Marianne (Australia) (2012/09/16): Lover Eternal is the second book of The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R.Ward. Rhage is the vampire warrior of the Black Dagger Brotherhood with the good looks (his nickname is Hollywood) and a life-like dragon tattoo on his back. The curse put upon him by the Scribe Virgin makes him a voracious lover and dangerous to be around when he loses control. After a chance encounter with human help-line counsellor, Mary Luce, he finds himself mesmerised by her voice, and soon enough, completely besotted with her. But her association with a member of the Brotherhod is hazardous: it makes her a target for the lessers whose mission is to eradicate vampires, and puts her at the mercy of Rhage’s inner dragon, should he lose control. While most of the action in this novel centres on Rhage and Mary, the Brotherhood’s fight with the Lessening Society continues in the background, and Ward also sets up the characters (Zsadist and Bella) for the next novel, Lover Awakened. While it was perhaps a little slow moving in places, there was enough depth in the characters and plot to keep the reader turning pages. The camaraderie between the brothers is enjoyable, there is quite a bit of humour and, as always there are some hot sex scenes. The scene with the chains was particularly funny. I, for one, will keep reading this series. ceecee (USA: CA) (2015/01/14): This book had a similar story line, but with different characters. This book was about Rhage, one of the Brotherhood and for many reasons the most dangerous, and Mary Luce a human mortal. Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He's the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover-for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Owned by this dark side, Rhage fears the time when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.
When Rhage meet's Mary it's her voice he hears first. Her sound is like water upon his dry and parched skin. She's is the only one who can sooth him. At the sound of his voice he feels calm and his inner beast feels soothed. This would be perfect if she wasn't human and dieing. Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage's protection. Mary is not looking for love. But when Rhage's intense animal attraction turns into something more, he knows that he must make Mary his and Rhage finds that he would do just about anything for the woman her loves and wants as his mate, but can he keep her safe when it's what's insider that's killing her. He wants her more than his next breath, he burns for her and yet he'd go through so much more to keep her alive and safe. And when he finds out her time is almost out what will he do to save her....
