Lover Mine (2010) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

show spoilers

• John Matthew: A young mute, living alone, always feeling different, often 'victimized', suicidal. Unknown to him, he was the son of Darius, a deceased BDB member. A warrior fighting with the Brotherhood.
• Xhex: Friend of Rehvenge and works at ZeroSum. A half-sympath/half vampire. She was kidnapped by Lash. Wears cilices around her thighs to keep symphath side in check.
• George: Wrath's seeing eye dog
• Wellesandra: "Wellsie" - She was Tohr's shellan who was murdered by the Lessers.
• Manuel Manello: Chief of Surgery at St. Francis Hospital. Former boss of Doc Jane.
• The Scribe Virgin: Mother of all Vampires. Birth mother of Vishous and Payne.
• Lash: Omega's son. Now the leader of the lessers.
• Qhuinn: John's ahstrux nohstrum and bestfriend's with John and Blaylock
• Blaylock: John Matthew and Qhuinn's best friend, in training with the Brotherhood
• Wrath: The last purebred vampire. King of the race and Beth's hellren. He is now totally blind.
• Rhage: Mary's hellren. Was cursed by the Scribe Virgin because of his behavior.
• Zsadist: Bella's hellren. Twin brother of Phury. He was a blood slave before and one of the deadliest in the Bortherhood.
• Butch O'Neal: Known as the Dhestroyer. He is said to have come from Wrath's bloodline. Marissa's hellren. Inhales the essence from the Lessers, preventing them from returning to the Omega.
• Vishous: Known to many as V. Tech-savvy and very intelligent. He has visions of how someone would die. Doc Jane's hellren.
• Phury: The Primale of the Race. Cormia's hellren. He is the twin brother of Zsadist.
• Rehvenge: Bella's brother. Owner of ZeroSum and a half-sympath/half vampire. Ehlena's hellren.
• Tohrment: Known to many as Tohr. He disappeared when his pregnant shellan was killed by a lesser. John Matthew's foster father.
• Jane Whitcomb: "Doc Jane" - Vishous's shellan. A ghost and a surgeon.
• Saxton: Harvard graduate vampire lawyer. Qhuinn's cousin.
• Darius: Member of the Brotherhood who was killed by a lesser with a bomb. Beth's father and assumed to be John Matthew's.
• The Bloodletter: Vishous's father and the one that trained Darius in battle.
• Bella: Zsadist's shellan and Rehvenge's sister.
• Mary Luce: Rhage's shellan. A human given an extended life by the Scribe Virgin.
• Beth Randall: Wrath's shellan. Queen of the race and believed to be John's sister.
• Trez: a Shadow, Rehvenge's friend.
• iAm: a Shadow, Rehvenge's friend.
• Ehlena: Nurse for the Brotherhood. Rehvenge's shellan.
• Cormia: Phury's shellan, a Chosen.
• Payne: she is Vishous's twin-sister and Wrath's playmate / sparring partner.
• Layla: Chosen who feeds Rhage. Vishous, John, Blay and Qhuinn. Trained as an ehros.
• Fritz Perlmutter: Brotherhood's doggen.
• Gregg Winn: the producer of a paranormal show.
• Eliahu Rathboone: Man who died a long time ago; it is believed that he still haunts his house.
• Murhder: former Brother, he was once Xhex's lover. Presumed dead. WEnt mad and disappeared after he attempted to rescue Xhex from the symphath colony.
• No'One: Fallen Chosen that serves Payne.
• Marissa: Butch's shellan. Haver's sister.
• R.I.P.: tattoo artist.
• Mar: receptionist at tattoo parlour.
• Mr. D.: Lash's second in command. A lesser.

Quotes edit see section history

show spoilers

• “Yes, he mouthed. I would hold you up. I will ever hold you up and hold you dear, lover mine.”

  John to Xhex

• “Hung like a fire hose and did you twelve different ways to Sunday. Congratulations. Your subconscious should be directing porn.”

  Gregg

• “Some things are destined to be - it just takes us a couple of tries to get there.”

• “Say the word. Say the word and I won't go. Say the word, Qhuinn. Do it and I'll spend the night with you. Better yet, Why don't you just kiss me?”

  Blay to Qhuinn

• “You're not half the male you could be because of what was done to you. You're twice what anyone else is because you survived."”

  Xhex to JM

• “Far better to be uninterested than unfulfilled. One is a relief. The other an emptiness with heavy weight.”

  Layla to Payne

• “Yeah, and then I'll get fired. Which means V'll Donald Trump my ass with a dagger.”

  Qhuinn

• “You can't do anything more for the dead. They're gone. It's done. But the living...you can take care of the living. I know what kind of hell you've been in-and still are in-and I lost my Wellsie because I wasn't there when she needed me...I couldn't go through losing you for the same reason."”

  Tohr to John

• “Chronologically speaking, Blaylock son of Rocke had known John Matthew for just over a year. But that was not a true reflection of the bromance. There were two timelines to people's lives: the absolute and the perceived. The absolute was the universal day-and-night cycle that for them added up to something like three hundred and sixty-five. Then there was the way that time period had gone, the events, the deaths, the destruction, the training, the fighting.”

  Blay

• “Hey, hi! How are you? I'd like to introduce myself. I'm the piece of meat that's going to force you headfirst into your buddy Qhuinn's Hummer as soon as it gets here. Just figured I'd introduce myself before I rope your ass and throw you over my shoulder like a bag of sand.”

  Rhage to John

• “Jesus Christ, you look like a Rorschach test.”

  Qhuinn to Lash

• “"I want you to work on the butler," Gregg said softly. "You know what I mean. I want access to everything." "I'm not sleeping with him. I draw the line at necrophilia."”

  Gregg and Holly

• “"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" Every night you come out with me to help me find her.”

  Blay and John

• “This was, in some ways, an echo of the process of death, she thought. Little by little, inch by inch, what tied her to life was leaving, heading off, departing. With each step John took toward that door, her breath was evaporating in her lungs. Her heart was stopping. Her skin was growing cold.”

  Xhex

• “V went over and helped John to his feet. "Yeah, but at least he could have taken up knitting with you. You could've taught him how to crochet socks. Brings a tear to the eye."”

  Vishous to Rhage

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Caldwell, New York
• The BrotherHood Mansion: the Brothers HQ.
• ZeroSum
• Sal's Restaurant
• The Tomb: Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.
• The Fade: Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.
• Dhunhd: Hell.
• Iron Mask: Goth nightclub run by the Shadow brothers iAm and Trez

Organizations edit see section history

• Black Dagger Brotherhood: Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of other classes expect when they need to feed. They are subjects of legend and the object of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds.
• The Chosen: Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mater to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and thatpractice has been reinstated by the Brothers.
• Lessening Society: Order of the slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Ahstrux Nohtrum: Private guard with license to kill who is granted his or her position by the king.
• Ahvenge: To commit an act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male loved one.
• Black Dagger Brotherhood: Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of other classes expect when they need to feed. They are subjects of legend and the object of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds.
• Blood Slave: male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has recently been outlawed.
• The Chosen: Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mater to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and thatpractice has been reinstated by the Brothers.
• Chrih: Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language.
• Cohntehst: Conflict between two males competing for the right to be a female's mate.
• Dhunhd: Hell.
• Doggen: Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors, following a formal code of dress and behavior. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly. Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.
• Ehros: A Chosen trained in the matter of sexual arts.
• Exhile Dhoble: The evil or cursed twin, the one born second.
• The Fade: Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.
• First Family: The King and Queen of the vampires, and any children they may have.
• Ghardian: Custodian of an individual. There are varying degrees of ghardians, with the most powerful being that of a sehcluded female.
• Glymera: The social core of the aristocracy, roughly equivalent to Regency England's ton.
• Hellren: Male vampire who has been mated to a female. Males may take more than one female as mate.
• Leahdyre: A person of power and influence.
• Leelan: A term of endearment loosely translated as 'dearest one'.
• Lessening Society: Order of the slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.
• Lesser: De-souled human who targets vampires for extermination as a member of the Lessening Society. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed; otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin, and irises lose pigmentation until they are blond, blushless, and pale-eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.
• Lewlhen: Gift.
• Lheage: A term of respect used by a sexual submissive to refer to her dominant.
• Lys: Torture tool used to remove the eyes.
• Mhis: The masking of a given physical environment; the creation of a field of illusion.
• Nalla (f) Nallum (m): Beloved.
• Needing Period: Female vampire's time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female's transition and then once a decade thereafter. all males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.
• Newling: A virgin.
• The Omega: Malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment directed towards the Scribe Virgin. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers, though not the power of creation.
• Phearsom: Term referring to the potency of a male's sexual organs. Literal translation something close to "worthy of entering a female".
• Princeps: Highest level of vampire aristocracy, second only to the members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgin's Chosen. Must be born to the title; it may not be conferred.
• Pyrocant: Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.
• Rahlman: Savior.
• Rythe: Ritual manner of assuaging honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offended chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents him- or herself- without defenses.
• The Scribe Virgin: Mystical force who is counselor to the King as well as the keeper of vampire archives and the dispenser of privileges. Exist in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.
• Sehclusion: Status conferred by the King upon a female of the aristocracy as a result of a petition by the female's family. Places the female under the sole direction of her ghardian, typically the eldest male in her household. Her ghardian then has the legal right to determine all manner of her life, restricting at will any and all interactions she has with the world.
• Shellan: Female vampire who has been mated to a male. Females generally do not take more than one mate due to the highly territorial nature of bonded males.
• Sympath: Subspecies within the vampire race characterized by the ability and desire to manipulate emotions in others (for the purposes of an energy exchange), among other traits. Historically, they have been discriminated against and, during certain eras, hunted by vampires. They are near extinction.
• The Tomb: Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.
• Trahyner: Word used between males of mutual respect and affection. Translated loosely to "beloved friend".
• Transition: Critical moment in a vampire's life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, he or she must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and is unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally int he mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialize.
• Vampire: Member of a species separate from that of homo sapiens. Vampires must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive. Human blood will keep them alive, though the strength does not last long. Following their transitions, which occur in their mid-twenties, they are unable to go out into the sunlight and must feed from the vein regularly. Vampires cannot "convert" humans through a bite or transfer of blood, though they are in a rare cases able to breed with other species. Vampires can dematerialize at will, though they must be able to calm themselves and concentrate to do so and may not carry anything heavy with them. They are able to strip the memories of humans, provided such memories are short term. Some vampires are able to read minds. Life expectancy is upward of a thousand years, or in some cases even longer.
• Wahlker: An individual who has died and returned to the living from the Fade. They are accorded great respect and are revered for their travails.
• Whard: Equivalent of a godfather or godmother to an individual.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Lover Avenged, and followed by Lover Unleashed.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. J. R. Ward (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• RT Reviewers' Choice Award (Finalist, 2010: Vampire Romance)
• AAR Annual Reader Poll 2011 (2010: Best Paranormal Romance, Honorable Mention)
• AAR Annual Reader Poll 2011 (2010: Guiltiest Pleasure Romance, Winner)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Sexually explicit content

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Romance › Vampires
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy
• Books › Literature & Fiction

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• J. R. Ward: Author's website

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history