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Review: The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12), by J.R. Ward

5/6/2014

1 Comment

 
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Publisher: Penguin Group 
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Format: ebook
Pages: 592 (Hardcover)
Source: Amazon Purchase
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Review Date: May 6, 2014
Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis: Long live the King… 

After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle--with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything--and everyone--at risk.

Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response--or the distance it creates between them.

The question is, will true love win out... or tortured legacy take over?


While I love BDB books, this installment wasn't my favorite. Don't get me wrong, it's still very good, I just wanted more. Yep, I'm greedy, I want it all! Plus the bar has been set pretty high thanks to Ward's previous books.  Before I get into things, I've got to mention that there is a lot going on in this book. A lot of story lines and a lot of characters. Dare I say that there's too much going on?  That surely contributed to why this book didn't earn 5 bookmarks from me.  With that said, I'll try my best to keep the spoilers to a minimum and try not to muddy the waters too much. 

In book twelve we return to focusing on The King, Wrath and his Queen Beth. Sort of.  Along side their story line there are several other story lines that get just as much face time if not more than Wrath/Beth.

There is more time than I'd like dedicated to the whole Lalya/Xcor "thing" or whatever it is.  I don't like the road that Layla is going down. Not at all. Is Ward trying to make Xcor not so bad? Blah. He's bad. Period. Is Layla supposed to save him from himself? I call shenanigans. Some people can't be saved, and Xcor falls in that category!  Please I beg you, don't make me read a whole book dedicated to them! Please don't do it!

We also see with John having some major issue physically and mentally, unbeknownst to him, it's due to his dead father Darius poking through is subconscious.  Two people, one body? I always thought that Darius was reincarnated when John was born, but we'll see. I wonder how long it will take for Beth and John to figure out what's happening there.

Also we get more into iAm and his brother Trez's world.  From the previous books, we know that Trez is promised to the Sympath Queen's daughter. He's been fighting against it this for years and year, but now things have come to ahead. Not to mention that he's now in love?!?! But with who? Do you remember? I'll give you a hint.She's a chosen.  It's sort of ironic actually, a squeaky clean Chosen with man-whore Trez.  I don't even know how I feel about that relationship. It doesn't seem 100% genuine to me.  On the flip side of that train wreck, I did enjoy seeing more of iAm's personality. He's a character that we didn't get much of previously.

Back to Wrath and Beth. Wrath has a few thing against him in this book. The band of bastards are working with the vampire council to get him ousted and Beth is working against him to get pregnant, Double whammy for him. in Beth's defense she's only being sneaky because he's a controlling hard headed man...so she's got to do what she's got to do. She's not tricking him really, just pushing her body along so that she can experience her needing faster.  The funny thing with that is because she's half human, things don't really work out the way she intended anyway.

Assail and Sola get some face time, but I'm not sure how I feel about those two together.  I love Sola's grandmother though, she's a riot! There's even a cameo or two from several minor characters from past books, which is always fun.

Overall I'm happy with the progress that the plot has made and I'm looking forward to finding out what's next for these characters. Speaking of which, I do wonder how much longer this series will go on with the same characters before it changes gears and moves on to the next generation. But that's a whole other discussion.

The writing style is, like previous books, all Ward. If you've read her, then you know what I mean. Lots of slang, cursing, fighting and hot bedroom scenes.  Of course Ward's books are 100% adult, so if you're more into YA, then you should stay away from this! If you like your books with a little more bite, then the Black Dagger Brotherhood series right up your alley. 

Happy Reading,
~Tamara
Get the Kindle version here:

1 Comment
lekeisha
5/6/2014 11:47:22 am

I do believe that I'm the only person who hasn't started this series. I have the first 3 books, but I haven't gotten around to reading them. Great review!

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