I was nervous about picking up this book because the first book in the BDB series makes it seem impossible for them live happily ever after and I hate reading books that don't have a happy ending. While the ending is definitely bittersweet, I'd still consider it a HAE so I'd still say I was satisfied on that front and it was great to get to learn more about where it all started. When I first started listening to the BDB series I wasn't a huge fan of Jim Frangione as the only narrator, but he's definitely grown on me and now I love how well he brings the universe to life.

It was always a delight to go back to the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The majority of the story took place before book one, with glimpses of the present. Darius story brought in all the nostalgic feelings. Their world had revolved so much with so many additional characters. It was great to go back to the beginning with the original brothers. I really enjoyed this audio and I will always paired Jim Frangione with the Brotherhood.

This story is about Darius of the Blackbrother hood. I think of him as the father figure of the team, since he was the one that worked to organize them and gave them a home. I have always wanted to know his story, since he starts off the series. This is a beautiful tale of finding one's destined love. Darius meets Anne one dark and stormy night. This is not a flowery love story, but an intense relationship between two lonely people. While I knew it was not going to have a happy ever after ending, I hoped for one. This book will make you feel like you understand Darius's commitment to Beth, even more. I enjoyed the book, even if it made me sad.

So glad I was chosen to get this audiobook! I loved the lore and glimpses we got of Darius in the Black Dagger Brotherhood, and always wanted to know his story. Now we have it and it was great. I highly recommend! There’s just something about a man written by J.R. Ward…

Years ago, I read many books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I really enjoyed revisting the world. More specifically , I loved finally getting the Darius story, which really serves as the catalyst for the whole BDB world.

ARC Cordially provided by NetGalley~THANK U!

This is one book I did not see coming from JR Ward and am so happy she
decided to give us some back story on this one brother

Having said that~ I do have to point out I Xpected a bit of romance when
Darius met his mate
For probably the most conscientious brother besides Tohr I was Xpecting long
distance eye gazing from across a room or a tantalizing scent he catches
and can't dismiss it so he goes searching after it in the dead of night!
Darius set up this whole mansion for the brothers he has proper etiquette
and everything!

Ann is the woman we have all been wondering about since Dark Lover
She is dealing w/her own domestic abuse crap when Darius kinda stumbles
into her mess.
AGAIN I was Xpecting more than this happenstance

Anywaaaays~some type of relationship develops and the book is so
unusually short for a JR Ward book it's not even funny so I will not give
u the bit and details and ruin the fun~U r gonna have to come and get it!

Genre~ Paranormal Romance
Series~ Book 0.5 (pre~qual) in the series
Love triangle~ no
Cheating~ no
HEA~ yes/kinda
Would I read more by this author/or in this series~True
Rating~ 4 stars

We get a bit of appearances from other characters and those are lovely

I can't wait for more!
Check out my Review on www.Goodreads.com by clicking link below

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4918848764

Holy wow! I LOVED this origination story! We’ve only briefly met Darius but I was excited to get his journey. And I love how Jim Frangione brings the brothers to life. I enjoyed seeing how Darius saw the world and how he wanted the house to be used. We saw his place among the brothers and how deeply he loved. I was completely immersed in this story and I couldn't put it down. I only wish it had been longer so that his story wasn't over so fast! I cannot recommend this book enough! Please don't miss this listen!

The mystery of Darius is finally revealed. The life of the man who's death started off the most important events of the series is now revealed. Darius seems to be the one vampire who is keeping Wrath alive while he does all he can to avoid taking the throne and ruling the vampire race.
Who knew Darius would instantly fall for the woman he hits with his car... Anne is running for her life when she is hit (literally) and falls for Darius. She doesn't realize how deep she is in his world until it is too late and she isn't upset.
This is a wonderful prequel and a glimpse into the life of one of the original vampires who is still very much missed among the original Black Dagger Brotherhood members.
Another fantastic performance by Jim Frangione. Jim is truly the voices of these characters and gives all of them the attitude and personality intended by J.R. Ward.

f you’re a true fan of the original Black Dagger Brotherhood series this is an absolute must read. I admittedly stopped reading the series after Blay and Qhuinn’s book because I saw the original brothers all matched up and was complete. I’m so glad Ward decided to circle back and give us a book about Darius though.

Darius was always this looming presence over the brotherhood, but we lost him before we even got to know him. We knew how his story ended up not how heartbreaking it truly was even before then. While I loved this book, I thought he deserved better. The poor man got like 3 days of happiness in his entire life it felt like. He was so noble and all for his cause in the brotherhood, the only one who seemed to take it seriously for years. I’m glad he finally found peace though and thought the epilogue was the perfect wrap up of the entire series.

I listened to the audiobook of this and was a bit iffy on the narrator at first. He ended up doing an amazing job with the voices though and sucked me into the story quickly. I think overall this was a great audiobook and thank you to Simon & Schuster Audio for reaching out to me and giving me a copy to review.

I haven’t immersed myself in the BDB world and a long time. It was such a comfort to be back with the brothers. We know how Darius’s story turns out. This prequel was special though in that it gives a glimpse of how lost the brothers were without Wrath acting as their King and just how important Beth was to the whole species. It all starts with Darius and Anne. I did cry a little but I also laughed and enjoyed every moment.

I love listening to Jim Frangione, he does a great job with the BDB series.. Darius is where it all began. He had a vision for the future brotherhood. In this story we see Darius meeting Anne and the subsequent birth of Beth. This was a very emotional book. A great addition to the series!

Darius (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #.5)
by J.R. Ward
The romantic history of the two parents of one of the key characters in the Black dagger series. The development of her parents relationship and the reason they were not together. Showing the remarkable commitment of the father, and the mother whom lost her life giving birth to. Although very romantic in the story, it left the reader wanting to see more of the story.

DARIUS by J.R. Ward
From the very first book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, I craved more Darius. This book gave me all the background I had been wanting. His story is heart wrenching, with a hefty portion of angst, but is WONDERFUL!! The epilogue was sublime! In fact, I am going to listen to it again. Jim Frangione is once again the narrator for J.R. Ward's book and he is a pleasure to listen to. This is 5 stars, I wish I could give it more.

Overall 5/5
Spice 4/5

Tragically Beautiful and Romantic
Prequel Novella
Emotional
Tear Jerker
Fast Paced
Narrator captured Darius’s Emotions Perfectly.


Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Audio for an ARC audiobook version of Darius by JR Ward. This was a Wish book for me and I was so happy to get it. I usually don't rate sad books this high but DAMN I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood series JR Ward knock it out of the park. I have also never listened to a BDB novel and Jim Frangione is now my number one narrator. With so many men in the series talking I was worried that an audio version of any of these books would be hard to follow but Frangione is able to differentiate between people flawless while still bringing Darius' emotions and struggles to the forefront. Tragically beautiful and emotionally devastating this book is definitely a 5/5

Darius is an audio treat for the ears! I have loved and adored and hell, worshipped every Black Dagger Brotherhood series from the very beginning and I have always been curious about Darius. And when I got the opportunity to listen and review a copy of the audio, I didn't give it a second chance! I just snatched that sucker up and dove right in. It is sensational and sexy and so heartbreaking as it was beautiful. This novella was the perfect thing to listen to and when it ended I wanted to listen to it all over again.

Readers will DEVOUR and LOVE this edition. I personally didn't want it to end. It gave us not just a glimpse into Darius's life and death, but gave us a chance to witness what kind of male he was and I fell in absolute love and lust with him. I don't listen to a lot of audiobooks, but this one was by far, one of the BEST audiobooks I have listened to! Give me MANY MORE PLEASE!

Darius gets a HEARTBREAKING AND HEART MELTING FIVE SWOON WORTHY STARS! A for sure, MUST listen to audiobook!

I was hooked as soon as I started listening!
This is the perfect prequel story. Darius is beautiful, emotional and totally has me crying tears for his story. I am so glad to get Darius and Anne's story.
Well executed in audio and another favorite story from Author J.R. Ward.

5 🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒popped!

I've been a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood for years, and Darius has always been a character I wanted to know more about. Listening to Jim Frangione bring this story to life was so wonderful I had to listen to it twice. This is the love story of Darius and the human Anne, but it was so much fun to see a different side of Fritz, the devoted servant. As sad as the story was, I treasured each new piece of understanding of the beginning the of Black Dagger Brotherhood.

I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Darius is the origin story BDB fans have been waiting for, praying for, hoping for and it lived up to every expectation I could imagine. Even though I knew what happened to Darius from book 1, Dark Lover, I was not emotionally prepared for how this book wrecked me. I wasn’t prepared for how this book would rip out my heart, in not only how much Darius loved Anne but in how being a parent became his most rewarding experience.

If you are an OG BDB lover this book has all the things we expect in a BDB book- romance, bad guys (Omega), a glimpse of the Scribe Virgin and Alpha bonded male! The story of Darius meeting Anne, falling deeply in love and their ultimate ending made me laugh and cry. We got so much backstory to Darius - his yearning for the brotherhood to be together, for a family of his own, the laugher and heartache of their relationship.

A fantastic part of the book are the glimpses of younger Zsadist, Vishous, Rhage, Wrath, and Thor plus Wellsie. If that part doesn’t pull on your heartstrings you are a black hole without emotion. The relationship between Fritz and Anne is adorable. Plus several questions are answered. How did Beth get put in foster care? What is happening with John Matthew and Darius?

Once you get to the epilogue, feel free to DM me, I am here for emotional support.

Darius made me want to re-read Dark Lover! It reminded me why I continue to obsess, adore and keep coming back to this series after all these years.

Thank you to the publisher (Simon Audio) and NetGalley for an ALC. All thoughts are my own. Darius has a publish date of July 19, 2022.

2.5/5

What I expected from a JR Ward Black Dagger Brotherhood novel/novella (OG reader) is exactly what I got - a mediocre story with bland characters that mirror other characters from books past. The reader also gets a lot of: okkkkkk, annnnnnnd, well what do you, etc., in this book.

How JRW managed to make Darius boring I’ll never know, but she did a bang up job of giving him no personality, and also, made him not a very good fighter. Darius in the past has been revered as one of the best fighters. No one challenges him. He was in the Bloodletter’s camp and the Bloodletter was afraid of him. Yet in this book he manages not only to catch himself on fire but also get stabbed in the stomach by a lesser who just shot him too. What?!

Ann, Darius’ mate and Beth’s mother, is extremely boring. She doesn’t have a personality beyond drooling over Darius. And how did they meet? He hit her with his car. Ran her over. And naturally they bonded immediately.

Their entire relationship was four days long. I’ll say that again, 4 DAYS. At the end of that two days Ann hates Darius because he lied about being a vampire - well duh. He said he couldn’t say what he does. But wait. This is a romance novel so they get their HEA in the afterlife. Four days is not enough time for a reader (this reader) to care about these characters. Everything that should to be emotional isn’t unless you’re an OG BDB fan and really needed this story, which I think is unnecessary. New readers will be spoiled because this book is listed as 0.5 and will be read first now, instead of Dark Lover. Bad move for many reasons in my opinion. Spoilers are never fun for anyone.

Let’s talk about two of the OG characters.

The Scribe Virgin.

She prides herself in telling everyone she can’t interfere with their lives. She sure didn’t in her son and daughter’s - Vishous and Payne - yet she appears to Ann and says you aren’t the one I would have picked for this but you’ll give birth to the queen of the race and makes Ann fertile on the spot. Seems like interference to me.

Vishous.

Honestly the best parts of the book are with Vishous. He’s back to his hard edge, I don’t care about your feelings self. He’s there to help Darius throughout the book. He tells D about the vision he had about him. Vishous is aggressive and violent like he’s supposed to be. Not the vamp he is in the later books in this series.

By far Vishous is the only character with a personality. As I was reading this novella I kept asking myself why is V here? Shouldn’t it have been Tohr? Tohr and Darius have been bffs for centuries. Darius was almost a father figure to Tohr. Was V here to annoy all the readers that hate him and to add some tension to this vanilla boring story?

The OG Brothers show up for a quick introductions, including Wellsie. All of their parts are told, not shown, with the exception of Vishous.

Lastly, I’m not a fan of voice actor, Jim Frangione. For me he doesn’t have the correct voice to carry the once irreverent street vernacular Ward wrote. He doesn’t use accents for the Brothers, they have an aristocratic European one. He doesn’t change his voice for the different characters either.

I don’t know why JR Ward and Gallery decided to release this novella as only an audiobook. Why not at least offer an ebook because not everyone enjoys audiobooks. I also don’t know why a physical book isn’t offered. As a reader this frustrates me.


***Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Darius in exchange for an honest review

The perfect Brother for the prequel!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💚🖤💙💜❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📔📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍🌎
Character development: 🙂😮😥😤🥰

The Hero(es): Darius - he is one of the most important characters in the series. He is father to Beth, the half breed vampire that ends up marrying the King, Wrath. He is also the father of John Matthew who will become one of the strongest members of the Brotherhood.

The heroine: Anne - she is running from her past when she runs out into the street and is nearly hit by Darius driving his brand new car. Anne is a human woman who immediately is attracted to the tall, handsome man that rescues her.

The Story: This is an odd one since it is both a prequel to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but was also written after the majority of the books in the series. Many of the people who will read this one, including me, already know how Darius’s story goes. We know he dies when his car explodes and that Anne is gone before even that happens. We know that Beth never knows her father, though he watched over her throughout her life.

Most of these things are stated at the beginning of this book, so even those who are just starting the series with this book know from the very start that things aren’t going to be roses and rainbows. However, it is still a great introduction to the series and for those of us who always wanted to know more about Darius, this was a terrific way to tell his story.

This book was narrated by Jim Frangione who narrated most of the BDB books. Jim is an excellent reader. I mostly like listening to romance books when there are both a male and a female narrator, especially when the narrators voices fit the main characters of the book. Jim is what I think of as good for when you want someone else to read a book for you but you don’t care that it is not really voice acting but just straight narration. Not that he doesn’t do inflections, different voices for different characters and such, he just doesn’t have the deep voice I would expect from the 6 ½ foot tall muscular vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

This book gave us more insight into Darius as a person and all the things he went through, but also more into the friendships he has with the other characters, like Tohrment, Vishous, and even Fritz. We also get more information on his ‘relationship’ to John Matthew which I really wanted to know more about from Darius’ point of view.

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.