7 Reasons to Love J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood Series ...

If you had this weird urge to pat Edward Cullen on the head, call him “son” and bake him a protein rich, high cal anything, you’re going to love the Black Dagger Brotherhood series! Seriously, these guys could bench-press Terminator, spar with his red-suited gal pal and have enough energy left in their bodies to cause some serious damage. They are vampires, they are hot, they wield cool weapons and, unlike most traditional heroes, actually posses remarkable table manners!

Each Brother has his curse, a truckload of skeletons in the closet and enough problems to make the world’s most renowned shrinks scratch their heads in disbelief. And while meeting their soul mates does prove to be a huge step in the right direction, it doesn’t provide this magical sort of relief we find in most novels. It makes everything more believable altogether because, let’s face it, nobody falls in love and becomes a better, saner, less-angry person all of a sudden. Black Dagger Brotherhood members do continue to suffer both minor and major breakdowns well after being happily mated, learning that problems don’t magically solve themselves and that the only way to become better is to try really hard!

But my Black Dagger Brotherhood review just wouldn’t be complete without the romantic aspect of these books which did, if you don’t mind me reminding you, start out as paranormal romance. Labeling them “urban fantasy” along the road did nothing to diminish the author’s need to see all her characters happily mated. And that’s exactly how I want them too, thank you very much!

Okay, yes, Brothers are such dudebros and they do have the most amazing vocabulary of clichés and slang terms no one would ever use in real life – I’m not planning on taking that back! I do, however, love their constant dudebroish bickering and the fact that they always have a snappy comeback ready to spit out. I have laughed my heart out on more than one occasion and have V, Butch and Hollywood to thank for that.

J.R. Ward has actually decided to switch genres after the first few novels, making the BDB series richer for a whole bunch of characters and POVs. Most readers didn’t find this all that great but I kind of liked it. Sure, it draws the attention away from the main couple, making the novels less steamy than they used to be, but it does a lot for the plot because it allows the central couple to bond and work out their differences even without a dramatic near-death experience. There’s less need for the “no, you hang up first” fluff, too, which kind of spoils the fun for all of us who love a good eye-roll opportunity but makes the novels a much better read. Greater good, world peace…you get it.

More characters means more books too, which is good for the author’s piggy bank while at the same time being good for us readers. Can you hate a win-win situation? Can anyone? And since we all know how it feels to finish something with a huge sigh because you now have to rip yourself out of that world and start looking for another, we should definitely appreciate the growing number of titles in the BDB series. Ward is like Terry Pratchett, y’all – she’ll keep you entertained until you get dizzy!

Both one of the worst and the best things about these novels, product placements did bother me incredibly! So much in fact I felt this nervous, half-hysterical giggle bubbling in my throat more times than I’d like to admit. The positive aspect of Ward’s incredible fascination with everything that can be bought is that it did help me learn a lot about the brands and products that are well-loved in the US. And, honestly, I greatly appreciate the lesson. It may sound weird to some of you but it’s actually quite understandable - I’m a writer, English is my second language and most of the brands here in Europe are sold under different names.

What about you ladies? What are the things you loved the most and would you suggest the BDB series to your friends?