Lover Avenged by J. R. Ward: 10 things I love-hate-kthnxbye

Lover Avenged by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 7)

Rants

1. Does the amount of hip-hop lingo use correspond to the amount of increased emotionality expressed by romantic profusions that make these alpha males sound like chicks? ‘Cause the thuggier they got the more effusive they were.

2. It felt a little cluttered. Like a messy desk where you kind of knew where everything was but in some cases you still had to stick your hand in and wade about in the murkiness. Perhaps better organisation/editing was called for.

3. Too many side stories. While they all meant something, they kind of detracted from the point of the story. Whether it’s an urban fantasy or a romance, there’s usually a main storyline, as is the case with every book. Trying to run several plotlines at the same time made everything look equal, even when they’re not. And if that was the intention, it detracted from the overall clarity and flow of the story.

4. Two words: Golden Retriever.

5. Everything tied up too neatly in the end. Wasn’t it just convenient that X killed Y, and now—whoops!—Z killed X, and therefore the hero didn’t have to do much, and people got saved, and now people are rich and happy, and wait a minute, this is too convenient?

6. Some things will never change. Like hip-hop lingo. Annoying Hs. Overuse of brand names that make everyone appear so noveau riche. You feel me?

7. In some ways I felt that J. R. Ward was trying too hard. Trying too hard to please the voices in her head. Trying too hard to please the fans. Trying too hard, coming up against herself ,and getting disappointed.

Raves

8.  Oh, a strong female character.  You exist in this universe. Finally.

9. Sex was good. (Although, honestly, does anyone in this series have normal sex?) Flirting was good.

10. You sucked me in. You still have the power to do this, J. R. Ward. You sucked me in so much that when we got to the end I was like, “WTF you sucked me in and this is the end!” Dammit, you are still crack. This is why I still would buy you in hardcover.

Yay or nay?

Yay, but only if you’ve already read the other books in this series, or you won’t get it. It took me 2 (3?) weeks to start reading this book, because I couldn’t get into it. It was large, thick, murky, and I felt like I was setting myself up for disappointment.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually liked Lover Avenged. Largely because of Ehlena, the lead female, and because the last two books sucked so much I actually forgot that the last one existed. I thought we went straight from V to Rehv. My bad, Phury. Forgot about you.

If you haven’t started this series, do so at your own risk. It is seriously crack. It starts out great, then even if it deteriorates later—although it appears to be picking up again with this book—you’ll still be sucked in.

Crackwhore out.

You can read Kat’s review here, Decadence’s review here, and our tweets via the hashtag #rehv. You can read excerpts of the book here and here.

Where you can buy this book

AUSTRALIA: Booktopia | Dymocks | Ever After | Fishpond | Galaxy | Intrigue | Rendezvous | Romance Direct | Romantic Reflections | Siren | The Nile | More
EBOOKS: Books On Board | Dymocks | eBooks.com | Fictionwise | Kindle
WORLDWIDE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Book Depository | Borders