Lover Enshrined (BDB #6) By J.R Ward

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood's bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is obligated to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive, and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.

As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body, but his heart for herself. She is drawn to the noble responsibility behind the emotionally scarred male. But Phury has never allowed himself to know pleasure or joy. As the war with the Lessening Society grows grim, tragedy looms over the Brotherhood's mansion, and Phury must decide between duty and love...

Grace's Review:

I have to admit that the first part of Lover Enshrined was really hard for me to get through. I kept getting distracted and wanting to read something else. In other words, I just didn't want to be in Phury's head! He is an addict! Since Ward is excellent at writing in the 3^rd person, we get to see Phury at his worst and fall rock bottom before making that pivotal choice to seek help. His journey is raw and emotional as he deals with constantly feeling like a failure and fighting the demons...er, the “wizard” in his head. His addiction gets so bad that it even forces Wrath to make a choice in regards to the Brotherhood!

All along Phury is oblivious to Cormia, her needs, and her job as First Mate. This was frustratingly hard to read since it resulted in very little romance between them. Really, Phury? I cannot pick a “Bring on the romance, Brother” moment because there is none! Sorry, guys! Maybe Rehv can help me out in that department when I read his book, yeah? But I totally understand that Phury has to get to a better place before being able to open his heart and share his life with someone. It's sort of like a take-care-of-thyself-first kind of thing.

Cormia also goes through her own journey of self-discovery in this book. She has to find a way to balance her selfless nature while discovering who she wants to be. I really enjoyed her making friends throughout the story, specifically with JM and Bella.

So much happens in this book, especially towards the end. There's action and bloodshed. We get an update on a certain character, which was a nice surprise, and we get introduced to someone new. John Matthew gets a little bolder, which kind of left me salivating there for a moment...uh huh! Rehv, Xhex, Qhuinn, Blay and Lash are all prominent and the story lines involving them really does make Lover Enshrined worth reading!