Book #78 - Lover Enshrined (Black Dagger Brotherhood #6)

Lover Enshrined (Black Dagger Brotherhood #6), J. R. Ward
534 pages
urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Started 7/15/12
Finished 7/17/12
4 STARS

And then there were two. Of the original Brothers introduced to us in the first book, Phury and Tohrment are the only ones left to not have their own book. And, after Lover Enshrined, we're down to one. This is Phury's book. One would think that with his colorful past, volatile present and Fabio hair that I would've enjoyed this one more than what I did. :(

*CAUTION - Spoilers from Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood #5) are included in this review. (Sorry - it can't be helped this time.)

Phury is in a pickle. He is still madly in love with his twin brother's wife (or, shellan, as they are called among the vampires in Ward's world), Bella, and now he's committed himself to sleeping with 40 virgins in order to repopulate the Brotherhood with future warriors. Eesh. Needless to say, he's not feeling to happy about this arrangement. To add insult to injury, Bella is pregnant, and she's not doing so hot. To deal with the emotional turmoil he's put himself in, he turns to drugs, alcohol and self-destruction. Until a certain member of The Chosen lights a tiny spark inside of him and gives him hope for a better future for everyone.

Mmm kay. Here's the problem. I never really found myself caring too much about Phury. I know, I know - he's one of the super hot BDB vamps. He's the most sensitive. He's got nicer hair than I do. I should love him, right? Think is, I just... don't. I kept wanting him to man up like his Brothers before him - to wake up and see what was right in front of his face. And it annoyed me to no end that he wallowed in self-pity as long as he did.

So, why the 4-Star rating? Well, first of all, I can't bring myself to rate any of these books lower than a 4. Each one is part of a bigger whole. Although Phury's story, even though it was the main story, was lacking, the other side stories for John Matthew, Rehvenge, Qhuinn, Blay and Xhex kept me going. they also ensured that I picked up book #7 immediately after reading the last word in this book. More on that tomorrow.