4.5* Lover Enshrined is the most complete book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series so far. It is the first of them to deal primarily with the story, and not its allotted couple. 
 All of my ratings of the series so far were primarily based on three questions: 
 1.How high is the level of hotness of the male character? 
 2.How much shit is the female character annoying out of me? 
 3.Is there a story in there somewhere, and if so was I remotely interested? 
 My review BDB 4 - Concerning the BDB series - I do appreciate the way J.R.Ward keeps adding more and more plot to her books. 
 Inertia directed me through the first couple of chapters, until suddenly I realized that I was actually enjoying - the story. This is the first book of the series that is not ashamed of its plot but proud of it. 
 My review BDB 5 - The fifth installment has a serious identity crisis. It's not sure whether it's about V., or maybe Phury, or is it John? It's unfocused and the central story is just not central enough. 
 BDB series managed to resolve the identity crises it had, precisely because the story is what this book is about. The meandering between characters is welcome because they are a tool for telling the story, not the building blocks of it - adhesive, not bricks (despite the fact that most characters are in fact hard as bricks, at one point or another.) 
 Why 4.5 stars? 
 I think that "inner goddess-demon" routine is the cheapest way to address a psychological issue of a character and for me people who hear voices are not conflicted and/or troubled but crazy and in dire need of psychiatric assistance. The wizard is a superfluous addition to Phury's characterization. 
 I've loved the ending - the one concerning the Brotherhood and the one concerning the lessening society. However, I think J. R. Ward should have put the lessening society as the "organization" ending the story. It would have been much more effective, and would at the same time close the main plot of the story and usher a new one. The positioning of these two endings clearly shows that J. R. Ward still gives preference to the characters, and not the plot.