Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I stumbled across the Black Dagger Brotherhood in early 2024 with Darius (Book 0) and I got sucked into this crazy, cracked-out world of sexy, throwback feeling, world of vampires fighting something more evil than themselves.

Overall rating: I love that we get a look into Zsadist and what makes him the vampire he is. I feel like Ward did a good job going back and forth from the present-day storyline to the past storyline with Zsadist's time as a blood slave and how that shaped who he is and how he's approaching the journey with Bella. I also enjoyed seeing more character development of John and how he's coping with this new version of his life with the Brotherhood (and how he'll fit in as the series continues). I do think this is probably one of the darker, more serious books so far in the series. It explores Zsadist's history and self-hatred, including graphic depictions of what was done to him as a blood slave. So be prepared for a bit of heaviness and self-loathing,

especially when it comes to Zsadist and Bella finding their sexual chemistry and acting upon it

. Honestly, there was a lot going on in 'Lover Awakened.' We meet quite a few new characters - including Rehvenge,

there's a lesser regime change

, we learn more about the vampire traditions and customs, and just overall start to see more of the interconnectedness of the world Ward is building for the Brotherhood.

I know I've said it before in previous reviews for this series, but I feel like I just have to say it again, this is just a good escape read. You don't have to think too much about it, you don't have to try and keep things straight (Ward does a great job dropping little reminders at the beginning of each book and throughout so you keep the characters and their traits straight), and you can just dive into a (slightly dated) world of sexy vampire warriors. I'm here for it.