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Review
Book 4 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Butch’s story is an exciting read from start to finish.
As a human living in the vampire world, he has always been somewhat of an outsider. He had a somewhat shaky introduction to the Brotherhood in the first book of the series, Dark Lover, but since then he has been accepted into their ‘family’, and lives his life with them. But even though he has been thoroughly embraced by the Brothers, and helps them where he can, his humanness keeps him apart, and he still feels like an outsider. And when he is taken and brutally tortured by the Lessening Society, an encounter with the Omega impacts his life in a way he could never have imagined.
Marissa is a member of the glymera – the vampire aristocracy – and exists in a world of customs and rules, where she has to behave as the perfect female, living up to the high expectations of her brother, Havers, and doing everything that her society expects of her. But following the perceived rejection of her by Wrath, who never claimed her as his true mate, she has been shunned by her peers and lives a lonely life, secretly craving more.
Butch and Marissa are an unlikely couple. When they met in Dark Lover, he was a hardass cop whose life was falling apart, and Marissa was a spectacularly innocent and naïve aristocrat – “the beauty of the species”. They were both instantly enthralled with each other, and things started to progress, but through a series of miscommunications over the last four books, the two of them have never been able to really get it together. But Marissa comes rushing to Butch’s side when she discovers he has been hurt, and things develop beautifully from there.
But Butch’s run in with the Omega has left him touched by evil, with an uncertain future, and this causes problems, not only with Marissa, but also for his place with the Brothers. He has a rocky road to go down, but I loved watching him deal with it, come to realise his fate, and have the strength to claim it. And then there is the MASSIVE shift to the story. It’s not exactly a twist, and was pretty easy to see coming, but it’s still very exciting and has a big impact on the rest of the series. I was eagerly turning pages, even though I’ve read the book before, just because I was so keen to watch it all play out.
And all of this happens while Butch and Marissa’s romance unfolds. I really love these two together! Butch’s harshness is counteracted nicely by Marissa’s complete innocence. He is beautifully patient and gentle with her, and I loved seeing that side of him. And I loved watching Marissa start to spread her wings – she very quickly discovers what she wants and what she needs, and she turns out to be a sensationally strong heroine. And OMG, these two have some sensational chemistry, seriously, the hotness is just… wow! They have a great relationship, leaning on each other, and being there for each other, and even though there is a bit of stupid, it’s resolved quickly, and their HEA is absolutely gorgeous.
“Darkness will never take me… because I have you. Light of my life, Marissa. That’s what you are.”
Another highlight of this book is getting to know Vishous. As Butch’s roommate and best friend, the two share a very deep connection, and I love their relationship, which gets even deeper with all that Butch goes through in this story. Vishous is a deeply tortured soul and, finally getting to see his POV, we get to see a glimpse of what he is dealing with, and how he tries to deal with his demons. His head is a dark and disturbing place to be at times, and the set up for his story definitely leaves you wanting to know more.
We also get further progression with John Matthew’s story, get to spend some more time with Rhev, and meet badass vampire chick, Xhex. Plus, there is the ongoing interactions with the other members of the Brotherhood and their Shellans, which is always brilliant.
I love this series! The characters are all incredible, the world is well developed and intriguing, and the books are funny, romantic, action packed, and filled with a language all of their own – you feel me? Sensational stuff!!
5 stars.
Check out our Black Dagger Brotherhood page for more info on the series.