J.R. Ward's 'The King' - Review with Spoilers

Happy birthday to my love, the wonderful Tit Elingtin!

One year ago, I read J.R. Ward's then-latest in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Lover at Last. I'd been anticipating the main pairing in that one - literally for years. I read the love story of Qhuinn and Blaylock with great relish, all the way up to their happily-ever-after.

I should have been just as excited for this year's installation, The King. I just wasn't that into it. I read it more because of tradition than anything else.

This novel focuses on the original pairing from the first BDB novel, Dark Lover: vampire king Wrath and Beth, the illegitimate offspring of Wrath's fallen comrade Darius and a human woman. When I read Dark Lover, I loved Wrath and Beth's story.  But since they were already the stars of their very own book, it seems a little redundant to have them be the main focus of this one. Their happily-ever-after is already a done deal.

The central drama in this one is whether Wrath will retain his throne as the king of vampire-kind.  He's under attack from the vampire aristocracy, the Glymera. They're being influenced by the Band of Bastards, outlaws from the Old Country whose leader, Xcor, covets the throne. The Glymera conspire to strip Wrath of any real power he has because he's mated to a half-human. They use the excuse of any potential offspring they might have being one-fourth human to mean Beth's bloodline would be ineligible for the vampire throne.

Wrath has no intention of having any offspring, but having a baby is all Beth can think about. They clash over that. Then she goes into her needing period. (Because the hubby's been watching a lot of Star Trek: Enterprise lately, I've recently noticed how the vampire mating cycle in Ward's universe is like the Vulcan one in Gene Roddenberry's brainchild.)

Plot twist! Since Beth is half human, her needing turns out to be superfluous. She's already pregnant when Wrath decides to throw caution to the wind and "service" his beloved. They find out afterwards, when she can't keep anything on her stomach. By then, she's already four months pregnant, human-style.

These always end happily, so no one will be too surprised when Beth gives birth to a healthy, if slightly premature, baby boy who is also named Wrath. Unlike his blind father, Little Wrath has healthy eyes. The kingship situation is also resolved, using diplomacy. Wrath allows his people to vote for any leader they wish to, and they unanimously elect him king for life.  He also regains his passion for the work.

At the end of Lover at Last, we had some loose ends to tie up: would Trez and the Chosen Selena become a couple? Would Assail save the assassin Sola from her kidnappers? Would Qhuinn and Layla's baby be born safely? Would Layla and Xcor get together?

This book answers these questions partially. Trez and Selena get to have sex, but not a relationship…yet. Assail does save Sola - and get revenge on her kidnappers - but they don't end up together either. Their scenes end with her calling out his name into the darkness, and while he hears her, he doesn't answer. Layla and Xcor get together, in theory, but don't have any scenes of physical contact - and her pregnancy is still ongoing.

I didn't find this installation nearly as suspenseful or enthralling as the last one, but I have hope for the next one. If it's mostly about Trez and Selena, that'd be great. I wouldn't mind a Layla/Xcor installation. I'll be pretty bored and disappointed if Assail and Sola are the main characters, because my interest in them is minimal. 

We got a little glimpse into the home lives of my very favorite couple, Zsadist and Bella. In the next book, I'd love to see a little of the wedded bliss between Qhuinn and Blaylock. 

I got this book from my local public library. I was under no obligation to write this review and was not compensated for it in any way. 

This is an affiliate link:

A-Z Book Survey (Nicked From Somewhere Between the Pages)

I found this fun book survey at Somewhere Between the Pages, and it was created by The Perpetual Page-Turner.

Author you've read the most books from: Charlaine Harris, probably, since I read the entire Sookie Stackhouse series

Best sequel ever: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Currently reading: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Drink of choice while reading: at home, coffee; at a Starbuck's, tropical green tea

E-reader or physical book? Both

Fictional character you probably would have actually dated in high school: Augustus Waters

Glad you gave this book a chance: The Hunger Games

Hidden gem book: Master by Colette Gale

Important moment in your reading life: Finishing the first draft of The Smell of Gas, because once I knew I could finish writing a book, I knew I could write whatever I wanted to read that wasn't written yet

Just finished: Hotter Than Hell by Jackie Kessler

Kind of books you won't read: I generally don't read hard science fiction or high fantasy, and I'm not much of a mystery reader either - but I'll give any genre a chance if there's a particularly well-written example

Longest book you've read: probably From Here to Eternity. It's 860 pages (and worth every second of the time it takes to read)

Major book hangover because of: The Count of Monte Cristo

 Number of bookcases you own: One free-standing, two built-in

One book you have read multiple times: Wuthering Heights

Preferred place to read: Comfy spot on the couch

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read: "Tell all the Truth, but tell it Slant/Success in circuit lies..." ~ Emily Dickinson

Reading regret: I waited too long between each of the His Dark Materials books. If I'd known how great The Amber Spyglass is, I'd have read them one right after another

Series you started and need to finish (all books are out in series): the original Vampire Diaries series, the ones actually written by L.J. Smith. I have one more to go.

Three of your all-time favorite books: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, Little Women, Slaughterhouse-Five

Unapologetic fangirl for: Harry Potter

Very excited for this release more than all the others: Deborah Harkness's third All Souls Trilogy book

Worst bookish habit: reading in the bathroom

X marks the spot (the 27th book from the top left of your shelf): The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History by John Ortved

Your latest book purchase: Hm, my last few acquisitions were freebies, so I think my last actual purchase was of three Nalini Singhs at the discount book store

ZZZ-snatcher (the last book that kept you up way late): Lover at Last by J.R. Ward

Oh How Pinteresting: The Best of My "Vampires" Pinterest Board

After reading Lover At Last and Dead Ever After, I'm ready for Season 6 of True Blood and very much in a vampire mood. Please enjoy the best of my pin board "Vampires."

This is an affiliate link:

The First Bite Is the Deepest by Elisa Catrina. $2.99 from Smashwords.com “Funny and clever and emotionally hard-hitting” "A perfectly creepy read." Elisa Catrina's debut novel begins as a quirky send-up of vampire romance, but quickly turns sinister. High schooler Stella Ortiz starts dating the mysterious new guy, but her friends are convinced he's bad news: Sebastian misses tons of school, he day-drinks something that smells like pennies, and oh yeah, he's a vampire.

Verily, I Am Dhead: Review of 'Lover At Last' by J.R.Ward (Spoilers)

I have gone unto the Fade. Verily, I am dhead from feels after finishing Lover At Last by J.R. Ward, the 11th volume in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, last night.

This book promised to finally bring together Qhuay, which is to say the mighty warrior Qhuinn (with the piercings, spiky black hair and mismatched eyes) and the friend who's in love with him, Blaylock (a blue-eyed redhead). To say their relationship is complicated would be a gross understatement. In the past:

-Blay came out as gay to Qhuinn and their best friend John Matthew. Blay made it clear he had feelings for Qhuinn, and Qhuinn made it equally clear he only wanted to be friends.

-Qhuinn had a lot of anonymous sex with a lot of women and men - everyone except Blay, basically. Blay was deeply offended that Qhuinn would partner with pretty much anyone who wasn't Blay. It was generally assumed Qhuinn was a promiscuous bisexual.

-Blay started a serious relationship with Qhuinn's lawyer cousin, Saxton. Qhuinn resented Saxton and, ironically enough, tried to slut-shame him.

-The unmated Chosen vampire Layla went into her fertile period, and she and Qhuinn decided to use this opportunity to have the child they both desired, even though they are not in a relationship. Layla became pregnant.

In Lover At Last, there are many angsty moments in which Layla fears she's miscarrying her baby. Thankfully, this tragedy seems to have been prevented by the warrior female Payne - who is, after all, the birth daughter of the Scribe Virgin herself. In future books, for my own mental health, I'm going to need Layla and Qhuinn's daughter to be born perfectly safe and healthy - with her dad's mismatched eyes, of course - and for Layla to live happily ever after with Xcor. I know that seems impossible - he's trying to take over the throne from Wrath. She'd have to betray the Black Dagger Brotherhood to join the Band of Bastards. But J.R. Ward will make it work somehow. She's good like that.

It was Blay who encouraged Payne to try to help Layla, and in a moment of gratitude, Layla spills the beans, telling Blay, "I can see why he's in love with you." Blay actually had no idea that Qhuinn felt about him the way Blay used to feel about Qhuinn, before the Saxton complication.

Saxton, in the meantime, has broken up with Blay, although they remain friends. Yet for some reason, for most of the book, Blaylock allows Qhuinn to believe he's still together with Saxton. When Qhuinn smells another guy on Saxton, he thinks Sax is cheating on Blay, and he literally tries to strangle his cousin to death in a moment of sheer protective outrage. Blay does not take this as a romantic gesture; he's extremely angry with Qhuinn. This only pushes them further apart.




Yet Qhuinn and Blay still manage to come together physically. Their complicated emotions boil over and they finally have sex (right around page 200). It happens a second time when Qhuinn is really, really worried about Layla losing the baby. The third time, Qhuinn gets very insistent that he's not gay. But maybe he is? Ward leaves it unclear whether Qhuinn has genuine attraction to males and females, or whether his pursuit of various women was overcompensation for his attraction to men. It's a moot point, really: by the end of the book, he and Blay are completely committed. Bonded.

The epilogue of the book is Qhuinn's mating proposal to Blay (with the full blessing of Blay's aristocratic, but very cool, parents). This means they'll be mated - the vampire equivalent of married - just like the other couples in the series. The book literally ends with, "...and lived happily ever after."

Yes.

And, about fucking time.

They'll still have to get each other's names tattooed in the Old Language on their backs. A hellren (husband) always has his mate's name on his back.

Yet there are many loose ends to be addressed in the next book, including:

-Will hanging around with pregnant Layla cause Queen Beth to go into her fertility period? If Beth and King Wrath have offspring, will their 1/4 human young be eligible for the throne some day?

-Will a relationship develop between Trez and the Chosen female Selena? (I'm hoping so.)

There's also a subplot involving Assail, the Old World vampire drug dealer who took over the Caldwell drug trade from Rehvenge when Rev ran off with Ehlena for their happily-ever-after. I can't say I have any emotional investment in the story of Assail and his human would-be killer, Sola. Sola is in great danger, however, and what becomes of her is a loose end.

Now we impatiently await the next book, which Ward has said will be titled The King.

I got Lover at Last from the library. When I take it back, I'll be picking up Dead Ever After. I read the spoiler for the ending (not sorry), and unlike J.R. Ward, Charlaine Harris is going to rip out my heart and shred it in millions of tiny pieces. Can't wait.

This is an affiliate link:

The Weekly Faves Link-Up: Song Crush, Book Crush, TV Crush

Song I Can't Stop Listening To:

(Yes, still. I don't get a new favorite song that often.)

Book I'm Loving:

...Lover At Last by J.R. Ward. I'm 200 pages in and having so many feels over Qhuinn (he of the heterochromia iridum - one blue eye, one green eye) and Blaylock.

TV I Can't Stop Watching:

Person of Interest season finale is tonight, and I am so scared. Last year it was an entire summer of, "What is Root going to do to Finch?" Now Finch is reluctantly taking help from Root, but I fear it's going to be an entire summer of, "What is HR going to do to Joss Carter?"

Last week's episode made it look like they were setting her up like they set up Mike Szymanski - and Szymanski got murdered. If anything happens to Carter...I cannot even.

#Reading Updates: 'Lover At Last' and 'The Difference A Day Makes'

I'm currently reading two books. Last night I started Lover At Last by J.R. Ward.

My mom just finished it Saturday night, and I got it from her at breakfast on Sunday morning. I was at her house Saturday afternoon playing with my nieces. (We took them to the the comic book store for Free Comic Book Day.) While the girls and I were at the park, my mom said something about the book to my husband. Here's his summary of that conversation:

"Your mom's upset because the queers don't get together in this book."

I'm only 60 pages in, but I swear to the Scribe Virgin, Blay and Qhuinn had BETTER get together by the end of this book. But, if possible, I'd not like anything bad to happen to Saxton. I want Qhuay, but not if Blay is free because Saxton is dead or something. My heart will break.

I can never read only one book at a time, though. I'm also reading The Difference a Day Makes by Barbara Longley. I fear Barbara Longley may have added herself to my auto-buy author list. (Isn't it long enough already? But Charlaine Harris will be crossed off once I read the last Sookie Stackhouse novel - out tomorrow. I've never gotten into her other series.)

I already have a beef with this cover art, though. The hero, Ryan Malloy, is described as blond, with long and rather shaggy hair. I'm picturing Josh Holloway.

Photo by Kristin Dos Santos, Creative Commons license

Blond. Not dark-haired, but blond. Also, the heroine, Paige Langford (sister of Noah Langford, the yummy one-legged hero from the previous book, Far From Perfect) is described as curvy. Ryan's physical attraction to Paige is based in large part on her soft, generous curves. The svelte woman on the cover is attractive, but could hardly be described as curvy.

Cover beef aside, so far, it's a perfectly good contemporary romance set in my home state of Indiana. I'm about 60 pages into this one also, but it's about 230 pages shorter than Lover at Last.

#FridayReads and Other #Book Updates

I Am: Busy with my full-time online editing job, a new freelance job writing catalog descriptions (clothes and shoes, mostly, for a local store with a surprisingly large online reach) and ghost-writing some short stories.

I'm sneaking in as much reading time as I can, though. Here are a few updates on what I've read, am reading or have on the horizon.

I Have Read: Hemingway's Girl by Erika Robuck. 5 stars. I was not in any way disappointed with the second half of the book. It's a permanent keeper; I put it on the shelf next to The Old Man and the Sea.

I Want to Read: Call Me Zelda by Erika Robuck. I could have ordered it for free from Amazon Vine, but I didn't. I've got to read some things before I bring in any more.

The Master by Colette Gale. My paperback arrived from Better World Books this week.


Safe Word by Molly Weatherfield. Cleis Press sent me a review copy this week.


I Really, Really Want to Read: Lover at Last by J.R. Ward. A copy (from the library) sits on the table in front of me as I type. I'm going to let my mom read it first, though. She wants to finish it before she goes on vacation, because it will come due while she and my dad are out of state.


I'm Reading: Covet by J.R. Ward. I swear I will finish this book one of these days, but I still have about 74 pages to go. Maybe over the weekend.

'The Watcher in the Shadows,' freshly arrived in its Amazon Vine envelope

I also started The Watcher in the Shadows by Chris Moriarty. It's another Amazon Vine pick, and I really enjoyed the first book in the series. I'm usually reading two different books in two different parts of the house.

I Saw: Les Miserables. I swore I wasn't going to watch this opera unless there was a director's cut with Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe singing their parts naked. But I still put it in my Netflix DVD queue; I had to see what all the fuss was about. I assumed I'd be bored, but it was actually pretty good.

Add this to the list of I Saw the Movie, Didn't Read the Book. No, I don't want to read the book. I already have a dead French guy whose brick-like tome I adore; it is Alexandre Dumas and The Count of Monte Cristo. I must say non to Mr. Hugo.

While I wait on the new J.R. Ward, sexy vampire fan art

March is an exciting month for many reasons this year. Not only do we have the first day of spring to look forward to, but also St. Patrick's Day, then Passover, then Easter. Also, this March, we can look forward to a brand-new J.R. Ward novel, Lover At Last. March 27th is the anticipated release date.

(I rarely buy a brand-new hardcover - this series originally went straight to paperback - so I'll be waiting for my chance to read the library's copy.)

In anticipation, I recently (last Saturday, in one 6-hour spree) reread my favorite book in the series, Lover Awakened, which is the third book.

I eagerly await the love story of Qhuinn and Blaylock, but Zsadist and Bella will always be my favorite pairing. I just recently pinned some Zsadist and Bella fan art on Pinterest.



Ugh, this book was so much better than I even remembered it. I'd forgotten how he was wearing her diamond necklace while she was kidnapped. I also forgot it was the one with the tragic loss of Wellesandra (so sad!) - and the set-up of the Butch/Marissa romance. (Marissa's another one of my favorite female vampires. And I always thought Butch was hot, even though from the first book Ward keeps telling us that he's more rugged than handsome.)



He tries so hard to scare her away, but she's so hard and fast in love with him that she just won't give up. Paranormal elements aside, it's such a classic romance novel formula, and it completely pulls me in every time.



There's even a baby at the end. Little Nalla - she's so cute and tiny at the end of Lover Awakened. But you just know as soon as she's old enough to hold weapons she's going to get trained as a warrior. In about 12 years, Nalla's basically going to be Hit Girl.



If you haven't started this series yet, I highly recommend starting from the first book, Dark Lover. But be warned - it's terribly addictive.

I can't seem to get into the Fallen Angels series, though. I started Covet ages ago and never seem to have any interest in finishing it.

#WaitingOnWednesday / #OhHowPinteresting - Must-Have New Books of 2013

I'm not a usual Waiting on Wednesday blogger, but since it's still early in 2013, I wanted to get down a list of books I'm looking forward to this year. Just yesterday I found out that Dan Brown is releasing a new novel in the Robert Langdon series, to be titled Inferno, on May 14. Yay!



My mom told me if I started The Da Vinci Code I wouldn't be able to put it down, and she was right. I still love that book, Angels and Demons, and (to some extent) The Lost Symbol, and I don't care if you like them or not.

I'm also utterly addicted to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series - that's my mom's fault, too. I eagerly await Lover at Last, set to come out on March 27. 



It will be bittersweet when this series ends, but I've got to read Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. Amazon says the release date will be May 7th. I wonder if it's too early to put my name on the library waiting list? I never buy the hardcovers in this series - the first ones went straight to the genre paperbacks shelf, and I still contend it was kind of rude (and money-grubbing) of Harris' publisher to start putting them out in the much-more-expensive hardcover first.



...and my mom also got me hooked on Sookie Stackhouse. It was my introduction to paranormal romance, actually.

P.S. How fantastic are the Japanese covers for the Sookie Stackhouse series?!



P.P.S. Doesn't this one look like it might be about Bella Swan and Rosalie Hale?



I love vintage book covers. Now, some pins that are just cool. This is Jack Kerouac in 1944. Kinda sexy (even though he appears to be in some kind of trouble). Is anybody else looking forward to the On the Road movie with Kristen Stewart?



Anybody looking forward to Catching Fire?



This, I feel, is pretty cute. Lewis Carroll's birthday is coming up (January 27th), so I think a full Alice's Adventures in Wonderland post will be called for soon.



What are you looking forward to in 2013?