So I have so many series books hanging around my house that it is becoming cluttered mess. I have already set my goal to finish some of them off this year and have been making progress. Last week I made the plunge and bought a NOOK from Barnes and Noble and will be buying e-books whenever I can...my house can't handle another bookshelf. So I have more reason to read these books in my physical TBR pile. This month I tackled the J.R Ward paranormal romance series. And I am now caught up with this series...until the next one comes out anyway.
This series was very different than most paranormal romance books I have read. And I must say, every book kept me very interested and excited for the next installment, so much so that it made it very easy to read this series back to back. I'll list the main things I liked about it:
1. The Brotherhood: These guys are amazing. When I reviewed the first book in the series last month, Dark Lover, I mentioned that one thing I hated were there names. That has not changed...they are still stupid. And the gangsta rap and talk is still jarring. But despite all of that, these guys are all very well fleshed out. Each book focuses on one of the brothers and you learn about their various back stories, hang-ups, traumas, faults, and strengths. What is good about the series is that even before you get to the book that focuses on a particular brother, you are already introduced to them in the previous books, and the following books may also still go back to them. So the reader is given plenty of time to get to know each brother very well....and you develop favorites. Mine are Butch and Vishous...god those two are great. Their love and friendship is epic, so much so, I was kind of annoyed they picked up women. LOL. And before I got to know Butch and Vishous...Zsadist was my favorite because he was so dark and broken. So...you become really familiar with these guys and grow to love them.
2. Great Development of secondary characters: Ward does a great job also with the minor characters. All the secondary players are not treated as like throw away people that are just there to make the main character look good or be their fluffier. These characters are fully developed. They are given motivations, wants and needs....and they play important roles in the movement of the story. Even the bad guys are fully developed...to the point where you can sympathize with them. Because of this development of characters throughout each book...sometimes the minor characters end up getting their own books because they build a following. Like Lover Avenged, which focused on Rehvenge...who was introduced in the first book as a very minor character, further developed in the second book and further installments, and finally focused on in the 7th book. And it looks like the next installment will focus on Xhex and John Matthew; two other popular secondary characters in the books...which I'm very excited about. So in short...she really knows how to develop her characters.
3. The books are not standalone: While each book can be read by itself...they are really meant to be read in order. Ward is not writing seven separate romance stories....she is writing one big story about the Brotherhood and their struggle with the Omega, and their fight to save vampire society from extinction. Each book advances the story of the war and the struggle the vampire society faces. No thread is dropped never to be picked up again. Some threads go on for 3-4 books to be resolved; others tie into earlier threads. So it is plain to see that Ward plans these things out fully and is telling a complete story. Nothing is ever tied up with a nice happy ribbon at the end, except the romance portion or the book. So a reader would not get much out of these book if they only read one or two...they have to read all of them to fully understand what is going on and to get the full impact. I would not be excited about John Matthew's book coming up...if I have not read all the books and gotten John Matthews journey from the beginning from his point of view and others. The full impact of what is going to go on with him would not be the same unless I knew everything leading up to this point. So Ward did well in that sense.
My only complaint is this: The females, after a while, all blend into the background. In these books...the main focus are the men. Each book they meet a female and mate and during that period each female has a distinct personality and character that draws you to them...but as the books go on...they kind of all eventually fall into the background because the men take up so much space. By the seventh book...they were all like the same person to me....except for Xhex...who can't blend in even if she tried. So...the women kind of lose themselves in the series. They usually always give up their lives they had for these men....due to the world and life of the Brotherhood...and that can be a bit annoying. So if someone is a big feminist...they would be irked by this.
But overall...these books are great. Action, adventure, romance, and lots of hotness. I am looking forward to reading the next installment.
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