by J.R. Ward
Part of Black Dagger Brotherhood, book 4
First published 2007
Butch O'Neal lives as the sole human inside the Black Dagger Brotherhood's vampire world. The former homicide detective burns to join their battle against the lessers who hunt their kind. His heart aches for Marissa, an aristocratic vampire far above his station. When Butch throws himself between slayers and an innocent civilian, the enemy's poison consumes him. The Brotherhood drags his broken body from the battlefield. They call Marissa to his bedside as death creeps closer. She must reach through the darkness claiming the man she loves. Butch wanted deeper into their world. Now he faces a transformation that could destroy him completely. The war has marked him as its own. Only Marissa's touch stands between Butch and the abyss that swallows everything he was.
Genres: romance, fantasy, paranormal, urban-fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Black Dagger Brotherhood
482 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Onyx
Content warnings: violence