Book Review: The Thief (Black Dagger Brotherhood #16) by J.R. Ward

The Thief by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well this was just 452 pages of wonderfulness......and now I feel like all my friends have gone and left me.....again.....Until next year.

This installment is based around Assail and Sola, but there is also a generous helping of V and Jane in there as well as some Rhage cameos. Winning on all fronts in my opinion.
I really liked the development of the relationship between Assail and Sola, and the pacing for what they found out about each other; I feel that it added a layer of unpredictability as you never quite know if that will be the moment that Sola figures out what Assail is. I also love Sola's grandmother, and the dynamic between her and the cousins.

I'm glad the we got to see what happened with Jane and V in this book, as I don't think I would have wanted to wait or for it to be dragged. I'm also intrigued by the fact that this opens things up for some new characters to be introduced. These two are one of my favourite couples next to Rhage and Mary, so the fact that we saw a fair amount of them in this made em happy.

I think that the events surrounding the Book and the Sanctuary, perhaps open things up for us to see more of Phury and Cormia. Even though they aren't my favourites, it feels like we haven't seen a lot from them since their original story line. On top of all of that this thing with Murhder is a) going to be interesting and no doubt open many cans of worms and b) probably more JM and Xhex. All things that I don't want to wait for.

I want the next one. 'nough said. ;)

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Book Review: Dying For Her (Jesse Sullivan #3) by Kory M. Shrum

Dying for Her by Kory M. Shrum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked this book a lot.

It was interesting to see things from Brinkley's perspective and to understand a bit more of his backstory. I liked that this book offered up more explanation about Caldwell. As much as it does not continue on from book two, I think that it is a necessary read as sets up future books with us, the reader, knowing what Brinkley knew and put in the notebook that was given to Jesse.

It was nice to see how all of the characters in books one and two came to know each other. I'm looking forward to seeing how Gideon fits into the team in future books and how Jesse reacts to him, as I think that this will be an interesting change in Dynamic. I think it will also be interesting to see how things change if Jeremiah and Nikki start to play a larger role and how that is going to affect the relationships between the individual characters.

I really liked this and think that reading it as book three in the series is the right place for it.

I totally recommend.

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Book Review: Dying By The Hour (Jesse Sullivan #2) by Kory M. Shrum

Dying by the Hour by Kory M. Shrum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book just did not let up!

I'm really enjoying this series; I didn't expect to like it as much as I do, but the writing just has such a good flow to it, you can't not get caught up in the story. There is so much going on in this book and yet it never feels overwhelming. It's paced well with things gradually being revealed, with the relationships between the characters being developed at the same time. I think that these two elements of the story are well balanced. There is the right amount of each, so it never feels like the relationship aspect is taking over from the plot, and equally, there is never too much plot development that the relationships feel forgotten. It all works really seamlessly together, and makes for some very believable characters.

I think that all the characters work well together, and I like their different personalities. I think that the dynamic between Jesse, Ally and Lane is an interesting one, and I am curious to see how the relationships between them develop. I also can't wait to find out more about Jeremiah, especially given what is revealed about him at the end of this book.

This is a fun series, that has plenty of substance as well as style, that I would highly recommend reading.

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Book Review: Dying For A Living (Jesse Sullivan #1) by Kory M. Shrum

Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I downloaded this the other day as a freebie and didn't really know what to expect from it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was actually a really good book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I was intrigued by the idea of being able to get someone to die for you. I think that the author has put a really unique spin on the raising the dead/zombie/necromancer concept. I liked the story line and plot of this book and the way that it developed. The writing style is great; it flows really well and is engaging. The characters are brilliant, also well written and have substance. They have a good chemistry and individual personalities that play off each other creating a good dialogue. I loved the wit and humour that is weaved in throughout; there are some real laugh out loud moments that just add the right amount of light-hearted-ness and stop things from getting to dark.

I can't wait to see what happens next for these characters. The ending was totally unexpected and provided a great set up for what can be an amazing series. I completely recommend reading this for something supernatural with a sense of humour.

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Book Review: The Chosen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #15) by J.R. Ward

The Chosen by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this new installment of the series, but in all honesty it was not my favourite, and I had a feeling that it wouldn't be before I even read it. I loved The Beast, probably because Rhage is one of my favourites, so for me it was a given that Layla and Xcor were not going to be able to top what had come before them. If I had to compare this to previous books, I would put this one on par with The Shadows.

In my opinion this was one of those books where it seems to be a bit slow in places but still has a lot going on. To me this books purpose is to bridge any small gaps in the larger story and set the stage for the next "relationship to unfold". I think that this, as a book, will read better in a couple of years time when there are installments that follow it; for the simple reason that when you binge read an entire series, the individual elements all blend into one very long story, so what for some people are shortcomings with this book eventually won't matter when we all decide to go back and binge read it all over again, it won't be the book that may seem a little slow in places, it'll just be a continuation of what comes before and after it.

I think that this story was very different to what a lot of people were expecting, with the Xcor/Layla element not being quite so central to the story and having all these other smaller elements being brought in to set up for what comes next. I personally think that this book told their story in the best way as I don't feel that there was enough left to be told about to fill an entire book up. We have already seen so much of their relationship unfold in previous books, so I wasn't surprised that they weren't the sole focus here. In all honesty I was a little bit glad. Layla has never been a favourite of mine. For the same reasons that I'm not overly fond of Cormia, Marissa and the other Chosen. There is just that overly innocent/naive vibe about them (admittedly Marissa is growing on me). And as much as I no longer see Xcor as "The Bad Guy", I didn't fall in love with his character either; I'm just ambivalent when it comes to him.

I'm interested to see how this thing with Trez and Therese plays out, and what it means in the grander scheme of things. It's hard to say anything about this without giving away spoilers. I did find it a bit odd though, how we had gone back to looking at how Trez is doing and it becoming almost a secondary story line, and yet there was no kind of follow up, even briefly, on the Rhage-Mary-Bitty situation; not even passing them in the hall or at meal times. For me this was certainly something that felt a bit missing. But then again maybe I'm biased being Team Rhage and all.

A couple of other little side thoughts:

Mrs Ward, what is it going to cost me for everything to work out right with Vishous? Seriously, name your price and it's yours.

The new Scribe Virgin. OH MY GOD! My first thought when I read who got the job was that the Brothers are going to hit the roof. I would never have guessed this. Things are most definitely going to get interesting.

I think if you have followed the series then this is a must read for you. I can't wait to read Assail's book, as I find his character quite intriguing. I'm looking forward to seeing everything plays out and discovering what comes next for these characters. I'm totally loving this series!



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Book Review: Immortal (Fallen Angels #6) by J.R. Ward

Immortal by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So this series has come to a close.

Personally, I felt a little bit disappointed with this as a way to bring this series to a end. By this point I have really come to find Sissy and Jim a bit irritating. With the way that Jim focuses in on/obsesses over Sissy, it make it feel as though things were happening in this book and at the same time as though nothing was happening. The whole thing with Eddie felt a bit weird, and felt a bit disconnected with the rest of the story; although it did explain why they had kept the body, and why the house had been repairing itself.

I also feel as though the end of the book was a bit rushed; in my opinion it could have done with another 20 pages or so for it to feel like a more natural ending. I am, however, intrigued to see now if Eddie and Adrian will pop up in the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) series to come after Lassiter.

I enjoyed this series, but it's not my favourite and I think that the BDB was better.

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Book Review: Possession (Fallen Angels #5) by J.R. Ward

Possession by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh where do I begin reviewing this?....

I can safely say that I enjoyed this one more than I enjoyed Rapture. This book got back that vibe and feeling that I keep going on about, with the brief appearance of Xhex and John Matthew form the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB). This installment in the series stared out really well. There were some interesting new characters brought in; Duke, alpha male, mysterious, and bouncer at the Iron Mask. GB, attractive singer and guitar player, the nice 'safe option'; and Cait, illustrator and art teacher, trying to be her own person and let go of the overly religious upbringing form her parents. Between them you have a bit of a love triangle thing going on.

I was very intrigued by these characters and how all the events were going to play out with one of them being the soul, and then suddenly it became the Sissy Show. You know, I started to feel really sorry for Adrian (at last I have some emotion towards him!), Jim gets distracted, again, by Sissy and the little Biblical war that's going on is just left for poor old Adrian to deal with on his lonesome. I felt that the story line about saving the next soul with Duke, Cait and GB became a secondary story, and therefore it was all wrapped up a bit to quickly at the end. I would like to have seen more of the relationship between Duke and Cait, and them coming to terms with what had happened.

I also think that I am starting to dislike Sissy...

This book started out well, gripping my attention, however I'm not really sure what I thought of it in the end.

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Book Review: Envy (Fallen Angels #3) by J.R. Ward

Envy by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, maybe even more so than I did Covet.

Having recently finished the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (BDB) it was great to finally see what happened to Veck once the Band of Bastards had left the hotel, as it was all left a bit of a mystery in Lover Unleashed (BDB #9).

I think that this book redeemed the series in my eyes as I felt that crave lack the feel and vibe of the world that Ward had created with the other series. I think that picking up the secondary story line from Lover Unleashed was a great idea, as it helps build upon the world that has been created, and makes it feel more real with showing that there are stories outside that of The Brotherhood. I thought that this story line focusing in on Veck was very gripping and I didn't want to put it down. It was interesting to discover Veck's backstory, and I liked the relationship between Veck and Reilly.

Three books in and I still haven't figured out my feelings towards Jim and Co. and the Archangels. To be honest, the only negative (which is a minor thing really,) for me about this book was Jim's fixation with saving Sissy. It's slightly irritating as Jim has already been told that if he wins the war then all the souls in hell will be saved and yet he still seems sidetracked with finding another way to save her. Why not focus on the tack at hand and kill two birds with one stone??

Anyway... Apart from that small and minor thing, I loved it and would totally recommend it; especially if you felt a bit let down by Crave.

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Book Review: Covet (Fallen Angels #1) and Crave (Fallen Angels #2) by J.R. Ward

 Covet by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So I enjoyed this book, but initially found it hard to get into. I think this had a lot to do with setting up the characters, so that you could get an impression of who they were and what their lifestyles were like; so the story did pick up and drag me along with it, after a little bit.

I liked the cross over with the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) series, as it showed that world from a different perspective; Marie-Terese, who was just a background character in the BDB, bumping into Phury at her support group, and Trez doing his part as club owner. I liked that Ward started this series off with a lesser character from the other series. I personally feel that it made it easier to get into the flow of this story. It was nice to discover Marie-Terese's backstory and get to know her character better. Vin, as a character, is your typical alpha male, self made, trophy girlfriend/wife, objects have no meaning just status kind of guy. (Probably would fit in well with the BDB). When it comes to Jim, i don't really know how I feel about him. I don't love him; don't hate him either. The same really goes for Adrian, Eddie and the Archangels. At the moment they feel ore like background characters.

I like Dog. He's cute.

This is a good book that while I enjoyed it, I didn't fall in love with it like I did with the BDB books.




View all my reviews Crave by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't like this one as much as I did Covet. But 3 stars would have been to harsh but since I can't give partial stars I've rounded up to 4.

Crave picks up pretty much where Covet left off. Jim is on his way to deal the assignment he was given by his old boss in exchange for some information. Although he doesn't do the job quite the way his boss intended.

Personally I found the characters in this book hard to gel with. I'm not sure why, I just never seemed to click with them. Now I know that I shouldn't compare this series to the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) series, but it's hard considering that they are set in the same world/place. For me the BDB set up this world with a certain vibe and feeling to it as well as with the characters; so where Covet focused in part on Marie-Terese, who first showed up in the BDB, that same vibe and feeling was brought in with her giving the book that same feel and flow that I loved with the BDB and that made everything feel cohesive; that this is the same world, same place, just new perspective. That was also helped by the cameo appearances of the BDB characters. For me this book lacked some of that vibe, that feeling that made everything flow and helped me connect with the characters, and left this book seeming a bit disconnected from he world that it was meant to be in.

I also don't feel that I bonded anymore with Jim, Adrian, Eddie or the Archangels. I'm still rather ambivalent when it comes to them sadly.

I also feel that the plot twist towards the end felt a little hurried. I feel as though perhaps a few more pages that focus on what the fallout from it could have helped that seem less rushed.

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