Last Month

2,338 pages read last month!
Best Book read last month: The Murder House
Book I'd re-read: The Angel's Share
Book I liked least: The Trouble with Women.

My next obsessions

So many books so little time; so then why in the world do I get caught up in series? I end up reading no Series books and falling in love only to be sucked back in....if it's not Robert Galibraith (aka J.K. Rowling), Cassandra Clare, or Sarah J. Maas then it's J.R. Ward.
I was introduced to her via my two friends Linda and Lauren. Both of who love her books and encouraged me to read them. I was not sold on the first one I read; Dark Lover. And for over two years the second book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series sat on my book shelf collecting dust. It was not until last year that I dusted it off and read it. Mainly because I was in between series and in need of an easy, uncomplicated read. It was then that I feel in love. And so here I am having read several books in that series and now I am turning to the Fallen Angel series. And man a live will these be my new obsession.
Talk about addictive; I just finished the first one and I can not wait to review it this weekend (along with three other books). These books are going to be my new obsession!

J.R. Ward; authoress of The Blackdagger Brother, Bourbon Kings and Fallen Angels series

Vampires, and Sympaths...Oh My...The Bookbabe reviews Lover Avenged (Blackdaggger Brotherhood # 7)

            

    

                                            

Well I ventured back to Caldwell, NY with the seventh book in the Blackdagger brotherhood series. This particular book was very interesting because the subject of it was not a brother but Rehvenge; a drug dealing, club owner, and all around bad boy. For anyone that has read the series they are very aware that Rehvenge leads a double life. He is in hiding; and only a few people know the truth about what he really is. What I love the most about his character is that even though he tries to put on a tough guy exterior Rehv really takes care of those that he loves. He is the keeper of many secrets. He keeps his drug running and his "pimping" a secret. Not to mention the secret of this meetings with the Princess of the Sympaths. Due to his contact with her he tries to keep people away. He also blocks his thoughts from her so that she can have no access to his inner most feelings. What was extremely interesting about this book was watching Rehv's love affair with Ehlena develop. It was very slow and innocent. Ehlena is not the type of woman that anyone would have expected Rehv to end up with.  She came up among the upper vampire classes. However, due to a bad business deal her family ends up poor. Ehlena ends up being the caregiver and bread winner in the home. Her father, however, is suffering from something similar to Dementia. It takes up a lot of her time and if it would not have been for her treating Rehv at the Clinic she would have never meant him. Mind you she did not want to treat him at all; she just happened to be the only nurse that was not scared of him. 

As their relationship is progressing we get a tangled into a drama of a murder plot. We find out that Wrath has angered the upper classes and they want him out. Who else would they turn to but Rehv, and that is because his secret has been discovered. Rehv, being who he is, thinks that Wraths demise could work out in his best interest. However, because of his sisters connection to the Brothers he comes clean to Wrath. In return, Wrath vows to help him keep his secret from his sister and the rest of the vampire community. Even though Wrath has sworn to keep things quiet the Brotherhood receives an email calling on them to expel Rehv from the community. Of course, Rehv decided to take it upon himself to do what was best for his family and leave. Upon his surrendering to the Princess he spends months as a prisoner. Back home in Caldwell, Ehlena hatches a plot along side Xhex to rescue Rehv. 

What I loved most about this story was it showed the softer side of Rehv. We get to see him as a man in love. As a family man, and as a best friend. I am sure that we will see even more of him in the upcoming books. 

Quotes I Loved:

"The Fabric of the Race's society is going to unravel, and if you think that's going to help in the war, you've got your head so far up your ass you're using you're colon as a mouth piece"

"Oh man, there's a marathon of Beaches running tomorrow night. Can we go after ten so I can see it once all the way through?" (Rhage)

"What...Look its not Mary Tyler Moore, Kay? So you can't give me shit! "(Rhage)

"It's worse then Mary Tyler Moore. And to call you an idiot would be an insult to halfwits around the fucking world" (V)

Rating on Goodreads: 5 stars

The Vampire Within: A Review of J.R. Ward's Lover Revealed

The Vampire Within: The Bookbabe Reviews Lover Revealed by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood #4)

First let me start this review by apologizing for not writing/posting it sooner. Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward was an unexpected addition to the Black Brotherhood Series; mainly because it deals squarely with Ex homicide detective Butch O'Neal. Honestly with this series I would have never in a million years imagined a book based on Butch, mainly because I saw him only as a secondary character. I was pleasantly surprised by this book but it was also a bet predictable. About a quarter of the way in I saw the outcome of Butch's storyline because it just made sense. With this book we are re introduced to Marissa, the female vampire that Butch is carrying a torch for. We learn a little more about her. Such as that even though she is carrying on with the owner of on of the most popular clubs in the area her feelings for him are not concrete. We also know that she is a part of the vampire elite. Also, at her age she should have mated with another vampire but it has not happened yet; this makes her a bit on an outcast in their society and she is practically shunned. She hides the fact that her shunning bothers her and that she is in love with a human. As the book goes on she and Butch find themselves back together again after he is captured and tortured by members of the lessing society; because something has been done to him and she runs to his side she ends up being quarantined for days along with him. Even though she is with him he still finds a way to push her aside. She convinces him to let her in and it leads to her brother, Havers, walking in o them in a very compromising position. After this incident her brother puts her out of their home right before dawn; telling her that she is no longer his sister. She goes to the only place she knows that she will most likely be take in. The Brotherhoods compound. By this time Butch has come back to the compound as well and he still feels compelled to keep Marissa away as he works through the damage that that lessers have done to him. 

As the story continues we find out that Butch can sense the lessers, and he can also kill them without the use of a blade. It is not until the brotherhood decides to find out more about Butch's genetics that they find out about his vampire ancestry. (This is where it got predictable). The Scribe virgin allows for Butch to transition to a vampire after she hears that he is directly related to Wrath (the king of the vamps). Even before his transformation and induction into the Brotherhood Butch displayed some of the marks that members of the Brotherhood does. Such as the "bonding" scent whenever he is around Marissa and his fierce need to protect those he loves. It is for this reason that he pushes her away during this tough period and also the reason why he tires and fails to keep her out of the way. While he is fighting his own battles Marissa finds her own voice and takes it upon herself to make some decisions for herself. By the end of the book Marissa is stronger, and more outspoken then ever before. She is also working to help vampire women and children that are victims of domestic violence. 

What I loved about this book was Marissa'a development as a character. She grew into someone with gentle strength and one hell of a backbone. I really can not wait to see more of her in the upcoming books. I have the book a 4 out of five stars on Goodreads.com.

Quotes I Loved:

"I Love you, to Butch"

"Now, why you want to go and do that, baby? I'd figured you as a smart female"

For more reviews and information on my bookish adventures be sure to follow me at www.delawarebookaddict.blogspot.com / www.facebook.com/thebookbabeofde