including this Lesser prophecy in things makes this more of an urban fantasy type of book as opposed to a pure romance; I thought this was wonderful. The constant on again, off again between Marissa and Butch got old and was too repetitive; but it was good to finally read the story between them. Vishous's story was also a very interesting part of this book. I can't wait to see if the war between the Lessers and the Brotherhood escalates in the next book, Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5).

The problem with reading a truly exceptional book is that you find yourself judging other books against it. And the other books always fall a little short. Lover Unleashed has the misfortune of coming after Lover Awakened. It's not a bad book, but it doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor.

We met Butch O'Neal back at the start of the series. He was a tough human cop, who ended up being drawn in the world of vampires. He ended up friends with the members of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, the warriors who defend their race. He is especially close to Vischous. And he has an enormous crush on a the beautiful, virginal vampire Marissa. But she doesn't seem to return his feelings.

As our story begins, Butch is taken by vampire hunters, called Lessers, and infected with the essence of their leader, the Omega. He nearly dies and is rushed to the vampire doctor Havers, who happens to be Marissa's brother. Once she learns of his injuries, Marissa sticks to Butch like glue... and we learn she cared for him all along. This is just the first in a series of contrived stumbling blocks between the two of them. Time and time again, we see how deeply these two care for and need one another. Then something stupid gets in their way and it seems to be over. Then they come back together. Rinse & repeat.

Beyond that, there is something weird going on between V & Butch. Both guys are straight, but there is a definite sexual vibe there that feels... off. I understand these guys are really close, but even they seemed icked out by the undertones. Some of the "why's" of their connection are revealed as the story progresses and I'm OK with V using his gift/curse to help Butch as he learns his powers. But the sex-vibe I could do without.

And my last big peeve: they changed the rules for Butch. I'm cool with what happened to him in the end. But it felt like Ward was cheating the rules of her own universe with his outcome.

With all that complaining, it might sound like I didn't like the book. But I did. Ward has created a sexy, dark, complex and satisfying world with this series. The love scenes and the longing are fantastic. And as always, I found myself as invested in the stories surrounding the secondary characters as I did Butch & Marissa. --I mean, how can you not love John Matthew?

4 stars.

(This review was originally posted to VampireBookClub.net)

I went into the fourth Black Dagger Brotherhood novel Lover Revealed knowing that it would be damn hard to follow up Zsadist and Bella's story from the third novel with something better. That's true. With Lover Revealed I was more impressed by Butch's character development and the integration of The Omega than by the romance in this one.

Butch is a former cop. He's human, and after meeting up with the Brotherhood in Dark Lover, he's been inseparable. His police background has been helpful, but because he's human the guys always keep him out of the fight.

In earlier novels he fell head-over-heels for Marissa, and aristocratic vampire (and former shellan of the king). He thinks she's not interested. He's still obsessed with her, but is doing his best to keep it from getting pathetic. (Such a guy thing.) Between his unrequited love for Marissa and being sidelined from all the fighting, Butch is antsy. So, when he gets severely injured after protecting a civilian vampire, everything has to change.

Marissa wants Butch. He's the first male to ever make her feel. Despite being hundreds of years old, Marissa's still a virgin. When she was with Wrath, he wouldn't take her. As a result she's incredibly self-conscious and convinced she must be defective in some way.

When she's the one who cares for him after the attack, they're forced to finally talk. But between their hang-ups and Butch's fear of what happened to him at the hands of the lessers (vampire slayers), being a couple isn't simple. If you thought you were frustrated with earlier couples for not being up front with their feelings, prepare to want to throw the damn book when you read how much of a mess Butch and Marissa can make of things.

The romance is tense, as always, but this time out the mythology built into the novel deepens and will make you eager to know what's around the corner in Lover Unbound.

This is not my favorite book, mostly because I never really loved Marissa and she is always so perfect, but so full of problems. Butch is a nice guy and I liked him living with the brothers, especially his relationship with Vishous, they are truly great friends and this book showed some changes in their bromance. I like the other stories that as usual happen in this series, the most important is John training. I loved him since Lover Eternal and he’s growing to be a great warrior.

But my huge problem with this book is the fact I don’t love the couple, they are great together, but I just don’t feel a great empathy toward them. Butch is more a human to me than a vampire and his changing was a little too much for me. I understand the only way he could be with Marissa was if he became a vampire, but it changed the dynamic with V and I loved these two changing insults and some love.

Next book is Vishous story and I can’t wait for him to find his other half.

~Black Dagger Brotherhood~ ~Book 4~
~Lover Revealed~
~ Butch & Marissa Story~

Audible download/audiobook

~ Newbies to Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood may struggle to fill in the backstory, but these erotic paranormals are well worth it, and frighteningly addictive. The six "brothers" are vampires: enormous, tattooed, tormented warriors who protect other vampires from destruction by the "lessers," desouled humans in the evil Omega's Lessening Society. Hero and ex-cop Butch is the only human allowed into the Brotherhood's inner circle, but Butch is no mere human, a fact suspected by one of his vamp colleagues, and confirmed by the sinister plans of the Omega. The book is fully committed to its urban sensibility, the vampires' rarified language (a glossary is provided) and their revved-up sex drives, and it all works to great, page-turning effect (with the notable exception of a chick lit-like attention to designer brands). Though Butch's love interest, the virginal, aristocratic vampire Marissa, initially elicits more annoyance than empathy, she grows a spine as the book progresses and Butch's destiny comes to light.~

I wasn't Sure if i was Gonna like this one ....But I DID there isn't one I haven't LIKED!! Ward is one H*LL of a Story Teller! I LOVE the Twist she put on this Series it's not the TYPICAL Vampire Crap! "IMHO" I Would tell anyone to READ this SERIES it SO TOTALLY "ROCKS"!!

Lover Revealed is Butch and Marissa's story. Butch is taken by the lessers very early on in the book after saving a civilian vampire. He is tortured for information about the brotherhood, but never gives in (Go Butch!). However, something truly evil is done to Butch before he is left for dead in the middle of nowhere. After the brotherhood rescues him, they question his fate and allegiance. Butch is no longer the same "cop." After healing from his stay with the lessers, he starts to notice some changes: his body is letting off an odd spice scent around Marissa, he is much more aggressive, he can suck lessers into himself, and his blood turns black whenever he destroys the lessers his way.
Marissa and Butch's relationship had so many "aw" moments but there was one thing that seriously annoyed me; when Butch called Marissa "baby," I cringed. I really don't know why that bothered me so much. Other than that, everything was fine. Butch wasn't my favorite character, even in the beginning, and this book didn't really change that for me. Although, there were some aspects that really stood out and made me love Ms. Ward's writing even more.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is a romance book series (just look at the titles). The characters in the series have so much depth, not often seen in adult romance novels. With each book, Ms. Ward astounds me with the way she skillfully balances the passionate love scenes with actual plot. In Butch's story, just like Zsadist's, the central characters grow and change through the story. Butch starts out insecure in his place in life. Later in the book, when Butch is telling Marissa about his past he comments, "I've always been different from other people, not just in my family but when I was working here on the CPD force, too. I never fit in...until I met the Brotherhood...I've been living on the fringes all my life...(325)." As the story progresses, the Butch becomes a part of a family, a part of something he never had. Marissa also finds herself. Even though Butch and Marissa fought a lot in this book, I think it was appropriate. Neither were secure with themselves. After Havers forced independence on Marissa, she started to follow her "Rule Number One: Right or wrong, she made the choices in her life. No one else did (402)." Of course, Marissa doesn't become independent overnight. In fact, she moves in with the brotherhood. Slowly, she begins to become her own person. Her transition from flowing gowns and corsets to pants and turtle necks was very symbolic of her transformation from a push over, aristocrat to a fully independent woman, free of the cage her brother and the glymera had forced her in all her life.
Lover Revealed was definitely a huge step forward in the war between the vampires and the lessers. What happens to Butch changes everything. The Black Dagger Brotherhood have a whole new deadly weapon in the war. As the Scribe Virgin said, "Now the new era in the war begins (399)."
In this installment, Vishous and John Matthews also share some narration time. Vishous has to deal with his confusing feelings towards Butch and Marissa. John Matthews has to come to terms with Wellsie's death and Tohr's leaving. Honestly, I felt bad for Vishous (his book is next!), but not John Matthews. Seriously, John truly annoys me. I feel like every time Ms. Ward writes a John Matthews part I have to fight the urge not to skip forward, mostly because all he does is whine! It's all poor-weak-me. I'm not strong enough to beat up Lash. I'm so weak. Etc. *
While this wasn't the greatest of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, it definitely is worth the read. Fair Warning: like all the BDB books, there are quite a few graphic sex scenes, violence, profanity, and of course blood and gore. If you haven't picked these books up yet, then I suggest you buy them...yes, buy them. They are too amazing not to purchase because you will want to reread them over and over again.

*note: I've actually read up until and part of the way through Lover Mine (John Matthew's book) and I do like him, much much much better, in that book.

Lover Revealed

I always liked Butch "Hard-Ass" O'neal since the first book of the BDB Series. His smart ass attitude, gravely voice she makes him have, doesn't take crap from anyone, love it! Thru the books she makes it seem like he could have been just as equally tortured as Zsadist was. Ward fills us in on why Butch's family has always despised him and then wraps it up in the end.

I kind of want to write this up as a Butch and Vishous love story with Marissa who?!? These two have so much strange sexual tension between them it was comical and maybe somewhat disturbing. I told my friend who also read the book that it would have been hilarious if J.R. Ward went ahead and set up a little three way action between Butch, Vishous, and Marissa just to get it over with. =P

I am glad that the cop finally got his family he had been missing his whole life and that he's officially a part of the Brotherhood. I liked how the author described the induction ceremony for the BDB.

Pretty neat to learn about when the Lessers go all poppin and bright flashes of light that they just go back to be a part of the Omega, and that they're a part of his life source. So with Butch having this "Special Ability" he'll able to put a stop to the Omega once and for all. Poor little Mr. X tho, all the guy wants is to end his miserable existence and be done with the Omega lol.. This guy's going to need his own book when everything's all said and done Haha!!

I think it would have been a little better if Marissa would own up to the fact that, "Yes, the person you are in love with hangs out and helps the brotherhood, yes he is going to fight and be put in danger from time to time, and yes he does love you. Put on your big girl panties and deal with it!! Kind of straddled on going over the top with her dramatic self, but she was apart of the Glymera so it's in her breeding to be that way I guess.

I miss Tohr and can't wait to hear more about what's happened/happening to him..

Good read!!

"Family, after all, was the staff of life. The very staff of life."

That, in two sentences, sums up the overarching theme of Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4), my most recent juicy read in JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series.(Yes, I know I am reading them out of order but I am okay with that right now.) Oh how I love her books!

The Good: Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4) focuses on Butch, his love for Marissa and their need for Family. As you may know, butch is an Irish white boy. A hu-man. Yep. And he is completely head-over-heals in love with beautiful, innocent Marissa (Havers sister) making her-yep, you guessed it-a vampire. Not just any vampire either, a member of the elite upper crust of the vampire bloodlines, the glymera. To say they have nothing in common would be an understatement... except their love for one another and their need for Family. Now I won't spill the beans on the details but sufficeth to say, they are apart, they are together, they are apart, they are together... You get the gist. As this goes on, HUGE changes occur in both of their personal lives. Are they good or bad? Only the book knows.;) As usual in Ms. Ward's books, the characters are all so real, so believable that you feel right along with them. When they hurt, you hurt. When they love, you love. Happily, some of your other favorite characters make appearances throughout the story: Rhevenge, Wrath, Vischous, Rhage, Beth, and more. This all comes together to tell Butch and Marissa's story as well as shed light on some important Vampire information, more on the Omega and Scribe Virgin as well as a smattering of other tales. Oh, and you get your HEA too in the end.

The Bad: Ah the Bad. I could say that there was just not enough of Rhev in the story.;) Actually, there was more than I would have liked in that he is his amazing multifaceted self in this story but ends up getting hurt. But that is just my personal opinion.;) The real only negatives I can say are that there were a few time that I was unsure of what was really going on with V and that the Butch/Marissa on again/off again bit got kind of old. That and I didn't really like Marissa's character all of the time. Otherwise it was a well written book.

The Snuggly: Being mated, whether physically or legally, is an intense and sensual thing in the BDB series. Ergo, there are some smokin' hot scenes between Butch and Marissa. Certainly for no one under 18.

Final Thoughts: While I didn't enjoy Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4) quite as much as Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 7), that may just be personal preference. The book was well written, exciting, intense and amazing. If you love Vampires, Paranormal Romance, Action and some Erotica, you don't want to miss this book! Enjoy!

No matter how much and how far I get into reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I can't get enough of its musky, spicy and all too good snarky New York/Boston accents, dialogue and so much more. This series is about an entirely different scope of vampires. Vampires that have their own society and live amongst themselves, feed amongst themselves and have their own Police system which they call call The Brotherhood. They are a big brooding bunch of immensely good-looking men or vampires, who protect themselves from their own type of evil known as the Lessers. The Lessers are soulless, used to be humans who fight and kill vampires for their own enjoyment. They are under the control of The Omega. The Omega can be thought of as the Satan of this all new world. The demon that all vampire civilians run away from and fear.

Now, that we've got that covered. Lover Revealed is the 4th installment to the BDB (Black Dagger Brotherhood) series. Like all the other books in the series. This one is the story of BDB's human pet, Butch O'Neal. In the first few books, Butch was a cop, a detective that was laid off from the force for going too far with a suspect. After getting laid off, he found himself poking around the wrong areas of Caldwell, New York. Or in other cases, he met a bunch of vampires and one of them (a.k.a. Vishous) was absolutely smitten on him. Butch, ended up being Vishous' roommate at the big, dark and scary mansion of the Brotherhood. While he's stay there, he met a beautiful vampire aristocrate named Marissa, who he instantly fell in love with.

As the book continues on, we are thrown into Butch's story of his human life before the Brotherhood and how little life he had. How Butch captures Marissa's attention, and all the tortures he goes through to be by her side, his best bud Vishous' side as well as maintain his loyalty to the Brotherhood.

The world Ward writes, is absolutely enthralling. It's unique and nothing matches it's realism, form, style and everything else that comes into literature. Hats off for Wards writing style, imagination and for bringing to life yet another wonderful installment to the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series.

Lover Revealed
Reviewed by Suz & posted at Under The Covers Book Blog

The WARDen manages to do it again! I can't get enough of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, the world, the Brothers and at the moment Butch O'Neal.

Butch has been living with the Brotherhood for months, ever since he got kicked off the force for brutality against POS rapist. But he finally he has found a place where he belongs or almost belongs as the only human in a house of vampires he is still on the fringes. Marissa, the Blind King's former shellan is shunned by the members of her race, although she is a great beauty, everyone believes her to be defective and much like Butch she lives on the fringes of her society; barely tolerated but never accepted.

When Butch and Marissa met months ago they had an instant connection, but events, misunderstanding and meddlesome relatives have kept them apart. But after Butch gets captured by lessers and has a tete a tete with the Omega, they find they need eachother more then ever.

First off, I have to get this out my system: I LOVE BUTCH! Phew that feel better, I have found reading these books that I am a complete BDB whore and I love them all, although Wrath holds a special place, but I can't resist J.R. Wards alpha males! She brings each character to unique vivid life through her fantastic use of language and long after I have finished the last page I find myself thinking about them. Marissa is also a favourite of mine, I know a lot of people don't like her, but I love seeing her grow in confidence and spread her wings after so long being trapped and shunned inside her gilded cage.

Together Butch and Marissa fit perfectly, they both seem so different, Butch is distincly blue collar and Marissa is from an aristocratic family, but the tragedgies in their lives are remarkably similar, they both live on the outskirts of a society that doesn't accept them and they both have the experience of a familial rejection. They also really crank up the heat, one of the things I love most about Butch is that he is such a talker in bed mmmmm...., these two really burn up the sheets. I couldn't talk about Butch's book without mentioning V and Butch. I am not a massive Vutch fan, but the friendship is another intense relationship explored in this book.

Although JR is strong on her relationships and her characters, it's got to be mentioned. Lessers, they have got to be the most ineffectual enemies. This is the one aspect of the books that is disappointing, there are less then 10 warriors to defend a whole race, yet a whole society of bad guys don't ever seem like a threat.

Regardless of this though, I adore these books, I am addicted to them and crappy enemies of not, I can't get enough of this series, the combination of JR's writing and her beautiful romances are enough to cover any shortcomings for me.

Butch on Marissa...

It wasn't like any woman in this club or on the face of the planet could come close to Marissa. She had been pure in the manner of crystal, refracting light, and life around her improved, enlivened, coloured with her grace

Marissa on Marissa...

Marissa started to cry, not because she thought she was going to die, but because she new she wasn't.

~~~

She'd spent three centuries waiting and hoping for a male to notice her. Three centuries trying to fit in with the glymera. Three centuries working desperatley to be someone's sister, someone's daughter, someone's mate. All those external expectations had been the laws of physics that had goverend her life, more pervasive and grounding then gravity.

Except where had trying to meet them gotten her? Orphaned, unmated and shunned.

Vishous...

How did she take Butch to a place were sex was communion?

I've waited for this book ever since Butch and Marissa met in the beginning of the series. I'm so happy that they got their HEA!

Butch is a tough-ass cop who will sometimes step over the law to get what he wants. All his life he's never fitted in, until he met the Brotherhood. Yet, as a human, he couldn't completely join in the fight against the lessers due to his lack of strength. When he first met Marissa, he was a goner. I love Butch's dedication to Marissa. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the series is that despite these men's tough and merciless and dangerous nature, they're all saps over their female. Butch is no different.

Marissa. Man, I felt so bad for her. She's one of those heroines that really stood out for me. Born in an aristocratic family, she was the unwanted shellan of the Blind King. Now the aristocracy avoids and ostracizes her so that no one will even get near her. Poor Marissa. Nothing was her fault. While her insecurities did get somewhat bothersome, it felt realistic and normal after what she'd been through in the last three hundred years. Ward did a great job describing her panic attacks and the claustrophobic and trapped feelings Marissa had. I was really glad when she stood up for herself and became independent in the end. Go Marissa! I'm always cheering for you!

Butch and Marissa are great together, once they each get over the hurdles. I have no complaints with Butch. I felt he did everything right to support Marissa. However, I got really mad at Marissa near the end where I just felt she didn't understand Butch. Yet, Ward gave us a nice explanation for how she came around to finally accepting Butch for who he was.

Plotwise, there was a lot of sex. Oh man, this one felt like one non-ending sex scenes after another, but at the same time a lot of other things went on. In a series, I love reading about the other characters as long as they don't take too much of the story. V is a mess (thus the next book is his). I did feel a little uncomfortable about his man-crush on Butch. John is getting better. I really like reading about John and can't wait till his book. The war with the lessers is escalating, but now the Brothers have a new weapon. I wonder how everything will turn out.

Great addition to the series! Moving on to the next one!

Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire

I am going out on an emotional limb with this review. Yes, in book one Butch was portrayed as an alcoholic, hell he admits it. But, let's be honest can we. Why is he an alcoholic? I know alcohol doesn't solve problems, yet you show me a real life cop working homicide in a major crime city that doesn't drink and I will introduce you to a closet drunk. Plain and simple the needless killing gets to you and what starts off as blowing off steam turns into full budded alcoholic. It happens time and time again and there is no shame. It's only a shame when they don't reach out for help and end up eating a bullet.

That said back to Butch. Now why is he a drunk? His father never liked him, beat him as his mother and siblings stood by and watched doing nothing. His sister was kidnapped and murdered and his whole family blamed him though he was a child. (Hello, where were the parents???) As a child carrying the weight of a family that hates him alone in the world he never felt he belonged to and the belief that it was his fault his sister died; he became a homicide detective. For every dead girl to Butch it was just like the sister he didn't save. So yeah, he had some issues.

As for the stretch that Butch had vamp blood... Not a stretch at all. Ward used the character Darius in book 1 to explain that sometimes half-bloods don't transition. Darius was wanted Wrath just in case Beth transition. Which leads me to believe that Ward had already had Butch's story outlined as she was writing book 1. Never underestimate the weave of a highly thought out story line, including that of the annoying Lesser's plot.

Now that I have had my rant back to focus. Ward has did it yet again. Her writing speaks volume to her creative imagination. She has built a world that to me is just as captivating as LJ Smith's Night World only with a little spice. Now if you haven't started the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by now.... Get your heads out of the sand and dive into the series. It will not disappoint. However, I would start with book 1 Dark Lover as the story begins and grows as each book is released.

Disclosure: I participated in Books for Review Club and a copy was provided to me by the author. No payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was not any obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely mine and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist, or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

J R Ward's "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series is a fantastic read. Although the subject matter (vampires) is hardly original there's something about the earthiness of her writing style which is fresh and interesting in this often tired genre. The Black Dagger Brotherhood are vampires who protect the others of their race (civilians) against the 'lessers', ex-people without hearts who exist to kill vampires and are ruled by the Omega. The previous three stories have focused on members of the Brotherhood and their discovery of their mates, although with several other side-characters introduced.

"Lover Revealed" is different from the previous books. Not in terms of writing style (J R Ward's marvellous turn of phrase is still there, there's a huge amount of earthy Anglo-Saxon and fairly graphic descriptions - this is not a book to lend to your granny) but in terms of hero. This time we're following the trials and tribulations of Butch, the human ex-cop and roommate of Vishous, one of the Brotherhood. At the end of the last story Vishous tricked Butch into drinking a cup of his blood - Vishous didn't know why he had to do it, he just did, and it becomes clear in this story what that was about. Butch has always existed somewhat on the sidelines of the Brotherhood; not being a vampire they don't let him fight with them but he has some advantages in that he can go about in daytime. He's hardly a normal human, though, being very strong, rather self-destructive and with enough of a death wish that he was able to stand up to the vampires initially, thus to be accepted by their group. Right from the beginning Butch noticed Marissa but over several books their relationship has ground to a halt.

In "Lover Revealed" we learn much more about Marissa and her dissatisfaction with her life. Despite being the top of the aristrocracy she's an outcast and has no real role in life now that Wrath is mated to Beth. In this story she and Butch are thrown together again but any relationship between them is never going to be simple - and then when Butch is captured and tortured by the lesser it seems that any future for them is impossible.

This book definitely felt like a continuation of a series. A new reader, coming directly to this story, might struggle to work out what's going on. We also continue to learn more about John Matthew, the pre-transition vampire, and there are lots of references to events in previous books without them always being clearly explained. Rehvenge/The Reverend is becoming more clearly defined and it wouldn't surprise me if he features more significantly in future books. The list of characters grows longer and longer, too, which could be confusing. And my one real niggle with this whole series continues of course - and that's the cheesy names of the brothers. Zsadist, Vishous, Phury... doesn't really work for me, but as that's my only real complaint about these stories you can tell how much I like them!

The Scribe Virgin, the vampires' deity, makes appearances again in this book. Sometimes I wonder if she's a cheap plot trick, a Deus Ex Machina, especially at the end of Rhage and Mary's story, "Lover Eternal" - in the story to deal with a fundamental problem in the plot: oh no, there's something that's not optimal for our love story, but poof the Scribe Virgin fixes it. In this novel there's an even bigger example of that (although not entirely caused by the Scribe Virgin) which felt slightly like the author was cheating in the way that she got round a major stumbling point for the happy ever after, and yet it's obviously something that's been planned from the beginning as there are clues to it way back in book 1. In fact it becomes clear, reading these stories, that J R Ward has very strongly mapped out what's going to happen with whom as the series progresses and that conscientious attention to detail is very much appreciated by this reader.

In short, if you liked the other novels in this series you'll like this one. For me it didn't quite hit the heights of Zsadist's story ("Lover Awakened") because that was an amazing work of psychology and healing of someone's past wrapped up in a vampire love story. But there's a huge amount of interesting stuff in this book, particularly in the friendship between Butch and Vishous and in the way that Marissa is able to change her life and her submissive nature and to strike out on her own. Definitely one to read!

I so wasn't sure about reading this. I absolutely adored the first three books in this series and when I saw this was Butch's story, I was hesitant. I found myself wondering - how could a "human" possibly beat anything the Brotherhood could deliver? Let me just say ... I'm not afraid to smack my head against the wall moaning, "Why were you so scared? WHY did it take you so long to read this amazing story?" Where I thought the series should end with Zsadist because he satisfied all my cravings, Butch delivered such an emotional read and yes, he may just be my favorite.

I don't know what it is about these books that just suck me in. Maybe its the uber Alpha males who are equally tortured in their own ways or the women that drive them to their knees. Maybe its the way the fight evil with a single mindedness, never worried about themselves as they throw themselves into danger. Maybe its the evil that is so profoundly evil and disturbing, that you can't put the book down until it's vanquished. Maybe it's the emotion that I feed on, like a junkie, because there is ALOT of it. With the different story lines weaving in and out, there's quite a bit happening but the author does a remarkable job and making sure it all ties in, leaving you wanting more.

I don't know where to begin... this book truly took me by surprise. There was the relationship between Butch and Marissa - the longing they had for one another and they way they worked around their differences. They were definitely opposites but they fit together beautifully, as if they were made for each other. Here is the rough man, who's coarse and constantly surrounded by danger but he's so incredibly gentle with Marissa, the aristocrat who steals his heart. The things he whispers to her melted me, the amazing love he felt had me swooning. Who would've thought this man had it in him? NEVER underestimate a human in a paranormal romance because when you do, you miss out on men like Butch. My heart broke for him when he felt he needed to keep away, how tortured he must have felt thinking he wasn't enough and I cried when he risked it all. Even though I understood Marissa's fears, I wanted to shake her at walking away from his sacrifice, at her not seeing into his heart and realizing - what other choice did Butch have? Love him, hold on to, cherish him all the days you have together. Yep, Butch really won me over and even though he was full of flaws, he was perfect and I would've been his shellan in a heartbeat!

There was sooo much going on in this book. My heart bled for John as he continues to struggle with the death of Wellsie and disappearance of Tohr. So much pain and anguish in such a small person. All that rage and fury with nowhere to go but out. I LOVED the way the Brotherhood was there for him and how Wrath especially, reached out and made a difference. Even Zsadist was amazing and it made me love them all more. Vishous .... my gosh .... this was the other part of the storyline that just ripped my heart out and stomped all over it. That poor man and what can I do to ease him! I loved that the author didn't drown me in his story but gave me enough to know his turn will be spectacular. There's so much going on there and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

I'm so glad I started reading the series again. If you'd all have seen me, I was sighing and pausing through the whole book, up to all hours of the night reading because I couldn't put it down. It was like an addiction and I couldn't get enough. Even when my Kindle started acting up, a sign to go to bed, I pulled it up on my phone and kept reading. Amazing book.... amazing characters. If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it. It's full of the good stuff - swoon, action, humor and sexy males just dying to melt your hearts! Happy reading!

Lover Revealed is the fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R.Ward and tells Butch O'Neal's story. While saving a civilian vampire, ex-cop Butch is overcome by lessers and left for dead in the snow with an unwanted legacy from the Omega. Rescued by Vishous, he is placed in a contamination unit at Haver's clinic, where the woman he loves, Marissa keeps a bedside vigil until he recovers. Of course, the path of true love never runs smoothly, and it is some time before Marissa and Butch are finally mated. In this instalment, Ward gives the reader a bit more background on Marissa and Butch, as well as the Omega, the Scribe Virgin, Vishous, Rehvenge and John Matthew. She also introduces some new characters. With Wellsie dead and Tohr missing, the Brotherhood is short a member, but this is rectified in a novel way, and the new member, the Dhestroyer, has a surprising power to offer in the war against the lessers. Ward also hints at what might happen to Vishous in the next instalment, Lover Unbound. The world Ward has created is wonderfully original and each book adds to the overall story, as well as highlighting a particular Brother. The interaction between the characters is delightful, and Ward manages to tug at the heart strings as well as creating suspense and throwing in plenty of humour. This series is very addictive.

I enjoyed this story. What I like about this one is how everyone is going through such major life changes, and that they're not always sure they're doing the right thing, but they keep on trying. The transformation of Butch was very powerful writing.

Now, Marissa. This series is full of black leather to go with the black daggers, and we have some she-men as the series goes on. So I get that not everyone can relate to Marissa. But you know what? Her evolution is stronger than any other character in the series. She's a product of her upbringing, and when she tries to be a stronger person she is thrown out of home and denied by her brother. And yet she's strong enough that even then she persists. Even then she goes out in the world and makes something amazing of her life. That's a hell of a lot better than fan favourite - Bella - who starts off her story as a pathetic Brotherhood groupie, and finishes as a pathetic Brotherhood groupie. Nothing like that for Marissa. She not only gets the man she wants - the man nobody wants for her - but she goes out there and works towards an amazing career. And all the while she maintains her heart and is gracious towards those (such as Wrath and Beth) who wronged her earlier on.
I had to wonder though, why Ward equates the wearing of trousers with inner strength - I wear skirts and dresses and don't feel like a weaker person because of it! I liked Marissa's breakdown and subsequent burning of all her fancy gowns, but becoming a stronger person doesn't have to mean turning your back on everything from your past!

On the other hand there're the Chosen, and...well, they're pathetic, but that's for another review!

The Brotherhood is full of complex characters in complex relationships, and perhaps that is never more evident than in this entry to the series. Of course there are going to be people out there who wanted Vishous and Butch together (and so turn their anger towards poor Marissa for ruining their chance at hot gay vampire sex!), but the Butch/Vishous relationship is shown as such a special friendship here, such an important bond, I can't say I was disappointed.

I think the ending was a bit rushed, and I would have loved to have seen a stronger resolution between Butch and Marissa, but it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the book.

Rated 4.5/5

Butch O'Neal has been living amongst the Brothers ever since following Beth into the vampire world in Dark Lover. He is comfortable with his new family, even though he is the only human to have ever been included in their world. He doesn't have the same strength or abilities, but his warrior nature allows him to be an effective part of the team.

Marissa is Wrath's former shellan, and Butch has been obsessed with her since the day they first met. Marissa has feelings for Butch in return, but how can an aristocratic vampire build a future with a human? Eventually the day comes when Butch is critically injured and he is brought to the hospital where Marissa lives with her brother. Forced to face the thought of losing him, Marissa finally opens up to the possibility of loving him. It is the care and love from both Marissa and his devoted friend Vishous that eventually saves Butch's life.

Butch has a lot more than just his love story to experience in this book. He also learns more about his connection to the Brotherhood, his place in an ancient prophecy, and his possession of a strange new power. His personal storyline is fantastic, and it allows us to see some of the Brotherhood's most sacred rituals.

In addition to Butch, a good portion of this book explores John Matthew's progression with his training. He is having a very tough time dealing with Thorment's disappearance. His bitterness and anger is so sad to read, and this made me ache to see him find peace. Hopefully, when he goes through the vampire change he'll finally find his place in the world.

The disturbing Mr. X is back in this book. He has evidently been given new life from the Omega, likely because he was the most successful recent leader of the lessening society. He is on a new mission which involves an ancient lesser prophecy, and Butch seems to be the key. His motives for deciphering the prophecy might surprise you.

Butch and Marissa are wonderful characters in the series, but their story has the unfortunate fate of following my favorite book in the series, Lover Awakened. By comparison to Zsadist and Bella, any other couple is going to fall a little short in my eyes. Butch is a great character, but he isn't as dark or sexy as Zsadist or Wrath, and I don't think Marissa has as much depth as the other women. Because of this, the love story in this book was slightly less satisfying for me than the earlier books in the series.

With that said, I thought the rest of the content in this book was outstanding. This installment finally connects the dots between Butch and the vampires. There is an intense mystery surrounding the events that happen between Butch and the Omega at the beginning, and his resulting powers as well. The progression of the other storylines in the book is fantastic, as is the introduction of new characters. The entire book is crammed full of action and emotion, just as I have come to expect from this author.

I think JR Ward does one thing more successfully than any other author in this genre: develop subplots. Each book has so much crucial content for this world, it is easy to get completely absorbed in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Don't expect plotlines to be neatly resolved at the end of each book, this series is far more elaborate than that. It could be several more books before you find the answers you crave.

I LOVE Ward's BDB series. I highly recommend it for fans of both Paranormal Romance and Paranormal Thrillers. This is definitely an adult series because of the sexual content, harsh language and violence.

This is the story of Butch O'Neil The 4th member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood to find love. A former cop, he's been living amongst the Vampire Warriors since stumbling into their secret world back in book 1 (DARK LOVER.) Unable now to return to his old human life yet not really fitting in with the Brothers either he is a man lost between two worlds. He's also hopelessly in love with a woman far above his station. The beautiful socialite Marissa, but she hasn't spoken to him for 2 books now and despite his pining and continual drive bys of her house no longer knows he exists. Butch's only constant would be his "tight" relationship with his best friend Vishous, although he's been acting a little strange lately. In any case the roommates have become increasingly close, sharing everything. And as Butch goes through some major changes during the course of this book their bond will only grow stronger as they face life and death together.

LOVER REVEALED is quite the ride and a great addition to this series. Erotic, thrilling, with non stop action and revelations galore. Of course all the Brothers stories continue and their ongoing sub-plots will keep you completely absorbed.

Butch is feeling sorry for himself, drinking too much Scotch, longing for Marissa and wondering where he belongs. Forbidden to fight for the Vampire race that has adopted him he is beginning to feel worthless. Living in their house, wearing expensive designer suits and driving a flash car all paid for by the Brotherhood. He can't respect himself and is finding little comfort in his new lifestyle.

One evening after leaving the nightclub Zerosum Butch has a chance encounter with some Lessers and after saving a young Vampire is taken hostage. He is then tortured for the location of the Brotherhood and when he refuses to break, the Omega (Lessers Leader) places a piece of his evil self inside Butch. Then he is left for dead. The Omega's hope is that Butch will act as a homing device after the Brothers find him. Vishous rescues Butch in scenes very reminiscent of Zsadist going after Bella in LOVER AWAKENED. (Bordering on obsessed) Then transports the half dead cop to Haver's medical clinic where Butch is placed in isolation due to the black body fluids he's spewing and the fact that he now smells like baby powder. At V's request Marissa comes to the clinic to help Butch recover and our love story begins.

Marissa is a sheltered, virginal, aristocrat who has never forgotten the cop and after a week together in isolation the two have fallen hopelessly in love. When Marissa needs to feed however there is a problem. She can't use Butch because his blood is weak and eventually she would kill him so she is forced to use another male (I won't tell you who.)
This makes Butch crazy. Causing him to get drunk. Again. And this is the first of our couples many annoying break-ups and make-ups. Back at the mansion V and Butch grow even closer as V heals the evil within Butch. There are suggestions of feelings deeper than friendship here and they are explored beautifully. I think the innuendoes show the depth of their feelings and V's true loneliness. Anyways. Butch and Marisa get back together and have a lot of great sex while V searches for an explanation to Butch's bonding scent and how to make him into a true member of the BDB.

Marissa and Butch's continual conflict and angst annoyed me to a degree but this is such a great book that I was able to overlook it. There's just so much else going on too. The little snippets of Wrath, Phury, Rhage and Zsadist's lives are excellent. Rhevenge takes on a bigger role and John Mathew ups his training as he tries to come to terms with the loss of Wellsie and Tohr. Zsadist is an unexpected help here. There's the usual witty humour and fabulously erotic love scenes. And the ending is per usual JR Ward jaw-dropping awesome.

I can highly recommend this book however I would suggest reading this series in order to get the full affect of these sexy Black Dagger men.
Vishous is up next in LOVER UNBOUND and I am wondering who could possibly love this sexy yet nasty BDSM Brother?

Okay, I'm back again to do a little more imbecilic gushing.

I didn't expect to enjoy this one so much. I expected it to lack the oomph of the first three simply because the MC was human, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

There was such excitement and fast paced action, it was all could do to take a deep breath and hold on tight for the ride.

I LOVED Butch and his tale. Yeah, his lineage seemed a little contrite but, really, who cares?

Book 2 topped book 1, then book 3 topped book 2, and I pretty much thought the series had reached its peak at that point, but so far these stories have just got better and better.

The relationship between V and Butch, whilst a little freaky, was awesome and I loved the bond they had going on and the explanation for the why of it.

And it was awesome to have the insight into the acceptance to the Brotherhood from a new-to-it-all character.

Will I read on?

Hell yeah-I couldn't stop myself even if I tried.

This is the fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. It was a decent book, but not my favorite in the series so far. I did enjoy that the plot was more filled out and seems to be leading up to something bigger. I listened to this on audio book and although the guy reading is sounds a little too dramatic for my tastes; he does a decent job overall.

This book tells the story of Butch and Marissa. When Butch is captured by the Lessers and horribly wounded he ends up in Haver's clinic where only Marissa can help him fight to stay alive. Things are complicated by Butch being a human and by some strange powers Butch has gained from his stay with the Lessers. The story of John Mathews continues throughout this book as well. We also learn more about Rehvenge and a lot more about Vishous and his past.

It was great to finally get the story between Butch and Marissa; this is a story that started developing in the second book and kind of stalled in the third book. This book had more plot development than previous books and I really enjoyed that. Based on this book it looks like Ward is finally developing a set-up for an epic battle between the Lessers and the Brotherhood. It was nice to have a plot that is actually a big part of the story rather than just a vehicle for the romance.

I also really enjoyed watching both Marissa and Butch grow as characters. They change a lot throughout the book and it was fun to witness this growth; especially in Marissa's case. The back story for Vishous was wonderful too and his powers were intriguing to learn about. Butch developing these strange powers and the way they tie in with the Lesser prophecy made this a more interesting read than the previous books.

There was one major thing about this book that drove me crazy and that was Butch and Marissa being on again and off again so many times. They went through the "I love you" "I hate you" cycle a couple too many times. It got to the point where it wasn't generating tension between the characters; it was just eye-rolling and obnoxious. It seemed like for some reason Ward drew the story out way longer than it needed to be.

Overall a solid addition to the series. I really enjoyed having a fuller plot and including this Lesser prophecy in things makes this more of an urban fantasy type of book as opposed to a pure romance; I thought this was wonderful. The constant on again, off again between Marissa and Butch got old and was too repetitive; but it was good to finally read the story between them. Vishous's story was also a very interesting part of this book. I can't wait to see if the war between the Lessers and the Brotherhood escalates in the next book, Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5).

The problem with reading a truly exceptional book is that you find yourself judging other books against it. And the other books always fall a little short. Lover Unleashed has the misfortune of coming after Lover Awakened. It's not a bad book, but it doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor.

We met Butch O'Neal back at the start of the series. He was a tough human cop, who ended up being drawn in the world of vampires. He ended up friends with the members of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, the warriors who defend their race. He is especially close to Vischous. And he has an enormous crush on a the beautiful, virginal vampire Marissa. But she doesn't seem to return his feelings.

As our story begins, Butch is taken by vampire hunters, called Lessers, and infected with the essence of their leader, the Omega. He nearly dies and is rushed to the vampire doctor Havers, who happens to be Marissa's brother. Once she learns of his injuries, Marissa sticks to Butch like glue... and we learn she cared for him all along. This is just the first in a series of contrived stumbling blocks between the two of them. Time and time again, we see how deeply these two care for and need one another. Then something stupid gets in their way and it seems to be over. Then they come back together. Rinse & repeat.

Beyond that, there is something weird going on between V & Butch. Both guys are straight, but there is a definite sexual vibe there that feels... off. I understand these guys are really close, but even they seemed icked out by the undertones. Some of the "why's" of their connection are revealed as the story progresses and I'm OK with V using his gift/curse to help Butch as he learns his powers. But the sex-vibe I could do without.

And my last big peeve: they changed the rules for Butch. I'm cool with what happened to him in the end. But it felt like Ward was cheating the rules of her own universe with his outcome.

With all that complaining, it might sound like I didn't like the book. But I did. Ward has created a sexy, dark, complex and satisfying world with this series. The love scenes and the longing are fantastic. And as always, I found myself as invested in the stories surrounding the secondary characters as I did Butch & Marissa. --I mean, how can you not love John Matthew?

4 stars.

(This review was originally posted to VampireBookClub.net)

I went into the fourth Black Dagger Brotherhood novel Lover Revealed knowing that it would be damn hard to follow up Zsadist and Bella's story from the third novel with something better. That's true. With Lover Revealed I was more impressed by Butch's character development and the integration of The Omega than by the romance in this one.

Butch is a former cop. He's human, and after meeting up with the Brotherhood in Dark Lover, he's been inseparable. His police background has been helpful, but because he's human the guys always keep him out of the fight.

In earlier novels he fell head-over-heels for Marissa, and aristocratic vampire (and former shellan of the king). He thinks she's not interested. He's still obsessed with her, but is doing his best to keep it from getting pathetic. (Such a guy thing.) Between his unrequited love for Marissa and being sidelined from all the fighting, Butch is antsy. So, when he gets severely injured after protecting a civilian vampire, everything has to change.

Marissa wants Butch. He's the first male to ever make her feel. Despite being hundreds of years old, Marissa's still a virgin. When she was with Wrath, he wouldn't take her. As a result she's incredibly self-conscious and convinced she must be defective in some way.

When she's the one who cares for him after the attack, they're forced to finally talk. But between their hang-ups and Butch's fear of what happened to him at the hands of the lessers (vampire slayers), being a couple isn't simple. If you thought you were frustrated with earlier couples for not being up front with their feelings, prepare to want to throw the damn book when you read how much of a mess Butch and Marissa can make of things.

The romance is tense, as always, but this time out the mythology built into the novel deepens and will make you eager to know what's around the corner in Lover Unbound.

This is not my favorite book, mostly because I never really loved Marissa and she is always so perfect, but so full of problems. Butch is a nice guy and I liked him living with the brothers, especially his relationship with Vishous, they are truly great friends and this book showed some changes in their bromance. I like the other stories that as usual happen in this series, the most important is John training. I loved him since Lover Eternal and he’s growing to be a great warrior.

But my huge problem with this book is the fact I don’t love the couple, they are great together, but I just don’t feel a great empathy toward them. Butch is more a human to me than a vampire and his changing was a little too much for me. I understand the only way he could be with Marissa was if he became a vampire, but it changed the dynamic with V and I loved these two changing insults and some love.

Next book is Vishous story and I can’t wait for him to find his other half.

~Black Dagger Brotherhood~ ~Book 4~
~Lover Revealed~
~ Butch & Marissa Story~

Audible download/audiobook

~ Newbies to Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood may struggle to fill in the backstory, but these erotic paranormals are well worth it, and frighteningly addictive. The six "brothers" are vampires: enormous, tattooed, tormented warriors who protect other vampires from destruction by the "lessers," desouled humans in the evil Omega's Lessening Society. Hero and ex-cop Butch is the only human allowed into the Brotherhood's inner circle, but Butch is no mere human, a fact suspected by one of his vamp colleagues, and confirmed by the sinister plans of the Omega. The book is fully committed to its urban sensibility, the vampires' rarified language (a glossary is provided) and their revved-up sex drives, and it all works to great, page-turning effect (with the notable exception of a chick lit-like attention to designer brands). Though Butch's love interest, the virginal, aristocratic vampire Marissa, initially elicits more annoyance than empathy, she grows a spine as the book progresses and Butch's destiny comes to light.~

I wasn't Sure if i was Gonna like this one ....But I DID there isn't one I haven't LIKED!! Ward is one H*LL of a Story Teller! I LOVE the Twist she put on this Series it's not the TYPICAL Vampire Crap! "IMHO" I Would tell anyone to READ this SERIES it SO TOTALLY "ROCKS"!!

There is so much to like and so much to hate when it comes to JR Ward.

This book was more aggravating then the others. I like some of her sub-plots even if she has a knack for throwing one in right in the middle of a interesting twist in the story, it reminds me of a commercial during a good show, not wanted and strait up annoying.

Some of the better sub-plots include. John Matthew the young member of the brother hood who is trying to figure it all out. V, Butch's best friend who seems to have more then a little crush on Butch himself. Rev, Bella's brother and the Vampire who is feeding Marissa is intriguing as well. On the down side: Mr. X and Omega draw backs, I would prefer not to read any of the Lesser's point of views, its just a bore and waste pages - filler.

The real let down here was that I hated Marissa! I like Butch and have since the beginning of the series, but Marissa just weighs him down. One, she's absolutely clueless!!! She's spineless and at ever turn is asking questions that even a ten year old should know. Yeah, I get she's been burned by the King "Wrath" who dumped her for a half breed, but he did it cause she was too goody-goody and naive. Nothing has changed, she stumble bums through the book making terrible decisions, complaining, and telling Butch what he can or can't do at every turn. Their love scenes are tragic, she doesn't even know that he needs to move back in forth, I mean is the reader to assume she is so sheltered that she has never even seen dogs do it??? Poor Butch -- meanwhile goes thru a huge character arch where he is captured by Lesser's, tortured, and the Omega puts a part of himself inside Butch. Butch then has to learn to control that part of himself, while coming to the realization that he must be turned into a Vampire in order to have Marissa who is still feeding from Rev because Butch's blood is too week.

So in the end I still love Butch, but man he got the short end of the stick with that prude. I'd of preferred he just get with V and call it a day. At least they get along and it seems V knows what's doing in the Sack.

"Lover Revealed" has so much going on that it is difficult to pinpoint a specific plot for a review. Basically, Butch has been the human friend of the Brotherhood for nearly a year. Then he falls into the hands of evil. Then things start getting complicated. It can be a bit difficult trying to keep everything straight.

Butch and Marissa is a very unique couple. Butch goes through hell in this book and what Marissa goes through adds great depth and, I think, helps her relationship grow with Butch. These two change a great deal in this book and yet hardly change at all. Character development can be difficult but Ward manages to give us a transition that flows. I do admit that I am going to really miss the old Butch, but this new version is going to be really fun to read about.

This book is also...different. Not in a bad way, though. It is just really really different. There are also a lot of weird things that is going to take some getting use to...especially with Vishous. His...ah, `unconventional interest' is a little lame and stereotypical for my taste but it's of no fault of the author or writing and it makes me wonder what will change for V in the future.

Vishous was in this book a great deal which helps build up his book without taking the spotlight away from Butch. The other brothers also share the stage but I was disappointed that Z and Phury were not as present as the others.

There were some things that were left unexplained. Things that I fear would spoil the book if I even tried to mention them. But the characters were just as confused and hinted that things would be explained later. After all, these books are not great stand-alones.

Lover Revealed, while covering a great deal, managed to display a wide range of emotions. Within a few pages, the reader is able to laugh at Butch's unique one-liners and then yell at him doing something stupid.

I really recommend this series. These characters aren't perfect and they don't disappear off the face of the earth after their respected book. They're also diverse. It's not hard picking out a brother to identify with.

Don't expect this book to top Zsadist's, but it's still worth checking out.

This book is just out, so I don't want to provide any spoilers for those still waiting to read it. However, I will say that this is just as good as the previous three titles in the series, and comes up with some really interesting twists. Especially in one of the bad guys (one of the really, really bad guys.) One niggling little problem for me, though, is what I feel is the loss of some details with regard to Butch's situations and circumstances. I really don't want to do a spoiler, so I'll not go further here, but perhaps when people read the book, they'll notice what I noticed as a bit lacking. But, the minor lack does not affect the power and grip of the story, the characters, and the romance. The few details I miss will not cause me to lower my rating nor my enjoyment of the book, and the series, one whit. Gotta love all the guys and their mates. Go, Marissa!! Now, can someone accelerate time so that October and Vishous' story will get here faster? Rats! I thought not. Guess I'll just have to go back and re-read the first four books to prep for number five!

OK, as of 11/04/2010, this book stands as one of my very favourites.

First I will start by naming all the other books in this series, in order.

Dark Lover

Lover Eternal

Lover Awakened

Lover Revealed, and the upcoming

Lover Unbound

Anyways, those are the books. And I guess I could say you don't really have to read them in order, but then again you do. It's one of those series where you won't miss a whole hell of a lot, but then again there's little things.

Plus, I think this series just took a dark turn. Before, it was all sort of light and fluffy, well, as light and fluffy as a vampire romance/war story could be.

Except now, it's so much better. Butch is probably my favorite character, and I can't really tell you why because I'd give away an important plot point, but let's just say Butch ain't gonna be sitting on the sidelines anymore.

And now that I have to actually wait months for the next book to come out, I am going to be dying knowing what happens with Butch... and Vishous, which is going to be awesome. I absolutely adore this series...

Ok, so this wasnt my favorite of the novels but it was interesting. It was sort of annoying how butch and marissa went back and forth between being fiercly in love to pushing each other away and feeling sorry for themselves. I wanted to smack them after about the third time it happened. As far as the lessers as the evil force in these books...i really dont like them but i think in this book she added another demension in them but yea, they are still annoying as hell and id really rather not read about them at all. the brothers got enough going on that she really doesnt need to elaborate so much of the story on the lessers. and then theres butch and V's relationship. I think its cool that they are best friends and all but there are a few times when I question V's sexuality. I think I see where she's going with V's curiousity and whatnot but it's still a little odd to me...the whole 'there bodies met..' during the ritual of Butch becoming part of the Brotherhood. Anyways, overall I liked it, and I was pleased about the ending. I already have the next one waiting for me by my bed!

Ward has officially boosted herself into my favorite author of all time status (coming from someone that knocks down 3-4 books a week--that's a pretty high honor). I thought Lover Revealed was fabulous, although, I think the last one with Zsadist is still my favorite so far. I can't believe Ward has managed to pull off this many books without loosing her touch, and I hope she continues on her streak.

In LR, the reader finally gets to see something good happen to poor Butch. Butch has been with us since book one and always seemed to be pushed to the sidelines, left behind, or passed over for something or someone better. Then he gets captured by Lessers and just before they nearly beat him to death, Mr. Evil himself, puts a piece of himself in Butch to contaminate him. They leave him broken and dying in the woods to be found by the Brotherhood. Of course, his best bud, V, finds him and brings him home. Of course, there is soooo much going on this book. Marissa and Butch make up, fight, make up, fight, make up (did I mention fight, yet? Yes, oh, okay). There there is the council, John (coming to terms with Tohr's disappearence and Tohr's wife's murder), V's struggle with loneliness, and much more.

If you have not read the previous books in this novel, (What do you mean you have not read the previous books? Get your buns moving and go get them! You don't know what your missing! Why are you still here? Get out of here;-), then you will not enjoy this one fully. I suggest you start at the beginning.

By the way, for those of you that didn't read the preview in the back of the book...its V's turn next go round! YEAH!

BUTCH! Our gritty cop turned pseudo brother gets his story. He has been in love with the ethereal Marissa since Dark Lover. No more Mister Nice guy. He will man up or shall I say vamp up o get his woman with just a little help from his brethren. We get to see bits from Butch's past. This helps us see who and why he is the way he is.

The Lessers are still a major problem and in helping the brothers he becomes injured. In saving him he will be changed forever.

Now the good stuff, a list of my favorite moments. Hopefully not to spoilery.

Oh that BDB banter! LOVE it!
Seeing Rhev's softer side
V and Butch relationship
JM, Q & B tidbits
Shellans in dresses :)

I just got done with Lover Revealed, and I've got a lot of thoughts. None of them particularly coherent, but one thing does stand out. Although I thought the book was great, I just didn't connect to Butch and Marissa the way that I did with the couples in the previous books. Maybe that's because, in many ways, this book feels like it's purpose is to set up a lot of things to come as opposed to just telling us the story of how Butch and Marissa came to be together. There was a lot of action, and although I'd heard it was going to be super steamy, I really felt like that side of it was a let-down. Also.. and I hesitate to say this, because I mean absolutely no disrespect to J.R. Ward, but some things felt very predictable and convenient to me, and seemed like plot devices. Still, I really did enjoy it and it was a really fun read, one I'm glad I got while it was still new. While I can really empathize with Vishous, the book I'm looking forward to most would be Phury's. *sigh* Only a year to wait.

I read many reviews that found this story to be just so-so but I'm a big fan of Butch O'Neal so this will be marked as one of my favorites. Learning his backstory was helpful in understanding why his transition to the world of the Brotherhood was so seamless for him and further endeared him to me.

Butch's relationships with Marissa and Vischous were chronicled in this book. Male friendships always capture my attention and this one is special. His love for Marissa has always been inexplicably off the charts and I expected their road to each other to be a rocky one, which is an understatement in this story.

If you like Butch, you'll love this story. Even if he's not one of your favorites in the series, it's still an interesting read because of the many major events that occur around him that impact the Brotherhood.

JR Ward's strikingly original formula for romance:

A cop hero who recycles every Irish stereotype since STUDS LONIGAN.

Butch O'Neil is such a well known Irish type he might just as well have MYSTIC RIVER tattooed on his backside. He's violent, sexually repressed, haunted by guilt, hopelessly alcholic -- all JR Ward left out was the gift of song, the lilting laughter, and the twinkle in his eye! As a human, Butch was the "lovable" type of bad cop -- he beat suspects without mercy, but only because he wanted to stop crime, never because they came from the wrong neighborhood or belonged to a certain racial minority group. (JR Ward loves rap music, relishes the gritty street life, but never discusses race per se. Her "brothers" all have perfect Aryan features and live like English dukes.)

A blonde, aristocratic heroine so dainty and girly she makes Gwyneth Paltrow look like Rosie O'Donnell.

Marissa, the high born vampiress, is the type of heroine who went out of fashion in romance sometime after IVANHOE. The ultimate blonde damsel in distress, Marissa agonizes endlessly over why other vampires don't find her attractive. Jilted by Wrath, the vampire king, she feels unworthy of any other male -- even a booze-swilling human like Butch O'Neill!

Strangely enough, when these two get together the results are oddly appealing. Butch is a thug and bully around other men, but believably tender around Marissa. He seems to sense what an outsider she is, under her flawless blonde beauty and poised mannerisms. For her part, Marissa is drawn to Butch because as a human who hangs with vampire warriors he is obviously as homeless and adrift as she is. It doesn't take long for the two of them to get beyond mere polite neck nibbling and get to gloriously full-throated, fang-ripping, blood-guzzling sex -- the kind that will either leave you breathless or faintly nauseated.

The mix of a crazy mean cop learning tenderness, and a helpless dainty damsel learning to stand up for herself, is both moving and satisfying. What holds the book back, though, is that JR Ward doesn't give Marissa and Butch enough snuggle time. Every time Marissa sighs and flutters her long lashes and sinks her well-bred fangs into Butch's warm and pulsating Irish neck, we cut away to some silly subplot about -- about --

VISHOUS, THE VAMPIRE WITH THE MAGIC HAND! Okay, I know where this comes from. JR Ward must be a big fan of DR. STRANGELOVE. Instead of Butch and Marissa sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, we get Vishous making like Peter Sellers, whipping out his gleaming metal hand and babbling away!
"My king, ze problem is -- ACK!! -- ze hand is -- ah, Ze SECRET WEAPON! Und ze Lessers, will be ah -- er -- FIGHTING it -- " (images of Vishous wrestling his hand into submission, pounding it, biting it, etc.)

JOHN, THE KARATE KID -- WITH FANGS!! As if seeking to prove she can write sensitive, Young Adult Fiction, JR Ward keeps cutting away from the pretty damsel and the brave cop to show us the heart-wrenching SAVED BY THE BELL type struggles of John, your typical mute vampire teen! The world is not waiting for the Karate Kid with fangs -- and personally, I think Lash the school bully needs a book of his own! Maybe one where the vampires all listen to Surf Music and pledge fraternities!

THE LESSER PATROL, IN ALPHABET SOUP!!! Book after book, these guys make the Keystone Cops look like Eliot Ness and the Untouchables. Not since Colonel Klink went up against Hogan's Heroes has a villain been so hopelessly outclassed as Mr. X. And why is it that the only guys the Lessers ever recruit are blue collar losers who used to beat puppies and steal crutches from little old ladies? Can't we have, oh, a Republican CEO or a Harvard intellectual sucked into the Omega Gang? (Wow! I just made up a way cooler name than the "Lessening Society.")

But the main problem with the Lessers is the alphabet name thing. Every meeting sounds like a cross between SESAME STREET and RESERVOIR DOGS!

"All right, youse mugs, to prevent the sexy, handsome Brothers from finding out who we all are, we're gonna use only letters on this caper. My forelesser here is Mr. X. His assistants are Mr. O, Mr. U, Mr. S -- "

"Hold it now, Mr. Omega. Why do I have to be Mr. S?"

"Because you're a gosh-darned sissy, that's why! Just be thankful you're not Mr. Q."

"Why can't I be Mr. Q? You know, like Quincy Jones. Or like the guy in James Bond!"

"You're not Mr. Q, you're Mr. S. Some other guy is Mr. Q. Now tonight we follow are usual plan, lurk around in dark alleys and jump vampires at random. Then when the Brothers come to the rescue, we kill them all!"

"But Omega, we do that brawl thing in every book, and they always win. Why can't we just wait till sunrise and kill them while they sleep?"

"They don't sleep in the daytime, Mr. S. They lift weights and listen to rap music and eat gourmet food cooked up by submissive male servants and buy fancy clothes without every having to work. Oh, and they also make love to beautiful women."

"Well gee, Mr. Omega, the Brothers sound like a bunch of really fun guys. Why can't we do those things?"

"Because you're all impotent, Mr. S. You can't eat, drink, or have sex. All you can do is torture vampires and double cross each other, and the first guy who quits gets tortured by me for a thousand years."

"Gosh, as villains, we really don't have much in the way of motivation, do we?"

ZAP!!!! "How's that for motivation, Mr. S? Gosh darned wise guy. Now look, Lessers, I don't mean to holler at yous. When this caper's over -- and I'm sure it'll be a successful one -- I'll go down to the RWA National in Dallas and laugh and roll around with all of youse. You'll find me a different character down there. But right now it's a matter of business! We're the only believable characters in these funky, sexy, books -- because we're the only guys that work for a living! So let's get out there and do the job right. All right, Lessers! Let's get Lessening!"

I'm rereading this series, waiting for "Lover At Last" in March. I just can't give any of these books less than 5 stars, love this series. In my opinion, this is the series that everyone wants to copy.
This is Butch and Marissa's story, but also furthers the ongoing war between the Brothers and the Lessors. Butch turns out to be an intricate part of this war, and this novel brings it all to light.
Along with that, we see changes coming to V's life, and we are starting to reacquaint ourselves with Blay, Quinn, and John Matthew. Blay and Quinn are the reason that I wanted to re read these books, so I could remember the beginning of that friendship, that eventually leads up to "Lover at Last"
Read the whole series in order, you won't be disappointed.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to deliver amazing stories, but was compromised by the inclusion of a questionable love interest. 3.5 Stars; rounding up to 4 because I still love BDB…

While so much happened which will effect the future of the Brotherhood, and the Vampire Race as a whole, I feel like the this book failed to stand up next to the previous books in the series. Don't hate me. Let's face it, Zsadist's story was a tough act to follow…

My opinion of Marissa detracted from my enjoyment of this book...

You can see my full Review here (complete with additional thoughts & GIFs):
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Loved, loved this book! When I first started this series, I didn't really like Butch too much. He was Beth's friend who seemed to butt in too much plus he was hitting on Beth when I wanted her to be with Wrath. As I finished each book, I found myself drawn to Butch and I wanted him to be happy. He was a human who was now living with vampires and I felt bad that he couldn't completely fit in and he was in love with a female vampire who was royalty. He was a tough Irish former cop who didn't take any BS and didn't have a problem with dishing out what you deserve. I do not want to put spoilers in here so I just want to say that I am happy at how his book turned out.

Also, an added bonus to this book were all the combined stories. Usually, this author tends to focus on the Brother of the book but we were treated to John and Vishous as well. I also became a bit more interested in the lesser story (I usually hate reading their parts and want to skip it).

The war between good and evil has twisted as the Omega's Lessening Society sends its soulless minion the "lesser" to destroy vampires. To protect the undead from these killing machines, the Black Dagger Brotherhood was formed. These six special warriors risk oblivion to keep their species alive but each member of the sextet suffers from deep rooted personal anguish; that is before they have begun to find their soulmates.

The only human that has been allowed entrance into the vampire realm including the Brotherhood is former police officer Butch O'Neal who has heroically saved vampires in particular the undead one he loves (Marissa) at the risk of his own life. However, as he knows she is beyond his reach and not just because of their differing blood, the Omega leadership, whose lesser he has defeated, believes he is more than human and plans to find out the truth about this mortal. The latest battlefield between good and evil is Butch, whose only chance to survive his ordeal is not with his skills or the Brotherhood, but instead is with haughty virginal Marissa.

The fourth Black Dagger Brotherhood romantic fantasy suspense is a fantastic entry in what has become one of the best ongoing sub-genre series on the market. The story line is fast-paced and it never slows down but it is driven by the cast especially the lead couple. The changing of the relationship between these previously supporting characters, while the combatants war over the ex-cop, makes for a terrific tale. Fans already believe that vampires live in Upstate New York while newcomers will search for the previous thrillers (see LOVER AWAKENED, LOVER ETERNAL, and DARK LOVER).

Harriet Klausner

I really loved the character development of Butch and Marissa and J. R. Ward brought their story to life in LOVER REVEALED, Black Dagger Brotherhood book #4. Butch's connection to the Brothers and to V in particular, was entirely unique from the others. His being human gave a look at their world through a whole different perspective. Butch is so completely likable, you cant help but root for him, from beginning till end. There is also a definite delicious focus on Vishous in this book and a clear setup that we will get to know him even more deeply in the next.

Although Zsadist's story in LOVER AWAKENED is holding strong as my favorite of the Black Dagger Brotherhood novels, I thoroughly loved LOVER REVEALED and commend Ward on such formidable writing.. and anticipate that she will continue to show her worth.

I was not expecting to rate this book as the best of the series (4 so far)--I didn't particularly like Butch as a character (maybe I've known too many Boston wiseguy wannabees in my life) although I thought Marissa had promise. Anyone packed that tight (literally, given the corset) is bound to cut loose eventually. I would have liked to see a little more of that, but these books are all about the guys so far. More chick stuff would be interesting. How they deal with this testosterone laced-world, where females seem to be mostly ornaments or food, etc. But that said, the story really rocked, I thought, and Ward's writing is definitely taking off. I mean, the first one was really tight, but she's taken things to a whole new level. She's created a whole idiolect for these guys, and it totally works. What I really liked, though, was the way the world of the Brotherhood has gotten denser, fuller. That's what a series should do, and she does a great job here. The homoerotic stuff was interesting, a little unexpected, maybe a little disturbing, but all in a good way. These characters aren't generic romance hunks--they're complicated, with urges that don't always run in a straight line--like a lot of humans, if the truth be told. But the romance seems to give them a foundation, and a way of making sense of their world, which is what love (of any kind) should do. So, all in all, a great read. (Maybe a little heavy on the product placement in the first pages, but she eased up on that as the story went on.) Head and shoulders above almost anything I've read in this genre--Charlaine Harris's Dead books, which are really different, are the only series I find comparably deep and compelling in a world-building way. And again, the writing is a rush to read. Can't wait for the fall.

The plot has been well described by others. This is a wonderful series. The only disappointing aspect is having to wait for six months. I arrived at the book store the day this one was available.

Butch has always been a great character, but not allowed to really be a complete part of the brotherhood. Now he gets to be and in a way that is dripping in testosterone. Marissa is a perfect complement to his rough and ready exterior. As with all the "brothers" he has a sad back story, and it was good to see things turn out happily for him.

I have compared the brotherhood to Klingons and still believe myself to be correct. The brotherhood is exactly how Klingons would behave if they went around killing lessors.

If you haven't started this series yet, you are lucky. There are three others before this one. I started with the first and now have to wait for each one.

I believe I am now classified as an addict. I finished this book about a week ago and I find it impossible to put down. I'm trying to find other things to read, but I keep going back to Butch and Marissa. I never thought she would be able to top Zsadist's story, but this book to me was even more compelling than the last (which I loved and had a hard time putting down as well). I also thought that because Butch was a human that I wouldn't be as emotionally invested into his story. Well that was a mistake. Now that the book is over I am dying to find out what happens next. Butch's story offered a lot of unanswered questions that I believe will carry over to V's story.

I usually don't rate reviews so high (see my previous one's if you don't believe me), but J.R. Ward never disappoints and I seriously can't understand why she isn't a NYT bestselling author and others in her genre are.

There is not much I can add that hasn't already been written in prior reviews!

Lover Revealed, book 4 in Ward's Brotherhood series, is just as additive as the first 3...and perhaps even more so as Ward develops her characters over the course of several books. IE, Butch O'Neal, the only human allowed into the Brotherhood's world (actually, he wasn't allowed to leave!), is a character introduced in Ward's very first book, Dark Lover, where he plays an important role in bringing the Blind King and his mate together. He is also introduced to his own future mate in that first book. In the next two books Butch is a secondary character with book 4 focusing on his particular story.

As with prior books, LR has some steamy sex scenes, so if that offends, this is not the book for you. However, as Ward's vampires are depicted as a separate species with primal, territorial, almost instinctual responses to bonding and mating, it doesn't seem out of place at all, but perfectly natural.

Butch's story is heartbreaking in places, his confusion over his own primal responses setting the reader up for the obvious conclusion. In fact, Ward has dropped hints about Butch's origins since he was introduced in the very first book of the series! By the end of LR, you'll be smacking your forehead with " I shoulda known...!"

Like many readers, I found the most compelling tale not as much the love story between Butch and Marissa, but the increasingly complex bond between Butch and his roommate, Vishous. And while I have become accustomed by now to the sensual scenes Ward can create between her main characters, I was completely taken with the intimacy of a non-sexual scene: the Brotherhood Induction ritual. The end of the story finds Butch firmly mated to his Marissa, but with almost as firm a tie to V as a result of their synergism in fighting the Lessers.

As in her prior books, Ward has developed secondary characters to the point where avid readers are clamoring for more! I anxiously await the release of book 5 in this series: the story of "V"...

This is the fourth installment of J.R Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and it is a fairly fulfilling read.

The Plot:

Once human cop Butch O'neal struggles to find his place in the vampire world, and to win the heart of aristocrat Marissa. There romance is complicated by Butch's haunted past as well as a more recently acquired curse, courtesy of the Omega.

The Best Parts:

Butch is a seriously cool, every-guy kind of character. He's funny, friendly, and loyal. He is also strong and spiritual. Watching him find his place in the world is engaging.

Marissa goes from being weak and pitiable, to strong and compassionate. She becomes far more likable than she was in the earlier books, and she is easy to relate to.

The romance is beautiful. The action is entertaining and serves the plot well. Theres never a boring moment.

I was so not interested in the romance between a hero on the verges of alkie slobdom and the vampire heroine who's never worn a pair of trousers in her 300-year old privileged life. Partly because I've read the other novels in the series and know that the main couple are minor characters. But mainly because Butch and Marissa are a bit vanilla compared to either Mary or Zsadist.

Somewhere in this novel is an excellent vampire story trying to fight it's way into the light. I quite liked how V and Wrath converted Butch into a vamp. The prophecy sub-plot was good. But I didn't understand the little poem. In this novel the brothers gain their first big victory over their enemies, the Lessers. And it was done not through hard work or detection but through blood-lines and destiny. That is supremely appropriate for a vampire novel. And now those fun-filled mini-Hannibal Lectors, the Lessers, have no temporal leader or hierarchy. I quite liked them too. Although I'm glad the torture scenes were few and far between in this novel.

I must be the only reader who doesn't mind that the wives have no jobs. Having seen the awe-inspiring portrayal of Dracs wives in the film van Helsing I appreciate that the function of vampire wives is entirely to support and build a community around their men. And to look stunningly beautiful. (even Mary) One of the posters on the store suggested the author should write 4 more books about Zsadist and I agree with that. (Plus a big dose of Vishous)

"Lover Revealed" has so much going on that it is difficult to pinpoint a specific plot for a review. Basically, Butch has been the human friend of the Brotherhood for nearly a year. Then he falls into the hands of evil. Then things start getting complicated. It can be a bit difficult trying to keep everything straight.

Butch and Marissa is a very unique couple. Butch goes through hell in this book and what Marissa goes through adds great depth and, I think, helps her relationship grow with Butch. These two change a great deal in this book and yet hardly change at all. Character development can be difficult but Ward manages to give us a transition that flows. I do admit that I am going to really miss the old Butch, but this new version is going to be really fun to read about.

This book is also...different. Not in a bad way, though. It is just really really different. There are also a lot of weird things that is going to take some getting use to...especially with Vishous. His...ah, `unconventional interest' is a little lame and stereotypical for my taste but it's of no fault of the author or writing and it makes me wonder what will change for V in the future.

Vishous was in this book a great deal which helps build up his book without taking the spotlight away from Butch. The other brothers also share the stage but I was disappointed that Z and Phury were not as present as the others.

There were some things that were left unexplained. Things that I fear would spoil the book if I even tried to mention them. But the characters were just as confused and hinted that things would be explained later. After all, these books are not great stand-alones.

Lover Revealed, while covering a great deal, managed to display a wide range of emotions. Within a few pages, the reader is able to laugh at Butch's unique one-liners and then yell at him doing something stupid.

I really recommend this series. These characters aren't perfect and they don't disappear off the face of the earth after their respected book. They're also diverse. It's not hard picking out a brother to identify with.

Don't expect this book to top Zsadist's, but it's still worth checking out.

This book is just out, so I don't want to provide any spoilers for those still waiting to read it. However, I will say that this is just as good as the previous three titles in the series, and comes up with some really interesting twists. Especially in one of the bad guys (one of the really, really bad guys.) One niggling little problem for me, though, is what I feel is the loss of some details with regard to Butch's situations and circumstances. I really don't want to do a spoiler, so I'll not go further here, but perhaps when people read the book, they'll notice what I noticed as a bit lacking. But, the minor lack does not affect the power and grip of the story, the characters, and the romance. The few details I miss will not cause me to lower my rating nor my enjoyment of the book, and the series, one whit. Gotta love all the guys and their mates. Go, Marissa!! Now, can someone accelerate time so that October and Vishous' story will get here faster? Rats! I thought not. Guess I'll just have to go back and re-read the first four books to prep for number five!

OK, as of 11/04/2010, this book stands as one of my very favourites.

First I will start by naming all the other books in this series, in order.

Dark Lover

Lover Eternal

Lover Awakened

Lover Revealed, and the upcoming

Lover Unbound

Anyways, those are the books. And I guess I could say you don't really have to read them in order, but then again you do. It's one of those series where you won't miss a whole hell of a lot, but then again there's little things.

Plus, I think this series just took a dark turn. Before, it was all sort of light and fluffy, well, as light and fluffy as a vampire romance/war story could be.

Except now, it's so much better. Butch is probably my favorite character, and I can't really tell you why because I'd give away an important plot point, but let's just say Butch ain't gonna be sitting on the sidelines anymore.

And now that I have to actually wait months for the next book to come out, I am going to be dying knowing what happens with Butch... and Vishous, which is going to be awesome. I absolutely adore this series...

Ok, so this wasnt my favorite of the novels but it was interesting. It was sort of annoying how butch and marissa went back and forth between being fiercly in love to pushing each other away and feeling sorry for themselves. I wanted to smack them after about the third time it happened. As far as the lessers as the evil force in these books...i really dont like them but i think in this book she added another demension in them but yea, they are still annoying as hell and id really rather not read about them at all. the brothers got enough going on that she really doesnt need to elaborate so much of the story on the lessers. and then theres butch and V's relationship. I think its cool that they are best friends and all but there are a few times when I question V's sexuality. I think I see where she's going with V's curiousity and whatnot but it's still a little odd to me...the whole 'there bodies met..' during the ritual of Butch becoming part of the Brotherhood. Anyways, overall I liked it, and I was pleased about the ending. I already have the next one waiting for me by my bed!

Ward has officially boosted herself into my favorite author of all time status (coming from someone that knocks down 3-4 books a week--that's a pretty high honor). I thought Lover Revealed was fabulous, although, I think the last one with Zsadist is still my favorite so far. I can't believe Ward has managed to pull off this many books without loosing her touch, and I hope she continues on her streak.

In LR, the reader finally gets to see something good happen to poor Butch. Butch has been with us since book one and always seemed to be pushed to the sidelines, left behind, or passed over for something or someone better. Then he gets captured by Lessers and just before they nearly beat him to death, Mr. Evil himself, puts a piece of himself in Butch to contaminate him. They leave him broken and dying in the woods to be found by the Brotherhood. Of course, his best bud, V, finds him and brings him home. Of course, there is soooo much going on this book. Marissa and Butch make up, fight, make up, fight, make up (did I mention fight, yet? Yes, oh, okay). There there is the council, John (coming to terms with Tohr's disappearence and Tohr's wife's murder), V's struggle with loneliness, and much more.

If you have not read the previous books in this novel, (What do you mean you have not read the previous books? Get your buns moving and go get them! You don't know what your missing! Why are you still here? Get out of here;-), then you will not enjoy this one fully. I suggest you start at the beginning.

By the way, for those of you that didn't read the preview in the back of the book...its V's turn next go round! YEAH!

BUTCH! Our gritty cop turned pseudo brother gets his story. He has been in love with the ethereal Marissa since Dark Lover. No more Mister Nice guy. He will man up or shall I say vamp up o get his woman with just a little help from his brethren. We get to see bits from Butch's past. This helps us see who and why he is the way he is.

The Lessers are still a major problem and in helping the brothers he becomes injured. In saving him he will be changed forever.

Now the good stuff, a list of my favorite moments. Hopefully not to spoilery.

Oh that BDB banter! LOVE it!
Seeing Rhev's softer side
V and Butch relationship
JM, Q & B tidbits
Shellans in dresses :)

I just got done with Lover Revealed, and I've got a lot of thoughts. None of them particularly coherent, but one thing does stand out. Although I thought the book was great, I just didn't connect to Butch and Marissa the way that I did with the couples in the previous books. Maybe that's because, in many ways, this book feels like it's purpose is to set up a lot of things to come as opposed to just telling us the story of how Butch and Marissa came to be together. There was a lot of action, and although I'd heard it was going to be super steamy, I really felt like that side of it was a let-down. Also.. and I hesitate to say this, because I mean absolutely no disrespect to J.R. Ward, but some things felt very predictable and convenient to me, and seemed like plot devices. Still, I really did enjoy it and it was a really fun read, one I'm glad I got while it was still new. While I can really empathize with Vishous, the book I'm looking forward to most would be Phury's. *sigh* Only a year to wait.

I read many reviews that found this story to be just so-so but I'm a big fan of Butch O'Neal so this will be marked as one of my favorites. Learning his backstory was helpful in understanding why his transition to the world of the Brotherhood was so seamless for him and further endeared him to me.

Butch's relationships with Marissa and Vischous were chronicled in this book. Male friendships always capture my attention and this one is special. His love for Marissa has always been inexplicably off the charts and I expected their road to each other to be a rocky one, which is an understatement in this story.

If you like Butch, you'll love this story. Even if he's not one of your favorites in the series, it's still an interesting read because of the many major events that occur around him that impact the Brotherhood.

JR Ward's strikingly original formula for romance:

A cop hero who recycles every Irish stereotype since STUDS LONIGAN.

Butch O'Neil is such a well known Irish type he might just as well have MYSTIC RIVER tattooed on his backside. He's violent, sexually repressed, haunted by guilt, hopelessly alcholic -- all JR Ward left out was the gift of song, the lilting laughter, and the twinkle in his eye! As a human, Butch was the "lovable" type of bad cop -- he beat suspects without mercy, but only because he wanted to stop crime, never because they came from the wrong neighborhood or belonged to a certain racial minority group. (JR Ward loves rap music, relishes the gritty street life, but never discusses race per se. Her "brothers" all have perfect Aryan features and live like English dukes.)

A blonde, aristocratic heroine so dainty and girly she makes Gwyneth Paltrow look like Rosie O'Donnell.

Marissa, the high born vampiress, is the type of heroine who went out of fashion in romance sometime after IVANHOE. The ultimate blonde damsel in distress, Marissa agonizes endlessly over why other vampires don't find her attractive. Jilted by Wrath, the vampire king, she feels unworthy of any other male -- even a booze-swilling human like Butch O'Neill!

Strangely enough, when these two get together the results are oddly appealing. Butch is a thug and bully around other men, but believably tender around Marissa. He seems to sense what an outsider she is, under her flawless blonde beauty and poised mannerisms. For her part, Marissa is drawn to Butch because as a human who hangs with vampire warriors he is obviously as homeless and adrift as she is. It doesn't take long for the two of them to get beyond mere polite neck nibbling and get to gloriously full-throated, fang-ripping, blood-guzzling sex -- the kind that will either leave you breathless or faintly nauseated.

The mix of a crazy mean cop learning tenderness, and a helpless dainty damsel learning to stand up for herself, is both moving and satisfying. What holds the book back, though, is that JR Ward doesn't give Marissa and Butch enough snuggle time. Every time Marissa sighs and flutters her long lashes and sinks her well-bred fangs into Butch's warm and pulsating Irish neck, we cut away to some silly subplot about -- about --

VISHOUS, THE VAMPIRE WITH THE MAGIC HAND! Okay, I know where this comes from. JR Ward must be a big fan of DR. STRANGELOVE. Instead of Butch and Marissa sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, we get Vishous making like Peter Sellers, whipping out his gleaming metal hand and babbling away!
"My king, ze problem is -- ACK!! -- ze hand is -- ah, Ze SECRET WEAPON! Und ze Lessers, will be ah -- er -- FIGHTING it -- " (images of Vishous wrestling his hand into submission, pounding it, biting it, etc.)

JOHN, THE KARATE KID -- WITH FANGS!! As if seeking to prove she can write sensitive, Young Adult Fiction, JR Ward keeps cutting away from the pretty damsel and the brave cop to show us the heart-wrenching SAVED BY THE BELL type struggles of John, your typical mute vampire teen! The world is not waiting for the Karate Kid with fangs -- and personally, I think Lash the school bully needs a book of his own! Maybe one where the vampires all listen to Surf Music and pledge fraternities!

THE LESSER PATROL, IN ALPHABET SOUP!!! Book after book, these guys make the Keystone Cops look like Eliot Ness and the Untouchables. Not since Colonel Klink went up against Hogan's Heroes has a villain been so hopelessly outclassed as Mr. X. And why is it that the only guys the Lessers ever recruit are blue collar losers who used to beat puppies and steal crutches from little old ladies? Can't we have, oh, a Republican CEO or a Harvard intellectual sucked into the Omega Gang? (Wow! I just made up a way cooler name than the "Lessening Society.")

But the main problem with the Lessers is the alphabet name thing. Every meeting sounds like a cross between SESAME STREET and RESERVOIR DOGS!

"All right, youse mugs, to prevent the sexy, handsome Brothers from finding out who we all are, we're gonna use only letters on this caper. My forelesser here is Mr. X. His assistants are Mr. O, Mr. U, Mr. S -- "

"Hold it now, Mr. Omega. Why do I have to be Mr. S?"

"Because you're a gosh-darned sissy, that's why! Just be thankful you're not Mr. Q."

"Why can't I be Mr. Q? You know, like Quincy Jones. Or like the guy in James Bond!"

"You're not Mr. Q, you're Mr. S. Some other guy is Mr. Q. Now tonight we follow are usual plan, lurk around in dark alleys and jump vampires at random. Then when the Brothers come to the rescue, we kill them all!"

"But Omega, we do that brawl thing in every book, and they always win. Why can't we just wait till sunrise and kill them while they sleep?"

"They don't sleep in the daytime, Mr. S. They lift weights and listen to rap music and eat gourmet food cooked up by submissive male servants and buy fancy clothes without every having to work. Oh, and they also make love to beautiful women."

"Well gee, Mr. Omega, the Brothers sound like a bunch of really fun guys. Why can't we do those things?"

"Because you're all impotent, Mr. S. You can't eat, drink, or have sex. All you can do is torture vampires and double cross each other, and the first guy who quits gets tortured by me for a thousand years."

"Gosh, as villains, we really don't have much in the way of motivation, do we?"

ZAP!!!! "How's that for motivation, Mr. S? Gosh darned wise guy. Now look, Lessers, I don't mean to holler at yous. When this caper's over -- and I'm sure it'll be a successful one -- I'll go down to the RWA National in Dallas and laugh and roll around with all of youse. You'll find me a different character down there. But right now it's a matter of business! We're the only believable characters in these funky, sexy, books -- because we're the only guys that work for a living! So let's get out there and do the job right. All right, Lessers! Let's get Lessening!"

I'm rereading this series, waiting for "Lover At Last" in March. I just can't give any of these books less than 5 stars, love this series. In my opinion, this is the series that everyone wants to copy.
This is Butch and Marissa's story, but also furthers the ongoing war between the Brothers and the Lessors. Butch turns out to be an intricate part of this war, and this novel brings it all to light.
Along with that, we see changes coming to V's life, and we are starting to reacquaint ourselves with Blay, Quinn, and John Matthew. Blay and Quinn are the reason that I wanted to re read these books, so I could remember the beginning of that friendship, that eventually leads up to "Lover at Last"
Read the whole series in order, you won't be disappointed.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to deliver amazing stories, but was compromised by the inclusion of a questionable love interest. 3.5 Stars; rounding up to 4 because I still love BDB…

While so much happened which will effect the future of the Brotherhood, and the Vampire Race as a whole, I feel like the this book failed to stand up next to the previous books in the series. Don't hate me. Let's face it, Zsadist's story was a tough act to follow…

My opinion of Marissa detracted from my enjoyment of this book...

You can see my full Review here (complete with additional thoughts & GIFs):
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Loved, loved this book! When I first started this series, I didn't really like Butch too much. He was Beth's friend who seemed to butt in too much plus he was hitting on Beth when I wanted her to be with Wrath. As I finished each book, I found myself drawn to Butch and I wanted him to be happy. He was a human who was now living with vampires and I felt bad that he couldn't completely fit in and he was in love with a female vampire who was royalty. He was a tough Irish former cop who didn't take any BS and didn't have a problem with dishing out what you deserve. I do not want to put spoilers in here so I just want to say that I am happy at how his book turned out.

Also, an added bonus to this book were all the combined stories. Usually, this author tends to focus on the Brother of the book but we were treated to John and Vishous as well. I also became a bit more interested in the lesser story (I usually hate reading their parts and want to skip it).

The war between good and evil has twisted as the Omega's Lessening Society sends its soulless minion the "lesser" to destroy vampires. To protect the undead from these killing machines, the Black Dagger Brotherhood was formed. These six special warriors risk oblivion to keep their species alive but each member of the sextet suffers from deep rooted personal anguish; that is before they have begun to find their soulmates.

The only human that has been allowed entrance into the vampire realm including the Brotherhood is former police officer Butch O'Neal who has heroically saved vampires in particular the undead one he loves (Marissa) at the risk of his own life. However, as he knows she is beyond his reach and not just because of their differing blood, the Omega leadership, whose lesser he has defeated, believes he is more than human and plans to find out the truth about this mortal. The latest battlefield between good and evil is Butch, whose only chance to survive his ordeal is not with his skills or the Brotherhood, but instead is with haughty virginal Marissa.

The fourth Black Dagger Brotherhood romantic fantasy suspense is a fantastic entry in what has become one of the best ongoing sub-genre series on the market. The story line is fast-paced and it never slows down but it is driven by the cast especially the lead couple. The changing of the relationship between these previously supporting characters, while the combatants war over the ex-cop, makes for a terrific tale. Fans already believe that vampires live in Upstate New York while newcomers will search for the previous thrillers (see LOVER AWAKENED, LOVER ETERNAL, and DARK LOVER).

Harriet Klausner

I really loved the character development of Butch and Marissa and J. R. Ward brought their story to life in LOVER REVEALED, Black Dagger Brotherhood book #4. Butch's connection to the Brothers and to V in particular, was entirely unique from the others. His being human gave a look at their world through a whole different perspective. Butch is so completely likable, you cant help but root for him, from beginning till end. There is also a definite delicious focus on Vishous in this book and a clear setup that we will get to know him even more deeply in the next.

Although Zsadist's story in LOVER AWAKENED is holding strong as my favorite of the Black Dagger Brotherhood novels, I thoroughly loved LOVER REVEALED and commend Ward on such formidable writing.. and anticipate that she will continue to show her worth.

I was not expecting to rate this book as the best of the series (4 so far)--I didn't particularly like Butch as a character (maybe I've known too many Boston wiseguy wannabees in my life) although I thought Marissa had promise. Anyone packed that tight (literally, given the corset) is bound to cut loose eventually. I would have liked to see a little more of that, but these books are all about the guys so far. More chick stuff would be interesting. How they deal with this testosterone laced-world, where females seem to be mostly ornaments or food, etc. But that said, the story really rocked, I thought, and Ward's writing is definitely taking off. I mean, the first one was really tight, but she's taken things to a whole new level. She's created a whole idiolect for these guys, and it totally works. What I really liked, though, was the way the world of the Brotherhood has gotten denser, fuller. That's what a series should do, and she does a great job here. The homoerotic stuff was interesting, a little unexpected, maybe a little disturbing, but all in a good way. These characters aren't generic romance hunks--they're complicated, with urges that don't always run in a straight line--like a lot of humans, if the truth be told. But the romance seems to give them a foundation, and a way of making sense of their world, which is what love (of any kind) should do. So, all in all, a great read. (Maybe a little heavy on the product placement in the first pages, but she eased up on that as the story went on.) Head and shoulders above almost anything I've read in this genre--Charlaine Harris's Dead books, which are really different, are the only series I find comparably deep and compelling in a world-building way. And again, the writing is a rush to read. Can't wait for the fall.

The plot has been well described by others. This is a wonderful series. The only disappointing aspect is having to wait for six months. I arrived at the book store the day this one was available.

Butch has always been a great character, but not allowed to really be a complete part of the brotherhood. Now he gets to be and in a way that is dripping in testosterone. Marissa is a perfect complement to his rough and ready exterior. As with all the "brothers" he has a sad back story, and it was good to see things turn out happily for him.

I have compared the brotherhood to Klingons and still believe myself to be correct. The brotherhood is exactly how Klingons would behave if they went around killing lessors.

If you haven't started this series yet, you are lucky. There are three others before this one. I started with the first and now have to wait for each one.

I believe I am now classified as an addict. I finished this book about a week ago and I find it impossible to put down. I'm trying to find other things to read, but I keep going back to Butch and Marissa. I never thought she would be able to top Zsadist's story, but this book to me was even more compelling than the last (which I loved and had a hard time putting down as well). I also thought that because Butch was a human that I wouldn't be as emotionally invested into his story. Well that was a mistake. Now that the book is over I am dying to find out what happens next. Butch's story offered a lot of unanswered questions that I believe will carry over to V's story.

I usually don't rate reviews so high (see my previous one's if you don't believe me), but J.R. Ward never disappoints and I seriously can't understand why she isn't a NYT bestselling author and others in her genre are.

There is not much I can add that hasn't already been written in prior reviews!

Lover Revealed, book 4 in Ward's Brotherhood series, is just as additive as the first 3...and perhaps even more so as Ward develops her characters over the course of several books. IE, Butch O'Neal, the only human allowed into the Brotherhood's world (actually, he wasn't allowed to leave!), is a character introduced in Ward's very first book, Dark Lover, where he plays an important role in bringing the Blind King and his mate together. He is also introduced to his own future mate in that first book. In the next two books Butch is a secondary character with book 4 focusing on his particular story.

As with prior books, LR has some steamy sex scenes, so if that offends, this is not the book for you. However, as Ward's vampires are depicted as a separate species with primal, territorial, almost instinctual responses to bonding and mating, it doesn't seem out of place at all, but perfectly natural.

Butch's story is heartbreaking in places, his confusion over his own primal responses setting the reader up for the obvious conclusion. In fact, Ward has dropped hints about Butch's origins since he was introduced in the very first book of the series! By the end of LR, you'll be smacking your forehead with " I shoulda known...!"

Like many readers, I found the most compelling tale not as much the love story between Butch and Marissa, but the increasingly complex bond between Butch and his roommate, Vishous. And while I have become accustomed by now to the sensual scenes Ward can create between her main characters, I was completely taken with the intimacy of a non-sexual scene: the Brotherhood Induction ritual. The end of the story finds Butch firmly mated to his Marissa, but with almost as firm a tie to V as a result of their synergism in fighting the Lessers.

As in her prior books, Ward has developed secondary characters to the point where avid readers are clamoring for more! I anxiously await the release of book 5 in this series: the story of "V"...

This is the fourth installment of J.R Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and it is a fairly fulfilling read.

The Plot:

Once human cop Butch O'neal struggles to find his place in the vampire world, and to win the heart of aristocrat Marissa. There romance is complicated by Butch's haunted past as well as a more recently acquired curse, courtesy of the Omega.

The Best Parts:

Butch is a seriously cool, every-guy kind of character. He's funny, friendly, and loyal. He is also strong and spiritual. Watching him find his place in the world is engaging.

Marissa goes from being weak and pitiable, to strong and compassionate. She becomes far more likable than she was in the earlier books, and she is easy to relate to.

The romance is beautiful. The action is entertaining and serves the plot well. Theres never a boring moment.

I was so not interested in the romance between a hero on the verges of alkie slobdom and the vampire heroine who's never worn a pair of trousers in her 300-year old privileged life. Partly because I've read the other novels in the series and know that the main couple are minor characters. But mainly because Butch and Marissa are a bit vanilla compared to either Mary or Zsadist.

Somewhere in this novel is an excellent vampire story trying to fight it's way into the light. I quite liked how V and Wrath converted Butch into a vamp. The prophecy sub-plot was good. But I didn't understand the little poem. In this novel the brothers gain their first big victory over their enemies, the Lessers. And it was done not through hard work or detection but through blood-lines and destiny. That is supremely appropriate for a vampire novel. And now those fun-filled mini-Hannibal Lectors, the Lessers, have no temporal leader or hierarchy. I quite liked them too. Although I'm glad the torture scenes were few and far between in this novel.

I must be the only reader who doesn't mind that the wives have no jobs. Having seen the awe-inspiring portrayal of Dracs wives in the film van Helsing I appreciate that the function of vampire wives is entirely to support and build a community around their men. And to look stunningly beautiful. (even Mary) One of the posters on the store suggested the author should write 4 more books about Zsadist and I agree with that. (Plus a big dose of Vishous)

Excellent read, despite not being fired up to read this one. Marissa and Butch didn't torque my wrench, but I was still engaged and entertained. Add some series story progression, you definitely don't want to miss reading it, though.

This was the book I couldn't wait for once I started the series, since I thought Butch and Marissa's interludes were the hottest thing in the first book, even though they only had a few pages in Dark Lover and the two of them never even got close to having actual sex. Butch is the most interesting of the male leads to date, being a human with human vulnerabilities, and a desperate need for acceptance and purpose in his life, a tough outsider who brings in an outsider's slice-of-life perspective. The banter between him and the brothers crackles with offhand humor and the story of his progressive integration into the Brotherhood shines a fresh light on the society.

The openly homoerotic overtones of Butch's relationship with Vishous are an interesting departure from the previous novels and from traditional romantic fiction in general.

Rehvenge develops into a fascinating character in his own right, so his book will be one to watch out for. Meanwhile, one is almost tempted to pity the Omega, who is clearly attracting a very unreliable class of Lesser in recent books.

Having rooted for Butch as the token human in the Brotherhood's circle, I do find it somewhat questionable that in this series (and in paranormal novels in general) being "merely" human is consistently depicted as an inferior state of existence. Does a hero have to be literally superhuman these days to captivate the reader?
Another caveat is that the female characters in the BDB series generally seem to lack the depth and strength of their male counterparts, which is a bit of a shame - but then, some of those heroines are "only" human, so maybe it makes sense after all.

After the last book I told myself I would never buy another book by this author again. I was so angry at the what I saw as the needless deaths of two side characters. I loved the book but ranted and raved to other people for days about their deaths. I now forgive you. This book was a masterpiece. Sure, I knew Butch had to have something in him, some potential but Ward did such a good job at pulling it out of the hat I actually was surprised. Marissa turned from being a whiny, rich crybaby into a responsible self-sufficient woman (although towards the end she did have a temporary relapse). I was also intrigued by the relationship between V and Butch. I think Ward dangled the gay character carrot at her fans while secreting laughing up her sleeve. In the end I will come back for the next book and the next because Ward is a fascinating writer and she doesn't use human pain gratuitously her characters actually grow and mature. Don't miss the boat on this one. Run out and buy this now!!!!!

The war between the Black Dagger Brotherhood and the lessers has taken a new turn in the latest novel by J.R. Ward.

As a former cop, Butch O'Neal is tired of sitting on the sidelines while the Brotherhood battles the lessers, de-souled humans who are determined to eliminate all vampires. Butch's humanity keeps him separated, both from the battle and from the woman he loves. After all, Marissa is one of the glymera and therefore off limits to a mere human. Butch's life is about to take a drastic turn, however, and it may change the way he perceives everything and everyone.

What a powerful story! Just when you think J.R. Ward has written the best Black Dagger Brotherhood story, another one comes along that exceeds all of the others. This is one series that only gets better and better with each new installment. However, this reviewer highly recommends reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series in order as J.R. Ward has numerous subplots interwoven into the storylines that build upon previous books and it may be a bit overwhelming to start off with this particular book without knowing the back history of the characters.

LOVER REVEALED is not a quick read, but it is a superb one. Readers will find themselves immediately wrapped up in Butch's story as much is revealed about his past and his possible future. Fans of Vishous will be thrilled to note that he plays a very critical role in LOVER REVEALED and this reviewer will be anxious to see exactly how his story turns out. The relationship between Butch and Vishous is an interesting one, and there will be a lot of debating about the specifics of their relationship. J.R. Ward apparently has quite a bit more in store for us as the mystery of the Omega is also being slowly unveiled.

LOVER REVEALED is a very intense read. J.R. Ward packs a lot of emotionally charged scenes into her storylines and LOVER REVEALED is no exception. Ms. Ward continues her exceptional world building as the intrigue between the Brotherhood and the Omega really heats up in this phenomenal entry in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Easily recommended!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Going to be completely honest.. This was my least favorite book from the series. Butch and Marissa's relationship was extremely annoying. Marissa gets on my nerves. Also, wtf is going on with Butch and V? I did not understand their weird moments together. It was almost like they were gay for each other. Which would be cool and all, but butch is with Marissa? Contemplating getting the next book or not. I enjoyed all of the other books.

I'm a very avid reader & since I got my Kindle about a year ago, I've found Many wonderful authors. I'm ecstatic to have found this one! The Black Dagger Brotherhood are now at the top of my list of favorite books. Each one getting better. Such riveting storylines and such dynamic and intreging characters. These books just suck me totally into their world. How much I wish to know them and be part of their lives and adventures! J.R. Ward, Bless You & Thank you for being the Great author You Are! Thank you for sharing your brilliant works with us! & BTW this book has so far been my favorite in your series. I highly recommend you to anyone!

The story is solid and this installment firmly advances the ongoing plot and mythology of the BDB series. Author Ward pays off big time with some key revelations about the vampires and their societal structure as well as the mystical forces driving the conflict around them. Butch O'Neal's character progression plays out to its logical conclusion against a strikingly emotional backdrop.

That said, I came away from the novel with very mixed feelings. There's a "Brokeback" feel to the triangle between Butch, Marissa and Vishous -- in the end, it's not even subtle. I always try to keep an open mind as a reader and stay as much as I can on the course an author charts. But in this case, I really, *really* felt like Butch ended up mated to the wrong vampire at story's close. The character work on Vishous in LR is so compelling, I think Marissa's suffers for it...and that may be why some of the reviews here have noted that the central relationship was somehow lacking.

And I hate so much to criticize what Ward has accomplished with this series. The previous two novels, Lover Eternal and Lover Awakened, both totally blew me away. I have a suspicion that the forthcoming Lover Unbound will be a similar trip. The groundwork is certainly laid for Vishous's story in Lover Revealed -- but I think in doing so, it takes away from the core storyline and ultimately leaves the novel with a flaw that's hard to ignore.

Fans of the BDB simply cannot miss this one. But you may have to work harder than with the previous books to get all the elements to flow to a truly satisfying conclusion.

Some of my favorite moments happen in this book! Butch has always had a special place in my heart life has never been easy for him and he has never really belonged, but now he has the Brothers and wonderful Shellan to love. It was really its really nice to see Marissa finally stand up for herself too. I always love the interactions between Vishous and Butch, both the funny ones and the erotic ones. We also get to see a little more into the turmoil that V is dealing with.

J.R. Ward is able to to tell a story like no one else!

SPOILER ALERT! Lover Revealed: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood

So I waited over 72 agonizing hours before reading this after finishing Zadist's book because I have real life and school work and the Black Dagger brotherhood was interrupting that. It was like torture because I have been looking forward to Butch and Marissa since book 1. I kept going back to dark lover and re-reading their two encounters, including the one where he broke the chair! HOLY NUTS! lol

And I have to say it was worth the read. Here are the highlights of this wonderful book.

1. The realistic first time lemon. NEVER have I seen an author portray in a lemon that the first time is not just joyous and beautiful. It hurts like a b!tch and some people don't even like it! So thank you J.R. Ward for portraying that properly.

2. Marrissa's "scared-virgin" thoughts. J.R. Ward are you sure you aren't a virgin? Cause I am and you literally took all the thoughts and fears I have about sex and expressed those through Marissa. She had no idea what was happening to her and she was scared, nervous...so realistic. Awesome. Just loved it. I feel like I can relate to Marissa, having never been wanted by anyone and feeling like you are going to take your v-card to the grave? That is SO me.

3. Butch's heart. Gahhhh i am going to cry. I absolutely loved his devotion to Marissa. He is exactly the kind of guy I would want for me (minus the consistant drinking). Mainly because he loved Marissa unconditionally. He told her from the beginning she didn't have to dress up for him or do anything, that she was perfect just the way she was. I have those same insecurities and would love a man to find me beautiful if i wake up with a bad hair day and broke down clothes, Butch seems like he has that same determination so go TEAM BUTCH! He adored Marissa consistently, even when it seemed like she was shutting him out. I love him for his wonderful, unconditional heart. :')

4. The actual sex? Hottest so far of any of the other books, mainly because it was the first time for Marissa and Butch was so caring and gentle and understanding. Again, the same way a hopeful virgin (me) would want her man to behave the first time. I loved how we only got pieces of their sexual exploration instead of the full monty the first time. Just wonderful and hot as hell. Did I mention that I shiver with delight every time Butch calls Marissa baby and that his dirty talk during sex made me melt? Gahhhhhh! :) Great lemons as I call the sex scenes.

5. And they lived happily ever after. Though it was too brief, I loved how Marissa was right there waiting for him at the end and that she agreed to let him go out and fight and risk his life. It just lit my heart on fire and made me cry. I so didn't want their story to end and though I am heading into Rehvenge's book next (I've read the series in order it's just that this is the only book i've found worthy of going back and reviewing) I want to see more of Butch and Marissa in the future. I was very happy I got to see more of them in V's book.

6. Best couple. Though Wrath/Beth and Rhage/Mary and Zsadist/Bella are major competitors, Butch and Marissa are the kind of relationship I dream of.

So with tears in my eyes I rate this book 20 stars if I could. It was the best of the 6 I've read so far. and I am SOOOOOOOOO glad that Ward didn't kill either of them off. I am worried we'll lose someone before this saga is over, and i hope it isn't Butch or Marissa.

Like the previous reviewers, I liked this book a lot but it was not as good as Zsadist's story. To be fair, I did not really think it would be. I was not looking forward to Butch's story but was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out to be. Marissa improved as time went by and I liked her character more in the end. I actually liked Butch all the way through. Overall, this is a pretty good fourth in the series. Also, the author craftily builds the stories for future characters making you feel that you have known them longer and allowing the reader to eagerly anticipate the next book in the series. J.R. Ward is very good at developing her characters over time. I look forward to the next installment. Butch's story was my least preferred and it was pretty good. As a result,I think the others can only get better.

I was seriously looking forward to Lover Revealed and J.R. Ward did not disappoint with this fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. This is Butch's story and it was great from the first paragraph. We really got to know and understand him. He's always been an outsider trying to fit in and it was good to learn more about his background as he worked to figure out his place in the world. Marissa is Butch's love interest and seeing her character develop and come fully into her own was wonderful. She'd always seemed a bit like a victim in the earlier books. It was good to see them both finally get the respect they deserved.

One especially fascinating element of Butch's story is his relationship with Vishous, another member of the Brotherhood, whose own story is eagerly anticipated. While the relationship has homoerotic overtones, it's truly a relationship of two men who experience genuine friendship and love for each. It's something neither man has really had before and they're a little uncomfortable feeling so strongly for one another. We were also let in on Vishous' BDSM behavior, which is something not seen in typical romance novels, and points to Ward's excellence as a writer that she handles this edgier side of sexual behavior.

It was good to see John/Tehrror, a pretransition vampire, maturing into the warrior he will one day become. It was disappointing to not get much of Phury or Z, the twins in the Brotherhood, in this book. Phury's near total absence was startling. He wasn't a part of any of the battles with the Lessors, the vampires' mortal enemy and the reason for the existence of the Brotherhood. But we did get to know more about Rehvenge, a recurring character, whose story we hope will eventually be told. We were also introduced to Xhex, a new female character we hope to see again.

This was the best book in the series. Each one has been better than the one before. J.R. Ward fans eagerly await the next book.

Lots to love about the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Complex characters who must fight inner demons and external foes to find their way to happily ever after. Strong. Smart. Vulnerable. Noble. Lovable. Be good to yourself, and give this series a read.

I finished this novel today. after the 3rd one I felt like I wouldn't really care too much about Butch.. Boy was I wrong. I loved this one because of all the transitions all of the characters were going through or facing in this book. I was slow getting into the book but I would say me taking a day and a half to read this says it was really really good. very touching in alot of ways but it's disturbing me with Vishous and his "feelings" I just started his story today as well and I'm on chapter 5. Will be letting you know. I didn't really care to much for Marissa though, especially in the beginning. But she grew on me a little and I guess she and Butch are "well mated" pun intended.. lol

"Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living-ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world - to engage in the turf war with the lessers. He's got nothing to lose. His hear belongs to a female vampire, and aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. If he can't have Marissa, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers...

Fate cuses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back. But even her love may not be enough to save him... "

Yet another beautifully written book from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I absolutely love J.R.Ward's work, and this series are officially my most favorite. The story has so many twists and turns, that the reader is at no point bored or is able to predict what's coming next. That is one thing that I love so much. You think you know what's going to happen next, but think again!!!

Great story, very romantic, tough, cruel at times yet so sensitive. The characters are so well presented/described that you can't help but feel connected to them somehow.

I couldn't help but wonder about Butch's and Vishous's relationship. They seem to have this ..... attraction towards each other, something other than "just friends".

I don't want to go into too many details, for I wouldn't want to ruin it for the new readers, but one thing I can say is ..... buy the book , read it and you are guaranteed to be sucked in to a fantastic world of the Brothers...

The next book is going to be published in October, and I just can't wait ^_^

I have loved this series so far; I find it addictive. However, Book 4 was not as good as the ones before. I found it difficult to pick up and read, and the other books made it hard to put down. IT was when I was about 70% through the book that i finally found it hard to put down. I do think that what we learn in this book will be needed to know for the rest of the series. So, read it if you already love the series, but don't base your opinion on this one if you have not read the ones before.

Book four was very good and I could not put it down. But-

This was the first story where I had to force myself to give a character a chance. I was not on board with Marissa. Something about her personality made my teeth grind. I felt sorry for her from the beginning, but as the series has progressed I just didn't feel she and Butch were a good match and I could not see in her what he saw to attract him other than her looks. But-

Finally when she came into her own after being shunned by family and high society, I started to see something to like. I still didn't like how she blew hot and cold with Butch, but I could understand some of it.

This book stepped up the secrets coming out around Butch, John Matthew, and gave more about the evil of the Omega. I started feeling sorry for the Lessers- yes, I know that makes me sound twisted. LOL I have learned to perk up with curiosity when the Scribe Virgin comes calling and wince for the brothers when she does.

As per her usual, J R Ward gave a good plot with plenty of twists with action and romance. I love trying to work out where the plot is going for the various individuals. This is definitely more addicting than soap opera.

Can you really do badly with this author? While the story was not as intense as I would have liked (so many misunderstandings/bad communication), there was enough freshness to the overall BDB storyline that made this a really good bridge to the next book/character in the series. I loved the plot twist with Butch and Vishous, two of my favorites... mmm, well, actually I suppose I'm pretty partial to all of them now LOL. A great read, and a wonderful continuation of the BDB series. Borrowed this from the library, but I'll end up purchasing this series- its great

I was prepared for a let down before I read this book. I knew it was about Butch and Marissa, two of my least favorite characters. I wasn't surprised that I didn't enjoy this book. All of the previous Black Dagger Brotherhood books have made me forget my attachment to novels with complex plots. I was able to lose myself in the characters completely in every installment of this series so far. I cared about what happened to the characters, I wanted to see them happy, and I wanted to see their love succeed. In this book it was the complete opposite. Butch and Marissa don't seem to have much chemistry, and it's hard to see why they like each other. Every disagreement they have practically ends their relationship. I do understand that Marissa is a high society naive virgin, but I fail to sympathize with her at all. I think I may have enjoyed this more if Marissa ended up with Rhev, and V with Butch.

Also, I have to mention that the constant lesser intrusion is annoying. I don't think the plot with the lessers is important enough to be included in every chapter of every book in this series. Authors change perspectives to give us a glimpse of the villan's humanity or thought process. The changes of perspective here don't add anything interesting at all. The author could have kept the story strictly on the brothers, and everything would have fit nicely. I'm not a fan of the lesser sections in this series at all. Lover Revealed had a few interesting parts with Butch's bloodline, and the prophecy, but that was it. I feel that I wasted time reading this book. I would have rather read a bit about the prophecy and the overall plot and moved on. I'm not sure how many more of these novels I can take if the plot is simply fall in love with someone you don't know, kill lessers, and be in love. I like to get to know characters and watch them both fall in love with each other. The males instantly knowing that some random female is theirs (MINE MINE MINE!) isn't exciting or intriguing anymore. The only story I'm interesting in reading is Rhevs. I'm tempted to skip ahead, but I'll keep reading in order. I hope the next one is better, however the snippet at the end of Lover Revealed didn't make it out to be too promising.

I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood books. I am giving this book 4 stars because of the story between Butch and V. The friendship they have goes beyond friendship into something that borders on spirituality. Sometimes that's a little odd between two men, although they never go into anything sexual. The bond however is intense and incredible to read about.

I found Marissa to be whiny and wimpy even after she "comes into her own". However if you have read the other books in this series you won't let that stop you from reading this one and you shouldn't.

I can't wait to read about V in the next book. This book was worth my time, I just wish that at some point Marissa could have

OMG! could anyone whine more than the Butch and Marissa in this story??

Out of all the BDB stories, this one was so not on par with the others. first, there wasn't enough depth to the love story between Butch and Marissa. The love scenes were so forced and uncomfortable to read. Butch was a pathetic drunk who spent 90% of the book feeling sorry for himself. Marissa was self-centered and indulged in a pity-party for herself every chance she got.

the only thing that got me through the book was the vibes bouncing around between V and Butch. I wanted an exploration in that relationship more than I wanted the stilted sex between Marissa and Butch.

The only reason I gave this book 3 stars instead of 1 was because of the other characters in the book. I hope V's story is much better.

I hope it's not just me, because this author has me bouncing in anticipation for her next book.

Lover Revealed is book four of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. This book features Butch the human sidekick for the brothers and Marisa a blueblood vampire that Butch has been crushing on for the last two books. If you have not read the other books you are already lost.(You need to crawl from under the rock an catch up) Where this book didn't make me sigh at the end, like books two and three, this book does have me on pins and needles waiting for the next installment. I do think this book starts the ground work for some of the other characters. Vs' story should be interesting, the possessive friendship element in this book was enough to make me raise an eyebrow.

I really recommend this for the keeper shelf with the other three.

Having read the BDB companion I have learned that JR Ward is hottest for our dear friend Butch. Well I'm sorry Ms. Ward but Butch does nothing for me. He just never got me all hot and bothered. It is Marissa who makes this story for me.

I could not stand her in DL, all meek and pathetic. But I loved her growth in this book! I loved watching her figure out who she is and who she wants to be. I loved her growing into this strong woman stepping up to protect women and children in need. Her development as a character saved this book for me.

I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood books. Yes, there may be some repetitions since the book is about one small group of warriors. But it doesn't bother me much. When I read this book I found myself turning the pages to read about V. I can't wait to read his story. Butch is cool, but Marissa was getting on my nerves. She has everything going for her and yet, it takes her the whole book to finally grow a spine.In this book I found that I actually needed to read about the villains, as there were some major tidbits on the brothers.
All in I'd say the book is a good read to stay in the flow of things (especially with John)but it is not my favorite.

I have waited for this book for what seems like forever snd when I finally got it and finished it I had to start it all over again. I was speechless and yelling, and crying all by turns through this book.
Butch has been my favorite from the beginning. I always knew there was something "different" about him, though no real clues as to what, just hints here and there. We find out why he is so different and what his future is with the Brotherhood. He has come to a point in his life where he feels left out and useless. Deciding that he has to leave the Brothers, even though he knows that because of the knowledge of them he has, there is only one way out. And it's not alive.
He has some tough things to go through to get his HEA, but I think it was perfectly done, and could not have been more emotional or wrenching in places, or satisfying at the end.
Marissa is Butch's light. From the first time he sees her, he knows that she is what he needs to become whole. Marissa, however, doesn't believe in them at first and has her own issues to deal with in regards to her brother Havers and the aristocracy, the Glymera. She does eventually deal with them, with help from some friends and surprisingly, Wrath also, she gets through them, coming out the other side a shellan worthy of Butch and all he becomes.
I loved the length of this book, each one has gotten progressively larger and this is a book and a brother who was never meant to be! J.R. Has said that Butch was meant to be included in Rhage and Mary's book, not get his own, but he turned out to be so much larger than life, that he had to be done. Was it worth it? Oh, most DEFINATELY! Every moment of waiting, every penny spent and word read.
I will Keeeeeep Reaaading, no matter how many books the WARDen puts out and never have a fear that I will be disappointed.

Lil

I love this series and will keep reading it regardless of any twists and turns it takes. The author is truly gifted and has presented a very interesting story for these books. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the particular saga of Marissa and Butch. I loved Butch in the early books and am not sure how I feel about him in this book - his story. I guess I expected a few more sparks between him and Marissa. I just didn't get why they were so in love. As with all the books in this series, I will re-read this one to try and get a deeper sense of what was going on before the next book comes out. Overall, it's a terrific series and I am definitely a fan.

This book will hook you from the first chapter. I read this book in just days because I could not put it down. I Love the development of each of the characters. They try to fight their feelings for their mate but can't. I cant wait to read the rest of the series.

The thing I love the most about Ward is that none of her plots follew the same time line, If Wrath falls in love by page 66, Rhage dosent fall intell 242, its refreshing to see a writer that dosent fallow the 1 kiss, 2nd kiss, bedroom guied lines.
She will also give you a healthy dose of heart ache, not everything is roses and love and happly everafter. Ward gives you the good, and bad, and mostly the ugly of a war with vampiers and lessers.
You almost feel sorry for the lessers towards the end, there soul less beings that can never come back form that. Even Z got to come back from his own hell.
I enjoy her writing and her take on the ideas of vamps. This is not your mothers Buffy and it dosnet try to be.

I wasn't thrilled when I learned months ago that the next release in JR Ward's powerhouse vampire warrior series was Butch's story. Oh, was I wrong! Butch, as the sole fully human character integrated into the storyline, shines in this installment. Lover Revealed both left me breathless waiting for the next book (October is a long time to be breathless), and satisfied at the same time. So many things explained, so many new ideas being presented. I'm just on my second read, and so thrilled with the quality, dense plot structure, and jam-packed pages, that I know this is just the beginning of my relationship with this book.

The characterizations are solid and three-dimensional, Ward's imagination never fails to tantalize, and it is a thrill to know there are several more books planned for this series. Thank you, JR Ward!

We learn a lot about Butch, Marrisa & "V" in this book. Marissa isn't as weak as many readers believe. The relationship between 'V' & Butch is one of soul mates, but in the form of brothers. As with the first 3 books this is worth the hardcover price. Next book 'Lover Unbound'.

Really digging Ward's unique vampire world. The plot continues to grow and becomes even more enthralling. The characters are just too cool and all have their own unique personalities that really make these stories rock. I think Butch's story is my fav so far! On to book 5!

I did love this book, and even though it wasn't as well-written as the others, it kept my interest. But I do not like the direction she took Butch, even though she forshadowed the heck out of it, and so for me it brought a quality of sadness to the book.

The other characters she showcased this time were very well done, lots of Wrath and Beth (mmmmmm, by the way, their scenes STILL are hot), John Matthew getting close to the change, a bit of Zsadist. My favorite moment, hands down, involved Bella and Z having a little pre-coital chase, thank you very much Ms. Ward. Worth the price of the book, right there. We need to see this boy happy.

She set up V's story very well, even though I don't personally swing on that particular length of chain, but it will continue to develop the series, I'm sure. She makes you care about the characters, get inside their heads, and she's very good at that.

I had heard this book was going to be hot, hot, hot, and frankly, it wasn't. The sex was no hotter than any other book, and in some cases, much less hot. I mean, Marissa's a 300 year old virgin, she's been waiting for Butch for three books now, and the actual moment of deflowering, he's ... drunk. And it's not good. You know, I read this stuff to ESCAPE my real life, I don't need a flashback.

So while I didn't find it as compelling as "Lover Awakened", I did like it more than I thought it would. Except did I mention I hate where she took Butch? I loved that he was human, the sole exception, blah blah. And now .... he's just one of the guys. Okay, fine. Whatever. Bring on V, I guess.

Ms Ward's latest in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Lover Revealed, has it all; action, suspense, eerie lessers and The Omega (that dude truly gives me the willies), a brotherhood of vampires that will melt your socks off, and a plot that touches your heart as Butch finally discovers his place in this world. Sensuality is beautifully portrayed in this book as well as the rest of the series. I love the characterization and the fast pace of the storyline. I heartily recommend these books to everyone who loves paranormal with a twist and hot bodacious heroes. This author is truly talented. One of my absolute favorites.

No question, hands down, the best paranormal series ever written! It's been a long time since I read this book, but I still wait with bated breath for the next in this series. I was completely and utterly in love, enthralled and consumed with every brother in this series. I LOVED every one of them honestly! The more you read, the more you will be captivated by this world JR Ward has created. If I could recommend any series to a paranormal lover, it would be this series. JR Ward is brillant like no other!

I have been heavily into the vampire romance genre for quite sometime now, but have begun to feel that this genre has gotten stale. Many of you are well aware that some of these publishing companies and authors (they shall go unnamed) have begun to make fans pay for overpriced books that really amount to not much. Then a few months ago, I stumbled upon J.R. Ward's Black Dagger books and was sucked back into this genre. I found Lover Revealed quite refreshing because Ward succeeds in creating a complex world that is very intriguing.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a special breed of vampires that are responsible for protecting much weaker civilian vampires (kind of like the Army protecting civilians). They have to battle evil predators of vampires (called lessers) or risk their races extinction. In this war, there have been many casualties, but it has also yielded a few friends. When the story opens, Butch is frustrated with the Brotherhood for not allowing him to fight in their war due to his human status. He is also depressed because he was rejected by a woman that he cares about (Merissa). Butch is still dealing with the repercussions of the death of his sister and readers will get to meet more than a few ghosts from Butch's past. During an attempt to save a civilian vamp, he ends up getting kidnapped and is tortured for information about the Brotherhood. He even gets to briefly meet the leader of the lessers, which sets off a chain of events that could lead to the downfall of the Brotherhood.

Marissa is the quintessential "poor little rich girl." Someone compared her character to Grace Kelly and it really fits. Despite her beauty, she is an outcast among their superficial aristocracy. Her relationship with Butch causes conflict with her brother and forces her to become independent for the first time. This change is by no means convenient because of the Princeps Counsel's determination to reinstate an ancient practice that will affect all females in the species. At first I was bothered that she was Butch's love interest due to the fact that she lacked a backbone. She is VERY naïve about subjects that even most adolescents giggle about with their friends. I found this a bit of a stretch considering how old she is. Fortunately, she gradually developed strength of character and finds a new purpose to benefit their species. Once I understood what made her tick, I began to like her. Her kindness towards others was very touching.

I LOVED the new direction that Ward took Butch's character in. All the Brothers are back, but Vishous is featured heavily in this fast paced story. Look for a continuation of Johns/Tehrror's storyline (I can't wait for his book) and the appearence of a new friend at the training school.

Ward HAS CREATED AN AMAZING SERIES...5 STARS!

I really liked this latest novel from J.R. Liked, not Loved. However, anything coming after Zsadist from Lover Awakened, would have to have been somewhat of a letdown. Besides, Marissa isn't the most likable character in the series. She's weak, whiney, and had to really learn the concept of, "Stand by Your Man." Personally, I felt more of a connection between Vishious & Butch than Marissa & Butch. <Go Figure.>

That being said, I read the book in a day and a half. The first night I bought it, I got TWO hours of sleep, tops! Just because Marissa was a real "drag," and brought the book down a notch to me, does not mean it wasn't a GREAT story.

Quite frankly, it was one of the BEST stories I've read this year, thus far. This is saying quite a bit, b/c I read a heckuva lot of books.

September is going to be a long wait for Vishious story!

Butch is my favorite brother right now. And when him and Marissa are together....let's just say I now understand the term "I melted into a pile of goo on the floor." I laughed, I cried, I felt passion and hate all in one amazing book. JR Ward will blow your mind, put it back together, make you melt into a wet mess on the floor, and turn you into a sexual hethren. Husbands and boyfriends... Beware of this book! Another warning--I learned this one first hand--don't read while driving down the road (that includes audiobooks). Fantastic read!

The series is nothing less than AMAZING! I am usually hesitant to read "new" authors unless they are recommended and lets face it, not every recommendation is accurate because each person has a different perspective on books. I took a chance on JR Ward and I was NOT disappointed! I was actually thrilled. I bought all 4 books because I was out of romance reading material :-) and decided what have I got to lose. I can't say enough about the series. I received the books on May 2nd and I'm halfway through the 4th book already! The writing is funny, emotional at times and let's not forget - steamy. If you like Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan and/or vampire romance - this series is for you. So sad that book #5 is not available until September.....:-(