'Rapture' A Novel of the Fallen Angels #4 by J.R. Ward

 Received from the Publisher 

From the BLURB:

Mels Carmichael, reporter for the Caldwell Courier Journal, gets the shock of her life when a man stumbles in front of her car outside the local cemetery. After the accident, his amnesia is just the kind of mystery she likes to solve, but she soon discovers they're over their heads with his past. Over their heads with passion, too...

As shadows walk the line between reality and another realm and her lover's memory begins to come back, the two of them learn that nothing is truly dead and buried. Especially when you're trapped in a no-holds-barred war between angels and demons. With a soul on the line and Mels' heart at risk, what in heaven - or in hell - will it take to save them both?

** This review contains spoilers of all previous books in the ‘Fallen Angels’ series **

The odds are in their favour, but Jim Heron and his last remaining angelic aid, Adrian, are still fighting hard in the war against Good and Evil.

This time the soul in question belongs to Jim’s old XOps boss, the pathologically cruel Matthias who was a previously lost cause.

Matthias is back from hell and upon his return he’s involved in a car accident with Caldwell Courier journalist Mels Carmichael. Mels can’t forget about the John Doe she hit with her car and when the limping, scarred man admits to her that he has amnesia, he also asks for her help in finding who he is. Mels finds that she cannot refuse him, and it’s not just her guilty conscience pushing her to stay close to Matthias . . .

Meanwhile, evil beauty Devina is still rampaging mad that Jim duped her in the last souls round, and her payback will involve poking at the open-wound that is Jim’s little lost, virginal soul, Sissy. . .

‘Rapture’ is the fourth book in J.R. Ward’s ‘Fallen Angels’ series.

I swear, this fourth book in the ‘Fallen Angels’ series feels like a giant step back . . . which is such a shame after the four-star glory of third book, ‘Envy’. I have not been an easy fan of this series, but I will admit that the books had been getting progressively better from the lacklustre two-star first book ‘Covet’, each new book gaining a one-star improvement. But here we are with ‘Rapture’ and we’re backtracking. It was a mixture of slow plot, a too quick romance and the Warden yet again dragging her pen on the slow-as-molasses developing plot of Sissy and Jim that really put me off this book.

First of all, it felt like the Warden was not-so-subtly reminding fans of the ‘Fallen Angels’ timeline throughout this book. I marked the four odd times that characters alluded to the series timeline – from ‘Covet’ through to ‘Rapture’ – revealing that there has been only a span of about two weeks. A couple of weeks. That’s it. The Warden mentions it when Mels and Matthias investigate the electrocution/shooting death of Jim Heron – the fact that he has been dead for a little over two weeks. Now, I think part of the reason that the Warden made it a point to put a mark on the ‘Fallen Angels’ timeline is to reveal the real urgency in the Heaven vs Hell competition. This urgency is actually part of the reason I have never really enjoyed the romances in the ‘Fallen Angels’ series – because they are very quick; Jim and Devina are fighting tooth and nail for these lost souls, and that urgency translates to all of the romances in which the men need the love of a good woman to save their soul.

Luckily the Warden has shied away from out-right ‘love at first sight’ clichés, but it has been a close thing. With Matthias and Mels, for example, he feels a stirring for her when she comes to visit him in hospital – but it’s more seeing her head-strong journalist self that really turns him on. But, all in all, the quick-fire romances have never really worked for me and that’s again true with Matthias and Mels. Never mind that following the same tropes in every single book is growing a wee bit old – lost guy’s soul needs to find his one true love to get a win for heaven. Slight yawn. Bigger yawn in ‘Rapture’ because Matthias and Mels’s physical relationship has strong echoes of Rehvenge and Ehlena’s romance in ‘Lover Avenged’ – particularly because battle wounds have made Matthias impotent (and where Rehv was a bad-ass nightclub owner/drug dealer, Matthias was a bad-ass XOps leader). The scene in which Matthias and Mels find ways around sex without penetration read like déjà-vu for the same exchange in ‘Lover Avenged’.

Jim cleared his throat. Twice. “Ah, you’re back because we need you to make the right choice this time.”
“Choice?”
“At the crossroads.” Jim prayed he was going to make some sense. “You’re, ah, you’re going to come to a moment where you need to choose, and if you don’t want to go back where you were, you have to pick the righteous path, not . . .  what you’re used to.”
“So it’s true? About Heaven and Hell?”
“And you’ve got a second chance.”
“Why?”
“The devil cheats.”

Part of the reason I’m actually really impatient for Sissy to hurry the heck up and get a bigger role in this series is because I like the build-up for her and Heron. Whereas all the other romance focuses in the series have followed the lost soul’s romances, and have been very quick developments, Jim and Sissy’s potential romance is the only one that has roots going back to book one and a bit of history behind it. But we’re in book four now, and Jim’s occasional slip-ups of “his girl, Sissy” are quickly becoming not quite enough to keep me on the hooks with this romance. And I’m also becoming concerned that the Warden is writing Sissy into a Mary-Sue type of role, a girl who can do no wrong who, we are always reminded, was a beautiful blonde-virgin-smart girl before Devina killed her. Jim is building her up waaaaaay too much, and as a result Jim’s holier-than-thou thoughts of her are off-putting to the reader. It may have helped if the Warden had given us the occasional POV chapters from Sissy? – yes, she is stuck in a wall of souls, but maybe if we were there with her, experiencing the horror or reading how she’s keeping herself psychologically strong, then we’d be a bit more sympathetic towards her. As it is? I really feel like ‘Rapture’ should have been the book in which Sissy steps into the spotlight, because as of this book the romance I was looking forward to is rapidly losing my interest and patience.

Another reason I think the Warden mentioned the two-week timeline is to remind us that it wasn’t all that long ago that Jim Heron was getting down and dirty with Devina in ‘Covet’ . . . because there is quite a big focus in this book, on Devina’s growing infatuation with Jim. Actually, there’s also a growing focus on Devina as a multifaceted villain, complete with OCD quirks and job pressures. I’m not so sure how I feel about this; on the one hand, I always love a bad guy with shades of grey. But on the other hand, I have been enjoying Devina’s truly heinous self . . . and I’m not entirely certain that the Warden won’t continue to give Devina more emotional depth, and possibly push her towards Jim. I really, really hope not. Because that’s creepy. Although, I think it may help to throw a spanner in the Sissy/Jim romance if Devina is in a viable love triangle with them – and I'd be interested to see how it plays out, if Jim (the veritable balance in this whole game) has to choose between the evil Devina, and the innocent Sissy.

All in all, I think this series is going a little wonky. We’re four books in now, and Sissy is still being alluded to as the ultimate Mary-Sue, we’ve been reading the same guy-needs-true-love-to-make-a-win-for-heaven storyline and Devina has only just started to become more multifaceted. *Sigh*. I’m struggling with this series, I really am.

2/5

'Envy' Novel of the Fallen Angels #3 by J.R. WARD

From the BLURB:

Seven deadly sins. Seven souls to save. And a man and a woman treading the lines of danger, desire and deliverance . . .

As the son of a serial killer, homicide detective Thomas 'Veck' DelVecchio, Jr, grew up in the shadow of evil. Now, on the knife-edge between civic duty and blind retribution, he atones for the sins of his father - while fighting his inner demons.

Assigned to monitor Veck is Internal Affairs officer Sophia Reilly, whose interest in him is both professional and arousingly personal. And Veck and Sophia have another link: Jim Heron, a mysterious stranger with too many answers . . . to questions that are deadly. When Veck and Sophia are drawn into the ultimate battle between good and evil, their fallen angel saviour is the only thing that stands between them and eternal damnation.

Thomas DelVecchio Jr is a household name, for all the wrong reasons. He made headlines as a teenager, when he discovered his mother’s murdered body … she was also, consequently, his father’s thirteenth murder victim.

Thomas DelVecchio ‘Veck’ Jr could have chosen the same path as his father… he has often felt the push and pull of evil within him. Instead, he joined the police force. He may not always be the most upstanding member of society (what with a quick temper and easy lusts) but he does believe in truth and justice.

But now Veck is questioning everything he stands for. He has just found himself hovering over the bloodied body of a serial killer – but Veck can’t remember anything. No signs point to his stabbing the victim, but Veck isn’t so sure. Enter Internal Affairs officer, Sophia Reilly. She knows Veck is dangerous and lethal, but she doesn’t think he’s a cold-blooded killer either, no matter his family history suggesting otherwise.

While Veck and his new (tempting) partner, Reilly, are assigned to a new case looking for a missing girl called Cecilia ‘Sissy’ Barten, a war rages up above.

Angel Jim Heron is down by one in the battle for souls. Evil demon-bitch, Devina, isn’t playing fair and Jim doesn’t know how to bring the game back in his favour. Not even his angel buddies, Adrian and Eddie, are much help to Jim. Even worse though, he’s consumed and obsessed with saving an innocent lost soul he found in Devina’s hellish dungeon … a nineteen-year-old girl called Cecilia ‘Sissy’ Barten.

‘Envy’ is the third book in J.R. Ward’s ‘Fallen Angels’ paranormal series.

Hold the phone. Check the skies for swine, and get ready to ice-skate in the underworld … because I just read a ‘Fallen Angels’ book, and I liked it! I have made my feelings clear about the Warden’s Caldwell-based angel series, and the first two outings of ‘Covet’ and ‘Crave’ were not at all to my liking. But with ‘Envy’, I am starting to change my tune…

First up, I really loved the character of Veck. He’s an interesting conundrum –a good cop with a strong moral compass (even if it swings towards a quick temper sometimes) but who feels like he’s fooling everyone. Because Veck’s father was ‘evil’ – a serial killer who is now sitting on death row, whose last victim was Veck’s mother. Understandably, Veck is confused about his standing in the world – is he his father’s son, putting on a good show for everyone? Or does evil skip a generation? Veck’s concerns are bought to the fore when he is found standing over the bloodied body of a killer … Veck doesn’t remember attacking, and the physical evidence says he didn’t. But Veck believes, deep down, that his blood runs bad.

Veck was brilliant. I loved him – I loved his struggle and his Brother-esque attitude (more believable in this human cop than any other ‘saved soul’ we’ve met so far). And I especially loved how his battle of wills was heightened when he met Sophia Reilly – another cop who makes his blood run hot. Reilly and Veck were great, and I think part of the reason I liked them was that the focus was primarily on Veck. We learn a little about Reilly’s childhood, which was hardly idyllic, but for the most part the focus of ‘Envy’ is on Veck’s redemption (something I was thankful for after the calamity HEA of Marie-Terese in ‘Covet’). And the Warden has written some great conflict between Reilly and Veck – with her as Internal Affairs investigating Veck’s potential attack on a murder suspect. There’s enough tension within their professional life and unethical attraction that Reilly didn’t need to get bogged down in back-story. Less is more.

Of course, the battle for souls still rages. Devina is nastier than ever, and going particularly loony since becoming ‘intimate’ with Jim in ‘Crave’. Devina is sinking her claws into all the angel boys, and the consequences are dire;

“You know, Adrian, you ever get bored with being a Goody Two-shoes, you could come over to my side.”
“Because you have cookies, right.”
Those black eyes returned to his own. “And so much more.”
“Well, I’m on a diet. Sorry—but thanks for the invite.”

I have said it from the start, that Devina is one hell of a bad-guy in this series. Ironically enough, she was the only redeeming feature of both ‘Covet’ and ‘Crave’ for me – a truly terrible villain is often hard to find, but Devina fits the bill. In ‘Envy’ her crazy knows no bounds as she sets her sights on a ‘romantic’ relationship with Jim (*gag!*).

But the real stand-out storyline for me in ‘Envy’ was that of Jim and lost-soul Sissy Barten. I said I liked this in ‘Crave’, and I was over-the-moon to discover that a good portion of ‘Envy’ is focused on Jim getting side-tracked by Sissy’s missing-persons case, and saving her from Devina’s wall of the damned. I can see why some people aren’t too keen on this apparent Jim/Sissy pairing (I think it’s all but confirmed in ‘Envy’ that they are each other’s HEA) but I like it. I like that Jim and Sissy are arcing over several books, and I love their grandiose epic love story, which is in itself a battle of Good VS. Evil.

I also really liked Adrian and Eddie in ‘Envy’. In the previous two books I could pretty much take them or leave them, but in ‘Envy’ we get more of Adrian’s backstory with Devina… but more importantly, we get a better sense of what Eddie and Adrian mean to each other.

One thing that still isn’t working for me (no matter how much the Warden dresses it up with M/M) is the portrayal of heaven and the angels Nigel and Colin. Yeah. I’m still not buying heaven as being full of foppish croquet players who sit around munching on scones all day. It’s just a little … ‘meh’ for me. Unfortunately Nigel and Colin take up quite a bit of page-time in ‘Envy’, and all signs point to a recurring storyline, unfortunately.

Overall I was pleasantly (okay, shockingly) surprised by how much I enjoyed ‘Envy’. Maybe it’s that I’m going into this series with slightly lowered expectations now, but I really think the Warden is hitting her stride. I look forward to the continuing Jim/Sissy saga, and more devilish cra-cra from everyone’s favourite she-bitch, Devina.

4/5

'Crave' A Novel of the Fallen Angels #2 by J.R. WARD

From the BLURB:

Seven deadly sins. Seven souls that must be saved. One more no-holds- barred battle between a fallen angel with a hardened heart and a demon with everything to lose.

Isaac Rothe is a black ops soldier with a dark past and a grim future. The target of an assassin, he finds himself behind bars, his fate in the hands of his gorgeous public defender Grier Childe. His hot attraction to her can only lead to trouble-and that's before Jim Heron tells him his soul is in danger. Caught up in a wicked game with the demon who shadows Jim, Isaac must decide whether the soldier in him can believe that true love is the ultimate weapon against evil.

Here we go Again

‘Crave’ is the second book in JR Ward’s ‘Fallen Angels’ series.

Okay. So it’s no secret that I wasn’t thrilled with the first book ‘Covet’. I went into this second book with big trepidation, and actually put-off reading it for three months. But I finally got around to tackling this worrisome sequel and overall I've got to admit, it’s not bad. . . it’s not great, but it’s not bad either.

I really don’t know how to do this review without spoilers of both ‘Covet’ and ‘Crave’, so don’t read on if you’re not up-to-date with those pesky Fallen Angels. . .

In this second instalment dead soldier and newborn angel, Jim Herron, is assigned to one of his fellow XOps army buddies in a bid to save his soul and win the ultimate game of Good VS. Evil. Isaac Rothe is going to be a hard nut to crack – he’s on the run from his ex-XOps captain, Matthias, and living on the mean streets to do it. Isaac has been street-fighting to make a living. Unfortunately the evil demon she-bitch, Devina, is also after Isaac and determined to claim his soul for hell. . .

But before either Jim or Devina can make a play for Isaac, he is swept up by the Caldwell police department and assigned a state’s attorney to plead his attempted manslaughter charge. Isaac is assigned to the beautiful and leggy Grier Childe, a well-to-do lawyer with a killer closer and a ghostly brother haunting her.

Grier is reluctantly drawn to Isaac, despite his thug behaviour and lethality. But then Matthias realizes he can use Grier to threaten Isaac, and suddenly the bid for his soul becomes a 50/50 even-split between heaven and hell.

You had me at ‘Ma’am’

I wasn’t too thrilled with the hero of ‘Covet’, Vin DiPietro - I didn’t hate him, but I didn’t rate him either. Isaac Rothe is another story. . . he’s a Southern Gentleman dripping with country drawl and impeccable manners. But underneath Isaac’s swagger is a lean, mean, killing machine. I loved his duality and sheer toughness. Even more so because he was able to switch it off with Grier. The second he lays eyes on his leggy lawyer Isaac is enthralled, and he treats Grier with the utmost respect, gentleness and care. He was very much a (Black Dagger) brother in that way, and I loved him for it.

“Okay.” He tightened her first and drew her arm back over her shoulder. “Take it out on me.”

“What - ”

“Hit me. Tear my eyes out. Do anything you have to.”

“Are you mad?”

“Yes. Insane.” He dropped his hold on her and braced his weight, staying close. . . close enough so she could cork him a good one if she wanted to. “I’ll be your punching bag, your Kevlar vest, your bodyguard. . . I’ll do anything to help you get through this.”

“You’re crazy,” she breathed.

Grier was the perfect match to Isaac. She’s ballsy and beautiful. She is initially wary of Isaac’s hardness, but quickly enraged by his seeming death-wish. I loved that she called him out for his stupidity and never backed down. These two were combustible and hot on the page. . . and it goes without saying that Grier kicked Marie-Terese’s hyphenated-ass!

Within Temptation

I didn’t really care for the entire angel aspect of ‘Covet’. . . which is a sore point in a series called ‘Fallen Angels’. I’m still not a fan of the Warden’s interpretation of Heaven (an angel called Nigel and an ongoing croquet tournament. . . puh-leeze!). But I am warming to the Warden’s feathered friends. Jim Herron is assisted by his angel buddies Adrian Vogel and Eddie Blackhawk. I didn’t think a whole lot of these two in ‘Covet’, because I didn’t think they were given enough page-time for reader’s to get to know them. Well, that changes in ‘Crave’. . . not only do we get an idea of their tag-team efforts, but we are given insights into their ongoing twisted torment, courtesy of Devina. These two are growing on me, Adrian especially, and I look forward to reading their progression (especially since now I know how much emotional and mental baggage that are lugging around!)

Good girls go to Heaven,

Bad girls go Down

I actually like Devina as a ‘bad-guy’. She is the female BDB equivalent of Lash, in that she’s the continuous villain throughout the series (I assume?) and we read her interiority. I am not a big fan of the ‘Mr. X’ & ‘Mr. O’ villainous sub-plots of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, I tend to skip over those interiorities and get the gist of their plot from the Brother’s side of things. It wasn’t until Lash came on the scene that I actually started reading and investing in those sinister side-stories. Devina is similar to Lash, because we are getting a progression of her character. . . from her back-seat romp with Jim in ‘Covet’, to her increasing infatuation with him in ‘Crave’. I like reading that evil progression, mapping the villainous character-arc is more interesting than the usual throw-away side stories in BDB. And Devina is truly sinister. She is a mind-fuck female who will stop at nothing to degrade and derange her angel foe. And her torture technique is. . . horrible. That’s all I can say. . . horrible!

His Girl

I also wasn’t a big fan of Jim Heron in ‘Covet’. . . another sore point since he’s the only mainstay character in the series. But Jim grew on me in ‘Crave’ – it was partly due to the fact that Devina puts him through the ringer and I felt awful for him. It was also the appearance of a character that I hope will be either a main in the third book, or an ongoing character in the series. Cecilia ‘Sissy’ Barten appeared briefly in ‘Covet’, as Devina’s virginal sacrifice. Jim stumbles across Sissy while he’s in the bowels of hell, and he is determined to save her. . . I was instantly intrigued by Sissy and her plight, and even more so by Jim’s reaction to her (calling her ‘his girl’ and being horrified when she sees his tortured body). I really hope that the Warden returns to Sissy’s story, because I was instantly captivated by her.

Second Act Downfall

I did like ‘Crave’ better than ‘Covet’. But the last 100 pages or so of the book went a little haywire for me. . . The action of the story is restricted to Grier’s house, and I found the claustrophobic setting a little tedious and boring. The action just sort of patters out, and the romance is set to fizzle instead of sizzle, with a hasty wrap-up that’s full of sickening schmaltz. It did feel like a very rushed ending, and there was no real cliff hanger to ensure that readers come back for number three (aside from my curiosity pique concerning Sissy).

All in all, the finale was not JR Ward’s greatest, but overall the ‘Fallen Angels’ series is growing on me (slowly). I would have given this book a 4/5, or even a 5/5 if the romance had maintained the spark and the ending hadn’t been such a dud. As it is. . .

3.5/5

'Covet: A novel of the Fallen Angels #1' by J.R. WARD

From the BLURB:

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 charge 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. But 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.

I waited a while to read this one. I had to wait a couple weeks after the release date for Amazon to ship me my copy – and in that interim I read a *lot* of negative reviews. So, I was put off – and decided to wait a while before reading and reviewing.

Okay – so, truthfully it’s not good.

I think Ward’s biggest mistake lies in point of view. Jim Heron is apparently going to be this series’ main protagonist – and his mission from God is to guide potential sinners onto the path of righteousness (or something like that). The people he meets and tries to ‘save’ will act as secondary characters in the books – and in ‘Covet’ that secondary character is Vin diPietro. That’s all well and good – but it doesn’t really work in the first book of the series because Ward has devoted so much of the story to Vin. So it feels like Jim is actually the secondary character… and since he’s our leading man (the one character readers are supposed to be rooting for throughout the books) it doesn’t really work in the series debut that we don’t get much of a sense of who he is. I mean, is Vin even going to appear in subsequent novels?

I understand that Ward wouldn’t want to show all her cards up front – she wants Jim to retain an air of mystery, so she remains allusive about his work history, childhood etc - but as readers we really don’t get much sense of his personality. He doesn’t come across as particularly charismatic or memorable. Jim was just a little too flat for me. I wish Ward had imbued him with a wicked sense of humor or a weird hobby (i.e.: Vishous and his love of R&B/Rap music). He was so boring to me – and his background didn’t really match with his actions in the book. From what little information he reveals about himself, we know that Jim is a trained assassin. Yet when he is recruited for this Heaven VS. Hell ball game he just passively takes on the job. For a nanosecond he considers that he might be losing his marbles – but then he’s pretty quick to jump onboard the Savior-express. I just didn’t buy it.

And another thing – I hated Ward’s interpretation of Heaven (well, the outskirts at least). Four British dudes playing croquet? Seriously? I think the demons could win this whole Good/Bad ballgame just by telling peoples that’s what they had to look forward to – snobby angels and mallets.

Another thing I didn’t really like about this new series – the characters too closely resembled the ‘Brotherhood’ gang. I thought ‘Fallen Angels’ would have been J.R. Ward’s chance to step outside ‘Blackdagger’ and stretch her literary wings; shake things up and play around with new characters and storylines. But the male protagonists so closely resemble the Brothers – right down to the lingo. Even though Vin is human he refers to Marie-Terese as ‘his woman’ – that is *such* a vampire expression! Vin may be an Italian stallion, but c’mon! And I don’t know if it’s because ‘Lover Avenged’ was the last ‘Brotherhood’ book I read (and freshest in my mind) but Vin came across as a Rehvenge cardboard cut-out. He was all Alpha male toughness on the outside, marshmallow on the inside. Vin & Marie-Terese had a relationship that reminded me of Ehlena & Rehv. Except instead of Ehlena having to accept Rehv’s dubious past exploits, it was Vin coming to terms with Marie-Terese’s prostitution. Really the only difference was that I actually liked the Ehlena/Rehv pairing. With Vin and Marie-Terese, Ward has chosen a romance route I *despise* - the two lock eyes across a crowded room and feel a certain ‘pull’ to one another. Cue dry heaving.

I didn’t like Marie-Terese (even her hyphenated name pissed me off). I wasn’t too keen on having a prostitute as a character’s HEA, but then I thought maybe J.R. Ward would do interesting things with her character – tell a story of a strong female who wasn’t ashamed of her red-light profession, or a sob story about being sold into prostitution? Nope. Marie-Terese’s ‘sob story’ is pretty convoluted and has plenty of holes. Turns out prostitution wasn’t really her last resort, just the most convenient money-making option. I might have been sympathetic to M-T’s plight, but she was so self-pitying and ‘woe is me’ – I could have had more patience for her if she had been a strong female who wasn’t mortified by her profession (à la Belle in ‘Secret Diary of a Call Girl’), or if she was actively looking for a way out.

I also could have mustered up more sympathy for M-T’s hooking if J.R. Ward had written more of her home life. The whole reason M-T is in the job is to provide for her seven-year-old son, Robbie. But we get only a handful of very brief scenes with her and Robbie, so there’s no sense of family and maternal devotion – in fact, Robbie reminded me a little of Haley Joel Osment in ‘Artificial Intelligence: A.I’ (2001) – and by that I mean the kid was creepy as all get out.

The only thing I appreciated about Marie-Terese is that she appears in the ‘Fallen Angels’ series, and not the ‘Blackdagger Brotherhood’ – which means she hasn’t ended up being Shellan to one of my beloved Brother’s (if she’d been Qhuinn’s HEA for example, I would have been shattered!).

Even though ‘Covet’ is the first book in the ‘Fallen Angels’ series – there aren’t actually that many fallen angels in a good chunk of the book. They kind of pop in at random toward the end and are never really fleshed out – even though they’re supposedly going to be permanent characters.

I did like the demon villain in ‘Covet’ – she is a mean b*tch. I think I liked her so much because her evil under-handed tactics were pretty much just female head-fucks and it was kind of funny to see how easily she put one over on all the men.

One positive about this book is that Trez (of ‘Trez & iAm’ fame in the ‘Blackdagger’ books) makes a big cameo. I love Trez & iAm. They’re so mysterious and sexy. Reading Trez in ‘Covet’ makes me really hope that he and his brother get their own books and/or storylines in the ‘Blackdagger’ series.

So, to recap, I am glad the Warden relegated Marie-Terese to the ‘Fallen Angels’ series and left her out of BDB (one Brother clearly dodged a bullet). That was pretty much the only silver lining I got out of ‘Covet’. Well, that and Trez. Trez was cool.

I kind of resent the fact that J.R. Ward has set the ‘Fallen Angels’ books in the same universe as the ‘Blackdagger Brotherhood’. There is clearly going to be crossovers – and I feel like it’s a mean ploy to ensure fans of BDB read this new series.

But, having said that, I have an inkling that the second book, ‘Crave’ will be an improvement over ‘Covet’.

I personally didn’t like ‘Dark Lover’. I thought it was kind of boring, and there were a lot of characters to keep track of. I thought that both Beth and Wrath were boring characters and I wasn’t looking forward to continuing the series. But I am so glad I did! Maybe J.R. Ward is just one of those authors who has a shaky start?

So, even waiting months to let the bad reviews settle didn’t change my opinion of ‘Covet’. I will continue with this series, but only because I feel that as a BDB fan I kind of have to – lest I miss out on big crossover plot developments (or more Trez cameos. I really like Trez).

2/5