Review: Lover Enshrined (BDB, #6) by J.R. Ward

by Carmen Shaw 7:23 PM 0 comments

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood's bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is obligated to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive, and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.

As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body, but his heart for herself. She is drawn to the noble responsibility behind the emotionally scarred male. But Phury has never allowed himself to know pleasure or joy. As the war with the Lessening Society grows grim, tragedy looms over the Brotherhood's mansion, and Phury must decide between duty and love....

After finishing the 6th installment, I really feel as though I'm apart of the Black Dagger Brotherhood world! Like... it's completely engulfed me! Lover Enshrined is mostly about Phury, who is Zsadist's twin brother except he possesses a savior's complex. He feels as though it's his responsibility to save and give a helping hand to everyone else, except for himself. Cormia, his love interest, describes him as:

"With his mane of multicolored hair, and his yellow eyes, and his silky, low voice, he was a spectacular male in his mating prime. But that wasn't what really compelled her. He was the epitome of all that she knew to be of worth: He was focused always on others, never on himself. At the dinner table, he was the one who inquired after each and every person, following up about injuries and stomach upsets and anxieties large and small. He never demanded any attention for himself. Never drew the conversation to something of his. Was endlessly supportive."

Initially, we learn about his willingness to help others in Lover Revealed, which was Zsadist's story. Readers learn about how Phury lost his right leg to save his twin brother, and all the other sacrifices he's made for the people he cares for. Skip forward to this installment, Lover Enshrined, Phury has just volunteered to take Vishous' position as the Primale after he falls in love with his shellan, Jane. 

As Primale, it's Phury's duty and sole responsibility to mate with countless Chosen to propagate the species:

Chosen (n.) Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mated to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class.

Because the Lessening Society has assassinated most of the Black Dagger Brotherhood members, leaving them down to single numbers, the race is in danger of becoming extinct and succumbing to the Lessers. This is where Cormia comes in. She is to serve as Phury's First Mate, which ultimately means that he will have to mate with her, impregnate her; she must produce a child, and the cycle continues on with another Chosen. But what the pair didn't count on is falling in love with one another.

Serving as a sub-plot in this installment is Phury's drug addiction. Because he's always there for others, he's constantly neglecting the needs of his own physical body and spiritual mind. He's never there for himself, and so he turns to abusing drugs and alcohol. This little addiction ends up spiraling out of control and causes him to jeopardize not only the longevity of his life, but also his job as a Brother, his relationship WITH his brothers, and his connection with Cormia!

So... a lot happens in this novel. J.R. Ward delves into Rehvenge's story a bit; Qhuinn, John, and Blaylock's story; and it's also revealed about the knowledge of the Omega's son and how he came into power as the Lessening Society's ruler!

The only reason this is 4.5 targets and not 5 is because I felt like because there were SO MANY SUB-PLOTS it took away from the MAIN PLOT, which should have been Phury and Cormia's story.

4.5 TARGETS!