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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
4 stars. I've given every book from book 3 on down a 5 stars, even the two most controversial ones in the series I loved. I went in thinking that if I can get through and still love books 5 and 6 I will love this one with no problem. Yeah, not the case unfortunately.
I was very excited about this book because I actually really love Rehvenge. I think he's a very interesting character and I was so excited to get to know him more and see where his story would go. I was severely let down. I didn't like his love story with Ehlena, it didn't feel genuine and I never really felt the connection between the two of them. Also, Rehv was really just a side story in his own damn book. There was just too much happening at once and Ward was trying to fit in too much in this book. Everything ended up feeling convoluted and a bit confusing.
Also, the characters felt out of character at times. Especially Wrath and John. I thought I was reading BDB fan fiction or something, fantastic fan fiction mind you, but still. I understand John's whole thing but it was all so sudden and such a drastic change that it was so unnerving. John is one of my favorites so it was sad that I got to the point where I didn't care about his story arc because I found him so insufferable. Never thought I would see the day. I'm still excited about his book though which is the next one but so help me god I'm going to blow a fuse if it's more of angsty, emo John.
I have a lot of feelings about this book, both good and bad and I don't think I could ever express them coherently. I didn't hate this book, not even in the slightest hence why I gave it 4 stars but I was expecting so much more.
I was very excited about this book because I actually really love Rehvenge. I think he's a very interesting character and I was so excited to get to know him more and see where his story would go. I was severely let down. I didn't like his love story with Ehlena, it didn't feel genuine and I never really felt the connection between the two of them. Also, Rehv was really just a side story in his own damn book. There was just too much happening at once and Ward was trying to fit in too much in this book. Everything ended up feeling convoluted and a bit confusing.
Also, the characters felt out of character at times. Especially Wrath and John. I thought I was reading BDB fan fiction or something, fantastic fan fiction mind you, but still. I understand John's whole thing but it was all so sudden and such a drastic change that it was so unnerving. John is one of my favorites so it was sad that I got to the point where I didn't care about his story arc because I found him so insufferable. Never thought I would see the day. I'm still excited about his book though which is the next one but so help me god I'm going to blow a fuse if it's more of angsty, emo John.
I have a lot of feelings about this book, both good and bad and I don't think I could ever express them coherently. I didn't hate this book, not even in the slightest hence why I gave it 4 stars but I was expecting so much more.
Another great addition to a fantastic paranormal romance series. What a sweeping epic story! I loved Rhevenge and Ehlena's story and Ward does a fantastic job of interweaving multiple story lines and character arcs without making it confusing to the central plot. I am excited for Xhex and John Matthew's storyline next! Seriously, if you like Adult Paranormal Romance this series is a must read!
I was not going to read this book, having fallen out of love with the series during the last couple of installments, but there it was on the library shelf in the new books area where I had to walk right by it, so I caved and checked it out. I was able to renew it, twice, which means I'm not the only one who's not as hot on this series as before. And I read it and liked it much better than the last two books. Sure, there is still a ridiculous amount of brand name dropping, and the characters don't always act true to what I've come to understand of them, but there were some sections so good I've gone back to re-read, and I'm actually interested in what happens next.
Super interesting world and characters - I really liked the blurred lines between good and evil. I could've done without the product placement though, it's so unnecessary and actually impeded my involvement in the alternate universe.
the found family trope was strong with rehv, xhex, iAm and trez ugh i loved how much we got to see about their relationship and how much they'd sacrifice for each other over and over again. that trope just kills me every time.
i thought the romance between rehv and ehlena was kinda weak compared to the rest of the books in the series and i found myself really not caring much for her? i loved rehv's character development and how much we got from his backstory but when it came to the romance i just really wasn't invested nor cared for it *shrugs*
john and xhex oof what can i say other than i forgot how angsty their whole relationship started off. how tf did i forget about it? qhuay are the epitome of an angsty relationship in this series, but john and xhex are really not that far behind. they both broke my heart with how stubborn they were instead of just. getting. together.
also I'D DIE FOR MY PARENTS, WRATH AND BETH. we got so much from them in this book, boi i've missed them so much. not gonna lie, there is nothing like the povs from the core brothers, as much as i like every single side character and their books, you just can't beat the og brotherhood.
i thought the romance between rehv and ehlena was kinda weak compared to the rest of the books in the series and i found myself really not caring much for her? i loved rehv's character development and how much we got from his backstory but when it came to the romance i just really wasn't invested nor cared for it *shrugs*
john and xhex oof what can i say other than i forgot how angsty their whole relationship started off. how tf did i forget about it? qhuay are the epitome of an angsty relationship in this series, but john and xhex are really not that far behind. they both broke my heart with how stubborn they were instead of just. getting. together.
also I'D DIE FOR MY PARENTS, WRATH AND BETH. we got so much from them in this book, boi i've missed them so much. not gonna lie, there is nothing like the povs from the core brothers, as much as i like every single side character and their books, you just can't beat the og brotherhood.
Considering how much I enjoyed this book, I regret putting it off as long as I did. For me, it was a major comeback from “Lover Enshrined,” which was my least favorite book in the series by far. And, in a way, I’m glad I didn’t read it when it was originally released because now I’ll be able to go right to “Lover Mine.”
As anyone who has followed the Black Dagger Brotherhood series knows, this is Rehvenge’s story. He’s not a member of the BDB, but he’s an ally of sorts. Part pimp, part drug dealer, he isn’t exactly your run of the mill hero. He does what he has to do to protect the people he loves and I respect him for that. Truth be told, I’ve liked him since his introduction in the series and I grew to like him more and more throughout the course of this novel. It was hard for me not to sympathize with him since his life consisted of a lot of difficult, rock-and-a-hard-place choices. Besides, I have some rather disreputable individuals in my family, so it was hard for me to hold his “business” against him.
Despite my enjoyment of this book, I did have some issues with it, which is why it’s not a 5-star read for me. One thing was the distracting lack of question marks, which just seems like lazy editing. Half of the questions in this book, if not more, ended in periods instead of question marks and it drove me crazy for a while. On top of that, I counted nine different character perspectives by the time I reached page 200. It died down a bit later, but I thought the constant switches in POV really threw off the flow of the story. Additionally, some of the transitions were really abrupt, as if a scene had just been chopped in half.
Honestly, I can see having a couple of subplots going on in the story because Ward is quite obviously setting up for the subsequent novels in this series, but I think the overall narrative and the relationship between the hero and heroine suffer when there are too many different characters involved. I don’t think it was as bad as Phury and Cormia in “Lover Enshrined,” but Ehlena and Rehv didn’t get near the amount of page time that I thought they should have. I’m just used to the main focus being on one couple, instead of being spread out between them and other couples and side-characters and the villains. Sometimes it’s just a bit much. But I think because I was anticipating this, it bothered me less than it did in the previous book. As a result, I probably judged this book a lot less critically. (Although a big part of my dislike of “Lover Enshrined” was the fact that it felt more like a 500-page Phury pity party than anything else.)
I liked some of the scenes between Wrath and Beth, although I did think too much time was spent on them. Of course, my feelings about this aren’t very objective because they were never my favorite couple. If all of that time had been spent on Bella and Zsadist, I probably wouldn’t be complaining. As for the scenes featuring Xhex or JM, I understood those because their book is next and some buildup was necessary. And, actually, my feelings for Xhex went from apathy to fondness by the end of this book. Because of this and my love for John Matthew, I’m really looking forward to reading “Lover Mine.” I hope that JM mans up in the next book, though, because he came off like a sullen, rebellious teenager in some of the scenes in “Lover Avenged” and I spent a good portion of the book annoyed with his character.
Anyway, if you were disappointed with “Lover Enshrined,” I’d still recommend giving “Lover Avenged” a try. Even though Rehv isn’t my favorite character, there were things in this novel that really endeared him to me. Plus it was fun seeing glimpses of all of the familiar characters. Lassiter is particularly interesting to me and I wonder if he’ll get his own book eventually. Only time will tell, I suppose.
As anyone who has followed the Black Dagger Brotherhood series knows, this is Rehvenge’s story. He’s not a member of the BDB, but he’s an ally of sorts. Part pimp, part drug dealer, he isn’t exactly your run of the mill hero. He does what he has to do to protect the people he loves and I respect him for that. Truth be told, I’ve liked him since his introduction in the series and I grew to like him more and more throughout the course of this novel. It was hard for me not to sympathize with him since his life consisted of a lot of difficult, rock-and-a-hard-place choices. Besides, I have some rather disreputable individuals in my family, so it was hard for me to hold his “business” against him.
Despite my enjoyment of this book, I did have some issues with it, which is why it’s not a 5-star read for me. One thing was the distracting lack of question marks, which just seems like lazy editing. Half of the questions in this book, if not more, ended in periods instead of question marks and it drove me crazy for a while. On top of that, I counted nine different character perspectives by the time I reached page 200. It died down a bit later, but I thought the constant switches in POV really threw off the flow of the story. Additionally, some of the transitions were really abrupt, as if a scene had just been chopped in half.
Honestly, I can see having a couple of subplots going on in the story because Ward is quite obviously setting up for the subsequent novels in this series, but I think the overall narrative and the relationship between the hero and heroine suffer when there are too many different characters involved. I don’t think it was as bad as Phury and Cormia in “Lover Enshrined,” but Ehlena and Rehv didn’t get near the amount of page time that I thought they should have. I’m just used to the main focus being on one couple, instead of being spread out between them and other couples and side-characters and the villains. Sometimes it’s just a bit much. But I think because I was anticipating this, it bothered me less than it did in the previous book. As a result, I probably judged this book a lot less critically. (Although a big part of my dislike of “Lover Enshrined” was the fact that it felt more like a 500-page Phury pity party than anything else.)
I liked some of the scenes between Wrath and Beth, although I did think too much time was spent on them. Of course, my feelings about this aren’t very objective because they were never my favorite couple. If all of that time had been spent on Bella and Zsadist, I probably wouldn’t be complaining. As for the scenes featuring Xhex or JM, I understood those because their book is next and some buildup was necessary. And, actually, my feelings for Xhex went from apathy to fondness by the end of this book. Because of this and my love for John Matthew, I’m really looking forward to reading “Lover Mine.” I hope that JM mans up in the next book, though, because he came off like a sullen, rebellious teenager in some of the scenes in “Lover Avenged” and I spent a good portion of the book annoyed with his character.
Anyway, if you were disappointed with “Lover Enshrined,” I’d still recommend giving “Lover Avenged” a try. Even though Rehv isn’t my favorite character, there were things in this novel that really endeared him to me. Plus it was fun seeing glimpses of all of the familiar characters. Lassiter is particularly interesting to me and I wonder if he’ll get his own book eventually. Only time will tell, I suppose.
I should be clear, I'm rating this in its genre rather than rating it against high literature. My expectations for this aren't as high as they are for, say, Simon Winchester.
So I get the feeling from the ratings I see that a lot of people didn't like this. I found it an engrossing read, however, even if the ending had some big flaws. Ehlena is the most interesting female character to come along in a long time (I can't even remember who half the previous female characters are), and while Rehvenge may be a mess, he didn't pull the "I'm a stupid guy in emotional trouble, come RESCUE ME!" thing that is so common in the BDB books. The Lesser subplot was, for once, interesting, and the sympath subplot was also intriguing.
I am getting tired of the, "I have this horrible problem! And you will cure it! With your magical hoo-hah!" Or, in this case, your magical bonding.
I am so, SO tired of John Matthew, however. "I am angst-ridden, hear me roar! Only you can't, because I'm mute! So therefore I will be even MORE angsty!" I'm willing to bet that when he gets done with his book, his voice will be cured due to the Power of Sex (or Xhex).
So I get the feeling from the ratings I see that a lot of people didn't like this. I found it an engrossing read, however, even if the ending had some big flaws. Ehlena is the most interesting female character to come along in a long time (I can't even remember who half the previous female characters are), and while Rehvenge may be a mess, he didn't pull the "I'm a stupid guy in emotional trouble, come RESCUE ME!" thing that is so common in the BDB books. The Lesser subplot was, for once, interesting, and the sympath subplot was also intriguing.
I am getting tired of the, "I have this horrible problem! And you will cure it! With your magical hoo-hah!" Or, in this case, your magical bonding.
I am so, SO tired of John Matthew, however. "I am angst-ridden, hear me roar! Only you can't, because I'm mute! So therefore I will be even MORE angsty!" I'm willing to bet that when he gets done with his book, his voice will be cured due to the Power of Sex (or Xhex).
A-fucking-mazing.
I love Rehv. And John, oh jeez.
Loved the plot.
I love Rehv. And John, oh jeez.
Loved the plot.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes