Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Lover Eternal

Second book in the series, the love i have for Raghe is just so great, i remember how much i loved this book, i've read like 10 times and i'd go again anytime. 10/10

Content Warnings

thelibraryofalexandra's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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sweetreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense 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

5.0

Well, that was laced with crack. So bad yet sooo good.

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mrs_gale'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? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Continuation from the previous book but we get Rhage and him falling for a human, Mary. It was great! I wasn't sure how it would end, and I thought we'd see the Butch and Marissa story progress. I still find the parts of the story from 'Lesser' POV boring, as I did in the first book. I do like the "new" characters introduced, John and Bella, but again I wanted more of their stories too - so onto book 3 for more Bella!

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prunechips's review against another edition

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dark emotional

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

4.5

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rachelgreenreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

This was really enjoyable.
I liked the development of Rhage’s relationship to his curse throughout the book. I was once again pleasantly surprised by the author’s portrayal of disability and illness (in this case the FMC’s stuggle with Leukemia). Although she was magically cured at the end, which I have complicated feelings about, I though the portrayal of illness and survivorship was pretty solid.

Occasionally I would feel the tension was getting too… tense, only to have the author present a breakthrough. I also really appreciated Rhage’s emotional expression, especially in response to the FMC being hurtful at times. I feel like too often the FMCs of books like this can be really cruel and the MMCs just tough it out, but Rhage’s responses felt real and accurate.

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tj_park's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

5.0

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booklovinmamas's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

I’ve lost count of how many times I have read Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward. I decided to listen to the book this time, and I’m glad I did since Jim Frangione brought the characters to life with his narration. I’m thoroughly enjoying being back in the BDB world from the beginning.

Storyline/My Thoughts: I fell hard for Rhage, aka Hollywood, when I read Lover Eternal in 2009. I’m going to admit I fell for him already in Dark Lover. Each BDB guy holds a special place in my heart. I’m all for the tortured, vulnerable characters; that is precisely what Rhage is in this book. He’s also an unaliver. I love the unhinged characters. He has a reason to be unhinged because he was cursed with a beast from the Scribe Virgin. Even the other BDB warriors fear him when he unleashes that beast.

Rhage is usually the ladies’ man in the BDB until he meets his mate unexpectedly. At first, he scares the poor human woman with his intimidating persona and forefront personality. Mary Luce is a beautiful human woman who takes calls on a helpline and doesn’t know anything about Rhage’s world. She doesn’t have time to really date, especially a man (who she thinks is a man) as beautiful as Rhage. Rhage won’t give up on pursuing Mary Luce and knows she’s dealing with things. Mary ends up in the BDB world due to helping another person that comes into her life, and only BDB can help that individual.

Mary became an instant fave of mine in this series with how strong of a character she is, even when dealing with something life-changing. She wants to continue to live her life, even with dealing with what she is dealing with, and now she has Rhage constantly there, watching over her, especially when she ends up in danger.

She’s a sweet and wonderful woman who is perfect for Rhage because she is the opposite of him. He needs someone like her to accept and help him with his curse. The one curse that he can’t get rid of due to what he did in his past. The only issue with pursuing Mary entirely is that Rhage doesn’t want to hurt her. Rhage may come off as alpha-like and very protective of Mary, but he has a gentler side that comes out with her.

It seems all the BDB mates bring out the gentler side of the scary BDB characters.

One of my favorite parts in Lover Eternal is when Rhage does take Mary on a date. Can you imagine one of the BDB characters being at a regular restaurant? A very intimidating, sexy male character dining with a petite Mary Luce. He only has eyes for Mary, too, which makes him very swoon-worthy.

If you’re thinking about reading the BDB series, then read this series in order. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on other POVs that come to play in the books that give hints about the upcoming books. You even get previous characters’ POVs, too. I enjoy this series by J.R. Ward because she never leaves us hanging on what is happening with ALL the characters. Don’t get me wrong, I love the main characters getting their stories, but I need to know what is happening with the other characters, too.

Readers that love the tortured, a-hole characters will have Zsadist’s POV in Rhage and Mary’s book. He’s another intimidating BDB character, but he will meet his match with his mate in his book next in the series.

I give Lover Eternal five stars and wish to give it more, especially since J.R. Ward tore at my heart with this book regarding Rhage’s and Mary’s ending. These two would do anything for each other, and that ending proved it.

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and I recommend reading in order.

Steam/Spice: 🌶 🌶

Genre(s)/Trope(s)/Element(s): Paranormal Romance. Fated Mates. Instant Love/Attraction. MMC Fell First. Opposite’s Attract. Touch Her and I’ll Unalive You. Alpha MMC. Sweet/Innocent FMC. FMC is sick/ill. Cursed MMC.

Would I recommend this book/series? Yes. I recommend this series to Paranormal Romance readers who love a series that is never-ending at this point. You’ll get badass warriors and their mates that can only tame them. Be prepared to become addicted to this fictional PNR Vampire world that J.R. Ward wrote for her readers.

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