Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Lover Awakened was a book full of action, love, redemption, death, and even acceptance. From the very beginning of the series, we all knew there was something about Zsadist that was special... and now in this third installment of the series, readers finally get to see a part of their answer as to what truly happened to Zsadist in his past, and how one girl awakened him in the end. I absolutely adore Zsadist in this book and the quote, "I was dead until you found me, though I breathed. I was sightless, though I could see. And then you came...and I was awakened..." totally proves how much he redeemed himself through love. It was heartbreaking to read how unworthy and dirty he thought he was, compared to Bella, and how he thought that he didn't deserved her love. I thought this book was special because even though the two main characters did have some sex scenes, it wasn't as often as much as Dark Lover and Lover Eternal. There was actually a story to be read and I loved how even though Zsadist thought he was unworthy of Bella, there wasn't anything he could do to stop himself from doing so.

I remember I didn't really have a good impression of Zsadist in the beginning because he was always described as heartless, cruel, and his eyes were pit black-- meaning he had no soul. But of course, his book obviously changed my impression of him from a heartless hero into a tortured one. Throughout the entire book, Zsadist had lost everything, including his feelings, because of his past as a slave. Thankfully, his nalla will save him, and that person is Bella! She's courageous for going through what that lesser did to her and very kind when it comes to Zsadist. Though I'm still not entirely sure why she loves Zsadist, I did like her character since she's waaay better than Beth in my opinion. *coughs* But I do think the reason why she loves Zsadist, is because she sees the person inside of him instead of the person that he wants everybody else to see. All tortured heroes are like that, and that's why we love 'em! The romance between was rather heart-wrenching to read because of how Zsadist often compared himself to Phury, saying stuff like Phury is his better counterpart. I wanted to shake him and tell Zsadist that no! Bella is your fated one, your mate, and no one else can take that position.

I admit that I thought John's role to be rather... dreary and boring. Hopefully it will get better, but I did love the interactions that he had with Zsadist. It was just too cute to ignore! As for the deaths, wow. That was a real surprise to me because I never thought that Wellsie will end up dying. God, poor Tohr. Once you lose your soulmate, I truly don't know if you can find another one. That was a tragic lost that I did not expect at all. As for Phury, even though I did find him to be irritating at first because I shipped Bella and Zsadist all the way, I did understand his position. I don't think he ever truly "loved" Bella, it was more like he thought he was because he didn't want to lose his brother. His entire life, Phury has always blamed himself for what had happen to Zsadist, so Zsadist is pretty much everything to him. And without him, there really wasn't a reason to live anymore. And last but not least, O. I would have to raise my eyebrows for this guy because he is one evil and sadistic villain. Damn, there are just no words for the things that this guy has done and I am glad that he is dead.

To sum up this very long and very loveable book that I'll probably keep forever, J.R. Ward is definitely one talented writer because I had high expectations for this book and she didn't let me down. It was heartwarming to see Bella and Zsadist get their HEA, along with Nalla in the epilogue of the book. Zsadist himself, has changed so much and I truly look forward to more of the brothers' books. Butch is up next, so go get Marissa you idiot!

Rating: ★★★★★