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
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.
Well hot damn! The queen of dirty talk is at it again and I’m not sure any ovary within a 100 mi radius will survive this one. As a matter of fact, say goodbye to those suckers right now or put them on ice. Even my steel plated ovaries had a meltdown here because DAMN! Seriously though. Stick a fork in me, I’m done! I think I fertilized like 10 eggs while reading this one. If you could get pregnant by a book, this one should come with a damn warning! You could have run an entire city block on the electric chemistry James and Lita had. But enough about my reproductive process…
I’m a huge Nashoda Rose fan. Whatever this woman writes, I’ll read. But there’s just something about her Scars of the Wraiths PNR series that has hooked me to the point of addiction. Each time I finish a new installment, I find myself rabidly salivating for the next. I’m absolutely hooked on this unique world that Nashoda built with her characters. Her writing maintains it’s signature grit and if possible her alphas are even more alpha in this one. Something to do with the PNR aspect, I’m sure, and I eat it all up with a squirming sort of glee.
While the romance between Rayne and Kilter is the primary focus, there’s a lot happening around that. So much so that at times they almost came in second. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because everything that was happening was incredibly entertaining. Though having said that, they did get a little bit lost in the shadow of everything else that was going on at times.
Seven books. Seven erotically charged and deliciously addicting books. All of it leading up to this glorious moment; Drake. I’ve been anxiously anticipating for the leader of the Guardians and constantly growling and smoke billowing dragon shifter to get his book, even before his heroine was introduced. And when the author did reveal who the heroine would be in one of the biggest twists ever? Let’s just say on a scale of 1 to ten, I was somewhere around rabid. I wanted it BAD is what I’m trying to tell you here.
Lexi Blake’s romances are an addiction I never want a cure from. I don’t care how many books this woman writes in this series because I will read each and every single one of them with the fervor of a kid at a candy store for the very first time. Yes. They’re that good. Her Masters and Mercenaries has been my biggest addiction for years now. And with ten novels into the series, I still hope it never ends. Each book continues to be just as good if not better than the last; keeping me on the edge of my seat one minute, and uncomfortably squirming in it and fanning myself in the next. It’s the perfect combination of romance and suspense, espionage and action, all topped with sizzling hot BDSM that together makes for one unputdownable read.
Kori and Kai together burned up the pages. I loved them as individual characters but I absolutely adored them as a couple. They may not have had a strong presence in the previous books, but they were still a dynamic couple in their own. Sadism isn’t typically my cuppa either, but something about just did it for me here. Possibly because Kai was such a great balance of loving and sweet with that demanding Dom persona with his sadistic urges.
As I sit here beating my head against the wall for my complete and utter stupidity, I have only one thought in mind: why in the ever loving hell did it take me so long to read it?
Naz is such a magnetic force. As a reader you know there’s something almost sinister and dark about him. You certainly know this way before the pieces begin clicking in Karissa’s head about the man she’s involved with.
The only thing that kept this from a solid 5 star read for me was the super quick connection between Karissa and Naz. It wasn’t quite insta-love, but it wasn’t quite not either. There was a large chunk of the book centered around the everyday of their relationship which got a tad stale after a while. But then the second half more than made up for the slowness of the first.
