The Black Dagger Brotherhood-by J.R. Ward

Ok reading fans let's just cut to the chase, we all have our guilty pleasures when it comes to books. Whether it's secretly hoarding the entire Twilight series or reading the Outlander books while maintaining that you only ever read 'real' literature. And no matter what it is, it's all ok mainly because it still involves reading and loving books. My guilty pleasure is The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward, which happens to be a paranormal romance series. And yes I did indeed say paranormal and romance in the same sentence. It is a series that involves vampires (the good guys), their mortal enemies the lessers (the undead bad guys), The Scribe Virgin (the goddess that made the vampires (that's right maternal society)) and The Omega (the creator of the lessers). 

How did I even come across this series, you might ask? Well it starts with the fact that I work at a bookstore and when I worked on the book floor I saw a lot of the new books that came in. One of these was the (at the time) latest installment in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series 'Lover at Last' and for some reason I became super curious about the series. So, feeling utterly foolish, I bought the first book in the, 'Dark Lover,' on my nook and after that I became obsessed. I instantly fell in love with the characters, the story line, the writing. I realized that it was so much more than just a silly romance, yes, yes there is romance and sex and all that in there but it's all so much more exciting than just that. 

I know, I know you are all thinking 'eww vampires? Really? It's like 'Twilight' or some other really stupid angsty teen vampire novel isn't it?' And the answer is no, it is nothing like that at all. These vampires are warriors that protect their race from being murdered by the lessers. They are fully grown males that start out as big meat head types that focus only on their war and yet when they find the female that they belong to they become bonded and the most important thing in the world becomes their females. It's a beautiful thing to see these giant warrior men bowing down to the smallest whims of their females. 

There is fighting, suspense, adventure, ghosts, medical emergencies, and pretty much non-stop excitement. Each book focuses on a different Brother and the journey they take to finding their mate. So each new book is an exciting new story to grab onto while still focusing on the overall goodness of the whole story line. Not only are the story lines intriguing and engrossing but the writing is amazing. J.R. Ward is a really great writer, she has a way of blending suspense, romance, tragedy and bliss that I have not really seen before. I think that the reason I enjoy these books so much is that they are simple or as easy as 'a man meets a woman, there is lust, followed by sex, followed by a big fight followed by a happy ending.' At least that's how I see it, it's not just stupid vampires or lame formulaic romance (yes of course some of the formula is in there I'm not denying it is) but it's detailed and intricate and in many ways beautiful. I guess I enjoy the fact that not only are the vampires a matriarchal society their creator and deity is The Scribe Virgin, but they take that love for the female into their love lives. Their mates become their world, they can't exist without their females and they treat them like the goddesses they are. 

This is a series that I usually would pretend I don't read, I would hide the truth and bury it as deeply as possible. In short this would be my guilty pleasure perfectly hidden and tucked away. But after reading the most recent installment, 'The King,' I realized that I love the series enough and feel that it is good enough that I am going to be open and proud about this little guilty pleasure of mine. Although I didn't love 'The King' as much as the others I still feel that the entire series is worth it. There is something addictive about the series, something that makes me want to go back again and again to visit the Brother's mansion and bite my nails about whether or not Wrath will take the throne or Vishous will survive his visions. 

I know that not everyone will want to pick up a series such as this one. And so I am not going to recommend it, instead let me say this. Guilty pleasures are good to have because they can introduce us to a world that we fall instantly in love with and can't seem to get enough of. There are even times when our guilty pleasure turns into something that becomes a favorite thing, a great pleasure that we are willing to share with the world. I guess my point is this, never shy away from something, especially when it comes to books, just because it looks strange or is labeled something that you normally bypass. Again in short don't judge a book by its cover because it is what is in between the covers that moves you to laughter or tears, transports you to Westeros or teaches you the best summoning spell at Hogwarts. So what's your guilty pleasure?