Scan barcode
A review by ihateprozac
The Beast by J.R. Ward
4.0
I’ve always wondered if I disliked Rhage’s first book because I was unfairly biased against Mary as a total Rhage stan. The Beast confirmed that nope, I’m not biased, and Mary and Rhage are actually just kinda boring!
Don’t get me wrong, Rhage is still hilarious. But his marriage is devoid of chemistry and this book is bogged down in so much domestic stuff that I just wasn’t interested in. I want Rhage to have someone funny to banter back and forth with (think a female version of Lassiter) and Mary is just dull white bread. JR Ward is really out here yanking everybody’s chains by writing a Mary Sue character and literally calling her Mary.
So how did I end up rating this book 4 stars? THE SUBPLOTS, Y’ALL!
Assail is the damn star of this book. He undergoes so much character development that by the end he’s completely unrecognisable from the morally bankrupt drug dealer we once knew! Were it not for Assail I genuinely could have tapped out of this book, but his arc had such compelling threads that kept me reading on. He undergoes personal development, progresses the Naasha/Throe storyline, and embeds himself deeper within the Brotherhood than I could have ever anticipated.
Yes hello, this is my formal notice that I have elected to stan.
While I think Rhage has some mental health issues that weren’t tackled properly, I did appreciate when the author touched on Zsadist and Tohr’s traumatic pasts. Through Mary she reminds the reader that healing is an ongoing process and that our support networks truly do help. There’s also some interesting stuff here regarding Vishous’ life, Layla/Xcor’s separation, and how the Brothers’ domestic problems can have a ripple effect.
Where The Shadows expanded the BDB world considerably, The Beast is a far more insular story. Like yin and yang, this story retreats back to domestic life and internal struggles, following the largely external environmental threats of the previous book. While I am not very invested in Rhage’s relationship I did enjoy seeing him be a total softboi here. But it won’t be for everyone.
As always, there are some cringeworthy moments of magic convenience, and JR Ward doesn’t always take the tragic risks that I want her to take. However, we also got some new characters and a ballsy new development that will deeeeeefinitely keep me reading on.
Consider me intrigued…
Don’t get me wrong, Rhage is still hilarious. But his marriage is devoid of chemistry and this book is bogged down in so much domestic stuff that I just wasn’t interested in. I want Rhage to have someone funny to banter back and forth with (think a female version of Lassiter) and Mary is just dull white bread. JR Ward is really out here yanking everybody’s chains by writing a Mary Sue character and literally calling her Mary.
So how did I end up rating this book 4 stars? THE SUBPLOTS, Y’ALL!
Assail is the damn star of this book. He undergoes so much character development that by the end he’s completely unrecognisable from the morally bankrupt drug dealer we once knew! Were it not for Assail I genuinely could have tapped out of this book, but his arc had such compelling threads that kept me reading on. He undergoes personal development, progresses the Naasha/Throe storyline, and embeds himself deeper within the Brotherhood than I could have ever anticipated.
Yes hello, this is my formal notice that I have elected to stan.
While I think Rhage has some mental health issues that weren’t tackled properly, I did appreciate when the author touched on Zsadist and Tohr’s traumatic pasts. Through Mary she reminds the reader that healing is an ongoing process and that our support networks truly do help. There’s also some interesting stuff here regarding Vishous’ life, Layla/Xcor’s separation, and how the Brothers’ domestic problems can have a ripple effect.
Where The Shadows expanded the BDB world considerably, The Beast is a far more insular story. Like yin and yang, this story retreats back to domestic life and internal struggles, following the largely external environmental threats of the previous book. While I am not very invested in Rhage’s relationship I did enjoy seeing him be a total softboi here. But it won’t be for everyone.
As always, there are some cringeworthy moments of magic convenience, and JR Ward doesn’t always take the tragic risks that I want her to take. However, we also got some new characters and a ballsy new development that will deeeeeefinitely keep me reading on.
Consider me intrigued…