Reviews with content warning for Torture - Lover Revealed

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

4 reviews

shellballenger's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.5

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I stumbled across the Black Dagger Brotherhood in early 2024 with Darius (Book 0) and I got sucked into this crazy, cracked-out, sexy, throwback-feeling, world of vampires fighting something more evil than themselves.

Overall rating: I was wondering how Ward was going to make this one make sense, but they did. The way that Ward approached Butch and his relationship with the brotherhood, Marissa, and the general vampire community (i.e. a world where he is essentially always on the out because he's human) does the series justice.

Butch's progression to becoming a vampire doesn't feel like a cop-out, an easy write, or Ward just satisfying what we all want (Butch and Marissa together forever, duh). It actually makes sense with his backstory and how he falls into the vampire world. Plus I'm so happy it's not just a bite on the neck and then done.

One thing that continually amazes me throughout this series is Ward's ability to interconnect the characters and their storylines, building from one book to another. Sure, 'Lover Revealed' is primarily about Butch and Marissa, but we also learn more about John, Vi, Rehv, and the interworkings of the vampire world as a whole (governing, rules, traditions, etc.).

I also thoroughly enjoy seeing what could be the beginning of the next generation of brothers with John and his training class.

Also, I just have to say it, the Scribe Virgin walked so the Suriel could run. 😂

I know I've said it before in previous reviews for this series, but I feel like I just have to say it again, this is just a good escape read. You don't have to think too much about it, you don't have to try and keep things straight (Ward does a great job dropping little reminders at the beginning of each book and throughout so you keep the characters and their traits straight), and you can just dive into a (slightly dated) world of sexy vampire warriors. I'm here for it.

Reader's Note: 'Lover Revealed' includes themes of death; dying; consensual sexual activity; consensual first time sexual activity; violence; torture; rape; murder; and character recollections of physical abuse.

Content Warnings

allingoodtime's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

There’s never been a doubt in my mind that Butch has been through some things in his life that led him to be so cynical and disillusioned when he was a police officer. As this story unfolded and more and more of his upbringing is revealed, my heart broke for the young boy he used to be and the hope he had to one day be enough for his family. It doesn’t forgive some of the methods he used to get things done as a cop, and he doesn’t ever try to make such a claim. He is extremely honest with himself about the terrible things he’s done in his life. There’s no sugarcoating or excuses from him. Having watched him grow into a different man since moving in with the Brotherhood, I know Butch just needed some true friends to be able to be the person he was meant to be.

Marissa had a lot of love growing up, but she was cosseted. Nobody ever gave her a chance to come into her own, and that’s sad when you think about the fact that she’s hundreds of years old. Marissa always did what was expected of her even if her heart wasn’t in it, leading her to think something was wrong with her. After all, if she’s done all the right things year after year for hundreds of years, why is she still unattached? Marissa had the bad luck to be paired with someone who wasn’t right for her and it gave her a complex.

Since both Butch and Marissa have feelings of inadequacy, and they sense that in each other, they hold back way too much. Butch because he doesn’t feel he is worthy of Marissa and Marissa because she thinks she will somehow come up short with Butch. While they cannot hide their attraction, these two have off-the-charts chemistry, they can hide their inner thoughts and feelings.

As much as I love this series, the homophobia is rampant and annoying. Because the friendship between Butch and Vishous figures so prominently in this book, that connection between them is even more obvious. That also means the characters have their backs up a bit more about their relationship, leading to some tiring homophobic language and ideas. I cringe every time because I just know that language would not be used if these books were written today.

There is so much going on in each of these books which keep me wanting more, more, more. Of course, I want to see everyone in the Brotherhood happy and mated, but there is so much more to this world of vampires than finding their mates. In fact, having a mate is a bit of an inconvenience in their line of work. There are a whole lot of books in this series, I only hope the level of storytelling stays as stellar as it’s been while the stale and tired language goes away.

Content Warnings

pvbobrien's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

the_disreputable_dog's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

I'm rating 3.75, because the book was pretty good, but it did bug me how innocent and virginal Marissa is - physically doesn't know her own literal body‽ Are you joking? I loved Butch though, right along with Vishous, and am disappointed they didn't get together. I went ahead and looked at the spoilers and V doesn't even get a guy, he's suddenly fucking pencil straight after this book from the sounds of things. And that scene during the transformation ceremony and all! I'm glad we didn't get a kill your gays moment, but we almost did, and did we not get one just because Butch, V, and Marissa are not gonna become a thruple? Also, I liked the way that Ward included info about Butch's background for the first time, and the plot with the Omega and the Lessers is interesting. I just feel like there's so much neglected potential with Vishous, and that brought the rating down an entire star. It's a really strong pairing, and I actually think the strength of V+Butch, combined with the fact that Marissa had absolutely no clue about it, detracted from the story. If Marissa had known and been fighting for Butch, or if they had become a trio, or if Butch and Marissa realised they weren't a good fit and Butch got with V, that all would've been done a little better, and probably got a 4.5 or higher star rating out of me.

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