Lover Eternal - J.R. Ward

So after much incentive by several friends I finally decided to pick up Lover Eternal. It seemed the general opinion that this one was better than Dark Lover and finally I thought, why not read it?

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. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…

I'm happy to say I enjoyed it more than Dark Lover, the cartoon / comic book feeling was not as obvious and the characters seemed more real. However they still curse a lot, and instead of sounding macho to me it sounds forced.

Regarding the story itself, well, to me the story was mainly Mary and Rhage, all that talk of the lessers and a Mr X I just skimmed through. Rhage is a pretty tormented character being part vampire and part beast and Mary is a cancer survivor who just discovers that her cancer is back. I did like how their relationship evolved although I didn't feel very comfortable with the amount of women Rhage bedded. It was weird! And once again it seemed artificial. It was an entertaining read while it lasted but it lacks the emotional density that will make me remember a story for months or years after I've read it. Ward does write well and knows how to pick your curiosity, for instance right now I'm awfully curious about Zsadist and Bella, however I think something is missing from these books. Maybe if I'll keep reading I'll find what it is....

Grade: B-, because despite all the flaws mentioned I was entertained while I read it.