Lover Enshrined by J. R. Ward

Description:


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....


My Review:

Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Phury has become the Primale for the Chosen, the father for all the newest generation of the Chosen and the Brotherhood.  Filled with guilt over things he had no control over and his attraction to his brother’s mate, he has let his addictions to drugs get the better of him.  To the point where his Chosen first wife, Cormia, is unsure about where she stands.  Cormia knows that Phury has feelings for his brother’s mate, but she doesn’t care.  She desires him, to the point where she wishes that he was only her husband, not the Primale to all the Chosen. 

With choices to be made, will Phury and Cormia survive the results, or will they loose each other forever.

I’m still not sure if I liked this book or not, and let me explain why. 

First, I think Phury is a whinny ass who can’t seem to understand that the world DOES NOT revolve around him.  It isn’t because of his birth as the 2^nd born twin that his brother was kidnapped.  It wasn’t his fault that his brother was scarred and tortured.  Also, his deep desire for Bella, his brother’s mate, is a little to the point of stalker-ish. 

Second, the constant appearance of the wizard was a pain in the ass.  I understand what the wizard was suppose to represent, and how it tortured Phury, but really?  Was it necessary to bring it up so much?  I could honestly have not dealt with it at all.  I might have even rather have had Phury not have the wizard as his tortured mind’s perverse personification.

Overall, Phury’s character just plain pissed me off.  I mean, come on, there is only so much angst that can exist in a person before you begin to hate them.  No wonder Zsadist goes after him!  No wonder a lot of other shitty stuff happens to him! Ugh, did not like him.

Third reason that I’m just not sure I liked this book was because of the whole lesser issue PLUS what the Omega started 25 years prior to the actual happenings in the book.  Seems a bit far fetched compared to the rest of this book.  Actually a whole lot of far fetched.  I can’t say much without giving it away, but REALLY? 

Now, what I did like about the book is a better understanding of the Chosen, getting to know Cormia better, and a great area of growth for John Matthew. 

The Chosen remind me so much of isolated nuns who are allowed to have sex.  But in so many ways their isolation has perverted the purpose of being separated from the general populace.  Their innocence is just one more thing that sets them up for vulnerability and you can’t help but want to shake some sense into their heads.  But then we get to see how the Scribe Virgin works within the Chosen, how things work on that side of reality, and a little surprise kept within the Scribe Virgin’s chambers. 

I think I loved Cormia the best, as she was such a strong character.  I mean, she is bright, but still full of innocence, and that just made it better to see how great a character she was.  I think that her character was one of the main reasons I kept reading this book. 

John Matthew, the supposed son of Darrius, is a great character.  Because of his past of living among humans as an orphan/foster child, he has a lot of baggage to deal with, especially the sexual abuse he has endured.  His reasons for wanting to ignore it is understandable, but the way he finds the strength to finally admit it to others (other than the doctor and those who read his files) makes him a better person. 

Overall, I do recommend this book, if only to get a better of idea of the upcoming books (and to see if you like the same characters as I did :P)

Happy Reading!


Cana