The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is a paranormal urban romance tale written in omniscient third person point of view by the author Jessica Bird aka JR Ward. It consists of 19 novels, 5 novellas, and 1 reader's guide. There are four spin-off series that take place in the same universe: Black Dagger Legacy, Black Dagger Brotherhood: Prison Camp, Fallen Angels, and Lair of the Wolven. Although the other series are not required reading, Black Dagger Brotherhood must be read in order to fully understand the lore, characters, and storylines of the other series with the sole exception of Fallen Angels, which is stand-alone. Go here more information on reading order.
The name of the series is taken from the band of elite vampire warriors that protects the race from enemies both within their race and without and around which much of the story revolves.
Reminder that this wiki contains spoilers so please proceed with caution.
Books[]
Dark Lover[]
Released September 6, 2005, Dark Lover is the first book of the series and starts off with the story of the half-breed Beth and the last full-blooded vampire, Wrath. The book introduces the Brotherhood, the Lessening Society, and much of the lore by way of Wrath teaching Beth about her vampire side after her father, Darius, dies. Angered that Wrath sets aside his sister, Marissa, for Beth, Havers clumsily plots against Wrath; the fact that he's the only physician for their race helps save his skin. Beth is kidnapped by lessers, but is rescued shortly after.
Lover Eternal[]
Released March 7, 2006, Lover Eternal is the second book of the series and follows the story of a human, Mary, and the Brother Rhage as well as the orphan John Matthew, who's actually the reincarnation of Darius. Bella is kidnapped by lessers.
Lover Awakened[]
Released September 5, 2006, Lover Awakened is the third book of the series and follows the story of the aristocrat Bella and the Brother Zsadist who rescues her from the Lessening Society. Z's twin brother, Phury, also falls in love with Bella. John Matthew joins the training program and meets Blaylock, Qhuinn, and, unfortunately, Lash. Lessers murder Wellsie, who's pregnant, and Tohrment disappears in his grief.
Lover Revealed[]
Released March 6, 2007, Lover Revealed is the fourth book of the series and follows the story of the human Butch, who's revealed to be a major weapon in the war with the lessers, and the aristocratic Marissa as well as the Brother Vishous.
Lover Unbound[]
Released October 1, 2007, Lover Unbound is the fifth book of the series and follows the story of the Brother Vishous and the human Jane Whitcomb as well as Cormia and Phury.
Lover Enshrined[]
Released June 3, 2008, Lover Enshrined is the sixth book of the series and follows the story of the Chosen Cormia and the Brother Phury and re-introduces the Brother Tohrment when the fallen angel Lassiter brings him back to the Brotherhood. In defense of John Matthew, Qhuinn kills Lash and to protect Qhuinn from retribution by Lash's family, Wrath makes him ahstrux nohstrum to John. After his death, Lash learns he's the son of the Omega and orchestrates a series of devastating attacks, referred to as the raids, on vampires with repercussions and losses for the entire race.
Father Mine[]
Released as part of the Insider's Guide on October 7, 2008, Father Mine is a novella that follows the story of Zsadist and his relationship with his shellan Bella and baby daughter Nalla.
Lover Avenged[]
Released April 28, 2009, Lover Avenged is the seventh book of the series and follows the story of Ehlena and the half-breed Rehvenge. Sympaths, an off-shoot race of vampires, are introduced. Lash continues to lead the Lessening Society and kidnaps Xhex.
Lover Mine[]
Released April 27, 2010, Lover Mine is the eighth book of the series and follows the story of John Matthew and Xhex with a sub-plot involving the ex-Brother Murhder and two human paranormal investigators, Gregg Winn and Holly Fleet. Together, John Matthew and Xhex kill Lash.
Lover Unleashed[]
Released March 29, 2011, Lover Unleashed is the ninth book of the series and follows the story of the Brother Vishous' long-lost twin sister Payne and the human Manny Manello. There's a sub-plot exploring the relationship of Jane and Vishous and the Band of Bastards are introduced as antagonists.
Lover Reborn[]
Released March 27, 2012, Lover Reborn is the tenth book of the series and follows the story of No'One and the Brother Tohrment as well as his relationship with Wellsie and John Matthew. Lassiter helps guide No'One and Tohrment to regain his own status. Much of Tohr's history with Darius is revealed through flashbacks. Xcor and his Bastards continue to plot against Wrath to get to the throne.
Lover At Last[]
Released March 26, 2013, Lover at Last is the eleventh book of the series and follows the story of Blaylock and Qhuinn.
The King[]
Released April 1, 2014, The King is the twelfth book of the series and explores the mated relationship of Beth and Wrath and his role as king. There are flashbacks from the points-of-view of his parents, Anya and Wrath the Fair, throughout.
The Shadows[]
Released March 31, 2015, The Shadows is the thirteenth book of the series and follows the twin brothers iAm and Trez and their respective relationships with the maichen and the Chosen Selena. The Shadows, an off-shoot of the vampire race, are introduced and groundwork is laid for the Black Dagger Legacy series.
The Beast[]
Released April 5, 2016, The Beast is the fourteenth book of the series and explores the mated relationship of Mary and Rhage and their relationship with the orphan Bitty.
The Chosen[]
Released April 4, 2017, The Chosen is the fifteenth book of the series and follows the story of Xcor and the Chosen Layla as well as her relationship with the father of her young, Qhuinn, and his hellren, Blaylock.
The Thief[]
Released April 10, 2018, The Thief is the sixteenth book of the series and follows the story of Assail and the human Marisol.
The Savior[]
Released April 2, 2019, The Savior is the seventeenth book of the series and follows the story of the ex-Brother Murhder and the human Sarah Watkins.
Where Winter Finds You[]
Released November 26, 2019, Where Winter Finds You is a novella that follows the story of the Shadow Trez and Therese.
The Sinner[]
Released March 24, 2020, The Sinner is the eighteenth book of the series and follows the story of the half-breed Jo Early and the Bastard Syn. The latest antagonist, Devina, is introduced.
A Warm Heart in Winter[]
Released December 1, 2020, A Warm Heart in Winter is a novella that features the story of Blaylock and Qhuinn's mating ceremony.
Lover Unveiled[]
To be released April 20, 2021, Lover Unveiled will be the nineteenth book of the series and will follow the story of the vampire Sahvage.
Other Books, Newsletter, and Novellas[]
Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide[]
Released October 7, 2008, the Guide is a behind-the-scenes look at JR Ward's writing process and includes character interviews, deleted scenes, and other extras.
Dearest Ivie[]
Released March 13, 2018, Dearest Ivie is a stand-alone novella that follows the story of Ivie and Silas.
Newsletter[]
JR Ward's newsletter is emailed at the beginning of every month. You can sign up here.
Prisoner of Night[]
Released January 7, 2019, Prisoner of Night is a stand-alone novella that follows the story of Ahmare and Duran.
Story of Son[]
Released December 2, 2008 as part of the Dead After Dark anthology, Story of Son is a stand-alone novella that follows the story of the human Claire Stroughton and the vampire Michael.
Audiobooks[]
Jim Frangione provides the voice talent behind the audiobooks, which is a format available for every novel and most of the novellas.
Inconsistencies[]
Readers should be aware that there are minor inconsistencies in character descriptions, lore, and timeline.
Themes[]
As is common in the genre, the novels contain explicit sexual content, primarily heterosexual, in addition to scenes of graphic violence. Themes can differ from book to book and include ableism, abuse, drug addiction, dubious consent, homophobia, miscarriages, misogyny, murder, rape, sex addiction, suicide, and more.