Book Review: Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard living, ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world to engage in the turf war with the lessers. He's got nothing to lose. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. If he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers...

Fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls Marissa to bring him back. But even her love may not be enough to save him. (from Goodreads.com)

Spoilers Below. Sorry.

 At first, I wasn't really interested in hearing Butch's story. I don't know why, maybe because he wasn't a vampire from the beginning or something. It turned out to be a pretty good story. He fell for Marissa instantly (in a previous book) which of course meant it could never work even though she fell for him too. The yo yo was a little annoying, both of them not saying what they are really feeling to each other, trying to protect each other. This yo yo went almost to the end of the book eventhough they were still intimately involved in the beginning. I didn't like the transformation of Marissa's appearance though. Yes, she got kicked out of her house by her brother, shunned by the glymera but she didn't have to do a complete 180. I thought she was going to marry Butch in a pinstriped pant suit. Pretty much everything that V had to say in this book had me going, aww, come on dude, stop it. He was taking bromance to a whole. nother. level. I understand the bond just not the (un)subtle lust between the two. Awkward. Butch's backstory was sad and it made you understand even more why he was so protective of Beth and the Brothers. I was glad he was able to become a brother. The induction ceremony was intense, these guys are all about beating the hell out of themselves for their brothers. However, I personally think it would have made for a better story if Butch had crossed further into the darkside and had to be brought back by the Brothers. J.R. Ward cleaned that whole situation up a little toooo easy for my taste. And what did the Omega mean by son? Is there another twist coming later? Also, Van's death irked me. He died too soon. What was his point? The whole getting the prophecy wrong 3 or 4 times was annoying too. There wasn't as much talk from the lessers in this book which was good and John is getting closer and closer to the transition. I can't wait until that happens. Overall, the book was pretty good. It was, however, the first one of the series that I actually put down and ignored for about a week. That is saying alot because I couldn't pretend to put down the first three. Also, there is a big 'Ohhhhhhh' moment at the end about Butch's past. His mama spilled the beans which explained a whole lot. Good book but not great.