Review - The King - J.R. Ward

Title: The King
Author: J.R. Ward
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Release Date: April 1st, 2014
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #12
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Synopsis via Goodreads

Long live the King…

After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle--with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything--and everyone--at risk.

Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response--or the distance it creates between them.

The question is, will true love win out... or tortured legacy take over?

My rating:

So this was me when The King finally came out:

Guys. This was intense. I cried four times. Four. I almost never cry while reading anything, but for some reason the feels were just exploding out of me.

Hey, J.R.?

Jeez. Okay. Time to get my shit together and write something resembling a review. *clears throat*

Beth & Wrath
Aka Queen B and Khal Drogo (Ah, come on. Don't tell me when you picture Wrath you don't imagine him looking a little like Jason Momoa). Anyway, honestly, I'd forgotten how much I loved these two. I'm glad I'd just done a re-read of the entire series because there were a few references to Dark Lover that would've baffled the hell out of me. Case in point, a lovely conversation between Beth and Tohr.

[Beth] "'Do you still root for the monster?'

There was a pause. And then the Brother laughed in his trademark baritone. 'Are you telling me there's another Godzilla marathon on?'"

Beth and Wrath go through some serious issues throughout the entire book. At first, most of it just felt like arguing and I was starting to get tired every time I saw a shift to one of their POV's because I didn't want another argument or lengthy reflection on how the current argument was ruining their relationship. But then the love and general concern and all around stress of their situation kept shining through their rants, and it was all good. J.R. did an excellent job titling this book. Each problem Beth & Wrath had, each decision they made influenced the throne somehow and it was interesting to how they'd work through the problems. Which, of course they did. They were the reason for my continuous flow of tears, mostly towards the end when it got really sappy. (But in a good way.)

Assail/Sola

Like, you don't even understand. They are the main reason I was anticipating this book. I FELL FOR THEM SO HARD in Lover At Last. Each time either one of their POVs showed up, I did a little happy dance even though they were in the shittiest circumstances. If you read LAL, you know Sola's been kidnapped. Assail turns into a raging psychopath (which, you know, is just a euphemism for badass bonded male) to get her back. Is it bad that I enjoyed all the murder he executed on Sola's behalf? Yes? Well WHO GIVES A FUCK. They were awesome. All of their moments post-kidnapping were so heartbreaking and intense. Assail was gentle and kind to both Sola and her grandmother (who was HILARIOUS, btw). Watching the way he loved her with this quiet, brooding intensity made me swoon many, many times. Observe:

"Through the windows of the kitchen, he saw her [Sola] standing by the table, rifling through a suitcase as if searching for something she was leaving behind.

Out here, my love, he thought. What you have lost is out here.

And then her grandmother made an appearance with the cousins, and it was clear that the female did not approve of the leaving.

Just one more thing to adore about her."

I wanted them to stay together and live out their HEA, but sadly that just wasn't the case. I won't say more, but DAMN. Oh, and P.S. when is J.R. going to give them more air time? They deserve it!

Trez/iAm/Selena
Trez gets a lot of air time in this one. iAm gets just about as much, too, I guess. In LAL I was really curious to see where Trez and Selena's relationship would go, but by the time I was well into The King...meh. I stopped caring at some point, and found myself wanting to skip ahead to the parts about Assail/Sola and Beth/Wrath. There wasn't anything wrong with Trez's POV or storyline, though, I just tired of it fast. Like, I get it. He sleeps with everyone, he's wanted back in the Territory to be a sex slave, etc etc. Each time his POV arrived, that's all he went on about. It got too monotonous and I got bored. Even his thing with Selena was shadowed (no pun intended) by all of his misgivings. He wasn't good enough for her, he was dirty, but he wanted her so bad. He was a walking contradiction, nearly having sex with the woman at one point and then trying to get away from her the very next.

Xcor/BoB/Layla
Another subplot that kinda faded for me. Maybe it's because none of these players have much air time, too. I don't quite know what to say about any of them. Xcor was...different. Not as hard, not as badass. Like a washed out version of himself, and not in a tortured hero kind of way. More like a "who the hell are you and what have you done with Xcor" kind of way. Layla definitely didn't have enough air time to make an impact, either. I mean, she made some big decisions regarding Xcor that are definitely going to be game changers, but I couldn't bring myself to care. And the decision that Xcor made towards the end (not gonna spoil it, but damn) just made me lose all respect for him as an antagonist (or at least an anti-hero).

The Brothers/Lassiter/John Matthew
In my opinion, the Brothers needed to be in the spotlight a bit more. They were just...there. A few would pipe in with a burst of individuality with a witty quip, but most of the time the Brotherhood functioned as a group. i.e. "The Brotherhood did this.." Or at least that's what it felt like. Lassiter, being the fabulous angel he is, commanded that spotlight a few times. His scenes were hilarious. John Matthew was pretty involved throughout the whole thing, especially in Beth's POV and more than a few times in Wrath's.

I know it sounds like I'm kind of going in on the subplots, so a couple people are wondering why I gave it 5 stars. Mostly for the effortless and engaging writing style that J.R. has. Even if I didn't care about Trez or Layla or Xcor, I still read it and loved it because there was no way I was missing out on anything J.R. wrote. Plus, the feels. The feels definitely make the 5 star rating, on both Beth/Wrath's end as well as Assail/Sola's end. The angst, the crying, the anger, the romance, the sappiness, the humor, even the arguing. All of that and just the fact that I enjoyed this book immensely. Couldn't put it down actually, and the thing's long as hell.

Now that The King's done. Who's up next? Trez? (Please, no.) Xcor? (Meh.) Assail? (HELL. FUCKING. YES!)

Review - Origin - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Origin
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date:August 27th, 2013
Series: Lux #4
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Synopsis via Goodreads

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?

And will they even be together?

My rating:

WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead, depending on what you count as spoilers. Also contains multiple, annoying uses of the word “badass” and “badassery”, a bunch of unnecessary totally necessary exclamations, and some angsty gifs.

Jennifer L. Armentrout has reached a whole new level of awesome epicness. I’m 100% sure epicness isn’t even a word, but that’s the only thing that describes this fast-paced, swoony, hilarious, action-freaking-packed installment of the Lux series. She’s outdone herself. No book in the series has ever compared. Origin was good. Foam at the mouth good. Fangirl like there's no tomorrow good.

Everything about it was badass. Katy was badass. In the previous book, Opal, it ended abruptly with her being captured by Daedalus. And I was all “Oh noooooooooo!” But then Origin came out and we see that Katy handled things like a pro. And by “like a pro” I mean, after the initial suckiness of her situation wore off, she was all enraged and determined and righteous. She endured ass-kickings and threats and faced the possibility that she’d never be free of Daedalus’s evil little clutches.

“The words that came out of my mouth were my own. I felt them. I believed them.
        ‘I’m going to kill you one day,’ I promised.”

See? Badassery!

Daemon was, like always, rocking his own kind of constant badassery. Like anyone could guess, he goes after Katy. He turns himself in to Daedalus (Not exactly a spoiler. If you hadn’t inferred what he’d do from the beginning, it lets on pretty quickly.) Mother of alpha males, Daemon’s unrelenting resolve to get Katy back was out of this world! (Hehe, it’s funny ‘cause he’s an alien!) He didn’t care who he had to mow down or steal from or lie to in order to get to her. And he did it all with his usual sarcastic, cocky flair that I just love so much! (Shout out to JLA for doing dual perspectives!)

“Going down on one knee, they leveled a dozen or so semiautomatic rifles on me. Stopping so many bullets would prove tricky.
      People were going to die.
     That sucked, but it wouldn’t stop me.” 

                                                                          ***

“’I’ve been waiting a long time to run tests on someone like you,’ he said to Daemon, voice high-pitched.
      Daemon arched a brow. ‘Another fanboy. I have them everywhere.’”

Swoony batches of badassery!

Also, the romance! Despite Kat & Daemon’s circumstances, their romance was the fiercest it’s ever been! Gah, their love jumped off the page and squeezed my heart to pieces! Plus something very, very big with their relationship happens towards the later half that you would not believe! So if you haven’t read this book yet, do it!

“I caught the tear with a kiss. ‘And I’m not going to let you do this by yourself. You’re my—you’re my everything, Kat.’ At the sound of her soft inhale, I smiled again. ‘Come on, Kitten, did you really expect anything less from me? I love you.” 

And Kat was all like:

  

 Oh, yeah, and there’s a bunch of sexytimes, too!

“Daemon squared his shoulders and cracked the door open. I couldn’t see anything beyond his bare back, which, if I had to be stuck staring at something, at least it was that.”

Like I’ve been coming to expect from any JLA book nowadays, the ending was…was…badass! OMG was it all kinds of badass! There was a huuuuuuuuge awesome, catastrophic, unbelievable, devastating battle of epic proportions that fully displayed the amounts of badassery that Luxen can bring to the table! And not only was it was filled with the Luxen but also the hybrids and some other types of things that I can’t really give away, but the title “Origin” had something to do with it! There’s a ton of new players entering the game now! There are also a few plot twists at the end, some I did see coming and some I didn’t. And holy freaking cow, the one at the end with the conversation between Dawson and Daemon about Beth!! And also the betrayal by someone important!!!! (For once, it isn’t Blake, but there’s a reason for that.)

I can’t! I just can’t anymore! I’m about to explode with the feels that this book has brought. Plus, I feel like if I use the word badass one more time, I’ll have irritated the hell out of everyone, including myself. So just suffice it to say that this book was a big game-changer. The best book in the series yet. And it didn’t end with a gigantic cliffhanger, so I’m good with that.

Anywho, let’s end things with a quote from the book that actually had me laughing out loud at the imagery:

“Man, it was so quiet you could hear a grasshopper karate chop a fly.”

Read this book! The karate-chopping grasshopper demands it!

Review - Fifth Grave Past the Light - By: Darynda Jones

Title: Fifth Grave Past the Light
Author: Darynda Jones
Publisher: Piatkus
Release Date: July 9th, 2013
Series: Charley Davidson #5
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Synopsis via Goodreads

Charley Davidson may not look like your everyday, run-of-the-mill grim reaper, but she has vowed to reap grimness wherever she goes despite this unfortunate fact. Sadly, she gets sidetracked when the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door. As he is the main suspect in her arson case, she has vowed to stay away from him until she can find out the truth.

However, when dead women start appearing in her apartment—lost, confused and terrified beyond reason—Charley has no choice but to ask for Reyes' help, especially when it becomes apparent that her own sister, Gemma, is the serial killer's next target. With his ability to observe incorporeally, surely he can find out who's responsible. And even if he can't, he is the one man alive who could protect Gemma no matter who or what came at her. But he wants something in return: Charley. All of her—body and soul. And to keep her sister safe, it is a price she might be willing to pay...

My rating:

Excuse me while I make myself whole again after that ending turned me into a swooning, fangirling mess. Reyes. Why aren't you real? Why aren't you mine? Oh, the injustice of it all...

Now that I got my required dose of melodrama out of the way, can I just begin by saying that Darynda Jones is a genius. The perfect writer. The woman responsible for my insomnia, since sleep became a foreign concept as soon as I got a copy of this wonderful masterpiece of a sequel. NO ONE does sequels like D.J. NO ONE.

I dived into the story like there'd never been a long, excruciating period of time between this book and the last. Coming back to Charley's never-ending wit was refreshing. Her eccentric personality shined through like it always does, no matter how dire the situation is. And in the true Charley Davidson fashion, there were tons of dire situations.

Like usual, D.J. keeps the action nonstop with just enough subplots to make Charley's life crazy. So much was going on, and I loved it. It kept the pacing tight, never allowing a dull moment to creep through. We had Reyes as Charley's neighbor, where naughty times ensued. We had a psycho serial killer, and a twist at the end with the killer that I did NOT see coming. We had random dead blond women appearing in Charley's home and crawling on ceilings. We had the mysterious arsonist (who wasn't so mysterious as I read on). And I'm probably missing more, but after reading that ending, my head is more than a little scrambled.

That ending, though. Abrupt. Mind-blowing. Heart-swelling. Freaking spectacular. I actually did a mental happy dance, with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. I can't say what happens, of course, but just know that unless you have something against Reyes and Charley's relationship, you will NOT be dissapointed. And since I was a fan of them deepening their romance from the beginning, I was near euphoric at the end.

If you're like me, you'd want to know about any advancements with Charley's mysterious powers. Aside from the usual seeing ghosts & having them pass through her, there's quite a bit of new stuff. She slows time occasionally when she's aware of imminent danger. She gets to see things from a different plane, finally getting a glimpse of Reyes's surrounding shadow everyone seems to be going on about. During one scene, she causes a mini-earthquake. There's more and I don't want to give it all away, but her powers really do seem as endless as Reyes said they would be.

Supporting characters are a vital part of enjoying a novel for me. And D.J. has every single one of them down pat. Uncle Bob. Cookie. Officer Taft. Kim Millar. Rocket & Blue Bell. Strawberry Shortcake. Quentin. Amber. Gemma. All the characters we know and love are at the forefront once more in this edgy yet hilarious installment.

But I'm biased, so all of my attention was on the enigma that is Reyes Farrow. He was charming and wicked and sexy and amusing. And since he stayed corporeal the whole time, his moments with Charley got steamy very quickly. Observe:

A huge smile spread across his face. "True enough, so what's eating you? Because, sadly, it's not me."

Way to almost give a girl a stroke over here, Reyes. There's also stuff like this:

"Hey, wait," I said, pulling back, "you are the son of Satan. Maybe we need a safe word."
His grin morphed into something wickedly charming. "Okay, how about, 'Oh my god, it's so big.'"

Oh, Reyes, you dirty man. If that didn't keep me awake more than anything, I don't know what did.

Review - Lover At Last - By: J.R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series #11)

Title: Lover At Last
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: NAL Hardcover
Release Date: March 26th, 2013
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #11
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Synopsis via Goodreads

Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, shunned by the aristocracy, he has finally found an identity as one of the most brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of his own seems to be within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to another....

Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it’s about time: The male has found his perfect match in a Chosen female, and they are going to have a young—just as Qhuinn has always wanted for himself. It’s hard to see the new couple together, but building your life around a pipe dream is just a heartbreak waiting to happen. As he’s learned firsthand.

Fate seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions... but as the battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in Caldwell create mortal danger for the Brotherhood, Qhuinn finally learns the true definition of courage, and two hearts who are meant to be together... finally become one.

My rating:

Words cannot even begin to explain what I went through reading this fantastic book. But, well, since this is a book review, I guess I'll have to try.

After being strung along book after book, dying to know what was going to become of Qhuinn and Blay, they finally got their HEA. And all I could think at the end of the book was: FINALLY! But the process of reading definitely was not an easy one. I can't really count how many times I mentally ranted in anger, or literally had to sit up and re-read something, or was going out of my mind with excitement, or was trying to keep my tears from falling because I was reading in public and that would make me look like a total weirdo crying over my nook. And yes, I own a nook, not a kindle. Take that, Amazon!

The main point is, I couldn't control myself while I read the whole thing. This book had pretty much everything. The good (Quay, the Brotherhood, new and recurring characters), the bad (not really much of it) and the downright ugly (mostly me and my trying-to-hold-in-tears-face).

The Good

1. Getting Reacquainted with the Brotherhood

I can't even explain how completely awesome it was to be back in J.R. Ward's world, back with the Brotherhood. The book didn't quite get to them first--it actually began with two humans stealing Qhuinn's car--but when it did...it was like freaking homecoming. I couldn't wait to get updates on my favorite couples. I couldn't wait to hear about them kicking lesser ass. I just couldn't wait. Each Brother was true to character (like J.R. Ward and her unbelievable writing style would allow for anything else). They were still the smoking-like-crazy, curse-word-throwing, witty, alcoholic hardasses I remembered from the last book.

"A deep breath was taken and let out, as if the civilian was staring at that exit and wondering if V's pissed-off departure might just cause him to wake up dead later on in the day."

2. Band of Bastards
All right, I'll admit it if no one else will. I freaking love the Band of Bastards. They are the most formidable, relatable foes I've read in a while. I like how they don't just want to mindlessly take down Wrath (much as I love the Blind Kind) and have no plan after that. I like how they're smart and cunning and actually pose a threat. However, I like how they're--Xcor in particular--has insecurities. He's not so arrogant that he thinks taking the throne from Wrath will be easy. And, of course, there's Layla. I don't want to veer too far off topic, but there was one quote about her internal struggle with her growing affection for Xcor that eased my dislike for her. It happened after she saw Xcor again and they agreed that they could never work out.

"Caught in the middle, between her mind and her soul, she was torn asunder even as she remained whole."

Xcor thinks he's not even worthy of being in her presence. Clearly, that's not how she feels, but that's not the point. The point is: he was weaknesses. And that's what makes him great.

3. FREAKING ASSAIL AND SOLA!!!
In my opinion, they made the whole book. Sorry, Quay. But I just couldn't help myself. I started focusing less and less on Quay and the BoB and the others and started focusing more on the hottest new couple in Caldwell. Sola's a new character, and I already love her. She's street-smart as hell, which is difficult to find nowadays. She's capable, despite what happened at the end of the book. And she keeps Assail on his toes when nobody else can. She's tough as rocks, but she's also vulnerable. Plus, her grandmother was adorable. I loved the mystery of her relationship with Assail. I loved the cat and mouse game they played with each other, though it was borderline stalkerish. I loved that they didn't seem to be able to control themselves around one another, but never lost who they were. Sola was level-headed and determined. Assail was an all around underground businessman with a no-nonsense attitude. And he was funny as hell.

"Assail did not condone swearing. In his mind, it was common and unnecessary. That being said, he'd had a shitty fucking week."

"As Assail drove through the grand gates of an estate in the wealthy part of Caldwell, he was annoyed. Exhausted. On edge. And not just because he'd been doing cocaine regularly and not eating."


4. Trez and iAm

I was glad to see the Shadows had a more important role in this book. Mostly because Trez is really, really funny. Also, we get to see more of why they're in the novels and how they came to be. Of course, that's not all. Trez is running from his old society, apparently, and iAm is his accomplice. I like how Trez is a complete and total manwhore in the beginning, but as soon as he gets to the Adirondack cabins where the Chosen are staying, he turns into a complete and total babbling fool for the Chosen Selena. It kind of reminds me of Butch when he met Marissa. A hardass wrapped around a woman's little finger, and she doesn't even know it.

The Bad

Like I said, there wasn't really much that was bad. The only thing I think got on my nerves a little was the constant name dropping. I couldn't read a single chapter without hearing about what brand someone was wearing, or how fancy this person's watch was. Or how expensive that person's shoes were or how well their tailored clothes fit.

The Ugly

I'm not entirely sure Qhuinn and Blay's relationship counts as "ugly". I mean, usually the word connotes something bad, and that was the section above. And their relationship wasn't technically bad.However, at some points, their relationship was...a mess, to say the least. It was rocky for the majority of the book, only getting resolved near the very end. There were a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunications that I felt could've been resolved easily if Qhuinn and Blay weren't such hard heads. But I guess they wouldn't be who they were if they weren't stubborn, so I can't really say anything. Still, it was hard to read. One moment they were strangers, the next they were in each other's beds, and then they hated each other, and then they were strangers again...it sucked. And I think that was the point. Qhuinn and Blay--but mostly Qhuinn--had to grow up some before they could have any sort of relationship. He needed to accept who he was and get rid of his past. The journey took up the length of the entire novel, and that wasn't preferable, but it was necessary. I like how they were in love the whole time, and came close to telling one another, but it never seemed to happen. It build up tension, made me wish they'd just tell each other even more. I like how the barriers that were Layla and Saxton weren't completely ignored, and they rode off into the sunset together just forgetting about everything and everyone else. It was realistic and believable. I like how they both seemed lost without one another. It made the inevitable reunion at the end. And when that reunion happened...I was sobbing like a freaking baby.

"Forcing his lids down, he brought Blay's knuckles to his mouth, brushing a kiss against them. Then he gave himself up to sleep, letting himself fall into unconsciousness, knowing that, at least for the next few hours, he was safe in the arms of his one and only."

"Qhuinn's head cranked around, leaving its cage of the hand that had remained, his blue and green eyes red rimmed and watery. 'I have loved you for years. I have been in love with you for years and years and years...throughout school and training...before transitions and afterward...when you approached me and yes, even now that you're with Saxton and you hate me. And that...shit...in my fucking head locked me down, locked everything down...and it cost me you'."

Blay to Qhuinn: "Because I was, and I remain, utterly and completely and totally...in love with you."

I'm glad that Quay finally got their HEA after so long. But, even now, I'm dying to get my hands on the next book just so that I can find out what happens with Sola and Assail. I expected Quay to dominate the entire story, but they ended up sharing the spotlight. And now, I'll just have to fill the void with other novels until I can return to the extraordinary world that is the Black Dagger Brotherhood.