I'm baaaack!

Woo-hoo! The drought is over. My computer is back and better than new. Hurrah! I've been so busy, and worked so little, that I have had very little computer access. So before I go bopping around catching up, I wanted to type up a review that I wrote out longhand. Yes it's that time of year again...Black Dagger Brotherhood time!



I've got to say I'm definitely curious to see what people have to say about Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward. This book had a lot going on, some of it pretty unorthodox for a romance. I've always been a Vishous fan myself. I find the fact that he is supposed to be super smart sexy, and I dig the tattoos, the weird abilities, the tortured feelings for Butch, the Dom tendencies. Just the kind of delicious weirdness I like. I was apphrehensive about how Ward would treat his kinky and queer leanings? Was he going to to meet some chick and undergo a personality transplant, a la a Dark Hunter? Would it be all peaches and vanilla cream? I was also invested in the Butch/Vishous relationship that had developed. Could I buy V's HEA with someone else? I bought Butch and Marissa, but she was a familiar character. Also, weak soul that I am, I gave in to the temptation to read some spoiler, which made me pretty nervous about whether I'd like this book at all.

Since there are probably many, many places to read about the book at this point, I shall dispense with the synopsis and get down to business. I'm going to try to avoid spoilers, but read at your own risk. I definitely liked LU better than Lover Revealed, but...well there are several buts.

The Love--Love V. Love him. Totally tortured hero. I've got to give JRW props for sticking to her guns and making it clear that V is not your average tortured hero. He likes sex rough and his feelings for Butch went way beyond friendship. I thought that both situations were acknowledged, handled and explained well, as was his horrible childhood. These things made V who he was, not some aberrations to be explained away, by meeting the right woman. And I did buy his HEA with Dr. Jane. As for heroine Dr. Jane Whitcomb herself, I liked her quite a bit. She was intelligent, strong willed and witty. V and Jane played off of each other well, and had a repartee somewhat like Butch/V [whose dialogues provide some of the best moments in LU]. But this brings me to the big but...

The But--Not enough V and Jane. These books have always alternated between the primary romance and the larger cast of characters within the BDB universe. Now being such a fan of these books and characters, it doesn't always bother me, but in LU all the scene changes detracted from the romance. I really liked V & Jane, but damn if the story didn't keep cutting away to John Matthew and his school chums. I've enjoyed the saga of JM/Tehrror so far,but this time I wanted him to go away. He was having quite the pity party also. The best part of a romance is seeing how the emotional connection develops, and I always feel short changed if it is rushed or if we are told rather than shown. V & Jane had great chemistry and good scenes, but they came after V's realization that he was "in love". Before that, one or the other was passed out. I would have preferred some 'getting to know you' banter. The later chemistry was not quite enough to overcome this. The Primale thing took from them as well, and was kind of unnecessary. It was resolved so quickly, it ultimately served only as Phury's sequel set-up (more on that later), and there was plenty of conflict without it. Question: If the Primale is to father future Brothers (sons) and Chosen (daughters), and if the Brothers and Chosen are expected to mate as well, won't there be all sorts of creepy incest going on? The only interesting thing about the subplot was V's relationship with the ever-annoying Scribe Virgin.

The Ending--I would imagine the ending is quite controversial. Didn't bother me too much. Perhaps it helped that I was mildly spoiled (and read a similar ending in Kenyon's Sins of the Night). So yeah (spoiler warning) Jane gets shot and dies and lives happily ever after as a ghost. Seemed a bit unnecessary but whatever. My biggest problem was all the questions that kept coming to mind. Like if Jane can have sex and eat, does she need to go to the bathroom or wash up? I appreciated the humor, but it was a bit sitcom-y. Uh-oh, Zsadist sat on Jane again. Fritz, you dog, you put Jane's clothes in the washing machine while she was still in them! Oh well, although the Scribe Virgin as Deus ex Machina is getting old, I did get a bit verklempt at the ending.

The Dislike--Not feeling the setup for Phury's book at all. Hate the Chosen. They just creep me the hell out. The only thing that made those scenes bearable were some funny lines and reactions. Phury's book is going to to be Dumber and Dumber, with who can be stupider about sex. At least Cormia has already seen Phury's (Ph's?) junk, so we'll be spared an "Oh My God, it's so big! And it moves!" scene. And I love Phury so. Would've like someone with a bit more fire for him. And Lordy, how I hate the idea of John Matthew with the 'hermaphroditic' chick with the dumb ass name. I try to be open minded, but something about how she is described squicks me out. Please don't let it be so.

The Conclusion--Lover Unbound is an unusual and compelling addition to the BDB series. Disappointing in that intriguing characters were given short shrift in favor of storylines I found almost painful to read I still enjoyed it, and was completely obsessed with finishing. I was going to give it a B, but I've been thinking about it a lot, and want to re-read soon, so I think I'm going to bump to a B+. This series is staying strong, and is definitely one to try. Read in order for sure and your can check out my previous ramblings here.

Lover Revealed by JR Ward...

Where's Phury?

Warning: Will probably be spoilery...

I had said that I would wait until today to purchase Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward, but who was I kidding? I bought it on Tuesday (release day) while birthday shopping for the H-Bomb. It was 25% off! But I only allowed myself to read bits and pieces as I finished up other things that needed to be done. And you know what? It wasn't that hard to put down. Let's just get this out of the way right now: I think this was the weakest book thus far. I enjoyed it a lot, but I may say some things that are harsh, and its out of love, folks. I just finished the book an hour ago, and I want to get my thoughts down, so I can go blog hopping and see what's being said. I've been trying to avoid anything that might influence me unduly. As I said, it was a crazy busy week, so it wasn't too hard, but I am missing my blog fix.

I'm not going to spend too much time on a summary, because this'll be wordy enough as it is. Lover Revealed is the story of Butch and Marissa, who have been around since the first book of the series, Dark Lover. Butch O'Neal was the human cop and friend of Beth's who ended up becoming friends with the Brothers and roommate of Vishous. Marissa was Wrath's unwanted,untouched shellan (wife). The two were immediately drawn to each other, but remained apart for the next couple of books due to a "Big Misunderstanding" that happened offstage. As this story opens, they are both pretty frustrated and miserable with their lots. Both Butch and Marissa struggle with feelings of uselessness and self-doubt. They're both still longing for each other though. Not only do they have their poor self-images working against them, there are also class and species (Butch is human, Marissa a vampire) differences . It'll be a rocky road to HEA, but that's why we read paranormal romances, after all.

[Click on post title for full post]


The Good:
**Vishous: Man, I love this weird, perverted motherfucker! Can't wait for his story (coming to bookstores this fall). Very curious about his past. Much has been made of the overtones between Butch and V, and I'm impressed that Ward addressed it and pleased with the way she did. Butch and V are super close, and its definitely more than friends, but I think its because they have almost a symbiotic relationship. Plus, V doesn't really have feelings for anyone, so feeling so strongly towards Butch would defintely be confusing for him. I actually dig the homoerotic stuff, but I also need to buy Butch and V with women (rather than each other) and in the end I did. Anyway, V is a complicated character and I find him to be a real scene stealer (Is it September yet?)

**Marissa: Who thought she'd be the most interesting, well developed heroine Ward has created yet? Who thought she'd be a galvanizing presence for the other females? Previously, I didn't like her too much. She embodied the worst of the female characters in the BDB universe, wafting around the house in floaty gowns, with no apparent career or hobbies, waiting passively for a male to tell her what to do. She's just as disgusted with herself as I was with her, though. For the other of Ward's heroines, their personal journeys involved being saved by the Brothers and entering into (or deeper into) the cloistered vampire world. And although Marissa too ends up at the Brotherhood compound of hip-hop and hoyay, I feel like she pretty much saves herself, being proactive in finding a purpose and role outside of the house and sweaty sex with her mate. She was unsure and messed it up sometimes (I liked it when she almost set herself on fire), but she was fun. I also liked that there was no sappy forgiveness scene with her dicky brother.

**Greater development of the vampire universe--It was interesting to get more insight into the class and gender issues at work, which we got to see through Marissa's breaking out of them. Glad we're seeing more of the world that they inhabit.

**Wrath, Beth, Zsadist, Bella, John Matthew et al.--I was glad to see more of these characters and how they're shaping up. I particularly like the increasing development of Zsadist and John Matthew. And Rehvenge. Although I hope Ward's not going to make that chick Layla into a heroine, because she creeps me out. But where's Phury? There better be more of his one-legged ass in the next book.

**Less stupid slang--There was a definite decrease in jarring hip-hop speak, no? Although that brings me to..

The Bad:
**Enough with the product placement already!--the decrease in slang corresponded with an increase in the cataloging of everyone's clothing and how much it cost. I just don't give a fuck about Butch's Missoni overcoat and $25000 Patek Phillipe watch.

**Butch in general--Prior to LR, while I wasn't too into Butch, I didn't have anything against him either. But he got kind of the sad sack treatment here. No job, no purpose, living off the Brothers, drinks too much Scotch, former Cokehead, had unprotected sex with strangers...be still my beating heart. I didn't hate him, but I was meh. I started picturing him with a paunch and bloodshot eyes, though I tried to stop. I definitely liked him at the end better, after the [edited for spoilers].

**The romance--LR was more interesting in how it advanced the overall BDB story arc, and further developed the alternate universe, than in the love story. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was because Butch seemed like kind of a loser. Or perhaps we had too much of them to start with. Butch and Marissa's feelings were well established before the book started, so some of the things that kept them apart seemed quite contrived. Just, like, knock it off already, and get married. It just lacked a zing that the other romances had. Their individual developments (and roles within the world) were more compelling than their development as a couple.

And the Unread (with apologies to Sybil):
**The Lessers--I still find myself skimming their bits until the action heats up at the end.

I am going to give Lover Revealed a B. I enjoyed it a lot, but pretty much for everything except the romance. Which is weird. Although it's better than most of the stuff I've read this year, my ambivalence about Butch and the lack of something keep it out of the A range. I'm going to read it again though, so we'll see if my feelings change. Ah well, the countdown begins til the next installment.

Best of 2006...

Paranormal edition!





Overall, I must say, 2006 was not quite the reading year that 2005 was for me. I read a lot of books that I was "whatever" about, and a number that were outright disappointments. This week, I'd like to highlight some of my favorites of the past year. Let's begin with the paranormals. The romance market has absolutely been glutted with paranormals, as everybody and their mother tries their take on the vampire legends. In a genre that has quickly become hackneyed and cliched, J.R. Ward's books stand out. The premise is not particularly original (leather-clad vampire warriors), but the execution is so vivid that you can't help but get caught up in the world. I think the characterization is a particular strength. Thus far, Ward has created heroes (and potential heroes) who are not only vividly drawn, but quite distinct from each other. They're not all just grumpy, broody guys whose parents were mean to them or whatever. I enjoyed both Lover Eternal and Lover Awakened a lot. Have already re-read both a number of times. I loved both heroes, and I liked that the stories were so different from each other in tone. Ward's world is telescoping at a nice rate, so that I'm actually intrigued and interested. It must be said that Butch and Marissa are the characters I find least interesting, but I'm very excited (like dance in my seat excited) for their book, Lover Revealed, just for the return to the world of the BDB. Then again, I didn't think I'd like Rhage's book that much, but it's my favorite so far, so who knows?

In short, bring on the stupid spellings and names, and the annoying slang! Ms. Ward makes it work. Slap my ass and call me a fangirl.

Yet another reader takes a crack...

at Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward. I'm not going to post the cover yet again, because I've already done it several times :). To see some other reviews, go see Sybil. There's one or two there. Jazz also reviewed it at Sanctuary's Finest, where they were also giving away a free copy, but I think the contest is over.

I'm yet another one who adored this one. Give it a solid A.I've been re-reading bits and pieces all week. I'm not ready to move on and leave it behind. I'm going to try not to give too much away, but I can't guarantee anything, so read at your own risk.

I often get on my bitch box about how I hate it when a supposedly damaged, tortured hero is instantly redeemed and cured by the power of the magic hoo-hoo (tm Smart Bitches). One night with a good woman and all of a sudden he's a happy well-adjusted guy. Not so with LA. Zsadist is a hero with a truly horrific past, and he is truly damaged. Ward doesn't wuss out with showing us this past, and it makes Zsadist's behavior very understandable, as well as the behavior of his twin, Phury. Zsadist and Bella's story was a rough ride, and Zsadist screwed up and did stupid shit, and at the end, although he was working towards redemption, it was a process that he actually worked at. It made the story much more gratifying and well, haunting, for me. Oh and he had these moments of utter adorableness (real word?) He just had no idea how to behave normally, and it was heartbreaking and sweet and sexy seeing him to try to figure out what to do with Bella.

I liked Bella as well. I wish we knew more about her, b/c I'm starting to feel that Ward's heroines are not as completely developed as I'd like them to be. But I loved how determined she was and what tunnel vision she had. She knew what she wanted and girl was going for it. And she wasn't going to let Z stand in her way. The lack of waffling or manipulation was refreshing. She never even seemed to notice that Phury was into her too.

Which brings me to Phury. Poor little lamb, come to me, I'll make you feel better. Oy vey, I ached for this guy. His backstory, his relationship with Zsadist, his unrequited love...can't wait for his book. The exploration of the relationship between the brothers was another element that made this book stand out.

I enjoyed getting more from other characters. I find John Matthew interesting, and I'm very curious about Rehvenge. I felt that his issues were left rather vague. I did find myself so involved in the story that I got kinda annoyed when I got taken away from Z and Bella, but I still like the use of multiple viewpoints.

This was not a light read, but it was very satisfying. The chemistry between them was hot, but there were real, rough obstacles and I worried for them at moments. I was almost taken aback by the ending, which I thought was a rather abrupt tone shift, and borderline cheesy, but, you know, after all the characters had gone through I was just so darn happy for them. Schmaltz is good sometimes. Seriously, there was a tear or two.

Little Quibbles--Please with the slang. A little bit to set the tone is o.k., but sometimes it was jarring. I still have a habit of breezing through the "lesser" bits, though I did find the fight scenes more compelling in this one. I honestly don't even notice the names anymore. I know it bugs some people, but I was already a veteran of several other paranormal series with silly names. And romance hero names in general? C'mon, folks! How many Brocks, Kyrians, Holts and whatnots do you know? I might find a Jeff or a Fred strange at this point.

Next up: Lover Revealed in March 2007. I'm definitely excited, though Butch is not my favorite, and I'm not so sure about Marissa. She's no firecracker, and seems to embody the worst of the characterization of females in this series: passive ad controlled by men. But I certainly haven't been let down by these books yet. And even if it's not quite as awesome, Vishous is after that. Squeeeeee!!!!!

Lover Awakened by JR Ward

So I went to the mall yesterday, and it was there! After an extremely craptastic weekend, it was just what I needed! Finished it last night, and I am going to do a re-read and let others read it before I do a review. I will say that this one did not grab me as quickly as the others, but I loved it in the end. Two things distinguish this series for me: I really feel that Ms. Ward has created a number of really interesting and distinct characters (I actually want to read about them all), and she stays true to the characters. Zsadist did not seem drastically different in his story than how he has been developed in past books. I hate that. And the stories are quite distinct.

So J.R. Ward is blogging over by Sybil today. Go forth and read.

For the love of all that is holy, is Blogger not allowing contractions now? Every time I hit the apostrophe key, a bar pops up at the bottom, and the letters start going in there. Is this happening to anyone else?

A great big fangirl squeeee.......

Only a week until Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward. Review is up at AAR. Perhaps a bit spoilery, but nothing I didn't suspect already. I've got my B&N gift card and I'm good to go!

ETA: I was looking at the AAR review message board, where there was some discussion of LA. All I have to say, depending on your inclination towards spoilers, either run or run away. I love spoilers, but I'm a bit mad at myself, because I would've preferred not to know. Day-um!

The anticipation begins...

Ok, fangirly moment. I was blog hopping and I found that Angie W has already read Lover Awakened and wrote about it at her site. What she had to say was quite positive. I'm really excited for this book, but really apprehensive, like my overly inflated expectations are setting me up for disappointment. And I'm worried about the speedy redemption syndrome, where damaged characters instantly become well-adjusted members of society due to the magic nookie.
I sound really fangirly and need to get a life! But Angie's pretty blunt and honest, from other stuff I've read, so color me really excited! Only three months to go!

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward (Spoilers Ahead)

J.R. Ward's Website

Lover Eternal@Amazon

The pleasure of reading a good paranormal romance is in being transported into a fascinating, different world. It may be a little dark and scary, it should be damn sexy, but it is always fun. I think paranormals are appealing to people because they are a true escape from the everyday, mundane world. Also appealing to readers and writers alike, I think that within the framework of the paranormal, writers are able to push the envelope a little bit, explore issues of love and sexuality in a manner that still feels "safe" to many. However, paranormals are often marred by stock characters, stale plots, and worlds without internal logic and inconsistencies. As a devoted reader of paranormals, I have an almost boundless ability to suspend disbelief and ignore the things that I don't like and focus on the things that I do. But more and more, I am unable to do so because I am hung up on the stuff I don't like.

Lover Eternal is not one of those books. It is an example of a great paranormal romance. I am declaring myself J.R. Ward's bitch right here, right now. She rocks. I loved this book. I loved Dark Lover, but I loved this one even more. I put some links at the beginning of this post which lead to summaries, excerpts and other reviews, because I want to get right to what makes the book awesome (in my not-so-humble opinion).

*Increasing Depth into the World--In this book, we learn more about the vampire race and their world, while remaining consistent with DL. No annoying rule changing. While not necessarily groundbreaking (but nice and simple), I find her vampires very interesting, particularly their strict social hierarchy and their almost animalistic nature. I look forward to learning more about the aristocracy and the whole concept of blood slavery in the next book, Lover Awakened.

*Character Development--A romance should be a character-driven story. It is the story of two people falling in love. Honestly, to me the plot is almost incidental. If I can't buy the characters, I can't buy the romance and I don't like the book. In DL, I was impressed by how Ward created a number of distinct characters. In LE, we gain greater insight into the characters, through a number of different p.o.v.'s, and they are even more intriguing than before. In addition, Rhage and Mary were great characters. Rhage, while a larger than life character, did not overshadow Mary, who was no Mary Sue. In fact, she was kind of a pain in the ass at times (but I could understand why). While there was the standard insta-lust, their emotional and physical connection deepened over time in a very satisfying way. This was a very emotional story (gotta love how Rhage fell like a ton of bricks and didn't seem to mind at all. Refreshing.)

*Multiple points of view--This is connected to character development and world building. I felt that the different points of view really added a lot, providing a lot of insight. I think that it makes the readers more invested in the characters also, so that you're looking forward to all of the books. This is definitely a series book, and a lot of time was spent setting up the next book. I wonder if that would bother some readers, but I was psyched b/c of lots o'Zsadist. Which leads me to...

*No fear--These characters have problems, and big ones, and Ward doesn't shy away from their portrayal. More importantly, she doesn't take the easy way out. With the exception of, perhaps, Mary's miracle cure and immortality. That didn't bother me actually, b/c she left Mary infertile. It may seem stupid, but it was better that everything wasn't perfect at the end. And miracle babies are annoying. Similarly, I liked that Rhage was left with the beast at the end. Things weren't perfect, but they loved and accepted each other enough to see it through. Some things happened that would definitely be unacceptable in most romances (i.e. Rhage having sex with another woman, THEN HAVING SEX WITH MARY!!! SAME NIGHT!!). Within the context of the novel, it didn't bother me in the least, and I actually thought that it was one of the most emotional scenes in the book. More of Z's background was given and it is indeed horrific. I'm very curious for the third book, b/c what we're being shown of his character...things could be very interesting indeed. Awesome and disturbing to some, I'm sure. I hope that Ward doesn't wuss out and give us the tortured hero has sex with beautiful nurturing woman and becomes shiny, happy, well-adjusted (maybe just a bit cranky) guy. I have high hopes though, b/c this book was quite different than DL, so I think she'll continue to take risks.

*Writing style--Ward writes in a very crisp, intelligent style that contrasts with a the extravagant, cliche ridden style of a lot of paranormals. Her prose is pretty much simple and straightforward.

Fangirl much? There were some things that bothered me. The slang and pop culture references came thisclose to being too much. I thought that they suited the characters (it's not like they were listening to Mariah Carey or something), but I got a little distracted by it at times. It was very close to crossing the border into annoying. Also, the conflict with the lessers is a bit weak. I can't help but feel that that vampires could kick their asses and call it a day quite easily. The lessers seem like a bunch of tools. Eh, with so much good stuff, I was able to ignore this easily and I admit, I kinda skimmed a lot of the lesser parts, until the end of course, when it got more interesting.

Oy vey, I'm exhausted. I'm going to go start re-reading now.

"Dark Lover" Love

I have to say in the past couple of months, I have experienced a number of reading disappointments, beginning with Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon, continuing with the 2 most recent installments of MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series (and others) and I was even a bit meh about It Happened One Autumn. I got all these gift cards for my birthday and I was increasingly angry that I was throwing them away. I had passed over J.R. Ward's Dark Lover, because, like others, I felt "been there, done that." Then I read the review at "All About Romance" (let me attempt to link it here). Sounded really promising, so I ran out and got it. Loved it. Lurrved it. Seriously, enjoyed it more than any new title I've read this year. I really like Ward's writing style--I liked the pacing and the way she switched between characters. Also not too romance-y, yes there are hard, hot, haunted vampires in black leather but the verbal drooling over their spectacular sexiness was kept to a minimum. Likewise, the sex was hot, yet straightforward, nary a turgid member in sight. More Kelley Armstrong than Sherrilyn Kenyon, although I don't feel that she is very similar to Armstrong. I just feel that like this book could be placed in categories other than romance. Well, almost. I am still a bit shy of recommending it to my husband, because, although there are things I though he would enjoy, I still think the romance element was too strong for his taste. I really liked the characters, am waiting for Zsadist's book desperately (Did I mention that I like tortured anti-heroes, the more tortured the better? Is it the sadist or the masochist in me?)
About the name thing: I kinda dug their names. It worked for me because the vampire were presented as a separate race with their own language, religion and societal customs. Warriors are a particular class within their hierarchy, they are bred and raised to be part of that class, so I saw the names as titles almost particular to that class. And look, I later found an interview w/Ward saying almost the same thing: look here.
Go me! Anyway, if you wanted to like the Dark Hunters but didn't, you might like this, and if you do like the Dark Hunters you'll probably like this too. Try it, definitely.
I totally need to figure out the cut thing, you know the one. I'm still learning. Well my kids really don't want me to write right now, but next: the book I originally passed DL over for.