THE BEAST
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #14
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: J.R. Ward
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Nothing is as it used to be for the Black Dagger Brotherhood. After avoiding war with the Shadows, alliances have shifted and lines have been drawn. The slayers of the Lessening Society are stronger than ever, preying on human weakness to acquire more money, more weapons, more power. But as the Brotherhood readies for an all-out attack on them, one of their own fights a battle within himself…
For Rhage, the Brother with the biggest appetites, but also the biggest heart, life was supposed to be perfect—or at the very least, perfectly enjoyable. Mary, his beloved shellan, is by his side and his King and his brothers are thriving. But Rhage can’t understand—or control—the panic and insecurity that plague him…
And that terrifies him—as well as distances him from his mate. After suffering mortal injury in battle, Rhage must reassess his priorities—and the answer, when it comes to him, rocks his world…and Mary’s. But Mary is on a journey of her own, one that will either bring them closer together or cause a split that neither will recover from…
Spoiler Free Review
She was all the power in the universe coalesced into a living, breathing thing, the miracle that he had been granted in spite of the fact that he had long been underserving of anything but his curse.
I’m going to be real for a hot second here; the last few releases in this series left me underwhelmed. So much, in fact, that I was about to give up on it entirely. There’s been a plethora of secondary characters introduced since Lover at Last and I’ve been itching for them to finally get a book. Instead what soon followed was more Wrath, then the book that shall not be mentioned, and now Rhage. I loved the original brothers, and I loved (most) of their HEA. But that doesn’t mean that I want a second book for them in what I felt would be messing with that perfectly satisfactory HEA. I couldn’t understand why Rhage needed a full second hardcover book, when Z’s story in Father Mine was perfect in the novella length that it was. So to say that I was questioning reading this book would be an understatement. But man am I glad that I decided to take the chance with this book, and I can fully admit that all the preconceived notions I had about it couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Beast doesn’t mess with a happy couple’s HEA; it expands on their emotional journey. It’s an emotionally gripping, lovely, and at times sweet and at times sexy continuation to a beloved couple.
Rhage and Mary are happy together, but after everything that has been going on with the war and his brothers, Rhage finds himself questioning some of the inner turmoil that he can’t explain. Then a mortal injury on a battle field where he ignored all danger finally brings him the answers he’s been seeking; but not quite the answers that he’s ready to deal with.
I’d say a predominant part of the book focuses on Rhage and Mary’s story. There’s no unnecessary drama or angst, just a shellan and her hellren dealing with normal relationship issues as any married couple would. It was sweet and at times emotional, and if you loved Rhage before, I guarantee you’ll fall for him even more here. As much as Mary frustrated me in their first book, I adored her here. Her inner strength, her love for Rhage and the brotherhood, her commitment to Safe Place and the people she helps paints her in such an admirable and endearing light.
But aside from their story, there’s quite a bit more happening here. So if you were thinking of possibly skipping this book, I’d advise you against it. There are some twists here that you will not want to miss, including the introduction of a new secondary character that is sure to shake things up in the future books. While there’s still a number of secondary POV’s, for once that really worked for me here and it flowed well with the story instead of distracting me from the main couple.
There’s quite a few revelations happening with Xcor, Assail, and Layla. As well as some real doozies happening with the Lesser war and Scribe Virgin and Omega. While the book is over 500 pages long, I was glued to every word and couldn’t put it down and I haven’t had that with this series in quite some time. Assail gets quite a bit of pages here and I’m utterly salivating for his book. I’m not even touching on Xcor because I plain need his book.
The Beast is a page turning and at times action packed and twisty ride. It had everything; action, suspense, swoony romance, and mind-blowing twists that guarantee you’ll be unable to stop reading.
That being said, if I don’t get either Assail or Xcor next, Lana is going to be one angry panda. I love my original brothers, but my patience is about to go Beast on me soon.
READ THE SERIES IN ORDER
DARK LOVER | LOVER ETERNAL | LOVER AWAKENED | LOVER REVEALED | LOVER UNBOUND | LOVER ENSHRINED | FATHER MINE | LOVER AVENGED | LOVER MINE | LOVER UNLEASHED | LOVER REBORN | LOVER AT LAST | THE KING | THE SHADOWS | THE BEAST
But while I loved the set up, I had a hard time believing that Josh spent 5 years being celibate because he was “married”. Considering their arrangement, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around that. I connected to Alexia and her reasons, but Josh’s seemed a bit extreme.
If there’s one thing that Pam Godwin knows, it’s how to write one seriously intense alpha. The mere name alone, Emeric Marceaux, is enough to get my motor revving. This man will give you shivers and you’ll actually feel his intensity crackling through the pages. It’s utterly delicious. He’s a dose of dangerous, with a splash of depraved, and all of it is tied around a sexual magnetism that’s so captivating, your fingers will tingle turning the pages.
Dark Notes is a standalone dark romance with a deliciously kinky element of the forbidden teacher/student. Add in the fact that Ivory is only 17 years old, and you got yourself one crazy ride of a book. But that description doesn’t even begin to do this book justice.
Things begin to simmer between the two of them at first sight, and the author does an incredible job in making the sexual tension practically palpable enough to taste. Emeric is one of the most captivating characters I’ve read in a long while. He oozes sexuality and yet there’s this edge to him that adds an element of fear that just works so well.
While the sexual tension between Ivory and Emeric is instantaneous, that is the only instant thing in this book. The rest is the most delicious sort of slow burn. It’s almost like watching the most sexual game of cat and mouse unfold, and even though you know what the end result will ultimately be, you still can’t stop reading.
If there’s one thing that Lauren Layne knows how to do, it’s to write a swoony, feel-good, and super sexy contemporary romance. Cuff Me just may be my favorite in the series and of course the grumpy Vince is definitely my favorite Moretti brother…so far anyway.
It was a nice change of pace from the typical broody and tortured hero that you normally find in romance these days. After two books of wondering what made Vin tick and made him the man that he is today, I can certainly say I was not left disappointed with the way the author handled it.
Having never read a Melody Grace book before, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this. All I knew is after reading that blurb and seeing that cover, I couldn’t not read it. Also, have you ever known me to turn down a chance to read a second chance romance? I think not. That’s a damn sin is what it is, because let’s be honest, I do love me some second chance romance. All that angst, it just speaks to me. Heartbreaker was actually quite low on the angst, but it did pack a punch to the feels. It was a wonderful, sweet and sexy story of two characters I fell in love with right away. The pace was steady, the writing was great, the characters endearing, and the romance super steamy. It may have been almost too sweet for my particular tastes, but it just worked for me here. It fit these two characters perfectly. There wasn’t a need for any crazy drama or angst. It worked the way it was and I appreciated it for that.
Eva spiraled after Finn left and spiraled into rock bottom that she’s determined never to repeat. She lost herself along the way, but now she wants to find that girl again. Finn wants a second chance, but can Eva give him her heart again when he shattered it so completely those years ago?
Told in alternating POVs, this was a light yet steamy escape. I loved Finn and Eva together, and I loved that there was no flashbacks necessary to make the reader truly connect with their romance, even the one from their past. The author did a wonderful job explaining where they came from and leading them into the now. There’s no crazy drama, no crazy conflict that takes place, or silly miscommunications. Just two people, healing the wounds of their past, together.
Have you ever read a book that’s supposed to be highly emotional and touching, yet you felt…nothing? Like you knew what you were supposed to feel but it was more mechanically going through the steps of those feelings more so than actually feeling them? No? Well that basically sums up how I felt about this book.
Let’s talk about things that trigger my one-clicker for a second here, shall we?
As for that ending? Well let’s just say I may or may not be rocking myself in a corner as we speak while I wait for July 25 to finally get here
And if there’s one thing that I’ve come to love from her it’s her incredibly sexy MM that she somehow manages to pack full of so much feeling, it practically jumps off the pages at you. And this book? This fantastically written, utterly unputdownable book may be my favorite book by her yet. I never thought I’d say this, but Finley and Brantley took my number one spot from Tate and Logan, and let me just tell you that I LOVED Tate and Logan.
The chemistry between Daniel and Brantley was palpable, as was their emotional connection. I absolutely loved the way that Ella Frank managed to flawlessly weave very well times flashbacks to work with the story. I’m a picky reader when it comes to flashbacks and I can easily say the way they were written here was my absolute favorite. They were well paced and perfectly timed to work with the story and drive the plot.
Powerful.
