Actual Rating: 2.5 
 So I'm probably in the minority of readers with an unpopular opinion about this novel. I think the plot, which didn't consist of anything that particularly stood out to me, wasn't boring. It's hard to describe it because it's neither here nor there. It was a little interesting but not of the wow kind. If that makes sense. 
 I think my issues with Dark Lover really threw me out of that metaphorical circle of interest. It was entertaining, but it's like I watched it from outside the circle, than inside. Like how I used to watch soap operas. The writing was okay, but I'm not sure if I bought an unedited version because I could spot a few grammatical errors and that threw me off. Yes, once in a while, an editor might skip something and there might be a typo here and there. No one's perfect, after all. I make grammatical mistakes all the time. However, I hate seeing more than two errors/typos when I'm reading a book because it disrupts the world the author's creating or stops me from filling the character's shoes and experiencing their emotions. 
 It also didn't help that I didn't like the description of the Alpha male, Wrath, either. I couldn't even be attracted to him. There are some male characters that when you read about their huge size and strength and all around masculinity, you get attracted. Example: Jerricho Barrons in the Fever series.With Wrath, however, it just didn't click. I think my inability to find him attractive happened when I read this description: 
 "His upper arms were the size of her thighs." 
 I don't know why exactly, but that description really bugged me. It doesn't matter if Beth was as thin as a broomstick, I just felt like once I read it, I could never go back. It just wasn't sexy. I mean, I didn't want him to be small, but that description didn't work for me. I felt like something else could be used to describe his colossal size. Then again, I'm not a fan of overly muscled guys. 
 The next issue I had was with how quickly they jumped to sex. I know, I know, it's what I get for reading paranormal erotica because that's what this is. Though I'm not sure it has the amount of sex that the Demonica series has. However, this was where I couldn't connect with Beth. A dark, gigantic, muscular, man with meaty thighs suddenly materializes out of nowhere in your room and the first thing you want to do is have sex with him? When you've never even heard of supernatural creatures before? And you live in an area where guys practically rape women? Girl, where was your head at? I don't care how good looking you are, if it was me, I'd scream and then look for a weapon to drive you out of my apartment or run. It's later on-when I've secured myself in a safe place-that I'd start recalling how handsome/sexy you were. 
 However, Beth is not me. So she proceeded with mind blowing sex. And good for her! It's not every time you find a one night stand that you end up marrying. oy, did I just spoil that? It's pretty predictable anyway. In Ione's Pleasure Unbound, I could understand why the character, Tayla, had sex with Eidolon the first time she met him. He was a sex demon and she was delirious. 
 While I may not have understood/connected with Beth during her first sexual encounter, I liked her freak-out reaction when (view spoiler)[Wrath informed her that she was the daughter of a wealthy, aristocratic vampire and soon she'll undergo the transition to become half-vampire (hide spoiler)]. I thought the way she reacted was realistic. So I like the way Ward handled that. 
 Wrath was once again an "okay" male protagonist. He did annoy me a few times, I guess Ward wanted to portray the whole I'm an asshole, bad alpha male thing. The reason for his emotional withdrawal didn't have enough substance to me. It seems like an awful thing to say (view spoiler)[because he seemed really bothered that he watched his parents die and couldn't do anything to stop it. Now, don't get me wrong, I understood where he was coming from. I just felt like I've read about so many characters like that before, the whole idea just wasn't original. And then it just got hard for me to go: Oh, he dealt with so much as a kid that's why he treats everyone like crap. (hide spoiler)] 
 When I was introduced to the rest of the men in the Black Dagger Brotherhood, I felt like they all had the same description with just minor differences. The only character who really stood out to me was Zsadist and that was because of his scar. Then as the book progressed, his character became the only one I was interested in getting to know because of the other brothers' discomfort around him, as well as, his hostility to pretty much everything and everyone. So I'd certainly like to read his book. 
 Mr X was just a character I couldn't care for, and it's not because he was the villain. I felt like he was too one dimensional to be interesting. His role seemed to be the antagonist to Wrath. His ability to be anything but malicious made him completely flat as a character. I love reading about villains who are more than what they appear to seem or who are so complex, you start to wonder about them. With Mr. X, however, I almost wanted to gloss over his POVs, which were too many in my opinion. (view spoiler)[I'm mildly pissed that his character doesn't die by the end of the book (hide spoiler)]. And then there was the fact that he called people Mr. The First Letter of their Last Name. I wondered why Ward gave her characters such weird names, only a few of them had normal names. But that didn't bug me, because I expected it. It must be a thing for the supernatural creatures. 
 All in all, while it had its issues and I stress this because they're relative, Dark Lover wasn't dull. It may have suffered a few tropes of the paranormal-romance genre, but it was entertaining.