Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Lover Enshrined

Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

booklovinmamas's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I finished reading Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward for the 3rd time since I’m rereading the series. I read this book for the first time in 2009 while still serving in the US Navy. Thanks to a Navy Spouse friend, she recommended the books, and I became obsessed with the series. I have some catching up to do since I fell behind, and I’m determined to finally be caught up, especially since J.R. Ward is still writing books in this series. This series is one of the main reasons I will never give up on Vampire Romance stories. I love the BDB characters and have missed the original BDB and how they found their fated mates.

Storyline/My Thoughts: If there is one thing I’ve enjoyed while reading this series is reading all the different POVs when reading each book because J.R. Ward gives her readers sneak peeks into the lives of the BDB characters and the potential mates, they will end up with in the books. This was the case with Phury, and I will admit I wasn’t a big fan of him when reading his POV in the other books, but he did win me over after a while in Lover Enshrined. I learned more of his backstory and what he had to deal with in his past and now his future as the Primale of the Vampire species that he volunteered to do so V could be with his fated mate. The poor guy was still harboring what happened to his twin, Zsadist, and blamed himself for what his brother endured. He seemed to cope with the pain by doing drugs and caring for others before himself.

He ends up going down a dark path in this book and losing a lot, and I felt for his character, but I could have dealt without the weird inner monologue. It was too much at times. It was bearable but, again, annoying.

I liked the FMC, Cormia, especially when she was introduced in the previous book. She was chosen to be the Primale’s first mate, and how the old Directrix handled her was awful. I was thankful when Phury stepped up to save her. In the meantime, though, he doesn’t handle it well when he brings Cormia to his side; he pushes her away instead of taking her on and helping her adjust. This initially made me mad until J.R. Ward put his struggles out there and what he was enduring. I understood why there was so much back and forth between the MCs, and the Primale needed help before he could have his HEA.

Phury and Cormia were meant to meet one another when they did, and they had to learn along the way before having their HEA. If you expect this book to be an instant love between the characters, then it is not. This is a slow-burn romance where the MCs take a while to realize they have feelings for one another, especially with one pushing the other away.

J.R. Ward does have other characters getting their POVs in this book, too. We get more of Rehvenge and his second-in-command Xhex. We also have storylines that involve John Matthew, Quinn, and Blay. I’m ready to continue rereading this series, and I’m glad I got a refresher on what is happening to all the other characters, not just the main characters. There is something that happens in this book that I had forgotten, and it pertains to the Lessening Society. It’s a big shocker, and I won’t spoil it for readers who haven’t read it. There’s also a character that comes back in this book, and it was a tear-jerking moment, and I had been waiting for this moment to happen.

Overall, this book gets 4.5 stars, and glad that finally, Phury got the help he needed and found the one person opposite of him that was the perfect match for him.

Standalone/Part of Series: This is the sixth book in the BDB series and I recommend reading in order.

Steam/Spice: 🌶 🌶

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend this to readers who love reading the Fated Mates trope in romance books and are still obsessed with Vampires in their books.

Favorite Quote(s): “Look, you didn’t fail me. Because you can’t fail at the impossible.”

“She silenced him with her mouth, then pulled back. “You can’t change what I think of you.”
He reached up and brushed her lower lip with his thumb.
“If you truly knew me, everything you believe would change.”
“Your heart would be the same. And that is what I love.”

Content Warnings

pvbobrien's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Content Warnings

kaadee's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Ok let me start out with saying that I don’t like Phury. I don’t like Phury sososoososo much, he annoys me SO much. I hate his sob story. I mean, his concerns and emotions are valid it’s just annoying because I don’t care. The way he treated Cormia throughout a majority of the book just reinforced this for me.
I don’t like his addiction plot. After 300+ years of living and NOW you’re gonna overdose? Dude. I feel like it’s just stupid and put together terribly. Not realistic. He would have tried something harder a LONG time ago if his whole “wizard” emotional war was the case.

I liked Cormia. In fact, she might be one of my favorite girl characters. I like how powerful she is even though her whole existence she’s told she couldn’t be. She’s different, in a good way. Exploring the world through her eyes was beautiful and I loved every second. Her relationship with Bella and John was adorable and I want MORE. She can have a better man than Phury any day but if we have to settle, sure.

JOHN MATTHEWS ❤️ Truly my favorite character. He’s so sweet and such a baby and I love him. I was so happy when he got Tohr back but upset for him because it wasn’t like he thought it was going to be. I’m always rooting for John, even if he’s wrong. Blay and Qhuinn are such good friends for him. What they did to lash was 100% justified.

I liked Rehv’s POV. Excited for the next book.

LASSITER? I CANT WAIT TO KNOW MORE.

Content Warnings

the_disreputable_dog's review

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think this might be my favorite of the books so far. Fury went through so much adversity, I LOVE the parts with John Michael, I'm intrigued by Blay and Qhuinn, I also am starting to actually really like Revhenge (definitely did not like him to begin with, what with that request he put in to the king), and I think Lash is pretty smart, and I like him a little as well. I'm really liking this series and cannot wait to dive into the next one.

Content Warnings

lunahale's review

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slow-paced

2.0

this took me what felt like an AGE to read, and i literally yelled "i did it" when i finished. i didn't know when i started this but i read it for everyone but phury jksdjs (and it was just as bed the second time, don’t ask me why i reread this)

Content Warnings

liz_ross's review

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dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

" 'I love you forever' didn't always need to be spoken to be understood."

The Black Dagger Brotherhood series books are Dark Romance with vampires. Anyone who knows that has no trouble realizing it means that there are sex scenes. Lots of them. And I have no doubt those sex scenes with sexy, handsome, dangerous vampires are what makes many readers continue to buy the books in this series. Which is fine because anyone should be allowed to read whatever they please and this genre is as good as any other.

But those sex scenes are not the reason why I keep buying these books and loving them (with one sad exception so far). They are a plus I could live without. What makes me buy the books and love them are the mesmerizing world Ward created that is even more complex that it already seemed at first sight; the addicting, extremely interesting plot when it is related to the war between the vampries and the Lessening; and yes, the sexy, handsome, dangerous vampires, but not because they provide quite good sex scenes, because they are messed up, each one with demons of their own that they fight everyday, and that makes them so incredibly credible and somehow easy to love, to care about, to connect with.

All these things create stunningly beautiful books. Give me a reason to put up with all the sex scenes, because I need to know more about everything else.

Now, you must be wondering why I am telling you all this. Because that's the only way you can understand why I loved this book so much, when Phury is the Brother I like the least - I do love him, but I love all the others way more. There are really few sex scenes in this book, which means there are really few scenes I have to put up with in order to have the chance to enjoy everything else. And that made the book even better for me.

It's not just the fact that it made things easier for me, though. This lack of sex scenes when compared to the other books is just something that feels so damn right. Because it's Phury we are talking about. The Brother who pretty much gave up his life for his brother, sacrificed his own happiness to take care of his brother, devoted his life to him. He didn't deserve a story filled with sex scenes, a story mostly about sex or about loving Cormia like a "man" should. He deserves exactly what Ward gave him. A story about self-love, about trust, about acceptance and learning to forgive himself. Phury deserved redemption perhaps more than any other brother and he finally got that.

And by giving him all that, Ward created this absolutely lovely story that got me near tears as often as it made me smile. It's quite close to perfection and the best match to that bittersweet ending that left my heart throbbing while I stared at the book with a stupid smile on my face.

Ward made me love the one book I was expecting to like the least and I do admire her for that.

But it's more than Phury's path that made me give this book such a high rating. The lack of sex scnes brought one other positive aspect - it left a lot of space for world and plot development.

I loved to learn more about The Chosen and their world and I absolutely love what Ward did with it and how it fits Phury and Cormia's relationship so well. It was so interesting to dive into that side of the world Ward created, which had only began to be developed in the previous book and definitely hadn't got enough "screen time" yet. It adds a few more layers to the complexity of the vampiric world and its culture.

And the Lessening are no longer on vacation!! 🎉🎉 You know what that means? Action. LOTS of it. And DRAMAAAAA. And oh boy, I am here for the drama! And the action. Well, mostly the action. The drama is a bonus, but you know what I meant. Anyway, as I said before the part of the plot related to the fight between vampires and the Lessening is one of my favorite parts about these books. So, you can imagine how glad I was to get more about that in this book. It made the book a thousand times more interesting and I am desperate to get my hands on the next book. I need to know when will the Brotherhood finally figure out the threat that is pretty much knocking at their door. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN!!

Overall, one of the best books of the series so far. Phury's story is absolutely endearing and left me so many good memories of the book that fill me with joy just for thinking about it. And the new information about the world and the developments in the war against the Lessening are just as interesting. For those who read this book for the sex scenes, I can guarantee you, everything else makes up for the lack of those. And for those who read the book for the same reason that I do, I assure you, you'll love this book.

Content Warnings

velocireader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

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Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward

booklovinmamas's review

pvbobrien's review against another edition

kaadee's review against another edition

the_disreputable_dog's review

lunahale's review

liz_ross's review

velocireader's review against another edition