AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Lover Revealed

TITLE: Lover Revealed
SERIES: Book #4 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series
AUTHOR: J.R. Ward

NARRATOR: Jim Frangione
PUBLISHER: Recorded Books
DATE OF PUBLICATION: September 24, 2009 (first published March 6, 2007)
FORMAT: Unabridged - 16 hours, 19 minutes
GENRE: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 978-1436187121

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:

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. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers. But fate curses 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, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

MY REVIEW:

Ward has done it again! Another fantastic novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

I really enjoy the character of Butch, and I love his unlikely friendship with Vishous.

Butch O'Neal is an ex-cop, who is the only human (aside from Rhage's Shellen, Mary) that has been allowed to hang out with the Brotherhood. He lives with Vishous (aka "V"), the technologically-savvy and smartest member of the Brotherhood who has the power to see the future. Vishous has revealed in earlier novels that he has had a vision about Butch, and this is why he has befriended him.

If the Black Dagger Brotherhood series was ever turned into a movie, Ward has mentioned that David Boreanaz (formerly of Angel fame, and now known as Special Agent Sealey Booth on crime drama, Bones) is the actor she would choose to play the role of Butch:


I loved Boreanaz as Angel!

Alright, back to the book! It is hard to talk about what happens in this book without spoilers, so I'm going to have to put the warning:

**SPOILER ALERT!

There were a lot of "firsts" in this book that make it memorable: Marissa's first sexual encounter, Butch's first love (Marissa), the first time we see how a human is turned into a vampire, and the process by which a warrior is inducted into the Brotherhood. We also learned about Butch's lineage and the Omega's plans for him, which was something that I did not see coming. It was also nice to see the Scribe Virgin mellow out a little bit, as we see in her interactions with Butch: “You know, human, if you learned some manners, you would fare well with me."

I did get a little frustrated with Butch's and Marissa's constant miscommunication! It started to get tiresome. My favourite quote from Butch to Marissa is:

“Darkness will never take me…because I have you. Light of my life, Marissa. That’s what you are.”

Although this book features Butch prominently, we also learn a lot about Vishous, and I can't wait to learn more about "V"! This scene takes place during Butch's transformation:

“V?" Butch said. "Don't leave, okay?" "Never." V brushed Butch's hair back with a gesture so tender it was out of place coming from a male.”

Ward also writes:

“As Butch held his palm up in despair, Vishous whipped off his glove and grabbed on good and hard. V's energy, that beautiful, white light, poured down Butch's arm and ripped through him in a blast, cleansing, renewing. United by their clasped hands, they became again the two halves, the light and the dark. The Destroyer and the Savior. A whole.”

I can't wait to learn more about The Destroyer Prophecy and how it affects both Butch and V!

As always, Jim Frangione was fantastic!

MY RATING: 4.5 stars!!

This book qualifies as:
#41 for my 2011 100+ Reading Challenge
#26 for my 2011 Audio Book Challenge
#26 for my 2011 "Whisper Stories in My Ear" Challenge
#17 for my What an Animal Reading Challenge IV 
#9 for my Vampire Challenge 2011
#8 for my 101 Fantasy Reading Challenge (Item #86)
#4 for my Black Dagger Brotherhood Reading Challenge
#4 for my Paranormal Romance Challenge 2011