Books like Black Dagger Brotherhood: Boxed Set #1-6

The start of an obsessionNo matter what I post on here, nothing will top my adoration for J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. This series has truly changed me. So how did I come across my new love? By chance and what I like to believe is fate.I went to the library to pick up an Anne Rice book that the catalog said was in stock, but when I got there it wasn’t where it should have been. So I just started looking through the book spines and waiting for something to grab me.Wrath’s deep red Dark Lover cover screamed at me and I pulled it from the shelf. Never having been a romance fan, I shuddered at the thought of reading a vampire romance. I thought of all the cheesy cliches surrounding romance novels and thought, “Why would they want to ruin a vampire story with that crap!” I decided to try it though because it was about vampires (my favorite) and took it home.Hours later I was no longer in my home but in Caldwell, NY due to J.R. Ward’s vivid location descriptions and detailed character creation. I felt immersed and connected to this story just chapters in. I couldn’t stand being there by myself though, I wanted to share it with my husband (who hated reading - notice I said hated not hates.) I asked him to let me read a few chapters and if he didn’t like it I would stop. I wanted him so desperately to be in this story with me. Something I hadn’t ever really felt before…strange really at the time.Thankfully, he agreed. He lay in my lap and let me get through 3 chapters or so. He listened patiently and asked questions when he needed to. He wasn’t used to digesting anything except for online news and columns. He even ended up asking to take the book to work so he could read some more on his lunch. He was hooked too. He had been delivered to the BDB world with me. How exciting!The rest has just been a crazy obsession with the BDB world, emotions, characters, and overall sense of commitment that J.R. Ward creates. My husband and I can spend hours talking about the narratives and what it would be like if the world really had people with such character in it. In all honestly the books have changed us, but I will save those details for another time.I only hope that a few people out there have felt the same difference in their lives when they read a book.