(I’m not here. Not really. I’m off getting S from the airport, and then having a fun week off. But I’ll see how many posts I can schedule for this week anyway…)
So, I just totally finished LOVER ENSHRINED by JR Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood #6). I could say I finished this book a long time ago, shortly after its release date, but I also could say I finished it Sunday night. It depends. See, I skimmed a lot of the book on my first read, and then “really” read it the second half-time around. I can’t really say I’ve read the book twice, though, as the first time was only a half-read.
Why the skipping about? Well, I was looking for things that weren’t there. I was looking for more depth to Phury and Cormia’s relationship. I was looking for banter between Rhage and V and Butch. I was looking for fight scenes (which, given Phury’s main story, were understandably absent… he has, in his own words, become more of a lover than a fighter).
I liked the book. Don’t get me wrong. I liked the developments with JM and Quinn and Blay (even though I don’t like the trainees as much as the Brothers), and I liked seeing Cormia grow in her self-confidence. I liked the truly sweet scenes with P & C together. I liked the developments with Tohr and finally figuring out who Lassiter was.
But there was a lot that bugged me, too. It was annoying that there seemed to be so many “in jokes” that only those who frequent JR Ward’s forums would get. It bugged that Phury’s voice seemed nothing like what it had been in prior books. I hated the absence of the familiar sarcasm that so permeated the previous stories.
Is this one worth a re-read? Perhaps. Does it top my list of favorites? Definitely not. But it is a good book, and – I think – a solid step away from the Romance label and towards Urban Fantasy. I have yet to make up my mind whether I think that is a smart move. But this book is a very obvious (at least to me) move in that direction.
