Review and Book Club: Lover Revealed by J. R. Ward

Today I'm participating in Bookaholic Does Blogging's Black Dagger Brotherhood Book Club for her BDB Challenge. Every month, in addition to reading one of the series' books, I'll be participating in her book club posts, so we can all gab about BDB!

Book: Lover Revealed

Author: J. R. Ward

Publisher: Signet

Release date: March 6, 2007

Source: Bought for Kindle

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #4

Summary: (from Goodreads) Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world-to engage in the turf war with the lessers. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. And if he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers.

But fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he's found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

Questions:
1. On a scale from 1-5, what would you rate this book? Briefly tell us why.

I'm going with four stars on this one. It wasn't my favorite of the series, but still engaging. Butch, as the resident human of the BDB, is a unique character. I think Ward made a good choice in featuring him so early on. As readers, we intuited that something deeper was going on with him, and the more time went by, the more I wanted a resolution to that instinctive feeling. Not unlike the feeling I'm getting now with John Matthew.

2. A lot goes on with Butch in this book. What did you think of his past? And what about that revelation his mom makes at the end of the book? Do you think we'll ever discover who is Dad really is?

I thought Butch's backstory was great. It perfectly tied in to his longing to be a part of the Brotherhood. As an outsider his entire life, rejected by his own family even, it's no wonder he wants to be a part of something meaningful. I wish we'd found out that Janie's kidnappers had been brought to justice, or seen the reason Butch became a cop. I guess we can't know everything, though! I'm just being greedy.

3. I had kind of foreseen Butch becoming a vampire, however, I did not see the lesser incident occurring. What did you think of Butch's encounter with the Omega? What about his abilities that stemmed from this incident?

I was also blindsided by the Omega stuff. I had no idea what was going to happen or whether he should or shouldn't be using his new powers. I loved the twist. Ward always manages to keep us on our toes, even when we think we know what's going to happen. It's part of the reason I love her books.

4. We've never seen a new member inducted into the brotherhood... what did you think about this ritual?

Oh my gosh. I loved the explanation of the brand/scar they all have on their pecs. When Butch woke up and felt salt I was like "A-HA!" I thought the ritual was cool, but I wish it had gone on a bit longer. We've seen some interesting rituals, and for this one I was like, "Really? Where's the rest of it?" Also, am I the only one who now wants Vishous and Butch and Marissa to be polyamorous mates? That embrace during the ritual was hot!

5. Speaking of rituals, what do you think about the mating ritual? It was detailed in the first book, but we've seen glimpses of it in each book since.

I like it, but I still don't get why they have to carve the names into their flesh. A bit extreme, true? I was glad we didn't have to read it again with Marissa. I'm not feeling her like I do the other females. Something about her prissy upbringing and constant whining about Butch's safety made me kind of hate her.

6. Let's talk about John. We saw some pretty unusual behavior from him in this book. Most of it strengthened my idea of him being Darius... what do think?

He has some serious aggression threatening to spill over, so I'm glad he's going on these nightly walks with Zsadist. I think those two can really bond over their pasts and hopefully Z can teach John how to control his emotions. I'm pretty well convinced that John is Darius, particularly with the bomb flashback.

7. We saw a lot of V in this book, which makes sense given his relationship with Butch. What do you think about those two being two halves of a whole? The Destroyer and the Savior?

I think this is a perfect dynamic. There was always something bigger between these two than just friendship or brotherhood. They are complementary halves. It was such a cool thing to see this partnership become fully realized and necessary to the survival of the race. I can't wait to read about V. Is his book next? I hope so. As much as I love Butch, I think I like Vishous more.

Rating: 4/5 stars

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TBR 911!

Dude.

After 7 months of blogging, I finally reached meltdown mode with the pile of books taking over my living room. What once used to be a few precious winnings, gradually became boxes and piles of books won, gifted, bought (damn you Borders closing sales! *shakes fist*), or received for review. I began to fear for my sanity, as well as my marriage.

Bless his heart, the hubs hasn't mentioned the three piles of books sitting on the floor. Or the pile on the shelf. Or the mail that brings bookish things with increasing regularity. I just had a feeling it was coming.

The talk.

"Listen, honey. I know you love blogging and all, but I thought the Kindle was supposed to reduce the number of books we had laying around."

In an effort to avoid that little conversation starter, I went on a frenzy this weekend. I organized the books into a "keep" pile and a "don't need to keep" pile. The "keep" books went on a special shelf in the living room to be gazed at adoringly.

And, erm...the "don't need to keep" pile? It's, um, *whispers* it's still on the floor.

When all was said and done, I counted 67 books that I have acquired over the last seven months. It easily needs its own bookshelf. The pile is cuh-razy. And it doesn't even include ebooks! I did buy a Kindle to avoid massive piles of books. Blogging has changed that.

Now I crave real books. I want to look at the covers and feel the pages. The only problem is that it takes me forever to read them because I only take my Kindle on my commute, and that's when I get the most reading done. What's a girl to do?

I feel a little bit better now that it's organized, but it still feels overwhelming. I thought about putting myself on a book buying ban, but I know I wouldn't follow it, so what's the point? I'm not sure the best way to handle this going forward. Stay organized? Buy a new blogging-only bookcase? Never enter another contest again? (HA!)

Do you have unmanageable book/review piles? How do you handle them? Hit me with your best advice, because I need it!


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Review: Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Book: Legacy

Author: Cayla Kluver

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release date: June 28, 2011

Source: ARC from NetGalley

Summary: (from Goodreads) I noticed his eyes. They were blue, sharp and intense. Despite the youthful glows of his suntanned face, his eyes were cold and unfriendly, suggesting he had great experience in the world and was now expecting the worst.

In her seventeenth year, Princess Alera of Hytanica faces one duty: to marry the man who will be king. But her father's choice of suitor fills her with despair.

When the palace guard captures and intruder—a boy her age with steel-blue eyes, hailing from her kingdom's greatest enemy—Alera is alarmed…and intrigued. But she could not have guessed that their clandestine meetings would unveil the dark legacy shadowing both their lands.

In this mystical world of court conspiracies and blood magic, loyalties will be tested. Courage won't be enough. And as the battle begins for everything Alera holds dear, love may be the downfall of a kingdom.

First impressions: The rich detail of this world is captivating. I started reading thinking I'd just get through the first few pages, and ended up reading for a half hour.

Lasting impressions: This book stuck with me longer than I expected. Whether it was the level of detail or just good storytelling, I thought about this book whenever I wasn't reading it.

Conflicting impressions: The attention to detail also became tiresome. It slowed down the pace a lot, and felt unnecessary.

Overall impressions: This is one of those books when I wish I used half stars. The world here is complex and well developed, reading more like a historical than a fantasy. Other than the setting, there wasn't much I would characterize as fantasy. I mean, it's a made-up world, but there's no magic or unique creatures or abilities to be found. I couldn't tell if the author intended to create a unique political or social structure and just didn't succeed, or if she didn't have the energy to research an actual historical setting in which to place her story.

I didn't mind the setting - don't get me wrong. I wish it had contained some more unique elements other than names and a few social customs. I think that could have given this fantasy some more teeth. Instead it became a story about a princess who can't decide whether to marry for duty or love.

There is a lot of description in this book, which bogged down the narrative. For a reader like me, who tends to skim over descriptions anyway (I like to picture characters as their voices come to me), this wasn't overly bothersome. I did notice, though, that I was skimming through multiple pages of narrative just to get past the dry bits.

Alera holds the distinction of being the first character I can think of that I came to like less as the book went on. She starts out being a friendly, likeable girl, but starts to make some questionable choices that strained her credibility in my mind. She betrays friends, acts selfishly, and is determinedly mean to her suitor. Despite all this, I enjoyed being in her head and following her journey. She's acting out against a society that shows little regard for women, so I forgave some of her flaws.

All of the characters in the book are complex, though sometimes confusing. I loved London, Alera's bodyguard, whose loyalty also comes into question, but is by far the most enjoyable character to read. He's funny, snarky, and gruff. Alera's suitor and soon-to-be betrothed, Steldor, is an egotistical ladies man who starts off being hated and ended up growing on me. The fact that Alera despises him is enough for me not to like him, but I did find myself agreeing with him when he told her she made it worse by making herself miserable. She wallows in self-pity every time she's forced to be in his presence, when really he could be worse. Finally there's Narian, Alera's true love interest, who had dual ties to Alera's home country and the warring neighbor to the north.

For all of the complexities in the characterization, there is very little in the plot. Two countries are at war, the heir of one falls in love with a boy destined to lead the other, and heartache ensues. Alera is supposed to have some semblance of a choice here, but by the end she actually is not given much of a choice at all. The entire book leads us to think that something interesting is going to come up, or that Alera will realize her potential as a ruler, or that her love of Narian will incite some kind of action. Instead, it ends with one of the most miserable scenes I've ever read.

Huh. I think I've just convinced myself I don't like this book much after all.

Rating: 2/5 stars

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Want a different perspective? Read this rave review by Books with Bite.



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