Covet
About the series:If you like J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series then I would recommend that you check out her new Fallen Angels series. Although don’t expect BDB, I would give those a 5-star as a series and this one a 4-star so far.
It’s set in the same timeline as BDB and in Caldwell, NY. There are also some cross-over’s from BDB that you will enjoy, I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t mention any that aren’t needed in the review but BDB fans will get a kick out of a few. This is a totally new series though so don’t worry if you haven’t read BDB yet, but I do suggest that you move that up higher on your TBR list. *wink-wink*
The romance is a little different, doesn’t involve the hero and not as intense, but it is still great. So far both books have revolved mainly around Jim Heron and then a couple that have a difficult time hooking up when Heaven and Hell get in the way. Jim doesn’t see much action in the romance department, like I mentioned, but the couples do and they’ll get your blood pumping. *Mmmhmm*
The stories are consistent and the plot flows nicely without an overabundance of world building and focus mainly on the characters which I love in a book. For me, the characters are what I connect with, not the world. A book can have the most spectacular & fantastical world but if I can’t connect with the characters then it’s a no-go for me.
Ward’s distinct writing and story telling style is present in this series with the same language, slang & term use, witty, sarcastic, rough around the edges manly men who like to drop f-bombs like crazy; classic Ward that I personally find hysterical.
No fangs in this one but it’s about the Creator getting sick of the bickering and setting up an end-game, war between Heaven and Hell, Angels, Fallen Angels, Demons and the humans that get caught in between.
My thoughts:
Basically there is a war going on between Heaven and Hell, Earth is the playing field with Jim Heron as the quarterback. It is up to Jim, who was chosen from both sides because of his equal capacity to be both good and bad, to decide which team to play for and then find seven souls that are at a cross roads and help nudge them in the right direction. This is a winner-takes-all game with everything on the line. If Jim can’t retrieve enough souls for Heaven and the Angels to win then Hell and its demons will rule with all the souls on Earth trapped and the Angels as slaves. It’s all about free will though of course. Unfortunately, Jim’s not getting much help from the sidelines and ya’ know Hell isn’t going to play by the rules.
Jim Heron is an ex-XOp’s assassin who lives by his own code and pretty much rolls with the flow of things and can handle whatever is thrown his way but the last thing he expected was to meet two pierced and leather-bound Harley riding angels on a construction site. His first soul on the line is Vin diPietro. Jim knows that Vin is on the path to loose his soul and needs to steer him in the right direction but which direction is the right one? By the time he realizes which way to go it may be too late.
Vin is a rich, powerful and cold-hearted business man who will do whatever it takes to remain at the top. He has his life mapped out and set until a construction accident brings Jim into it. You can tell he doesn’t have a lot of joy in his life but his money and possessions make up for it; then he spots Marie-Terese across a crowded bar and starts to realize that he may still have a heart and soul somewhere deep inside. But will Marie-Terese put Vin even further down the wrong path? Or is she his salvation?
Marie-Terese works as a prostitute at the Iron Mask. She is an educated woman who is oddly a faithful Catholic. Trez from BDB appears as the owner of the Iron Mask and Marie-Terese’s protective and understanding boss. He tries to hint at her that maybe she should get out of the business but what else can Marie-Terese do? There is no where else she can make this kind of money and she needs it desperately to pay off her debts and support her son. When she encounters Vin’s stare from across the room she feels an instant connection but she has been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. She is so not getting into a relationship with another rich playboy, the last one didn’t turn out so good for her.
Okay, first off I want to say that the prologue totally flew over my head. I didn’t get it and it aggravated me that I couldn’t figure out who was narrating it. Is it the Creator, the Angels, Demons, Jim, who? I still don’t know. BUT it does get better.
I absolutely loved Vin & Gretchen’s (Marie-Terese) love story in this book. You don’t really connect with Marie-Terese as much as you do Vin and she seemed a bit weak but he more then makes up for the romantic lead. They both had troubled pasts and so many struggles to overcome to be together but Ward made smooth transitions for both of them. Some parts with Marie-Terese did get a little slow and boring and probably could have been left out and I wish Ward got into a bit more of the story of Vin and Marie-Terese together but you get most of what you needed from the story to relate. It kind of reminded me of BDB Lover Avenged with Rhev, who is one of my fave BDB characters.
Jim’s foe, the demon Devina is a well thought out villain and I actually liked her. Not rooting for her of course but she’s pretty kick-ass. Much better then the Lessers in BDB or many other foes I’ve read about.
I love Jim’s dedication to Dog too, it’s great to see this big hard guy have such a soft spot for a little fur ball.
The kind of Heavenly councils that went on with Jim and ‘The Lads’ got bit over my head and I felt didn’t really explain enough of the understandable, if that makes sense. But the rest of the side characters are interesting and you want to know more about them but don’t take up more air time then needed.
All in all I’d give this 3 ½ stars. It would have got four but like I said, a lot of the archangel stuff went over my head and I got bored with. But I am looking forward to the next installment in this series and expect it will get better with each one.
