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    Lover Enshrined
    Lover Enshrined
    Lover Enshrined
    Audiobook17 hours

    Lover Enshrined

    Written by J.R. Ward

    Narrated by Jim Frangione

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    No one writes dark romance like J. R. Ward, as evidenced by Publishers Weekly's assertion that her "erotic paranormals are ... frighteningly addictive." In Lover Enshrined, a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood must make a decision that could save-or spell doom for- his race of vampires. Phury knows his share of pain, but can the Primale of the Chosen experience love as well?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 15, 2008
    ISBN9781436185691
    Lover Enshrined
    Author

    J.R. Ward

    J.R. Ward is the author of more than sixty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There are more than twenty million copies of her novels in print worldwide, and they have been published in twenty-seven different countries. She lives in the south with her family.

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    Reviews for Lover Enshrined

    4/5

    1,143 ratings59 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Another great read! It was most captivating as for the other first five books, and each character from the five other books was more like a portal for the very next action. The captivating roles of each of the brotherhood members are revealed. Powerful ways to show the lives lived and the actual story and how each came to become their very essence. Finding the will amid all the problems, killings, and death of their opponent. Their species have their rival that wants to see their race destroy for good. Each brotherhood member has their part to play in saving their race. I rate this five-start or more it is outstanding.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      It’s was alittle slow to start… But still pretty good
    • 5/5
      Another one down! This one focused on Phury but there was a lot of John too. When I first started reading I was a little worried that it wouldn't be as good as the past stories because I was introduced to the voice in Phury's head, whom he called the 'wizard'. It came out of nowhere; no mention at all in Phury's narratives in the past books, and I didn't think the 'wizard' was ever really explained in this book either. But regardless the book was good. Like some of the past females, I didn't like Cormia that much to begin with, but she grew on me. And Phury's addiction made for some suspenseful moments as well as some heated interaction between him and his twin Zsadist. I am starting to see some predictability in Ward. Their's always a happy ending. The guy always gets the girl in the end. But their getting progressively more complex to where I begin to wonder if it's still going to end happy. Makes for lots of lip biting and frantic turning of pages. I think I read this through in a five hour period. Now I'm off to read about Rehvenge.
    • 3/5
      I think I will be stopping this series with this book. There are too many plot threads heading in too many directions. This no longer seems like a paranormal romance series, but like Ward's trying to take it into epic fantasy with a heavy dose of sex. Not what I started reading them for, or what I loved about them...
    • 3/5
      I like the book but the recording skipped a lot and I missed out on key things and how things came about
    • 3/5
      I think because I've read so many reviews warning that LE was more urban fantasy than paranormal romance, I came out with a more favorable impression than I might have if not warned.Then again maybe I would have liked it just the same without the warning, because I personally thought it was romantic enough.Yeah, there was alot of things going on in this one and once again I skimmed much of the "Lesser" parts. (I'll explain later.) Unfortunately, I couldn't skip them all together because they are interwoven into the plot of LE.But yet I can't say I disliked it, even though it is certainly not the best in the series ...Phury, Twin of Zsadist (Lover Awakened), is lost. Self sacrificing to the point of madness he simply cannot find peace. For one he's in love with his brother's mate, for another, he's addicted to red smoke. In previous novels, I had a completely different picture of him. Always surround by a haze of smoke he seemed enigmatic, removed and tantalizing. In LE, he's more accessible. Unfortunately he comes off as way more whiney as well. Yeah, bad things happened to him growing up with his twin enslaved, his father an alcoholic and his mother seemingly locked away in depression, but bad things happened to all of his brother's in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. What's ruined him more, however, is his self sacrificing nature- his greatest asset and his greatest flaw.In the Lover Unbound, the previous novel in Ward's BDB series, he sacrificed his future by taking up the appointment of Primale to his race from Vishious. This means he will be responsible for repopulating the vamp race created by The Scribe Virgin. They have been decimated, not only through the Lessers, a group of evil zealots whose main goal is to destroy them, but also due to the fact, that the women of their race have a difficult time carrying their babies to full term- or surviving. Add to that the fact that when the males go through a transition to full adulthood many don't survive as well, we have fewer and fewer vamps in Ward's world. As Primale, it's Phury's duty to impregnate not only THE Chosen of the Scribe Virgin but also forty of her sisters. (huh? Wait a minute, are they Fundamentalist Islamics now? ) Of course a kink is thrown into that plan when first, he's not interested in sexing up anyone let alone FORTY (he's made a self-sacrificing vow of celibacy to be kept firmly intact until his twin his rescued and whole again), and then later because ... he discovers his one true mate in the midst of them!The dude has some serious issues, and I felt that dragged out a bit too much. Perhaps because- in the way I find most annoying in Ward's novels- she hops suddenly from alternating plot thread to plot thread.Segue to the second major plot in LE: The development of the recently transitioned younger males of the group. John Matthew, Blay and Quinn are back, along with Lash- the brother who seems intent on tormenting the sensitive mute, John. When something happens that brings out the protective side of Quinn, the boys are drawn even closer to The older Brothers and one who was left for dead, arises in a much "Lesser" capacity. Much of this is obviously a set up for later books and though I found it distracting, I did enjoy these bits of the book enough to keep me turning the pages.The last thing is, of course, what the Lesser's are up too. And it's major. As I said I skimmed it mostly- I really can't get into this part of the series- but I did get through it.Ward also throws in a bunch of new side characters- or more accurately, old ones are given more depth. Rhevenge, Xhex (how do you pronounce that, anyway?) and their sub-species of the Vamp race, and V's sister, Payne, awakens- (Now SHE intrigues me!) I have no idea where Ward is going next in this series but, as before, just when I swear I'm giving up, I'll more likely then not, follow.LE is a must read if you are going to continue on in the series.
    • 3/5
      I would actually give this 3.5 stars. I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous 5 books as it is quite relentlessly depressing until the very end. Not as much of the humour as in the other books. Hopefully the next books will spread the action around the brothers a bit and liven things up again. Still good though :)
    • 3/5
      Phury is a hero of unrecognized proportions with a dark messenger of his own. Someday he could become the villain, or would have if he hadn't had the experiences that he does in this book. Cormia is a woman who has yet to understand herself, grown up in a world where everything is white and orderly, thrown into chaos filled with color as Phury takes her to the world he lives in from her own. Watching this journey of love was worth the read.
    • 4/5
      FINALLY we get some real resolution being sought to the Phury issue. Granted, I really like him as a character, but his story-arc until now had just been begging for a real serious intervention or other major development, considering he was on a direct course for disaster. Between that, and the shocking developments featured in the vampire war, this was definitely an important installment in the series. I'm glad I finally read it.
    • 2/5
      Least favourite, let’s just say that it was hell getting through Phury’s monologue.
      I might have through half of this one.
    • 4/5
      Not my fav in the series, but still good, and so heart-wrenching in places. I could tell Phury was headed down a rough path from previous books, but damn... and excuse me, but how do you sign up for a job you aren't capable of doing? Ugh, he made me so mad at times!
    • 5/5
      Ups and like crazy in this book. Phury's struggle is unique to vampire stories I've read in the past. I also had times where I feared I wouldn't like how the story ended up. Ultimately, though, I was very pleased with how things worked out for him. The added story line with John Matthew and friends was very intriguing and I can't wait to see how things progress from here. And the ending was phenomenal and brought tears to my eyes.
    • 3/5
      Phury is also not my favorite brother. Ill post more after the re-read.
    • 3/5
      Love the Brotherhood dearly but Phury's issues got annoying. John Matthew and friends are a great addition to the BDB cast; their stories should really be good. I'm curious to see how the new Lesser King story line evolves.
    • 4/5
      These books are campy, cheesy, adventurous, and original. I hate that I love reading these.It reminds me of when I go to the grocery and buy something like fiery hot Cheetos, or bacon flavored SPAM. Or even those cheap pot pies in the frozen section, or a bag of pork rinds. I have to shop produce first because then I can...or ONE can hide them under the healthy food. You don't want people to know that you love those things but you can't stop buying them from time to time, or in this case, reading them.So I've heard....
    • 5/5
      I will admit, this book confused me. Only because I accidentally started reading it before the book Lover Unbound which comes before this book. It was really interesting though. I liked how it didn't just focus on Phury, but it had Zsadist's point of view, Qhuinn's, and John Matthew's as well. I feel like I got to know more of the characters personally. The fight between the Lessening Society and the Vampires is getting more intense too. This has made me more eager to read more of the books to see what happens. I also liked that Tohrment came back in this book. I was wondering when he was going to come back into it, and was delighted to find out that the guy in the Adirondack Mountains was actually Tohrment. I can honestly say I can't wait to read the rest of the books (I'm going to go back, so I can read Lover Unbound first though)
    • 3/5
      Not the best one from the BDB series, but good nonetheless. The ending though was one of the best form the six books. And I love Cormia, I think she's great and my second favorite only behind Bella, because hers and Zsadist story IS the best of the BDB series and they all sort of mash up in this story. I liked it and I recommend it.
    • 3/5
      Well, the book that I was expecting and the book that I got were two different beasts by far. I was expecting something along the lines of the previous five books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood - a main romance (this time between Cormia and Phury) with some (but not overwhelming) backstory featuring other characters. And that is not this book.Instead, there are at least ten stories in this book fighting for space, and since the book is only 560 pages, that doesn't leave a lot of room for any of them. Story #1 - Phury and Cormia's relationshipI'm sorry, but I don't buy it. At the beginning of the book, it is revealed that Phury and Cormia have been on earth (as opposed to the Scribe Virgin's domain) for five months and they are barely talking to one another. Cormia pretty much locks herself away in her room because she's terrified of almost everything, having been raised in the sterile environment of The Other Side. Phury doesn't pay her much attention, it seems; he's more concerned over pining over his twin's pregnant wife. Okay.But then they just fall in love, even though they know practically nothing about one another. More than one character points out this fact, including Phury himself. But, uhh, love. I guess.There isn't much sex in this book, which doesn't bother me, but for people expecting a paranormal romance book...yeah, I can see where they would be upset. And once it does happen...well...spoilers ahoy! Cormia and Phury's first time is so rough and lacking in tenderness that John Matthew, a rape victim himself, believes that Cormia has been raped once he comes in to check that she's okay afterwards. And then proceeds to beat the ever-loving shit out of Phury, who ALSO believes that he had raped Cormia. But it's love, man. It's love.Quite frankly, Cormia had very little character development and Phury was a devolution. I didn't buy their romance at all, because there really wasn't one. It was just two people falling together, both damaged in some way, and clinging to one another because they need a life raft. I don't see that being a healthy long-term relationship. Story #2 - Phury's drug addictionWhoa, what? We were told in an earlier book that "red smoke" is milder than marijuana. And now in this book we are shown that prolonged smoking of "red smoke" gives you a wicked addiction and the DT's when you go into withdrawal. But it's milder than marijuana? Seriously? Nope.I do think that Phury's addiction to the drug was portrayed well. Unfortunately, I think Phury's addiction took the center stage in this book, so this should really be Story #1. Everything else took a back seat to Phury and the wizard. Yes, that is what he calls his inner demons.Add this to Phury's slicing and dicing, and he gets himself kicked out of the Brotherhood. Way to go, man. And his urge to become this way is never really explained in the book. I don't understand how he made that leap, especially since he came across as such a stand-up guy in the first few books of the series.Story #3 - Phury has a lot of angstI think this can be summed up by Zsadist: "For fuck's sake, get off the cross. Someone else needs the wood.” Phury pretty much blames himself for everything that ever goes wrong. Zsadist's kidnapping? Phury's fault for being born. Their parents falling apart? Phury's fault for being born. Rinse and repeat. Look, I like a character with a lot of angst. I really do. But Phury just has too much. I can't believe I am saying that, but this guy has some serious complexes that probably need professional help to be properly addressed. Do they have a vampire psychologist Phury can see? Because he needs it.Story #4 - It's war!The Lessening Society has decided to crank up the war on the vampires, so there is a lot of that stuff going on in the book, too. Which I don't necessarily mind, but it didn't add a lot to the first half of the book (it did to the second half). I do like the new fore-lesser, though. I never thought that I would say that, haha.Story #5 - LashI think everything under this heading is a spoiler.First, Lash is an ass and gets his throat slit by Qhuinn after Lash threatens John Matthew. Which leads to a lot of other stuff, but basically, Qhuinn's ass is grass in vampire society now. There's a lot of talk about running away and prison and punishment, but in typical fashion, Ward writes him an out.Also, Lash is the son of the Omega. Haha. What. Okay. This might shake up some stuff in the Lessening Society, which has been getting old in the last few books, so I can roll with that.Story #6 - Qhuinn (and Blay)Some of this is covered above. The rest? Blay loves Qhuinn. Qhuinn is messed up. Angst ensues. Interesting things for the future? Maybe. It'll keep me interested. Also, Qhuinn has a messed up family. Like, seriously messed up.I really like the relationship between John Matthew, Qhuinn, and Blay. Story #7 - Speaking of messed up...So Rehvenge's world is being explored more here, and that guy has a lot on his plate. Not only is he half-sympath, which he has to keep hidden from nearly everyone in the vampire society, but he is being blackmailed for some as-of-yet-unexplained reason by the Princess of the sympaths. And the sympaths are apparently super messed up. I'm looking forward to reading more about Rehv. I've always liked his character, and I am eager to read more about what happened with Bella's father, because it's obvious that he was abusive to his family.Story #8 - John Matthew (and Xhex)I want to read their story so badly. And I think it's the next book in the series! Yay! There is some more build up to the relationship that they will soon have here, as well as a lot of angst on John Matthew's part. Interesting.And John Matthew has a lot of angst about other things - his missing "father," Tohr; what happened to him as a pretransition vampire; and what happened with Lash (see above). Hopefully he doesn't drown in it when it comes his turn, like Phury did.Story #9 - These times they are a-changin'The Chosen is an antiquated tradition. Some of the Chosen want to live in the real world. Some want to stay behind with the Scribe Virgin. Phury is walking into a big mess as the Primale, a mantle he didn't necessarily want to adopt (he did so in order for Vishous to be with Doc Jane). The vampire population is dwindling. There are a lot of changes in store for the society. Okay, I get it, but ahhh this is all too much!Story #10 - Bella, Zsadist, etcBella is about ready to have the baby (err...young). Things aren't going so well for any of them. Let us angst about this some. Let us also throw in some of Phury's angst and pining away for Bella, while we're at it.Story #11 - New character plus old character reintroducedUmm, so now there are angels in this world - or, at least, fallen ones. And he saves Tohr, who is wandering around in the mountains and starving to death. Okay. Whatever. By this point, my mind was just swimming with TOO MANY THINGS.----------Holy crap, that is a lot of stuff to be going on in 560 pages. It just felt like too much was thrown into the book and competing for attention here. The book either needed to have some of the story lines trimmed down or discarded completely, OR to be twice as long as it is. I can't say that I hated the book, because I didn't; there were some really good parts here. But I didn't love the book, either.
    • 4/5
      Okay, so the book before this was terrible, and I was ready to walk away from this series.

      I'm glad I gave it a last chance, as this book was great. Ms. Ward appears to be letting go of her need to neatly wrap up storylines, no matter how complex the situation is. I applaud this, as it makes the stories feel more realistic. Well, as realistic as urban fantasy/romance/whatever gets.

      In this book, we're beginning to see a new low for vampire society. Something has to change, and fast, if they're are going to survive. I'm sooo looking forward to the next book.
    • 4/5
      It's nice to see Phury get a love interest, instead of pining over his twin brother's mate.
    • 3/5
      Typical JR ward book. All of them are pretty interchangeable. That's not to say I don't enjoy reading them. I don't like the use of the serviced but it is common theme in many of the books, so push through them. Also, the word true is over used.
    • 3/5
      I think this was my least favorite of the series thus far. Phury lost some credibility for me in this book. He seemed like a big whiny baby and not a strong deadly vamp in the brotherhood. Hell Rehv has more balls than him, and he's a half-blood. I can understand his inner-struggle, but wish it would've turned out a bit differently for me. I think it weird that his twin Z was more of a virgin in his book (even though he'd had a lot more sex in his past lifetime), than Phury. There was no real, "wow sex is awesome" kind of moment for either characters. Whatever became of the wizard too? There was no defining realization of it/him being gone. For some reason the book seemed anticlimactic, even though there was a lot of stuff going on. I guess I just can't wait to get to John's book and to see a little redemption for Tohrment.
    • 3/5
      I wanted to like Phury's story, because he deserved a happy ending. To me it felt like Ward lost interest in the original characters she created. The book had more back stories that were more interesting then the main story of Phury's and Cormia. What did he like about Cormia? I don't know. She wasn't particularly strong or interesting. All that Chosen and Primale stuff kept annoying me. I kept thinking, if Phury needed to impregnate 40 women that was decreasing the gene pool. The Chosen were supposed to be the best of the species, but best at what? All they had going for them is physical beauty and blind obedience. Neither Phury or Cormia had the balls to say 'I want you and fuck the Scribe Virgin and these archaic traditions', had to wait till the end of the book for that and by then I didn't care anymore. The subplots I was very interested in. I love Rhev, can't wait to read his story.
    • 1/5
      My least favorite BDB book. I could not stand how this one ended. I hated it.
    • 4/5
      Lover Enshrined is the story of the mysterious virgin brother Phury. I admit that while reading the previous books in the series I had no interest in Phury’s. He just came off as too uptight and whiney (I guess that’s what being a virgin for so long does to you). However, I picked this up because I had to continue with the series. I’m glad I did. Although this was Phury’s book there were many subplots that were presented in this book that kept my up my interest.

      Some negatives:
      Phury and Cormia’s relationship was predictable in its development. I won’t get into it with this review because I don’t want to spoil it but even from reading the previous book in the series I already knew what the characters needed to do if the relationship was going to be a happy one. Ward’s couples always end in happy endings, so to me this was just a given. I also didn’t particularly care for either one of them.

      There is still too much jargon used. For some reason Ward has the need to name rappers, use teeny bopper “ghetto” language and words like “shit kickers” to get her message across that these are some badass vampire brothers. After 6 books I get the message already. I know they can kick ass. I know “they’re down” with the in crowd. Geez. I do give her credit though for not using “shit kickers” as much in this one.

      Some positives:
      The Lesser world gets more interesting. The Omega has a new secret weapon that kicks ass. I was not expecting this plot line and I’m interested to see where it leads us.

      We learn more about John Matthew. I just adore John. I don’t get his fascination with Xhex…I don’t even condone it being that she looks so manly but whatever. As the saying goes “different strokes for different folks.”

      We find out where Thor ran off too. *sigh* His loss just broke my heart. I’m really glad he is going to be back in the picture.

      We learn some interesting facts about sympaths. I still don’t get exactly what a sympath is but they just sounds nasty. lol.

    • 3/5
      I would actually give this 3.5 stars. I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous 5 books as it is quite relentlessly depressing until the very end. Not as much of the humour as in the other books. Hopefully the next books will spread the action around the brothers a bit and liven things up again. Still good though :)
    • 3/5
      Book 6 of Black Dagger Brotherhood SeriesPhury and the Chosen's Cormia. This delves into Phury's struggle with "the wizard" (his drug addiction) and his inability to follow through on his responsibilities and promises made. Phury really has just taken on too many of life's burdens starting with his guilt surrounding his twin's abduction and the century of torture he went through. There was one line in this book that made me chuckle even with its truthfulness: "Would you climb down off the cross already? Someone else needs the wood!" Phury doesn't know how to put himself first so he has come to rely on his "red smoke" to help him deal with his own self loathing. Like a lot of addicts, he has to hit bottom before he can start the hard scramble back up to a happier life. I found the part of the story surrounding his relationship with Cormia frustrating at times until the somewhat bittersweet and hopeful ending to the book.There was a big brouhaha involving a locker room brawl between Qhuinn, John, Blay and Lash that created lasting drama. It's getting good, especially with the addition of these "Boys" who have transitioned and are now of service to the King. Rhev is given a lot of face time in this one, as well as a couple of newcomers to Omega's realm. I'm particularly intrigued by his new fore-lesser, Mr. D, who has a lot of southern sensibilities. Can I call it charm when he is evil?? I'm hoping his character will be able to survive the fore-lesser curse.There are a lot of changes in the worlds of the Chosen, the Brotherhood, and the Omega in this installment. No big surprises in this one but a lot of interesting developments and build-up for future books.
    • 4/5
      Not my favourite book from the series. The backstories won me over this time, they were satisfying, far more than Phury's story. Phury's every (bad) desicion sent him in tailspin, and it was frustrating to read that he was so messed up. And him to find Cormia in that state of mind - they were destined to fall in to nice little dance called "one step forward, two (or five) steps back".
    • 5/5
      Not my favourite book in the series, but I still loved it, Phury surprised me with the wizard, I would not have guess that he "heare" voices in his head. I found Cormia a bit boring, but not enough to make me dislike her. I still don't like John Matthews, mind-numbingly-boring John better shape up!
    • 4/5
      Phury is my least favourite member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I do feel that his actions are noble, such as: Taking the vow of celibacy to strengthen his character to not be deterred from finding his twin (Zsadist) [although I do think it would make more sense if his vow of celibacy had more to do with Zsadist's confinement as a blood and sex slave], shooting off his lower leg to save both himself and Zsadist, shaving his head and scarring his face to look like Zsadist in order to impersonate his twin, the list goes on. I do think it is in Phury's nature to help others to his own detriment, including stepping in as the Primale so that Vishous could be with Jane.What I don't understand is why Phury's self-loathing causes him to be an addict.So, let's talk about this story: As we learned in Lover Unbound, Phury is now the Primale and must mate with The Chosen to ensure the future strength of the vampire bloodlines. Although he accepts Cormia as his First Mate, the two never consummate their pairing. Phury becomes more and more withdrawn because he cannot face his future as the Primale, and he falls into a downward spiral that is out of control...so much so that he is released from the Black Dagger Brotherhood.Speaking of the BDB, that was another thing that bothered me: Why did Wrath cut him loose? Why didn't the brothers rally together and try to help Phury? I was a little stunned that this occurred, and it just seems so out of character for the Brotherhood to do this. Other members of the BDB were just as dangerous (Vishous and Zsadist come to mind), but they were never ousted.I was frustrated with Phury for most of the book and did not understand his actions. There seemed to be a genuine attraction between Phury and Cormia, but Phury fought it for most of the book. Their pairing also isn't as passionate as what we've grown used to, such as Vishous and Jane or Zsadist and Bella. Another thing that bothered me was that it seemed that Cormia was the consolation prize because Phury couldn't have Bella. Although Bella does try to explain to Cormia that she doesn't believe that Phury is truly in love with her, I can't recall during the book whether Phury actually comes to that same conclusion? I think it is implied when he finally realizes that that the "dream mate" he sketches is actually Cormia, but I just wish that there was more said about Phury's feelings toward Bella. It just seems so...unresolved.Ward always has such a way with words, and this has to be my favourite quote from the book which totally sums up Phury's personality:Zsadist to Phury:“For f____k’s sake, get off the cross. Someone else needs the wood.”**SPOILER ALERT!Phury's final noble act that takes place towards the end of the book was wonderful, and I enjoyed how Ward played this out. What I didn't understand was why this had to lead to Phury's exile. Phury gives up the Red Smoke and chooses only to be with Cormia, but it doesn't make sense to me why he cannot stay with the Brotherhood and fight with them.I wound up listening to the end of the audiobook on my way home from work, and I was bawling! The ending was superb, and I was thrilled with Zsadist's actions. My heart simply melted.Interestingly, I enjoyed the sub-plots more than the central story of Phury and Cormia. The Lash/John Matthew/Qhuinn/Blaylock storyline was great, and I was most surprised by the Qhuinn/Blaylock revelation.The relationship between John Matthew and Xhex continues to grow more interesting by the book! I can't wait to see what transpires between these two!Rehvenge is becoming more and more complex, and I love that Ward is digging deeper into his character. That man has a lot of layers! I thought what Lassiter says to Rehv is most interesting:"The righteous do not always do right, but their souls remain pure. You are untainted at your core."The return of someone who we thought was gone was hinted at throughout the book. I guessed correctly who that was, and we find out towards the end of the book who that is. I am curious how this storyline progresses in the next installment.Narrator Jim Frangione is the perfect choice for this series. His voice breaks in all the right places, and it seems he gets as worked up as the rest of us during the naughty bits!MY RATING: 4 stars! As frustrated as I was with some parts of the book, I still really liked it and would recommend it!