Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

Lover Revealed is the forth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and picks up a little while after Lover Awakened. This is Butch's story. He's an ex-cop, human, living with the Brotherhood under their protection and with their friendship. He fell in love with vampire Marissa when he first met her but things have not been simple between them. Marissa fell for Butch at the same time, but she's spent 300 years being unwanted, and she doesn't believe Butch can really love her. When Butch is taken and almost killed by the lessers, Marissa steps up to help get him back to health. As their relationship changes and grows, Butch is also coming to terms with being a human in the vampire world, and what the lessers have done to him.

I really enjoyed the first three books in this series, but it's taken me a while to carry on and pick this one up. Not because I wasn't interested, but because I prefer UF and YA to paranormal romance. I will confess from the start that I skipped over all the sections that were from the POV of the lessers and just read what was from the Brothers and Marissa's POV. I don't think I really missed out on any of the story by doing so, and honestly the lessers bore me!

The majority of the story is very good. It's got a good pace to it, not hanging around but not rushed either. I love the development of some of the side characters through the book, John Matthew and Zsadist in particular. I didn't like Marissa before the start of this book, I've always found her annoying and whiny, although I can understand her discomfort. But by the end of the book I really liked her. She grew a lot through the book developing in to a really well rounded, stronger character and one I enjoyed reading about.

My problem with this book though, despite my overall enjoyment of it, is Butch. For a couple of reasons. One, because I wasn't too thrilled with where his story went, how he changed over the book, although I understand why it happened as it did. But mostly because I don't enjoy Butch and Marissa together. In fact I'm a huge supporter for Butch and V to be together. I love the way the bond between the two has grown through the books. I think they've got far more chemistry together than Butch has with Marissa and the way they play off each other is far more entertaining. I would have loved to have seen JR go there, to twist what was expected. I think it would have made for much better story. I did like how Butch was affected by the lessers and what it meant for him. I also enjoyed seeing him realise he was basically a kept man by the Brothers, everything he 'owned' bought with their money or given by them. It was nice to see his pride come out and start throwing his weight around again.

Overall I did like Lover Revealed, but I got to the end wishing more than ever that Butch had chosen V and not Marissa. That was kind of a let down really. The BDB books aren't short and after the time put in to it I was almost wishing I hadn't bothered. I will certainly read more of the series, I enjoy the switch up on characters in each book and they are well written for the most part (I was getting annoyed with their 'language' here, regular words aren't good enough?) but I'm disappointed with this one. Easily my least favourite so far.

Rating: 5/10