So a few folks have pointed out the hiss and snarl that’s going on at the Amazon.com page for JR Ward’s newest book,Lover Enshrined. If I had to sum up my reaction to some of these reviews, I’d have to say, “What the crapping damn hell is going on here?” I’ve never seen an Amazon review section where there’s roughly the same number of reviews for each level, from five stars down to one. The laudatory reviews proclaim it a bold new direction for the series; the one-star reviews are ready to sit on low benches and mourn the passing of their favorite series from auto-buy to never-again.
Combine that with the email asking me if I’ve read it yet, and the comments here and there that have mentioned readers who are dying to discuss it and I’m officially curious. So, then, let ‘er rip.
Caveat 1:
If you don’t want spoilers, don’t read the comments.
Caveat 2: I politely ask that you refrain from one habit that really makes me feel squidgy: don’t presume to know what Ward was thinking or what motivated her. It’s not about the author; it’s about the book. If you didn’t like the book, please explain why. If you’re disappointed, ditto. But please don’t make statements about how she’s only in it for the money, she’s scamming the public, yadda yadda. I’m not trying to host a slamfest about Ward. I’m honestly curious why rabid fans are heartbroken about the book. Because damn, there’s some rabid heartbreak out there. They’re emailing me. They use a lot of vowel of anguish. Or, ahnguihsh. Or sohmthingh.
Candy adds big words: “The distinction between author and book may feel artificial sometimes, because the author is the creator of the work, and any critique of the book is necessarily a critique of the author’s work, which in turn reflects on the author’s (perceived) abilities. But focusing on the text, interpretations, reader expectations and reader reactions is ultimately a much more fruitful enterprise, because nobody knows Ward’s intentions other than Ward herself.”
Within those boundaries, you want to bring forth your opinion? Want to discuss? Bring it on. I want to hear what you have to say.
I haven’t read this one yet, but I’m a bit confused on this point. I thought that The Primale was supposed to pop out babies with all the Chosen. I know Cormia is supposed to hold a special place as the first, but he’s got multiple mates. I don’t think his back is big enough for the names of all the Chosen he’s going to have to play stud to.
You know, I get the disappointment. I’ve shared the same kind when fave historical romance writers suddenly turn modern (and mystery, at that!). Such a turn-off. But, believe me, the decision to categorize something as a romance is incredibly broad (and, often as much a PR decision, as anything else). Diana Gabaldan’s series was promoted as romance, even though she did not really intend that to be its category. It would have been a huge leap-ola for the publisher to try to pawn what had been a romance series off onto the urban fantasy genre.
I don’t know that I will like it because I’ve just started. I’m actually heartened that the focus is not entirely on Phury as I am so over him (my dad had a martyr complex, so I don’t find that sexy). I am intrigued with what might happen with the other characters.
Of course, I loved Lover Unbound…but I’ve got a thing for BDSM stuff. Although, my favorite themes are actually about Z.
Um, the Harry/Hermione shippers were “apoplectic” because the author basically called them “delusional” and claimed that they missed “anvil sized clues”. No author/artist has the right to to be CRUEL to their fans. Fans who invested a lot of time and money on her creation. She, herself, fanned the flames of the shipper wars and then she laughs and mocks the losers? Yeah, thats classy behaviour right there. *rolls eyes*
As to LEn – sorry but I was very disappointed with it. I had been waiting for the virgin vampire’s HEA from book 1. But who was this whiny junkie? I frankly wished that he would OD on his drugs and put ME out of my misery.
His relationship with Cormia was non-existent. They had a total of 4, maybe 5, scenes together out of a 500+ page book. There was no romance between them. And frankly I don’t know what they found so attractive about each other. We have a hero who is a self-pitying junkie. And we have a heroine who is so bland and flat I’m surprised that she didn’t disappear at times, like the resident ghost!
The only parts I liked were the John Matthew and Xhex interactions. With their book, we may finally get a heroine with a personality and who can kick a little ass.
Ward has changed genres mid-series. I don’t think it’s fair to fans who have been waiting FROM BOOK 1 for certain character’s HEA. If she wanted to move into the UF genre, then start another series. Don’t change this one.
The sad thing is that when she focused on the romance and the MAIN CHARACTER’S journeys she wrote some pretty wonderful stuff. LA is an example of this. I cried reading LA – and I rarely cry at books/movies – because the writing was so evocative. I felt Z’s pain. But Phury, I felt like banging his head against the wall.
I think Books 1-3 were hot, interesting and the romance was important to the storyline. She faltered a bit on 4 and 5, made some people upset, and I questioned my interest in the series continuing…With book 6, the romance and hotness is still majorly lacking, but she is branching out with world-building and subplots which I think is essential to a series that didn’t have a very interesting continuation in sight….Did I love Book 6? No. But it did make me think I’ll look up Book 7 and see what’s next.
I don’t think you can call Phury a “Hero” in any sense of the word. He was a bitter, whining junkie. I so didn’t enjoy this book. And I won’t buy the next one. You can’t trick me again.
I loved Lover Enshrined. But, then, I loved Unbound too. In fact, Unbound was my second favorite of the entire series (Lover Awakened being my favorite.) I guess I’ve never really thought of them as straight romance books, either. Maybe it is a perception problem, but I always think in romance the entire plot revolves around getting the two main characters together. Sure, there are sub plots, sub characters, sub romances, but it all comes together and links back to hero/heroine HEA. Great. These books don’t have that, though. There are entire sub plots that have absolutely NOTHING to do with the main characters. So, from that perspective, I can see why people would be pissed off about her books. For me, though, it comes down to a basic: Do I care about your characters? Do they do things to piss me off (or feel any other kind of emotion, for that matter)? Do I care about their interactions with other characters? Do I want to know what comes next? As long as that answer continues to be yes, I’ll continue reading.
All of that said, do I give a fuck about Lassiter? NO.
You said it. And it’s just sooooo wrong. (but so right!)
As for Phury’‘s name I just don’t get it either. Is it suppose to mean furious? In LEN Phury was in a daze half the time because of his smoking and then injecting and up pops this Wizard dude. Did see any of his “furious” tendencies.
I really think the BDB series will now be marketed as Urban Fantasy regardless of the romance.
I also thought Ward is also working on another series? Also her BDB books will be published once a year now, rather then the old 6-8 months releases. Yup, I admit I am a cellie. 😀
I’ve never thought authors owe us anything except for a book. If I flipped past the cover to find indecipherable babble, then I’d feel cheated. But it’s the author’s prerogative to take a book or a series in the direction she feels it should go, even if it doesn’t please all fans. In fact, I think authors’ work suffers in quality when they listen to fans too much (and I didn’t like the Lassiter scenes. Uh, who’s he and why is he showing up like some big deal? I bought a book; I don’t want to spend time on a message board to figure it out). And I doubt that the change is a marketing ploy; it’s hard to pick up a series on the sixth or seventh book.
I thought this one was kind of a mess, even given my allowances for the addictive-but-trashy style Ward has used so far. So many inconsistencies in her own mythology and characters, so much crammed in that everyone got short shrift. And I still cannot for the life of me understand how vampires who still have “Old Country” accents talk like Cher in Clueless.
I agree that the series seems to be turning towards urban fantasy … actually, after Lover Unbound, I suspected that’s where the series was headed so I can’t say I am that surprised. What I don’t understand is that, if the series is now being turned into urban fantasy, why did she state in her interview at LifetimeTV.com that the series is definitely romance. The way I see it, the series WAS romance… if the books continue in the same vein as the latest two are, they certainly are not romance.
I am liking the book, but I do miss the one thing that got me hooked on the series to begin with: the romance part as the main plot. I am a romance reader, I don’t fancy urban fantasy. I guess depending on what happens on the next one, I’ll not be rushing to get my copies of her books on release day any longer.
On a side note, I fell in love with John from the first book and Rehvenge totally intrigues me, so, well, maybe I’ll just continue reading the series just to follow the bits of storylines that involve them.
I have yet to decide if I am dropping the series or not, I may or may not. At this point, who knows, maybe I’ll end up interested enough in the non-romantic aspects of the series, but I haven’t made up my mind up yet. I guess I’ll have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of books.
The urban fantasy aspects may just be the way the books have naturally evolved. Some authors feel very strongly that it is the characters who dictate the actions of the story. I’m not saying Ward writes in this way, but she does have interviews on her own website with the characters from her books. To me, that suggests that her characters have a strong will of their own. She may still feel that she is writing romance, even if the world she has created has become darker and more urban fantasy-esque than she ever intended.
Also, if she wishes to continue this series, by necessity she must branch out. All the original Brothers have hooked up (except for Torhment), so if she wants to keep writing about their universe, she has to move the focus to new characters and plot lines. While I haven’t read LeN yet, I get the feeling from past books that an epic showdown is coming. The shift away from straight romance may be in service to that climax, which will no doubt be several books away.
I’ve only just got Lover Enshrined and have flicked through it, and based on my flicking I think I will enjoy it more than LU. Okay my flicking was basically reading the John Matthew bits. 🙂
But for me, it’s not Urban Fantasy either. Not in the way I appreciate UF. Which in general is written in first person (or very tight third as with Personal Demons by Stacia Kane), with strong worldbuilding and is constrained by rules. I think this (for me) is where the urban in urban fantasy comes in – it’s real and tough. In the first book the author sets out the rules of the world, and in subsequent books they may bend them but they can’t break them.
By real I mean if LU had been urban fantasy Jane would have died and stayed dead. I think what I’m getting at is that UF doesn’t always end tied in a pretty bow. I think there is some incredibly well written realistic stuff in the books – John Matthew’s story in particular, what happened to Bella, what happens to Lash in the current book. But look at books like The Devil Inside, Magic Burns, Grimspace (UF in space LOL), Iron Kissed – some of the best UF out there at the moment and I just (personally) can’t include Lover Enshrined in with them. Actually the BDB book for me that’s closest to UF is Dark Lover – which is much more tightly in Wrath and Beth’s POV.
Maybe my major sticking point is the multiple points of view, which you just don’t get in UF. Maybe it isn’t PNR or UF, maybe it’s something new – Urban Paranormal Saga.
First, urban fantasy doesn’t end with a marriage proposal on the last page. At least not since I checked.
BTW LOVED the Dogma reference, rebyj. I thought that too when Lasssiter was introduced. (Just imagine the cheesy Voice Over when he descends in his big shiny light) *G*
OK, re story line. LOVED it. Even loved the flashbacks and head hopping. And I’m a budding writer. Wow. This installment of the series is what Lover Unbound MISSED. Even the resurfacing of an old character (should I spoil, of course) Tohr was handled “realistically” for a fantasy world. Those readers turned off by the brutality and gritty world building in this series should go back to reading Feehan for their HEAs.
So what there are elements of Urban Fantasy? Ultimately a third of the novel was a dance between two people extremely stunted in their emotional maturity. It took some fancy dancing (OMG Swazsy reference. Hum? ) to get them to be together. Culminating in the bathroom scene where one edit is a non-reaction (come on, former enablers can relate to Z) and then jumping to the clueless leading lady going about the motions of starting over while not realizing Phury was that close to the Fade (if he would even go there) was well done. I’m sick of the duos magically “knowing” their mate is in trouble. That is WAAAAY ohverdun.
And the Xhex/John…WOW! I’m hoping that book will be HOT. But really, John needs to get his name, grow up some more, be more dominant, take it from behind a few times from the sin-eater and…
Did I just say that?
As far as Payne goes, she should “save” Lash. Or be killed by Lash, or just plain hook up and lose Lash, or have Lash fall for her and her be a sh*t to him as a Greek tragedy twist. That would be cool.
Last note. If Lassiter had a penis, would he drink tequila? *snort*
Apologies, got sidetracked between Urban Fantasy and Swazsy.
Urban Fantasy: people really die. Not background characters, secondary characters die. No HEA.
Think Moonlighting (which was technically romantic but not a romance because at the end of the ep. Bruce never got on the ball).
Men are more clueless and more real in UF. Women are more ballsy and less clueless in UF.
OK, back to regularly schedule programming.
Thanks for listening.
Aehmee, I disagree with your interpretation of UF. The genera ranges in variety, and I’ve read UF that ended in Happily For Now, which is what the last book ended with. I’ve also read UF where the lead female was naive and had to slowly come into their own.
And it is not a commonality that in UF the main characters die, mostly it is secondary characters. And even if we were going to play that side of the coin, Ward killed off Tohr’s mate. That type of stuff does not happen in romance.
Dressing the book up in a romance cover and putting it in a romance section, does not a romance make.
LOL. I am not turned off by the “brutality” and the “gritty world building” IMO, Ward hasn’t done a very good job with her world-building. She has laws that can’t be broken but then the Scribe Virgin just steps in and waves her magic wand. For some people. Others don’t exist on her radar. *rolls eyes* To me this is a cop-out. I would have more respect for her world building if she stuck to the rules/laws of her universe.
And if this book wasn’t UF – where was the romance between the “main characters”? Actually, where the hell was the main character throughout the book? Oh yeah, getting high and thinking of his no personality mate.
I’m just so incredibly disappointed with her latest books. I loved LA. *sob*
I don’t mind if she is moving away from the strictly romance and HEA to a darker, urban novel format. I think she’ll eventually end up somewhere between. Not as dark as real dark urban fantasy but not quite the emphasis on romance/HEA that romance demands.
Personally, I felt that the ending of Lover Unbound would have been much better had she killed Jane outright rather than gone with that weird ghost shit.
Anyway, I liked Lover Enshrined in places and disliked it in others. It is a so-so 3-star for me.
I totally dug the whole John Matthew/Blay/Qhuinn subplot (which really shouldn’t even be called a subplot as it seemed to take up most of the book). The best part of the book and it is what made it for me.
I thought Phury/Cormia were just window dressing to give lip service to the idea that somewhere/somehow this is still a romance novel. Altho, if you check out the spine of the book, it is classified as a ‘signet novel’ whereas the other books are classified as ‘a signet paranormal romance’. As a couple P&C;were a mess. Not interesting, no chemistry, they barely spent any time together. I think Cormia spent more time with Bella and John Matthew than she did with Phury.
Phury’s pain and the reasons for his addiction seemed almost contrived. I think as far as the damage to the heroes goes, she hit the right balance of tragedy, sorrow and sheer storytelling pathos with Zsadist the best. Vishous’s backstory was also harrowing. Phury’s? eh… not so much. It seemed forced.
I love a good villain. I don’t like the lessers I think as villains they are mindlessly boring. I hate it when the motivation for anything is simply ‘I just want to destroy you cuz I’m jealous of you.’ Which is basically what the Omega’s motivation is. To draw a contrast, I look at Lynn Viehl’s Darkyn series. The villains there are the Brethren. They are trying to wipe out the Darkyn because they believe they are an abomination to the Church and God. Meanwhile, the Brethren themselves over time have become corrupt and an abomination to God because of their actions. They simply don’t realize it because they still believe they are doing God’s work. Makes them so much more nuanced and interesting.
I generally like Rhev, but my fear is that Ward is needlessly piling on an already complex character with extra complications.. She has introduced the sympath Princess who is blackmailing Rhev. Given that Rhev is a sympath, a drug dealer and murdered a high ranking member of the Glymera, I think his character has enough going on without also being blackmailed.
Strongly disappointed in the lack of presence of the other brothers. Zsadist and Wrath had pretty meaty parts but Butch, Vishous and Rhage barely spoke three words. Likewise, Beth, Mary and Marissa. All of our old favorites were pretty much MIA.
Looking forward to more Lassiter, though and am happy that Tohr is back.
LOL!!! Now that was the best thing I’ve read all day.
hahahaha!!!
With all my complaining this series is still the most fun I’ve ever had reading and yacking online about. I reccomend it to people and I know I’ll buy the hard back as soon as I’m able.
The scene with JM and Q vowing to each other had me all teared up and I’m a literary hardass. NOTHING makes ME cry! The book has it’s good points and the bad points are a hoot to get online and debate.
forgot why I was gonna post again in this topic..
Aehmee I’m glad someone got the Dogma reference, I was afraid I was alone in watching Kevin Smith film classics LOL
I had really mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I liked it, but not as much as the first three in the series.
My biggest frustration and disappointment stems from the HUGE build up for this book as *Phury’s* story, and how it was a great love story. Hello? The poor guy ends up being a secondary character in *his OWN* book. The author even dedicates the book to him. If I was Phury, I’d be pissed… I mean, come on.. second fiddle in my own damn story?? 🙂
I enjoyed the secondary (third, fourth, etc) plot lines and world building, and the pace of the story was excellent, but I just wanted more of Phury and Cormia’s love story. Call me crazy, but I thought this was a romance novel? Can’t we have both? please? pretty please?
I heard someone say that if you are really craving chinese food, and someone gives you pizza, no matter if this pizza was the best pizza ever created, it still isn’t chinese food. 🙂 I really, really was looking forward to chinese food. Maybe with the next book, I’ll be prepped for a bunch of possible entrée choices.
(sorry, long post below; some tiny SPOILERS)
I think why I’m still able to enjoy these books is because for her, I don’t think of them as romances but a series about a group of guys, some finding their way, some finding love, and some dealing with the life they have. (Plus, I haven’t liked any of her heroines- too weak and flat- so the romance was never that great anyways). I’m reading because I want to find out more about John, and now Qhuinn and Blay, and Xheh, and yeah Payne (I’m thinking she’s for Rhev). Also, I really liked Lash adding to the evil side because they finally come off as scary- when he’s explaining what his plans are I’m thinking, yeah, that’ll fucking work and be hard for the Brothers to beat. He’s creating disorder and social unrest and history says that’ll work big time. No more of this I-smell-like-a-baby-and-make-scary-faces shit.
Lassiter was a waste of space (WTF is she adding Dogma- love that movie, 🙂 – to this?). The Scribe Virgin is no longer scary (though, sicne she was “the good one”, I suppose that’s ok). Cormia was a big disappointment; she was someone coming from no knowledge, and it looked like she was getting a spine (or at least more than any other heroine), and then zap!, nothing. What a waste. Part of me is glad Thor is back, but if she tried to give him a romance I’m going to feel way cheated. And if she gives Blay a girl I’ll be pissed.
I won’t buy her in hardback, but I’ll continue to buy her in paperback, because:
-I like her writing style (as in the words and order she puts them in and her analogies more than the extra POVs and lack of order and so on). Ex from a random page: …he figured Blay went along probably because his inner Emily Post couldn’t handle not being a good host; pg. 354. It makes me smile.
– I want more of the new generation (even Lash is actually evil, as opposed to the bus exhaust who hates his sister).
– Because some of her interactions between characters are wonderful. The scene between Blay and Qhuinn when they’re making up near the end, and the scene when John is about to leave Thor, totally stick in my mind.
If I focus on that stuff and not on the stuff I don’t like (her weak-ass females, her lack of time on “main” characters, her throwing in very random shit like Lassiter, breaking her own universe rules, etc), then I can still enjoy her books. I’m not as excited, but for now they still give me some enjoyment. However, Z’s book was still the best shit to happen.
Or, to sum up my post, she’s like crack and I’m still addicted, even though it’s tasting a little funny and doesn’t quite hit the spot in the same way.
🙂
Wow…okay people. Sometimes there is tragedy in romance and people die. Sure I’m mostly thinking “the classics” but I’ve also got a memory of a book about two native characters (I know, shocker!) in which the man was hung as the leader of a resistance movement and the woman died on the side of a road – a soldier finding her and “saving” her baby (although the future of an Indian school or starvation on the rez was what was probably in store for it). They are few and far between, but people do die in romance.
I’m on board the annoyed train as far as Lassiter goes. Clearly Lassiter is someone familiar to the brotherhood, yet I kept thinking I must have skimmed some important chapter somewhere in the book. He might be the most intriguing character ever, but the fact that he’s a result of what was basically fanfic on the Ward MBs who found his way into the BDB published world is highly irritating. After paying $8 for a book, I shouldn’t be made to feel like an outsider at an exclusive JRW clique party. I stay away from the BDB MBs because it’s overly-exclusive, so it sucks mightily that I would need to go there to uncover the Lassiter mystery.
Too, I think adding angels to her ever expanding world is Ward taking the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to worldbuilding. If in every book she adds new creatures and beings, the series moves further and further from having been somewhat grounded in “a” reality. What once really captured my fancy – the idea of vampires as nothing more than a separate species of beings who live peacefully beside humans – has been altered to complete fantasy with each successive title in the series. My ability to suspend disbelief was nearly destroyed by LU, and it hasn’t improved much with LEt.
That said, I did enjoy the JM/Qhuinn/Blay storyline. I do think Ward is trying to recreate the chemistry so many of us loved between Vishous and Butch but throwing in another unrequited homo/heterosexual love story. Unfortunately, the way she handled the V/B relationship so completely disappointed me that I won’t fall for it again.
I can handle the romance taking a back seat to action and the arcs of other characters. Rather that than force something as weak and uninteresting as Phury and Cormia simply so the book can be called a “romance”. If I were a hard-core romance reader who didn’t want to read anything but, I would be mad at Ward for taking her series in another direction. Perhaps she should have started a second, parallel series that followed the UF path. Kind of a spin-off.
I enjoyed the book but the editing was APPALLING. So many typos and grammatical errors, and sentences that didn’t make any kind of sense. Plus, the excess of name-dropping, brand-dropping and pop culture references just made Ward seem pathetic. The book will be outdated in a year.
The first three BDB’s were like chocolate covered goodness. Z is the BDB for me, true. He’s totally captivating. Then came Butch and V. Not quite as addictive, but ok. Now I have mixed feelings about Phury. I feel like only a third (and that’s being generous) of the story was actually about P/C. It was anti-climactic and weak. The sub-plots took over and it was a constant battle against feeling jerked from one place to another, with my brain intact. I found myself skipping the Lesser/Lash parts and the Rhev parts. Do intend to go back and read them. John/Blay/Quinn is one sub-plot that won’t be skipped. Those boys have some drama coming up, can’t wait to see where they’re headed.
One other thing bothers me about Ward’s style. Someone previously mentioned Lassiter and his online message board following. I feel the author should make the books her main connection with readers, not the message board. Ward is on that board a lot, and posts random scenes about the BDB and future characters. Fine. Great. But don’t drop a character in the book that only mb readers will have a clue about! If he’s important enough to do what he did, then explanations are due.
Also, darlynne said:
I totally agree. This seems to happen to a lot of authors. I could name two major ones off the top of my head, besides Ward. Evanovich is one. Just look at the early reviews for her upcoming book. If one faction isn’t complaining about the direction, the other is.
Here’s a simple reason why I disliked the book:
Don’t name the series, “The Black Dagger Brotherhood”, and then kick the main character out of it a few chapters in.
Seriously. Phury just wanders around in a smoke-filled haze the entire book, wallowing in sudden self-pity. We’ve had Phury’s POV in earlier books, and he never sounded this pathetic. The Wizard? Pardon moi, the BRITISH wizard? Solely set up as such for a timely “wizard of oz” reference and resolution at the end?
He has three meetings with Cormia. And they’re in love. And the end of the book? From Mr. Warrior to Mr. Love Machine. He’ll just stay up there in the Boonies, laughing heartily at the antics of those idiotic Chosen. So what if there’s a war out there? He’s got LOVE to do, my friend!
And speaking of friends, he has none. Not even his so-called Brothers, for whom he’s sacrificed everything for. The so-called heroes of other book kick him the hell out of the mansion without a, “thanks for saving my life, pal.” No one can even look him in the eye.
I really enjoyed LEn. I have enjoyed all of the books. I was still unsure about the ghost thing with V but I have since gotten used to it. I really agree with Vicky, Shannon, and Darlynne. If I don’t like where an author is going, I get off the train! I still read LKH cause I am just getting on and enjoying the ride. I didn’t much care for Phury but it was nice to get into his head and really understand his addiction. I thought it was well done. I love the POV jumping and the surprises that were revealed. I will be riding the crack train until the end. I don’t care what you call it: paranormal romance or urban fantasy, just so long as you call me when it comes out in stores! Bring on Rehvenge!
Why I disliked the book:
Misclassification – the book was supposed to be a romance and isn’t. I don’t mind other genres but if remember people, this is a series that started out as paranormal romance and it’s only logical and fair that people following the series expect the key element of romance. This was missing in LEn. The blurb on the back of the book should match the actual plot and this was not the case. I don’t think that’s too much to ask is it??
Absence of main characters – I expect the main characters to be, well the MAIN characters. Phury and Cormia were a sub-plot in their own book. This goes back to the whole classification/marketing issue. I think if this hadn’t been labeled at Phury’s book, maybe just BDB #6, I wouldn’t have been so disappointed.
WAY TOO MANY SUB-PLOTS AND DIFFERENT POV’s!! Probably my biggest issue with the book. Someone above pointed out the books have always had sub-plots and that’s true (also something I really enjoy) but this was way too much. I felt like every 3 pages I was on to a different character and storyline. It was a very ADDish read to me. It felt so rushed to me, and stuffed with too much info and characters in an almost desperate attempt to get as much as possible out there.
Feeling sad for Rhev’s book – Rhev be still my heart!! I worry for his book, which I don’t think will really be his book, but JM (who has just taken over the entire series) Xhex, Qhuinn, Blay, Wrath, Beth, Z, Bella, Boo, Lassiter, Payne, maybe a drop in by the Scribe Virgin….get the point?
Someone else made a good point about Ward’s website which I think could be made into a tv show called “When good websites go bad” I applaud her involvement with her fans but there is way too much information on there. Fans shouldn’t have to follow her large and confusing website to stay in touch with the series. I also have an issue with her saying one thing and then changing her mind.
Amen about the website! Any board that requires an account to read threads is a board I for which I’m not making the small effort required to join.
I like LEn at a mere 99 pages in, and can agree with many of the pros and cons listed so far. I won’t pay hard back prices to keep up with BDB because my reader experience has changed since LR. I continue to reread DL-LA, but haven’t touched LR or LU since the first reads. And I was an uber Butch fan and loved the B-V tension!
I don’t begrudge an author the opportunity to grow a series, but an initial appeal of the BDB was the handful of Brothers promised to limit the to series to a small number of books Ward’s writing skill could successfully sustain. At the most, I expected a spin off for the BDB youngins and Zero Sum management.
Instead, I felt LR began the series decline with the change from character driven to plot driven stories. I like both, but can only take so many standoffs in the ZS parking lot. I actually photocopied Z and Bella’s reunion scene and kept it on my desk at work. Stuff like that gets me every time. Fiftyleven shitkickers up a lesser’s ass, not so much.
Do you know what I like about Ward’s BDB books? They are addictive page turners. Recently, I’ve read a number of books where I’ve got half way through and thought “can I be bothered to finish this?”, not with Ward. I may get to the end and think WTF? but I’m never bored. I really liked the mulitple voices in LE. It kept it interesting, it kept me reading. So what that the romance was rubbish? The other characters more than made up for the lack of personality in the H/H. I read and re-read Ward’s books because they are pure escapism – isn’t that why most of us read books that are Romance or Urban Fantasy?
I guess I see why some folks are upset, but I enjoyed the book more than I expected. I honestly wasn’t very excited about Phury and Cormia’s story. Phury is, IMO, the least interesting of the brothers and Cormia is so dull as to be a non-entity as a heroine. The only reason I bought the book is because I knew I would miss parts of other, more interesting stories if I skipped this one. So, the fact that less time was spent with the main couple worked for me. Now, if Rehvenge and John Matthew get the same treatment I will be pissed because those are stories I am really looking forward to.
My thoughts after finishing the book and before reading this and finding out that some people are actually mad about how the book was written were that Ward realized she had painted herself into a corner by not making either of these characters strong enough to carry the book so she used the opportunity to move some of the other story lines along.
Whatever the deal was, I liked the book. It is not my favorite BDB but it was worth my time and money so I am not complaining and I’m still gonna buy the next one.
Regardless of my issues with the book, I’m definitely not “mad” at Ward. I may complain, but I think she’s still one of the best storytellers around. I kept turning the pages of LEn like a woman obsessed, so from that aspect she’s got nothing to apologize for. I just got caught up in aspects that I never expected to find in the first place – the JM/Qhuinn/Blay stuff – and missed the hot romance that I’ve come to expect from BDB books as well as the interaction between the Brothers.
One thing for certain, I won’t be paying hardcover prices. I’ll wait for the mass markets to come out to complete my collection. That’s a pet peeve I have – a writer who switches to hardcover mid-way through a series (hello, Suzann Brockmann). It messes up my collection unless I hold out for the paperback. Plus, I feel somewhat used in that I’ve been hooked and then told I have to trade up if I want to keep getting my fix. Well, I suppose that’s what the public library is for.
I had a hard time understanding the whole we’re kicking Phury out of the Brotherhood idea. Where was Vishous to help with the guy that got him out of the Primale job? How come everyone was just ready to boot him out the door when he wasn’t really doing anything he hadn’t been doing for the last 200 years?
Phury probably should have done the deed with some of the other Chosen. Then him and Cormia would have had some issues that they could have worked with. Addiction doesn’t leave much room for bonding and falling in love.
I think the gist of it was that Phury was just getting so bad that it’s sort of like an intervention, everybody’s supposed to back off and quit enabling? Enough is enough kind of attitude. But it wasn’t logical in that it wasn’t made out to be that huge of a problem in earlier books, and then this book was so weak in regards to interpersonal relationships between Phury and pretty much anyone else including the heroine, so nothing gets explained and the being kicked out seems to come out of left field.
I agree with lots of what’s been posted already but am not jumping ship yet. Maybe. I’ll certainly wait to see what’s being said before laying out the cash next time, and there’s certainly no way I’m paying hardcover prices.
I enjoyed the story for the most part. My biggest complaint was not enough sex, plain and simple. JR Ward writes EXCELLENT sex and there just wasn’t enough in this book.
But I’m looking forward to seeing where the rest of it all goes – I just hope the excellent sex comes back.
I wouldn’t call myself a “rabid fan” but I have read all of the books in J. R. Ward’s, “Black Daggar Brotherhood”, series and enjoyed all the books. However, I did not enjoy “Lover Enshrined”, for a number of reasons.
First, while I can appreciate the efforts on the part of the author to develop new storylines and plots within the series, there were just too many new ones introduced in this book. In fact, it became very confusing, resulting in a labourious and sometimes boring read.
Second, the development of secondary characters and, the introduction of new characters within the storylines overwhelmed “Phury’s” story. The romance plot concerning “Phury and Cormia”, was really under developed and essentially got swallowed up in the mess.
Third, the “wizard”, Phury’s psychotic, italicized ever present schizophrenic “voice” was not explained making it very difficult for the reader to understand what or “who” this thing or guy was. In fact, I found it damn annoying that what little page time was devoted to “Phury” had the good old “wizard” there whispering nonsense in his ear. It was just weird.
Fourth, the editing of the book was terrible, not only were there inumerable type “O’s”, but the text messaging wasn’t explained and was difficult to understand for those of us not accustomed to “text message” speak. Further, the slang language used was also very difficult to decipher at times, the “Texas Lessor” speak as an example. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoyed Ward’s humour in the other books and am no prude, and the use of profanity by the “Brothers”, was quite entertaining, some of that popped up here and there in this book but was few and far between.
I could offer other comments but won’t belabour my points any further.
I have tried to contribute a few constructive points to the various threads of conversation going on over at the Amazon website. And, in reviewing many of the conversations I have to agree with you, there are a lot of passionate, over the top readers of this series out there. I like to think I am a pretty voracious reader and I enjoy many different types of literature. There are just too many really good paranormal romance writers and series out there to get too bent out of shape about one book or series. I just won’t pick up any more of the books in the Black Daggar Brotherhood series because it doesn’t interest me anymore.
Anyway, just one person’s opinion. Thank you for the opportunity to express some thoughts.
Josie spake thusly:
Truer words never spoken. This series, from the start, has been about the Brotherhood. It’s a BROmance, not a ROmance.
Yeah, Ward can tip into inauthenticity at times. (I almost laughed early on when Phury “rolled a fattie,” and the text messaging dialogue about made me choke on my own saliva – LOLZ!!) – but these men are TO.DIE.FOR. For me, it’s always been about the Brothers, their relationships with each other. About the Brotherhood. I personally would have loved Butch and V gettin’ it on in the last book, and had no problem with LU’s resolution.
I love Urban Fantasy, and don’t particularly need a neatly-tied HEA, so I’ve enjoyed each book, and will definitely hang with the series.
I agree that this series seems to be moving more toward Urban Fantasy than Romance, and I’m OK with that. I’ll keep reading for one reason—Ward’s female characters are just now starting to get interesting with the introduction of Xhex and Payne, not to mention we might see some of the Chosen take on a new role. Ward may have lost readers over LE, readers who won’t get to see some interesting female characters.
I’m very disappointed in the Phury/Cormia storyline, mostly because important aspects of Cormia’s transformation happened off-screen. She had quite a lot of potential as a trailblazer, but the character didn’t quite live up to that. There’s a plotline about vampire female’s emancipation going on, but Ward doesn’t take it as far as I’d prefer. How the Otherside has changed might push this aspect of the series into a new direction. I really hope so.
I’m not crazy about how Xhex has a name that objectifies her sexually, but there’s a precedent set there with Zzadist, so OK. I liked how Z’s healing isn’t immediate, that we get to see him struggling with many aspects of it. I’m was seriously squicked out by Rhev’s sex scene with the Sympath, though. I’m interested in finding out what happens to him, but I can’t see Rhev with either a human or a Sympath after that scene. Depending on how this is handled, the series could be reinvigorated or jump the shark for me.
I want to know more about the vampire community out west that Qhuinn planned to head for, and I loved the JM-Qhuinn-Blay storyline. I also felt better about Jane’s fate after having seen how she interacts with people in LE.
LeaF said:
And…why, in the name of the Scribe Virgin, was the wizard British???