lcgerstmann's review against another edition
4.0
The first book in this series about a band of old world vampires fighting an enemy unbeknownst to humans in the modern world and falling in love along the way, started with a book about their King, Wrath. This is the 12th installment in the series and this book is again about Wrath. Strangely enough, the first book was one of my least favorites and I wasn't as excited about this one as I usually am. Well, I should have been excited! Wrath's story-line was great, he struggles with the idea of fatherhood, overcoming his terrible past and how to be a good King to his people. Interspersed are chapters that give us a tease of all the wonderful books to come! At least 4 other story-lines are developing and not in a choppy disjointed manner; it was smooth and all stories are equally engaging! Can't wait for more!
shelfaddiction's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on Shelf Addiction! Read this rest of this review and more at Shelf Addiction
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 War'd 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.
...Continue reading the rest of the review on my blog Shelf Addiction
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 War'd 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.
...Continue reading the rest of the review on my blog Shelf Addiction
kimberly_b's review against another edition
5.0
Ward COMPLETELY outdid herself with The King!! You can tell that Ward really listens to her fans and isn't afraid to take advice/criticism; her writing is that much better for it. There are very few scenes with lessers in this, which will make her fans happy. The King is written with such confidence and at a perfect pace--I felt like Wrath and Ward both really came into their own with this novel. There were several times that I got teary-eyed reading this, something that I certainly hadn't been expecting going into it. The King further cements the BDB series as one of my favorites. It's so much more than just a PNR series. Despite the hip vernacular and steaminess, there is some real depth to these characters.
I LOVED this! 5 huge stars! Go Ward!!!!!!!
I LOVED this! 5 huge stars! Go Ward!!!!!!!
sci_mom's review against another edition
4.0
I love the BDB. I enjoy these books because they are entertaining. This one was an interesting read and I actually approve of the subplots. I don't hold these books to the same standards as literary fiction, but I appreciate them for what they are and I was not disappointed.
allingoodtime's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As much as I love this series, the books are long and do take me a bit longer to read because of the plethora of storylines happening in each one. Now that I’m finally on the audiobook train, I decided to give this one a go that way. If I could listen to these longer stories while getting my errands and things around the house done it wouldn’t take me as long, right? I just couldn’t. Maybe if I had been listening from book one, but I already have an idea in my head for each character and it just wasn’t working for me. Especially when it came to the dialogue since the Brotherhood tends to talk in a very particular way with tons of slang. Oh well, I tried.
That being said, once I got a chance to read this book I really enjoyed all of the stories. Before I get into the titled character’s storyline, I’m going to talk about some of the others. I had already been fully invested in Assail and Marisol from the last book. Their cat and mouse game intrigued me and the way their storyline ended in that book was shocking. Man, these two tore me apart in this book. The longing and yearning are so palpable. Assail’s desperation when he is searching for her and Marisol’s grit and determination when she is saving herself. Gah! I cannot wait for more from them because I know their story cannot be over yet.
I’m finding myself getting more invested in Trez’s story. I’m honestly unsure where it’s going and where I even want it to go, but I now find I’m sympathizing with the guy whereas before I was getting annoyed by him. I’d love to see his brother find his HEA, but I don’t think that can happen until things are settled with Trez. He hasn’t lived the best life, but I’m glad he’s being honest with Selena even when it pushes her away. And speaking of Selena, she’s another one who I’m super curious about. This story definitely got me more invested in some of these characters that were a lot more peripheral in the past.
Now let’s talk about the king. Wrath and Beth had huge growth in this book, especially Wrath. Their story was a bit of marriage in trouble. They both kept talking, but neither was being heard. For the longest time, they just could not see beyond their own wants and fears to truly appreciate the other’s hopes and fears. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll tell you that by the end there is joy in their lives and I’m glad the author had Beth open her eyes a bit as well as Wrath because, as much as I agreed with her about most of it, I still thought she was being obtuse at times. Wrath’s parent’s story is, in part, played out in this book. While Wrath looks at that time through the innocence of a child’s perception, the reader is shown what was really happening leading up to Wrath’s birth. Theirs was also a beautiful love story, but the ugliness of their reign they hid from their son (who was still quite young when they were murdered) ties into the current day. It is artfully done and I loved those bits.
There are always things in this series that make the books seem dated, mostly it has to do with celebrity names and popular brands. Poor Miley Cyrus was put through the wringer on this one and it bothered me. The author does seem to alter her writing as things progress in the real world, and this was published in 2014. I get it. And looking back I can remember how the world treated her when she was a very young woman and cringe. It’s funny to see other cultural references, such as V being convinced Steve Job’s legacy was the root of all evil in the world, and think of how prophetic these little snippets can be.
I’m very excited about the new direction things are going in the overall world of the Brotherhood. Which is good since there are still tons of books to go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Misogyny
Moderate: Kidnapping and Torture
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review against another edition
4.0
Great installment in the BDB series, but there I wish the focus had been more firmly on Wrath and his friends / loved ones. I was curious about the other storylines, too, but having so much of that included in the King's book took away from the main point and made the book feel a little more like filler for me.
Full review to come soon.
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
Full review to come soon.
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
joshrrei's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
anotherhel's review against another edition
4.0
Much better than the lasts ones. Specially the last half of the book. I laughed and cried multiple times with this one. There were less plots views as well thank god. Solas and Assail plot was pointless though... Good sex scene here and there but overall i wish i had skipped them in this one and the last book as well. Beth, wrath, the brothers are the best. The shadows are good, iAm is bae and i want to read is point of view. Selena is bae as well, so strong, i admire her so much. Layla is dumb. Xcor too.
Happy to see this series finally get a good book. Hopefully the shadows one is good as well but then it's Layla story and I'm not very sure about that one.
Happy to see this series finally get a good book. Hopefully the shadows one is good as well but then it's Layla story and I'm not very sure about that one.
geo_ix's review against another edition
5.0
LONG LIVE THE KING!!!
Argh. I put of reading this as long as I could, which wasn't long at all, like two weeks, because I didn't want to have to wait knowing there's nothing for me to read until the next one.... But whatever. I'm still glad I read it. I'm glad things went back to Wrath and Beth because I really wanted her to go into her needing and do all that baby stuff. I mean I know we see it with z and bella and then Quinn and layla but wrath and Beth is where this all started, and if this had have been the end of the series, I would have been okay with it, ending where it started, with their love and devotion and now, spoiler alert, baby. Basically in this, wrath pulls his head out of his ass and realises he can't do anything about being blind, and that he's only kept it a secret because he's ashamed of it. Finally, after the council tries to kick him out, using his mate as an excuse, he sees the light. And god did that take a long time!
Seriously, every time his viewpoint was offered I wanted to slap him, from the moment he went fully blind. He's so confident in himself until that point.
Basically, he's against a baby because he doesn't want it to have his defect. Date intervenes after he gives up and tries for a baby with his mate. Her human side shows more in this book, as she falls pregnant before her needing - which I totally picked up on before her. Boom!
This book is filled with lots of laugh out loud one liners. As most of them are, but I think out of all the books so far, this got the most giggles out of me, and in turn, a lot of creepy stars and "what"s, followed by "what the fuck are you laughing at"s, as if my partner thought somehow, I was laughing at him. He really doesn't get it. I tried explaining, a books like a movie, and you sure as hell laugh at movies, so why wouldn't you laugh and cry at a book?!
I did get a little teary at the end, I'll admit to that, but this one ends so bloody sweet I embraced the tears, and it wasn't like it was full on barking sobs like some other books I've read. Just lovely shedding of tears. Bliss.
Argh. I put of reading this as long as I could, which wasn't long at all, like two weeks, because I didn't want to have to wait knowing there's nothing for me to read until the next one.... But whatever. I'm still glad I read it. I'm glad things went back to Wrath and Beth because I really wanted her to go into her needing and do all that baby stuff. I mean I know we see it with z and bella and then Quinn and layla but wrath and Beth is where this all started, and if this had have been the end of the series, I would have been okay with it, ending where it started, with their love and devotion and now, spoiler alert, baby. Basically in this, wrath pulls his head out of his ass and realises he can't do anything about being blind, and that he's only kept it a secret because he's ashamed of it. Finally, after the council tries to kick him out, using his mate as an excuse, he sees the light. And god did that take a long time!
Seriously, every time his viewpoint was offered I wanted to slap him, from the moment he went fully blind. He's so confident in himself until that point.
Basically, he's against a baby because he doesn't want it to have his defect. Date intervenes after he gives up and tries for a baby with his mate. Her human side shows more in this book, as she falls pregnant before her needing - which I totally picked up on before her. Boom!
This book is filled with lots of laugh out loud one liners. As most of them are, but I think out of all the books so far, this got the most giggles out of me, and in turn, a lot of creepy stars and "what"s, followed by "what the fuck are you laughing at"s, as if my partner thought somehow, I was laughing at him. He really doesn't get it. I tried explaining, a books like a movie, and you sure as hell laugh at movies, so why wouldn't you laugh and cry at a book?!
I did get a little teary at the end, I'll admit to that, but this one ends so bloody sweet I embraced the tears, and it wasn't like it was full on barking sobs like some other books I've read. Just lovely shedding of tears. Bliss.
reginarix's review against another edition
4.0
Che bel libro! Un piacere leggerlo! Personaggi amati e coinvolgenti, e oltre ai drammi stavolta ho trovato moltissima ironia, alcune scene sono state davvero divertenti!! E poi, dai, Xcor che fa shopping??!!! Fantastico!