Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

The Black Dagger Brotherhood is an ongoing series of paranormal romance books by author J. R. Ward. The series focuses on a society (the "Black Dagger Brotherhood") of vampire warriors who live together and defend their race against the so-called lessers, a kind of de-souled humans threatening their kind.

If you're interested in reading the series, just pop in and tell us your thoughts about the book you are currently reading.

This is a series read without schedule, meaning, you don't have to worry about which book you are reading at the moment. Some of us are just starting. Some of us are in books #3 or #7. Some of us are re-reading the series. It doesn't matter. If you're a brother fan, this is the place for you.

Rules & How to
1. Identify the book you are commenting
2. Comments ALWAYS under spoiler tags

And I'm serious. Don't spoil anyone or I'll be forced to delete comments - don't worry, you'll get a warning to add the tag first.

Information about the series
This series is the typical paranormal romance, with lost of at first sight instant-love/lust, alpha males possessive and hot-tempered and a different couple/HEA for each book.

It also has an interesting take on vampires, world-building and a side storyline so you may want to read them in the correct order.

Books Published so Far

Glossary of Terms and Proper Nouns

†Black Dagger Brotherhood (pr. n.) Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, brothers possess immense physical and mental strength as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the brotherhood upon nomination by the brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of the other classes except when they need to feed. They are the subjects of legend and the objects of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds, e.g., a gunshot or stab to the heart, etc.

†blood slave (n.) Male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has largely been discontinued, though it has not been outlawed.

†the Chosen (n.) Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mated to warriors at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. They have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the brotherhood, but that practice has been abandoned by the brothers.

†doggen (n.) Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggens have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors, following a formal code of dress and behavior. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly. Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.

†the Fade (pr. n.) Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.

†First Family (pr. n.) The king and queen of the vampires, and any children they may have.

†hellren (n.) Male vampire who has been mated to a female. Males may take more than one female as mate.

†leelan (n.) A term of endearment loosely translated as "dearest one."

†Lessening Society (pr. n.) Order of slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.

†lesser (n.) De-souled human who targets vampires for extermination as a member of the Lessening Society. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed; otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin, and irises lose pigmentation until they are blond, blushless, and pale-eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.

†needing period (n.) Female vampire's time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female's transition and then once a decade thereafter. All males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.

†the Omega (pr. n.) Malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment directed toward the Scribe Virgin. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers, though not the power of creation.

†princeps (n.) Highest level of the vampire aristocracy, second only to members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgin's Chosen. Must be born to the title; it may not be conferred.
pyrocant (n.) Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.

†rythe (n.) Ritual manner of assuaging honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offended chooses a weapon and strikes the offender who presents him or herself without defenses.

†the Scribe Virgin (pr. n.) Mystical force who is counselor to the king as well as the keeper of vampire archives and the dispenser of privileges. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.

†shellan (n.) Female vampire who has been mated to a male. Females generally do not take more than one mate due to the highly territorial nature of bonded males.

†the Tomb (pr. n.) Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against brothers. No one may enter except for members of the brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.

†transition (n.) Critical moment in a vampire's life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, they must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and are unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally in the mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to de-materialize.

†vampire (n.) Member of a species separate from that of Homo sapiens. Vampires must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive. Human blood will keep them alive, though the strength does not last long. Following their transitions, which occur in their mid-twenties, they are unable to go out into sunlight and must feed from the vein regularly. Vampires may not "convert" humans through a bite or transfer of blood, though they are in rare cases able to breed with the other species. Vampires can dematerialize at will, though they must be able to calm themselves and concentrate to do so and may not carry anything heavy with them. They are able to strip the memories of humans, provided such memories are short-term. Some vampires are able to read minds. Life expectancy is upwards of a thousand years, or in some cases, even longer.

Reserved just in case

Thanks sonia! I have the books on my kindle and can send you the glossary if you need it. I'm going to start my re-read after I finish the Buddy read for "Bitten"

I have them too, but today turned out to be a busy day :( I'll be heading home in another hour or so... but thanks :)

I'm in, I have all the books in digital version (for my Kindle) and I'm ready to start, but as my schedule is tight, I will start at the end of October :), this sounds like real fun.

I guess I should try the spoiler tags since I haven't had to use them yet (view spoiler)[Testing (hide spoiler)] Hope that works

It worked :)

Every book starts with its own, so I used the glossary from in order to avoid unnecessary spoilers.

Sonia, thanks for the glossary, it helps a lot to get into the mood of the book even before reading it :)

Just finished reading Lover at Last (Book 11)... It's been awhile since I've come across a series that is this good. Totally in love with it! :) Worthy of reading over and over!

i picked up Dark Lover for 50 cents at a garage sale. Read through the first few chapters. Thought it was interesting how they made the female lead a victim right off the bat? Anyone else notice that?

Ugh! Logan it's killing me not to comment on that but since this is a re-read for me I don't want to spoil anything. I will say that as you read on you find that Beth is definitely not a victim.

I'm going to start reading Dark Lover tonight. Can't wait!

I'm planing on reading book #3 next month, so I'll be posting my thoughts about Dark Lover and Lover Eternal in the next few days - was meant to do it earlier but RL got in the way.

This is one of my all time favorite series!

A friend had suggested this series to me a few years back....I kept putting it off and putting it off (mostly because of the cost of the books). About 6-8 months ago, I think just before The King was released, the first 6 or 7 books went on sale on Amazon for $0.99 each!! How could I pass that up? I read them all, back to back, then picked up the remaining books in the series (at full prices...ugghhh...) but it was amazing! I think my favorites were Lover Awakened, Lover Unbound, and Lover Reborn...I'm looking forward toThe Shadows!!!