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Book Reviews of The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide

The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide
The Black Dagger Brotherhood An Insider's Guide
Author: J. R. Ward
ISBN-13: 9780451225009
ISBN-10: 0451225007
Publication Date: 10/7/2008
Pages: 384
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 206

4.1 stars, based on 206 ratings
Publisher: NAL Trade
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

22 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

habrewer avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 43 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 10
This book is a must have for any fan of the WARDen's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. She starts the book off with a brand new novella about Z, Bella and Nalla then she follows that up with dossier's of each brother she has written a book about. She shares her craft secrets with you about how each story came about. She has included reader question and answers, a section for writers, and even the original proposal she submitted.

This book is extremely well put together and a great addition to my bookshelf.

Heather
PengQueen avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 114 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This Insider's Guide to J.R Ward's ever-growing Black Dagger Brotherhood series is a compilation of deleted scenes, Q&As, interviews, and of course the beautiful and romantic short story Father Mine.

Father Mine picks up on the story of Zsadist and Bella, who were first introduced as a couple in Lover Awakened, after the birth of their daughter Nalla. Zsadist struggles with his dark past and his confused emotions, finding it difficult to connect with his wife and daughter.

The interviews between Ward and each of her characters are very entertaining, providing a window into their thoughts and how things have changed as time in the series progresses.

Some of the content is deeply interesting, and some is just plain funny. It is exactly the kind of thing fans of the series will enjoy
robinmy avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 2104 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This book contains a short story "Father Mine" about Zsadist and Bella. Another interesting part is the dossiers of each brother. The author tells how she created the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and the problems she had with each book. There is also a portion with deleted scenes and comedic excerpts from her books. It just makes me want to re-read the whole series.
elm278 avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 17 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Originally i had no desire to own this, it's one of those things i thought i would never enjoy after reading the novels...but i actually loved it once i picked it up and thumbed through it. i went through the entire thing the day i got it and it is absolutely fantastic! you get attached to the boys reading the books, and the things they come up with in this are so hilarious...and i really loved the short story about Bella and Zsadist - it really keeps you updated with their lives after the baby is born, very sweet.

Anybody who loves the shenanigans of the brotherhood would thoroughly enjoy this extra stuff!
mitabird avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 188 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This review is just for the short story, Father Mine, as I did not read the whole thing. JR Ward is one of my favorite authors. Over the last couple of years, I've discovered that I prefer character driven stories and I think JR Ward is one of the best in that aspect. Her characters are beautifully written and have so much depth that I just get sucked into the story. Zsadist has always been my favorite and reading his struggles concerning Nalla and Bella was heartbreaking. It was so uplifting to finish it and realize he will eventually be OK. If you had no intentions of getting this guide, get it just to read Father Mine.
dps189 avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 20 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was a great addition to the BDB series. I love the Brothers and their whole world. This ones a keeper.
AuntDi avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 141 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you are a rabid BDB fan, you probably already have this, and you probably had already read a good part of the material from hanging out at the website, but if you're just a normal fan (like me) this had some really interesting stuff. The best part was the Bella and Zsadist short story (about 80 pages). There were some nice insights into Ward's writing process and some information about why things happened the way they did and some intriguing clues about Lassiter. The "preview" of Lover Avenged isn't much of anything, but on the whole this book has got me really looking forward to it.
chrisee75 avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 48 more book reviews
I'm not a big fan of "insider guides" if I already am deeply involved in the book series, but this one was cool. It is a must so you can read the novella about Zsadist and Bella after the birth of their daughter Nalla. The rest includes "interviews" with Ward and individual brothers and then comic relief with "forum postings".
emmey43 avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 105 more book reviews
One of the best series ever, If you haven't read these books, you are missing out.
Best vampire series out there today
FABULOUS!!!!!
Entilzah avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 55 more book reviews
great book my only gripe is at the back on the time line she has Butch born in 1960 and 38 years old in 2007.... um that is way off like age 47.
barbsis avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 1076 more book reviews
An absolute must for any BDB lover! This book has all kinds of info that isn't available in the actual books. Excellent (and funny as hell) reading material.
ra7 avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 1026 more book reviews
I mainly got this for "Father Mine." Z is back on the self-pity train. Thankfully he got off it and this was a sweet story.

The rest is a good compendium of the first six books. I enjoyed the deleted scenes. Very nice collection for fans of the series.
kahea46 avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 52 more book reviews
Highly enjoyable and, as many other reviewers have already stated, a must have for any and all BDB fans. Father Mine is a short story involving Bella & Zsadist and their young Nalla ~ Z is having a difficult time being a father to Nalla and Bella is at her wits end and doesn't know what to do. Although this is a short story it is beautifully written and you don't feel as if things were rushed or left out. The rest of the guide is filled with alot of information about the brothers, their shellans and other characters from the series. I do admit that I laughed outloud at the interviews and the board postings. Great addition to the series.
Although I will say that if you are just starting out with the series and have not read the first 6 books, then you really shouldn't read this one until you have. The Guide takes up after Lover Enshrined and will spoil the books if you read it out of order.
reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 91 more book reviews
OK - I got this for the Zsadist/Bella/Nalla story, not the rest of the stuff. Story was great but that's all I read. Others will no doubt find that part of fascinating as well.

Black Dagger Brotherhood
1. Dark Lover (2005)
2. Lover Eternal (2006)
3. Lover Awakened (2006)
4. Lover Revealed (2007)
5. Lover Unbound (2007)
6. Lover Enshrined (2008)
7. Lover Avenged (2009)
8. Lover Mine (2010)
Sheri avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 6 more book reviews
If you're a J.R. Ward fan you must read this Insiders Guide. The novella about Z and Bella are worth it if that all you read. But delving into the minds of the Brothers, Shellans and J.R. herself are just the icing on the Vampire Cake.
Bookfanatic avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on
Totally worth getting if you are a Black Dagger Brotherhood fan. Some of this material is on Ward's website, but I wanted to have it all in book form so I decided *gasp* to buy the book brand new.

Father Mine is a wonderful short story that shows how much of his past Zsadist still has to overcome to become the father he truly can be. The healing in Lover Awakened was just the first part of his long recovery and Mary is there to help him.

The best parts for me were the hilarious interactions between the Brothers and Ward; the Brothers amongst themselves, the questionnaires they complete. Oh the questionnaires are something else. Each one completes the answers just the way you'd expect them to. At first I thought the whole idea of the author interacting with her characters as though they were real was odd, but that feeling passed away quickly. Ward makes it work so well.

I wish the author had explained more about doggen (servants of the vampires), how dematerializing works, how the Chosen are picked, why vampires are seemingly only located in New York, etc. It would have been wonderful to have those answers in a book like this.
reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 114 more book reviews
This is a very informative book. It breaks down all the members of the Brotherhood. The book also gives you a closer look of each member and spouse. If you love The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, this is a must have.
reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on
This book is a great companion to the BDB series. Containing a novella of Z and Bella, as well as more informaton on the Brothers, this book is a way for new readers to familiarize themselves with the Brothers and their stories. It also shows how things came to be with the books and each storyline.
keno avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 869 more book reviews
loved it! if you loved the books-this one is great! i liked the whole thing! i could not wait on the wist list, so i ordered it and passed it along to you!
glenna
princessdiana34691 avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 361 more book reviews
essential...can't miss the novella amongst the charismatic brothers. explains the relationships and some history.
reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 929 more book reviews
The extra stuff is fun. I think some of the stuff you can find on her website but a lot of it you can't.

I absolutely hated the story "Father of Mine." I loved Bella and Zsadist when they are side characters but when the story is on them I just get so frustrated with their inability to communicate. I always want to yell at Zsadist to not be such a narcissist and to man up. I think the hardest part of it is the horrible child rearing advice from the Doc. Very anti-attachment parenting and quite offensive.

But if you are a fan, it is a cool book to go over. The interviews are hilarious. It was okay. I wouldn't really spend money on it though.
chellsabookaddict avatar reviewed The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide on + 25 more book reviews
got to love the WARDen!