Claimed by J.R. Ward

 Claimed by J.R. Ward (The Lair of the Wolven #1) - 509 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰   

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project—and becomes a target. One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something? As stakes get higher, one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, and she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love...or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?

I enjoyed this book as I enjoy shapeshifter romance. This is the 1st book in a new series set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world. Since I have not read any of the books in that previous series, I didn't know as much about characters from that series as I would have liked. The ending also sets things up so you want to read the next book in the series.

Dark lover by J.R. Ward

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1) by J.R. Ward, 393 p.

"The only purebred vampire left on the planet and the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who killed his parents centuries ago.

But when his most trusted fighter is killed -- orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate -- Wrath must put down his dagger and usher the beautiful female into another world.

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of the Brotherhood and blood frighten her. Yet his touch ignites a dawning new hunger one that threatens to consume them both."--Goodreads blurb

This book just wasn't for me. It was released in the prime of the vampire heyday and, for me at least, did NOT translate well to the current times. The names of the vampires were unintentionally HILARIOUS and the cliched tropes just kept on comin'. Like seriously, they were one right after another. The only saving grace was that the story at least kept me interested (amidst all my eye rolling and near gagging) enough to keep going, but, while I read nearly all of this book, I put it down two chapters or so from the end. It just wasn't worth my time. 18 more books after this? Oh heck no. If you like ladies being pulled against rock hard abs and taut body parts, this is the book for you.