Lover Mine by JR Ward

ISBN: 978-0451229854
Rating: A

LOVER MINE was one of the stories that I have been waiting for and I thought would never come. Either that or I expected to hate it, I’m not sure which was my true reality.

It’s a huge book, is it going to be good quality pages, or a book just full of stuff that will make me mad that I actually went out and paid full price for it. I went against my rule of not paying more than $10.00 for any book, but I HAD to know what happens and I couldn’t wait.

Was it the best book in the series? No, but it was close and I felt as if only one thing could have truly made it better. It is probably the one reason we all wanted to read this particular book, and that was to have John Matthew realize his true potential, who he truly is.

LOVER MINE is intense, gritty and raw. JR Ward has a knack for digging into a character and showing the reader that everything you thought you knew was wrong or way off base. Xhex is one of those characters. She turned into a character that I not only respected, but that I could connect with. Out of all the heroines in these books Xhex has to be my favorite because she is the most flawed and human amongst them.

If you have never read this series before, it’s one that I highly recommend. Some get angry because Ward has created some manly warriors who talk in more modern slang etc…I find it an endearing quality and it feels natural to me as a reader it fits with who these warriors are. Start with DARK LOVER, the first in the series as I did nothing but rave about it once I finished it.

Lover Avenged by JR Ward

ISBN:  9780451225856

Publisher:  Penguin USA

Rating:  A

I can honestly say that I wasn’t entirely sure where Lover Avenged was going to end up because the beginning felt like a big old mess.  There was just too much gibberish and wavering back and forth that I wasn’t sure which story I was reading and which one I actually wanted to read.  It took me about 200 pages to figure out that I was going to like this addition to the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Rehvenge is a character I was interested in from the beginning, much like Zsadist he had to have a story and I knew it had to matter.  Learning about Rehv’s past and how he came to be the Drug Lord of Caldwell New York is important not only to this story, but to all the preceding stories as well.

When I picked up this chunker and I wasn’t instantly mesmorized I was starting to have some doubts about this series and this author.  I was afraid that she had gone too far too fast and there was no way that her later books could possibly live up to the earlier books like Dark Lover and Lover Eternal.   Lover Avenged is a building novel as well as the story of Rehv and the sympaths.  John Matthew and Tohr begin the circle again, and Wrath has a lesson taught to him in a beautifully yet poignant way.  Fans of the series shouldn’t be disheartened in fact that should feel renewed as this latest chapter in the Brotherhood concludes.

Current Reading Choices

I am currently reading Lover Avenged by JR Ward, and for the first half of the book I had trouble getting into it.  It felt very disconnected and like it bounced around too much.  I wasn’t sure who’s story I was supposed to be focusing on.  However, 200 pages into the book and I feel like I am back where I belong in Caldwell New York.

I am currently listening to Vision in White by Nora Roberts, and I am already in love with this trilogy.  It’s the story of my dream come true, to own a wedding planning business.  I am enjoying the fact that it is the photographer’s story first because photography is important to me as well and reading a book that combines 2 things I love is making me one happy reader.

My next set of reads will be Bulls Island by Dorothea Benton Frank and You’ve Got Murder by Donna Andrews both are new to me authors and I am very excited about trying them.

Cherry Bomb by JA Konrath is waiting for me to pick up at the library but I know that I will only have 7 days to read it so I am going to try and wait to pick it up to the very last second or Tuesday.

Does anyone else plan their reads?  I don’t typically do this but I am kind of excited about it.  I have far too many books on my shelves and I think I am being overwhelmed by MT TBR’s avalanche.

Book Reviews

I am a reviewer for Ck2S Kwips and Kritiques
and I’ve been at a point where I had lost my inspiration and I had even not been able to finish a book *gasps in horror*. I know that is pretty sad, right? So I started this blog and I decided I was going to make reading about me again and not about reviewing books for Kwips. It’s almost like I felt this weird pressure to review everything I was reading and that just made it no fun anymore. I created this blog to help remind me of why I love to read, and how much I enjoy getting lost in a book, and since I have made this decision my enjoyment has increased tremendously and after writing my reviews for this month’s upload at Kwips, I have realized that my review voice has changed as well. I don’t want to be a reviewer who loves every book they read, and can’t be trusted to have an honest voice. I was always afraid of offending or saying something inappropriate that I always chose my words with care, but blogging affords me the opportunity to realize there isn’t much I can’t say and be truthful. I have the highest respect for authors and their craft and I would never think to be an expert in writing and I would never tear an author down which I see a lot of in the biblioworld.

I love books for the shear fact that I can get lost and fall in love and experience things I might never be given the chance to, and all for the low low price of less than $30.00. That is a deal no matter if I love or hate a book at least I felt something.

Reviews coming for Lover Enshrined by JR Ward, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig and Always the Bridesmaid by Whitney Lyles after they are uploaded at Kwips.