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I have a hard time review this series because the books are so long and there is so much going on and so many different story lines so I just want to talk about Rhage for a second.
Rhage. Sigh. I love you. He is just male perfection in every way. I love a man with a sense of humor and what makes Rhage so awesome is that he can be funny but then in the next minute be series. He is also extremely sweet and sexy. He would do anything for Mary or his brothers. Plus he has the beast and the beast loves Mary. I think it's freaking adorable how it acts with her. I want that! Who doesn't want their man to turn into a cuddly beast? Only insane people don't want that.
So Rhage. That's all I have to say. Oh and that I freaking love his face off.
Rhage. Sigh. I love you. He is just male perfection in every way. I love a man with a sense of humor and what makes Rhage so awesome is that he can be funny but then in the next minute be series. He is also extremely sweet and sexy. He would do anything for Mary or his brothers. Plus he has the beast and the beast loves Mary. I think it's freaking adorable how it acts with her. I want that! Who doesn't want their man to turn into a cuddly beast? Only insane people don't want that.
So Rhage. That's all I have to say. Oh and that I freaking love his face off.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
finally J R Ward went back to her beginning days of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. concentrating on the one brother was great reduce storylines was great J R Ward such a unique writing style she uses so many words but yet so few their words that are picked very specifically to give you a very modern field yet the words describe so much in so few it's just so hard to explain I feel like I'm reading a very intelligent book yet it's about urban life and love it's just a different way of writing and I love paranormal Romance so this book was awesome
I am not quite sure what I think about revisiting the couples who have already had a book of their own. While I realize couples go through problems, I would rather read about couples first getting together. It holds more intrigue for me. That being said, I did like this book. I just hope this is not going to be a new theme where J. R. Ward is going to revisit each and every one of the couples. It will get monotonous.
Rhage and Mary’s original story was in Book #2, Lover Eternal, but now the couple is in some sort of funk and seem not to be able to tell each other what is on their minds for fear of hurting the other one’s feelings. I was a little disappointed in Mary in this book because she seemed to have cared for an orphaned child more than she did for Rhage.
Rhage has his alter ego, The Beast, which is what he turns into when he gets in a rage while fighting. Vishous, a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, has a vision about Rhage dying in battle. He tells Rhage just before they go into a fight with their enemy but Rhage charges into battle anyway. He gets mortally wounded and Mary is the only one who can save him. Mary has these thoughts go through her head and she saves him but not because of her undying love for him but because she still doesn’t want an orphaned child with whom she has become close to be alone in the world. I was a little disappointed for her reasoning. I mean, I was glad she saved Rhage and it showed that she had a huge heart for the child but it made me question her love for Rhage.
Rhage, in the meantime is having his own insecurities. He’s discovered that he would really like a child but knows that Mary can never have one. There is an intense scene where he holds Beth’s child and cries and I almost wanted to cry along with him. But his love is so strong for Mary that he would rather not have a child than to lose her.
I think I was more into the background story than Rhage and Mary’s story. I love them…I really do but I am so fascinated with what is going on with Layla and Xcor’s tale that I can’t get enough.
Layla originally met Xcor when she was brought to a field or meadow by Throe to feed him. She did not realize that they were the enemy until later but she instantly had a connection to Xcor as did Xcor to her. When she learned he was an enemy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and the king, she tried to do the right thing and tell the Brothers and she did but she still had feelings for Xcor and she hated it.
Layla chose to give Quinn and Blaylock a child since, obviously, they cannot have a child together and because she felt empty and wanted something else in her life. She ended up being pregnant with twins.
When Layla discovers that Xcor has found the Black Dagger Brotherhood compound, she offers her body to him as a trade for him not to harm any of the brothers or the king. She starts meeting with him but Xcor seems to be honorable and does not want to have sex with her while she is pregnant. I think he just likes having her around even though he is awkward about it. It ended bad though. Xcor sabotaged it because he didn’t want to dishonor Layla and needed her to think he was a bad guy, which he is, but yet I can’t help but like him. He has sex with a prostitute, making sure Layla knew about it, and tells Layla to get lost. It was sad and I wanted to punch him for it.
In this book, Layla is bedridden with twins and is having a hard pregnancy. Her life and her babies are at risk. The Brothers have captured Xcor and he is in a coma. He might not make it and if he does wake up, the Brothers will most likely execute him. Layla and Xcor seem doomed. I have no idea what J. R. Ward is going to do with them but I want them to be together and I want Xcor to be redeemed somehow.
There were other background stories going on also. Assail and his cousins have agreed to help the Brotherhood and are becoming friends with a female who is part of the glymera and all kinds of shady. Throe, Xcor’s former second in command, is also involved with this treacherous female.
Despite my misgivings about the Rhage and Mary story or rather the revisiting of past couples, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I cannot wait for the next book which will be about Layla and Xcor but, of course, I have to wait.
www.paranormalromanceslut.com
Rhage and Mary’s original story was in Book #2, Lover Eternal, but now the couple is in some sort of funk and seem not to be able to tell each other what is on their minds for fear of hurting the other one’s feelings. I was a little disappointed in Mary in this book because she seemed to have cared for an orphaned child more than she did for Rhage.
Rhage has his alter ego, The Beast, which is what he turns into when he gets in a rage while fighting. Vishous, a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, has a vision about Rhage dying in battle. He tells Rhage just before they go into a fight with their enemy but Rhage charges into battle anyway. He gets mortally wounded and Mary is the only one who can save him. Mary has these thoughts go through her head and she saves him but not because of her undying love for him but because she still doesn’t want an orphaned child with whom she has become close to be alone in the world. I was a little disappointed for her reasoning. I mean, I was glad she saved Rhage and it showed that she had a huge heart for the child but it made me question her love for Rhage.
Rhage, in the meantime is having his own insecurities. He’s discovered that he would really like a child but knows that Mary can never have one. There is an intense scene where he holds Beth’s child and cries and I almost wanted to cry along with him. But his love is so strong for Mary that he would rather not have a child than to lose her.
I think I was more into the background story than Rhage and Mary’s story. I love them…I really do but I am so fascinated with what is going on with Layla and Xcor’s tale that I can’t get enough.
Layla originally met Xcor when she was brought to a field or meadow by Throe to feed him. She did not realize that they were the enemy until later but she instantly had a connection to Xcor as did Xcor to her. When she learned he was an enemy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and the king, she tried to do the right thing and tell the Brothers and she did but she still had feelings for Xcor and she hated it.
Layla chose to give Quinn and Blaylock a child since, obviously, they cannot have a child together and because she felt empty and wanted something else in her life. She ended up being pregnant with twins.
When Layla discovers that Xcor has found the Black Dagger Brotherhood compound, she offers her body to him as a trade for him not to harm any of the brothers or the king. She starts meeting with him but Xcor seems to be honorable and does not want to have sex with her while she is pregnant. I think he just likes having her around even though he is awkward about it. It ended bad though. Xcor sabotaged it because he didn’t want to dishonor Layla and needed her to think he was a bad guy, which he is, but yet I can’t help but like him. He has sex with a prostitute, making sure Layla knew about it, and tells Layla to get lost. It was sad and I wanted to punch him for it.
In this book, Layla is bedridden with twins and is having a hard pregnancy. Her life and her babies are at risk. The Brothers have captured Xcor and he is in a coma. He might not make it and if he does wake up, the Brothers will most likely execute him. Layla and Xcor seem doomed. I have no idea what J. R. Ward is going to do with them but I want them to be together and I want Xcor to be redeemed somehow.
There were other background stories going on also. Assail and his cousins have agreed to help the Brotherhood and are becoming friends with a female who is part of the glymera and all kinds of shady. Throe, Xcor’s former second in command, is also involved with this treacherous female.
Despite my misgivings about the Rhage and Mary story or rather the revisiting of past couples, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I cannot wait for the next book which will be about Layla and Xcor but, of course, I have to wait.
www.paranormalromanceslut.com
DNF at 40%. Super disappointing - I was really looking forward to this one (Rhage is my favourite brother, OBVIOUSLY) but it was so. damn. tedious. So much angst and miscommunication/noncommunication. Lacks the ridiculous fun and genuine conflict of the earlier books.
I'll probably finish it when it comes out in paperback and I can actually afford to buy it (*cough* fuck you, bookstores, with your $34.99 hardcovers *cough*). Oh Rhage, my poor, gorgeous, giant, blonde mountain of a man - er, vampire - you deserved better for your second book. (Mary, watch your back, bitch, on my way to steal ur vampire)
I'll probably finish it when it comes out in paperback and I can actually afford to buy it (*cough* fuck you, bookstores, with your $34.99 hardcovers *cough*). Oh Rhage, my poor, gorgeous, giant, blonde mountain of a man - er, vampire - you deserved better for your second book. (Mary, watch your back, bitch, on my way to steal ur vampire)
J.R.Ward never disappoints and 'The Beast' isn't an exception.
I absolutely love the writing and the ever-changing world she created.
There is never a dull moment, since all our beloved characters' lives are never stationary. They're constantly facing new challenges and struggles, as well as going through different new and wonderful things, each in their own way.
You either hate or love them. You either hate or love what is happening to them, and as such, you are never bored.
I must admit Rhage was never one of my favourites, but with this book the WARDen made me fall in love with him.
I love his strength, his sense of humour and his looks, of course. But above all, what made me love him was his complete and utter devotion towards those he loves, particularly his shellan, Mary, and now little Bitty.
Rhage and Bitty together were a thing of wonder. I truly believe that they were meant to find each other and soothe each other's pain. Mary needed her too, of course.
But there was just something so special about those moments. True father/daughter bonding times. So sweet!
And I'm already anticipating Bitty's future book. She simply has to have one. She's so clever, strong, mature and self-contained for her age that you can't help but falling in love with her.
Also,
Spoiler
who thinks that maybe she and Lassiter might be each other's soulmate? I mean, she did say he had beautiful eyes. I know that doesn't exactly mean anything, but a woman can hope.Of course that if my wishes would come true, their book would be much further into the future. Talk about pain. But it would be so worth it.
I'm so riding the feels right now and I'm sure this will last for quite some time.
Assail was another one squeezing my heart out and not letting go. If you can say something about that man, is that he loves as deeply and as fiercely as he hates.
The fact he doesn't have any problems about shooting you in your freaking piehole and burn all your possessions to ashes if you do something he perceives as treacherous or evil or simply because you got between him and what he wanted only adds to his appeal.
And the little situation between him and Throe? Sad. Disturbingly hot, too. I can't even...
I can't even about a lot of things. My Qhuay twins for example. THEY'RE HERE, BITCHES! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOU! MY PRECIOUS!
And those little secrets Ward revealed? That was just mean, woman! I need the next book in my greedy little paws right now, which sucks since this one was only released yesterday.
By the way, whom do you think the next one is going to be about? Considering how things played out, I would bet on Assail and Sola or Layla and Xcor. Hope it's the former, because I don't know how to deal with the others, since I hate their guts.
I burn! I pine! I perish!
Spoiler
April, 4th, 2015
When I read the title, stupid as it may seem now, I thought the book was about Xcor, thus my very first reaction was:
..and...
But then I went to J.R.Ward's facebook page and found out it was about Rhage:
...I must say I love sexy ass reformed manwhores...
...so...
Another book in the series, ladies and gents! And many more to come...
Take that, haters!
I have absolutely always loved Rhage, This book series were my introduction to PNR Romance and they will always be dear to me. I wish I could have more Vishous too.
Rhage and Mary! I enjoyed their story in the early books. I love hearing more about them. I have always felt the brotherhood is a family. This book really brought this home. Loved the plot and stories of all the characters. Love this series!