Prisoner of Night

4.25 stars--PRISONER OF THE NIGHT by J.R. Ward is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, paranormal, romance story line in the world of the author’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. This is vampires Ahmare and Duran’s story line. PRISONER OF NIGHT can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. NOTE: PRISONER OF NIGHT contains scenes of graphic torture and violence that may not be suitable for all readers. Told from dual third person perspectives (Ahmar and Duran) PRISONER OF NIGHT follows female vampire Ahmare as she barters for the release of her brother Ahlan, imprisoned by warlord Chalen the Conqueror. Demanding payment and services for her brother’s release Chalen sends Ahmare on two quests: to bring back the severed head of a local drug dealer; and to find and return Chalen’s ‘beloved’. Enter Duran, another vampire prisoner of Chalen the Conqueror, and the man with whom Ahmare will fall in love. What ensues is the journey across country for Ahmare and Duran; the building relationship and love between our leading couple, and the potential fall-out as Duran sets out on a quest of his own to destroy the man that destroyed everyone he loved. Duran knows where Chalen’s beloved is kept but the journey to freedom brings back too many memories of the past, a past that imprisoned our hero for over twenty –one years enduring torture and abuse at the hands of Chalen the Conqueror. Ahmare is desperate to negotiate her brother’s release but working with Duran finds our heroine falling for a man who is willing to sacrifice himself for the ultimate goal. PRISONER OF NIGHT focuses on never-before mentioned side-characters of J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood, characters with no connection to the main series but characters whose lives, like the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s, are affected by torture, pain and abuse, with the added benefit of a ‘religious cult’, previously unknown to the Scribe Virgin and Wrath the King. We are introduced to Ahmare’s long suffering brother Ahlan; Chalen the Conqueror; Duran’s friend Nexi, and Duran’s father Excalduran. PRISONER OF NIGHT is a tale of survival, dedication, vengeance and love. The premise is heart breaking, emotional and raw; the characters are broken, determined and lost; the romance is passionate and intense, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

Prisoner of Night by J.R. Ward Genres: Adult, Crime, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense 4 Stars While this was a good story I didn't feel it was up to J.R. Ward's standards. The first half of the book is vague on character build. You don't really know much about either of the MC's to feel connected to them. You learn more about Ahmare first, but details on Duran don't really come to play until about half way through. Once you get to this point the story starts to flow better and you start to connect more. The action and suspense is high octane. Those parts I loved. There is a lot of intrigue and mystery surrounding both 'Bad' guys. One of which is Duran's father. The adult romance is a slow burn and when it finally ignites it is beyond hot & steamy. I'm not sure where Ms. Ward is going with this novella. The BDB is barely mentioned throughout. There is a very small part about them at the end. All things considered, I have a feeling there is more to this. It felt like a foundation for spin-off and I am curious to see where it will lead in the future. bookshelves: adult, crime, paranormal, romance, suspense 1 highlight (All visible)

Read it in less than a day, couldn't stop. Now I have to wait for April to get my next fix in J.R. Ward's incredible vampire series. Ward wrote a fantastic story touching on something which happened previously. As a reader, it was a good reminder there is an entire vampire world of wealth for Ward to draw from. I do hope more books are written about these vampires set in the BDB world. They seem to have a lot to more to say and books on Rudie and Nexi would be great. Hopefully Ward has plans to get back to them because I'd love to learn more about both.