REVIEW: The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12)

The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12), by J.R. Ward
Published April 1, 2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Format: e-book, purchased
Genre:  adult paranormal romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  4.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Long live the King…

After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle--with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything--and everyone--at risk.

Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response--or the distance it creates between them.

The question is, will true love win out... or tortured legacy take over?

In the immortal words of Ash from the Evil Dead franchise...

I've got to be honest. I was losing faith in The Warden. The last few books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series just didn't seem to have the same spark as those that came earlier. It seems as if ever since the new baddies on the block, the Band of Bastards (or, BOB), hit the scene, the story lines seemed to multiply and fragment, which detracted from the main Brother we were supposed to be focusing on. After reading The King, though, it truly felt like the magic was back. 

After trying, unsuccessfully, to oust Wrath from the throne with force, Xcor and the BOB have decided to try the legal route. They have teamed up with the glymera council to take the throne away from Wrath based on the idea that he mated with a half-breed, the product of which would never be a full-blooded heir. Meanwhile, Beth feels her biological clock ticking and wants a baby, despite Wrath's very strong feelings to the contrary. 

Wrath and Beth were the very first couple that J.R. Ward wrote about in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. For fans, this is where it all started. So, for her to go back to them and focus on their relationship now, after being together for several years, was somewhat cathartic. We all thought their story had been told. As it turns out, Ward had only scratched the surface.

Wrath's devotion to Beth has never been called into question. In fact, it is this intense devotion which has him paralyzed in fear at the thought of her having a child since many of the females of their race die in childbirth. It's understandable, but what is he to do when that is what she wants more than anything? He struggles greatly with this decision and doesn't always handle it well. 

And, while this is all going on, Wrath is also being hit from the other side by the smarmy glymera who are drafting papers with the assistance of Saxton's father to take the throne away from him because of his choice in a mate. 

As we have seen from Ward lately, there are multiple POVs in The King. Within the first 13%, we get POVs from Wrath's father, Wrath's mother (both in the form of flashbacks that happen periodically throughout the book), Wrath, Beth, Alocer, Xcor, Sola, Assail, Trez and John Matthew. I was concerned that with that many POVs, we were going to get more disjointed stories and not enough of the one I really wanted to read. 

And, then something awesome happened. Things started pulling together. The stories solidified and I got interested in them. All of them. Assail's and Sola's story came together in an incredibly dramatic fashion early on in the book, and an event caused them to end up at the Brother's house. Trez's obsession with the Chosen Selena grows and his ability to avoid her diminishes. iAm develops a bromance with Boo the cat (seriously - it was awesome). Xcor's fixation on Layla puts him at odds with the other members of the BOB. Which then affects the actions to dethrone Wrath. 

All the side stories seemed to come together in cool and interesting ways. There were interesting twists thrown in too involving both the baby situation between Wrath and Beth and the attempts to find a way around the glymera's attempts to castrate him via paper. I had an impossible time putting down this book. 

We don't see too much of the other brothers in The King. There is a lot of John Matthew, as peeks of Darius show through some more. We see Tohrment and Vishous as they help Wrath through his marital struggles, and Zsadist as he helps Wrath work through his mental blocks regarding having kids. Payne helps Wrath work out his frustrations. Other than that, there's only glimpses of the others - Rhage, Butch, Phury, Qhuinn, Blay, Xhex and Lassiter. I did miss the Brotherhood togetherness. 

J.R. Ward has already said that the next book in the series will be about Trez and iAm. Trez's story built up quite a bit in The King, and we learn a lot more about him, iAm, and their close relationship to each other. We find out about the impossible situation Trez is in, thanks to his horrible parents, and the lengths that iAm is willing to go to to save him. And, we saw how much he truly cares about Selena, who has some serious problems of her own. After the awesomeness that was The King, I have very high hopes for The Shadows.

COVER LOVING: The King, Into The Still Blue and Before Jamaica Lane

Just this week I've seen three new covers from three of my favorite series, and I'm just beside myself with all the gorgeousness. You ready for this?

1. The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12), by J. R. Ward

I know. Shut. Up. Although that's not exactly how I pictured Wrath, I still think this cover is so powerful and dominating - just like Wrath. I am so deliriously excited for The King to come out (and, we have such a long time to wait!). And, I think it's just going to keep getting better and better, too, because I hear through the blogosphere that the book that The Warden is working on now (#13) is going to be about... wait for it... Rhage and Mary. I KNOW!!

And, is it just me, or does he not look a lot like Alexander Skarsgard??

2. Into The Still Blue (Under the Never Sky #3), by Veronica Rossi

The Under the Never Sky series is my most favorite dystopian series of all time. I like it better than The Hunger Games. Better than Divergent. I think this world that the incredible Veronica Rossi has created is so alive and vibrant and scary and beautiful. And, Perry, Aria and Roar have completely captivated me and stolen my heart. Under The Never Sky's cover featured Aria, and for good reason. It was really her story of how she came out of her pod-created shell and really came alive. Through The Ever Night's cover showcased Perry, and as expected, it was all about how he took charge of his life for the first time ever and became the leader he was born to be. The fact that both Perry and Aria are on the cover of Into The Still Blue is very telling, isn't it?

I'm super sad to see this series end but super excited to see how they get Into The Still Blue.

3. Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street #3), by Samantha Young

On the heels of the release of Down London Road (On Dublin Street #2) last month, Samantha Young just released the cover for Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street #3) yesterday. The characters featured on the cover are Olivia and Nate, a couple who were introduced in Down London Road. One of the things about Samantha Young's books that I've loved so far is that characters are not forgotten when the story moves to a new couple. We saw lots of Joss and Braden in book #2. I expect to see plenty of Jo and Cam in Before Jamaica Lane - especially since Nate is Cam's BFF and Olivia is Jo's cousin. I can't wait to read their story!

So, now it's your turn! What do you think? Any new covers you've seen lately that have captivated you? I'm a total cover whore, so tell me about them!

Lover at Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11)

Lover at Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11), by J.R. Ward
Published March 26, 2013
Publisher:  NAL
Format: e-book - I own
Genre:  Urban Fantasy, Adult Paranormal Romance

 Rating:  4 STARS

(From Goodreads) Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, shunned by the aristocracy, he has finally found an identity as one of the most brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of his own seems to be within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to another....

Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it’s about time: The male has found his perfect match in a Chosen female, and they are going to have a young—just as Qhuinn has always wanted for himself. It’s hard to see the new couple together, but building your life around a pipe dream is just a heartbreak waiting to happen. As he’s learned firsthand.

Fate seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions... but as the battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in Caldwell create mortal danger for the Brotherhood, Qhuinn finally learns the true definition of courage, and two hearts who are meant to be together... finally become one.

Talk about a hotly anticipated book. I was jonesing to read Lover at Last like I want a Hershey bar after dieting for two weeks. No - make that two months. I wanted it BAAAAAAD. When March 26 came and I downloaded it to my Kindle at 5:30 in the morning, I just sat there and petted the cover image while telling myself that I couldn't start reading it right then because I had to get ready for work. 

And, after all that anticipation, I have to tell you that I expected a lot. I mean, this is the Black Dagger Brotherhood. One of my favorite series of all time. And I absolutely adore Qhuinn. I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I expected whatever I got to be perfection. Perhaps that was my problem. I set the bar way too high in my mind. Because, to be honest, I was slightly disappointed. 

My problem was not with Qhuinn and Blay's story. My problem was that there wasn't enough of it. There was A LOT going on in this book. It's become a hallmark of the BDB books that, along with the main story, you get offshoots that set you up for the next book or two down the line. I knew that. But, in this case, it seemed like there was more of those side stories than usual. In addition to Qhuinn and Blay's story, we also had:

• Xcor and Layla (and Xcor and the BoBs and Layla and Qhuinn - all interrelated)
• Assail and Sola
• Trez and Selena
• Wrath and Beth (!!!)
• Mr. C., the new forelesser
• Saxton

That's a lot of other stuff that took away precious time that I felt was needed for Qhuinn and Blay. Their story has been building for so long now. They really needed more page time. BUT, I will say that, the page time they did get was well spent. Their story was sweet and frustrating and engrossing. Qhuinn broke my heart and then put it back together again. And, Blay was so frustrating, but man, when he gets his stuff together, wow is he amazing. 

The epilogue was a little out of place, though, I thought. A lot of what happened in it was a complete disconnect for me. It's not something that I would've ever seen Qhuinn do, and that made it feel really superficial and fabricated. I could've done without it. 

The side stories was all okay, but I feel like I didn't absorb them like I should have because I rushed through them to get to the parts about Qhuinn and Blay. It feels like Ward is trying to give Xcor a semblance of a heart. Assail seems like a Rhevenge clone to me, albeit a lesser version of him. He's more "bad" than Rhev ever was, and honestly, I wasn't all that taken with Sola, who is a new character. 

Trez's story starts in this book, and of all of them, this one was my favorite. He and his brother iAm have been around for quite a few books now, so we have had an opportunity to get to know him. I think that helps with the engagement - I feel more invested in his story than in Assail's or Xcor's. I look forward to his own book. 

Which will NOT be the next one, because as Ward announced last week, the next book will bring things full circle and be about Wrath and Beth (hence the !!!!s above). Ward's been flirting with the idea of them having a baby in the past few books, and events in Lover at Last indicate that the issue will be brought to a head in The King, which is the title of the next BDB book (no "Lover" in the title - curious...). 

And, yes, we do meet the new forelesser, but honestly, the lessers seem so much... less... then they used to be, especially with baddies like Xcor and Assail on the scene. Then, there's Saxton - poor Saxton - who was Qhuinn's sad stand-in until Blay got his head on straight. I think we'll see more of him moving forward. 

All in all, Lover at Last was a good read. How could it not be? I had some problems with it, but none that couldn't be overlooked. If you're a fan of the series, this is definitely NOT to be missed. 
 

Book #123 - Covet (Fallen Angels #1)

Covet (Fallen Angels #1), J. R. Ward
paranormal romance, urban fantasy
474 pages
Started 11/6/12
Finished 11/10/12
3.5 STARS

I still have four very long months to wait until Lover At Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11) comes out. I've been going through some serious Warden withdraw, too, so I decided to give her Fallen Angels series a try. I picked up Covet, the first book in J.R. Ward's Fallen Angels series. It was sort of like heading over to your boyfriend's parents house for dinner, and being so hungry, but when you get there, you only find one thing that you like, so you leave hungry, but you hate it that you do. Not that that's ever happened to me or anything.

Jim is a newly minted fallen angel with a tall order ahead of him. He has to get a guy worth many millions and with a beautiful model on his arm to want to give it all up for the love of a good woman. Who happens to be a prostitute. And, the demons out there will do everything they can to get him to fail. Only, his failure could mean the beginning of the end for humanity as we know it.

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting. I know I didn't expect the BDB. Which is good, because BDB this was not. I could tell it was written by Ward - her style and gritty language was there. But, I don't know. It just seemed like it was missing something. Some sort of magic something-or-other.

One thing I love about the BDB books is that it takes the brother of focus nearly 600 pages until he stops acting like an ass. In Covet, Vin seemed to reconcile his evil ways and fell for his new girl within the first 100 pages. The rest just seemed like logistics. I didn't love him. I didn't love her. It just seemed really hard to connect with these characters. And, perhaps it was because of my preconceived notions or expectations that were too high. I don't know.

I will say that I did love the BDB world glimpses that Ward gave us. I mean, it takes place in Caldwell, NY, which is the same town in which the BDB series takes place, so I really hoped there'd be a sighting. And, she didn't disappoint. We do see one Brother, for one very short moment, and not even by name. But, if you're a fan of the series, you know instantly who it is. It was so cool.

I'm not sure yet if I'll continue with the series or not. We'll see how long my BDB bends last.