How do you write a review when you are completely speechless?!?

I have loved the Blackdagger Brotherhood from the beginning. From the first page I was hooked, so naturally I have been anticipating this book for a while. When I sat down to read Lover Awakened, I thought I knew the series and the characters so I would have an "enjoyable ride" with a nice little "happily ever after" ending with some foreshadowing for Butches book. Boy, was I wrong. I should have been wearing my seat belt when I sat down for this "enjoyable ride"!!

I read Tara Marie's review this morning and couldn't agree more! It is hard to review because it is so good I don't want to spoil anything for you guys. But, I will try my best. Tara Marie is right when she says this is a book that you shouldn't like, but you do. You do because you can't help yourself.

There are so many scenes in this book that are very, very difficult to read. I was reading then I would stop and think, "No way, she (J.R. Ward) is not going to go there", and then she does. And it works. There are so many taboos that she writes about and it's okay. I want to complement J.R. Ward and her publisher (Signet) for being so brave and just telling the characters stories as they needed to be told. It is so raw and so real.

Instead of talking about plot I want to talk a little about the characters. Zsadist is amazing for what he has survived. You get to understand him in ways that you didn't think J.R. would write about, but she does. She writes about his captivity with brutal, graphic, honesty and it works. The most wonderful, refreshing thing about Zsadist is that he means it when he says that Bella is too good for him. He sticks to this point of view for the whole book and follows through. It was breathtaking. I wanted to strangle him but after the book was over I so appreciated how he stuck to his guns and his character didn't do anything uncharacteristic. How many times have I read a romance book and the hero thinks the heroine is too good for him then he has sex with her and suddenly he must have her and all the other stuff just flies out the window? This doesn't happen here and it is amazing.

One of the most surprising things for me in this book that is full of surprises is Bella. I simply can't remember a heroine who has affected me so thoroughly. She is brave, she knows how she feels and she says how she feels. She says what she wants. She says what she needs. She doesn't play games and try to save the hero from her feelings. She doesn't manipulate Z, when she had a clear way to get his goat. Again, she doesn't change her character three quarters of the way through the book. Then at the end she follows through with things as they should be (in real life), unlike so many other romance heroines. (You will see what I am talking about at the end of the book). I simply can't think of the last time a heroine blew my mind like this. She will stay with me for a long time. She is so brave and strong. You'll see what I mean when you read it.

Just quickly, Phury and his relationship with Z is all put out in the light and it is amazing. I couldn't wait to see how she would explain why Phury would have to beat Z, when Z asked and the answer does not pull punches. Butch and V, that blew my mind. And Bella's brother, I did not see that coming. And John, Tohr and Wellsie. I thought I knew all these characters but I didn't they are so much more complex than anything I could have imagined. When you compare Sizemore's vampires and Kenyon's vampires to these they just seem two dimensional. Move over ladies there is a new queen of paranormal in town and you can call her the WARDen.