Covet

Covet by J.R. Ward

My rating:

3 stars—I liked it.

My thoughts:

This is first in the "Fallen Angel" series. I liked it…but didn’t love it. I had a hard time staying focused on the story. So far, I haven’t been able to fall in love with any of Ward’s books except the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

I’m not planning to continue this series at this time.

Description from Goodreads.com:

"Redemption isn't a word Jim Heron knows much about—his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option.

Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he's good with that-until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. And then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart—and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul."

The Bourbon Kings

The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward

My rating:

3 stars—I liked it.

My thoughts:

As you know, if you read my blog regularly, I love JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I was really looking forward to reading this first book in her new series with humans! It was a decent read, but I expected it to be better. There was too much family drama and not enough focus on the relationship between Lane and Lizzie. The other characters were better developed.

I’m looking forward to the next installment, I have a feeling I will love Edward’s story. I hope that is next!

Description from Goodreads.com:

“For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege—as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet.

For Lizzie King, Easterly’s head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted—and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane’s beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the ironfisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets.

As family tensions—professional and intimately private—ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive.”

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
2. Embraced By the Light by Betty Eadie
3. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series (starts with Dark Lover) by J.R. Ward
4. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
5. Sweet Return by Anna Jeffrey
6. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
7. Fire in the Ashes by Jonathan Kozol
8. Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das
9. Fatelessness by Imre Kertesz
10. One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper

Black Dagger Brotherhood

Black Dagger Brotherhood

Yes…I’ve started reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series all over again…I just love the character development in this series. 

Ward keeps me reading, I’m so wrapped up in these characters she has created!

Dark Lover is the first in the series!

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This weeks 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Sweet Romance: It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
2. Heart Wrenching Memoir: They Cage the Animals At Night by Jennings Michael Burch
3. Spirit Stirring: Bhagavad gita
4. Dramatic Mother/Daughter: One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
5. Classic: 1984 by George Orwell
6. Parenting Help: Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Kurcinka
7. Steamy, Action packed, Emotional: The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series (starts with Dark Lover) by J.R. Ward
8. Wrenching: 102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer
9. Amazing Author: The World According to Garp by John Irving
10. Hilarious: My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

The King

The King by J.R. Ward

If you are a regular reader of my book reviews you know that I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It is so hard for me to wait for the next installment! This book brings it back to Wrath and Beth—the original couple. I get so wrapped up in these characters!

One tiny note of unhappiness--I do agree with some critics that the number of characters is sometimes too much. Each book introduces new characters and the old characters get lost in the shuffle. Ward builds characters up and then they seem to disappear and their lack of presence is noticeable. Since maybe book 5 this has really bothered me. That continued here. Loved most of it, but am tired of some of the side things that have been dragging on (Xcor and Layla especially). This book sets up the next book…which I like, but it seemed to take over the plot more this time. As the series grows it is harder to be as enraptured.

Seriously though—read this series! Start at the beginning with Dark Lover.

Lover At Last

Lover At Last by J.R. Ward

Next in the Black Dagger Brotherhood installment for me was Blay and Quinn’s story. I am still engrossed in the series and this story was amazingly hot. I thought Ward might treat this story with kid gloves, as there are 2 male characters in love, but she didn’t…and I loved it. Ward is able to create incredibly moving emotion.

One issue with this series…there are getting to be so many characters that it is hard to keep up with all of them. John Matthew was strangely missing in this story (Like Rehv was missing from Xhex’s story). I am also tired of Layla. She is a whiner! Ward has been building her up for several books now. On with it, I say.