All that Nalla, the blooded daughter of Zsadist wants out of life is to be THE BELOVED of a male worth fighting for. Because Z is the deadliest of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and who wants to deal with that every time you go on a date? To make matters worse with the renewed war with the Lessening Society she has been told to shelter within the safe walls of their home. What can you expect from a female who is ready to live? A bit of vampire rebellion. Coming face to face with Nate brings joy and darkness to her life. Finally, someone who sees Nalla as a woman of worth. Not the daughter of Zsadist. But the Brotherhood knows all about Nate – they know his origins and his immortality curse and have deemed him too dangerous to be one of them.

Nate’s early life was tortured by human scientists before being adopted into the home of Murhder and Sarah. Later he loses his heart and life because of Rahvyn – who ends up giving him his immortality. However, he is not exactly grateful – the angry young man lashes out and makes enemies of those who would love him. Finally wanting out of the never-ending life he makes a deal with Rahvyn that if he apologizes to all he has wronged she will allow him to die. How could he imagine that once started on that path he would find a reason to live?

THE BELOVED will grab you from the first word and when you reach the last you just might want to start all over. This book is filled with several older characters as they continue to deal with the vampire community and the Lessening Society. For those who have missed reading some of the previous books, I won’t say much more than there is a bit of time missing – 30 years. (So, you might want to go back and read the ones that came before to bring you up to date.) The younger people also show up to give a view of the children of the vampire society – with bullies, partiers and get-overs as well as “normal” young people. Nalla and Nate make an amazing couple – they are both rebelling against the constraints and anger life has held over them. He is dealing with his past and his hurts and she with the overly protective control she feels her parents have over her. She is also at a stage in life when she is not quite feeling their love for her now that she is older. THE BELOVED will open your eyes to this world in the same way the older books did with the action, danger and intrigue. A fantastic read that will throw your emotions in several different directions as you go through the struggles and triumphs of these people and this couple. But, as always, love finds a way.