Covet (Fallen Angels, #1) - J.R. Ward

Covet (Fallen Angels, #1) - J.R. Ward

Genre: Paranormal

Copyright: 2009

Pages: 474

Rating: 4/ 5

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.

Review:
Very very entertaining. If there’s one thing you can be sure of when you begin a Ward book, its that you will want to read it at one go and you will be thoroughly entertained. This book did not disappoint. Covet is set in the same world as Ward's famous Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) series, but it is a completely different story and you don’t need to read the BDB books to enjoy this one.

This is basically a battle of good vs. evil and the choices we make in life, all neatly packaged in Ward’s typical writing style of snarky urban slang dosed with lots of male bonding.

I'll try not to give away much of the plot, the blurb explains it all. Jim Heron is a carpenter with a past filled with violence and death - now he's dead and charged with saving the souls of seven people. The fate of all things good in this world and the next depend on him successfully completing this mission. Most of the story is from his point of view, and the stuff in Jim's head really makes interesting reading."You can do it. You're a carpenter. You build things and you rebuild things. Lives are constructions just the same."

This book is about the first soul Jim has to save - his boss from his construction site who Jim doesn't really like. Or in Jim's words: "..Was he going to have to get this silk-suited, M6-driving, misogynistic m******f****** to renounce everything material and turn his ass into a monk?" Vin diPietro, soul # 1, is guilty of avarice / greed. He's handsome, rich, self-centered, sexy and insanely driven towards all things materialistic. You'll enjoy his journey from anti-hero to realising the important things in his life with help from Jim and his friends. Vin has some horror-inducing 'gifts' which add to the books dark side. His salvation also comes by the way of Marie Terese - a woman on the run from her past and trying to make ends meet. We met Marie Terese in Lover Avenged - the 7th BDB book where she works as a prostitute at ZeroSum. Ward does a good job with explaining her life and tough choices, and you can't help feeling for this woman. The romance between these two is just beginning, but the sex is really hot - with special mention to a very hot shower scene.

The other characters in this book really enhance the story. I love the concept of the 'fallen angels', and the angels in this book are unlike any you've read before. I can't write this review without mentioning the guest appearances from the BDB characters - there's Trez, the moor from Lover Avenged who owns the club Marie Terese works at, detective de la Cruz, and appearances from 2 of the Brothers- a yellow-eyed beautiful-haired Brother on his way to an AA meeting and another with usually seen wearing a Boston red Sox cap.

So despite all the gushing, why the four stars and not five? Because Ward's unique writing style works against her at places. At times I felt that the angsty writing was a bit forced and it definitely got to be a bit too much in places. I felt that simple normal vocabulary would have worked better and enhanced the overall effect of her writing style. My other issue with this book was the easy acceptance by some of the characters of what they're being told no matter how weird. Yup, it is PNR, but Jim accepting so easily that he was dead and hardly asking any questions about this task he was given didn't sit well with me - its not like something like this happens every day. It seemed like the angels basically talk and guilt him into saving the world by reminding him of his mother (small spoiler, I know..but I didn't really spoil anything, I promise).

But don’t let my cribbing keep you from this book, it didn’t stop me from enjoying it. I read this book at one go - happily wondering where the story is going to lead and what's going to happen next. Pick this book up if you want a refreshing change from the normal paranormal stuff out there and also a satisfying good vs. evil story. Jim has six other souls to save, so you can be sure I'm definitely going to read the next one. Crave the second Fallen Angels book comes out next year.

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Black Dagger Brotherhood 02 - Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

441 pages
Rating 3/5

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...


Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetite. He's the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover-for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin.


Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him. When Mary Luce is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world, she must rely on Rhage's protection. Knowing that Mary feels the same intense animal attraction, Rhage must make her his alone...




Handsome Playboy with a dangerous beast meets dying woman and falls in love with her voice.
At the core, its kinda a typical love story only with a lot of vampiry twists thrown in.
That's all there is to this one.


And what was with that whole i-just-had-sex-with-another-woman-and-now-I'm-home-and-you're-angry-with-me-so-go-ahead-and-take-it-out-on-me-and-hell yeah-I'll-take-it-you-on-you-by-jumping-you routine?


i mean leukemia or not, good looking fella or not, he left you in his bedroom to screw someone else. Sex is not the answer to that question Mary.


Most of the story after that just got kinda boring


I did wonder how they were gonna get around the whole dying of Leukemia and cannot be together part. And Rhage's sacrifice made sense too. But then the whole eternal life together because she cant have kids came out of nowhere.

Did anyone else get annoyed at the number of times Rhage says her name in the course of conversation. I would be weirded out if my name was repeated at the beginning of every sentence.

It only got interesting with Bella getting abducted. So i know the next book will definitely be better than this one since it has Bella and Zsadist.

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Black Dagger Brotherhood 01 - Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

404 pages
Rating 3/5

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...


The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed - orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate - Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead...


Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn't there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunger that threatens to consume them both...





Vampires listening to Rap? hmpf.


Lotsa people have been talking about this series and it did kinda live up to its name. I didn't think I'd like it so much specially with all the descriptions at the beginning of the book on the who and what of the Vamp world, but the book in itself was pretty good. And pretty funny also.


I loved the names of the brotherhood - specially with the very inventive spellings.


The fact that the brotherhood was either violent or extremely mushy was weird.


But the book in itself was a simple read. Simple. I cant think of another word to use for it.


I did like one if the lines in the book - Some bridges you crossed on your own, no matter who drove you to the edge

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