review of Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

You may recall that I am trying to read outside of my comfort zone for my new job. I want to develop my fiction reportoire. I decided to do this on a whim and just grabbed some books off the shelf.

The first book I read is Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward. I thought it was just fantasy but it really turned out to be vampire romance. Lover Revealed is the fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, a series that revolves around a group of super strong vampires whose mission is to find and destroy the lessers, a group of vampire slayers. The lessers are souless, heartless beings who smell like baby powder.

At first, I was annoyed because the book had the one thing that has always turned me off about fantasy: a glossary of words. It's hard enough for me to remember character names, let alone a bunch of new words for old things. I did manage to get over myself but it was still a pain to have to keep flipping to the glossary.

I was surprised at how fetishy the book was. I felt like I was reading the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean Auel. It was very 'throbbing member' and 'parting the soft petals of her flower' type of sex. I really haven't read anything like it in a very long time and forgot how funny it can be. Porn-light is a good word for it. It was also very interesting to delve into a world where people romanticize vampires. The vampire men were very manly and honor-bound and the women were beautiful, strong and perfect. It felt like I was looking into the author's secret dream of how she wishes the world would be.

All in all, it was a quick and fairly pleasurable read. I don't think it fulfills my fantasy requirement because it is so sexual. I need another, better fantasy. Any ideas?