Lover Avenged by J. R. Ward

Title: Lover Avenged
Author: J.R. Ward
Publisher: Piatkus
ISBN: 978-0-7499-4173-4
Pages: 719
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #7
Type: Adult Paranormal Romance
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Caldwell has long been the battle ground for the war between the Brothers and the Lessening Society. On the sidelines Rehvenge has built a successful business providing his nightclub clientele with whatever they want so it is unsurprising when he is asked to kill Wrath, the vampire King. Rehvenge has secrets of his own to keep, like his true symphath nature that would result in his imprisonment, and when the plots become too much he turns to Ehlena, the only source of light in his dark world.

This is the seventh book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (after Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound and Lover Enshrined) and one I approached with trepidation. Not only was the previous book a let down, but this is the longest one yet at 716 pages. This is a total return to form though and I loved it.

The plot is cleverly done and there is a lot of it. Rehvenge's life is more complex than the previously featured Brothers, and this book reflects that showing his separate business, family, symphath and romantic lives. It also has different plotlines relating to Xhex and John Matthew whose relationship gets even more complicated and messy (luckily their book is next), Lash's new life as a lesser and his role within the Lessening Society and Wrath's changing role as fighter and King. There is so much story here I became a little overwhelmed but it is well paced with a ton of tension.

I've liked Rehvenge ever since his introduction as the Reverend at the beginning of the series. We've seen him grow and change throughout the books, showing his protective family side and the responsibilty he has taken on to keep Xhex safe. He lives in a very dark place because of his responsibilities, and Ehlena is brilliant for balancing out Rehvenge's darkness. As someone who cares for a parent I can say that her emotions as a carer are spot on and this really made her character come to life for me.

The ending is incredible, giving all the characters an opportunity to be the best they can be - even Wrath and Tohr who had occasionally annoyed me earlier in the book. It reshapes the BDB world and also leads straight into the next book so I can't wait to see where the author goes from here.

All in all this was an awesome read and I can't wait to get stuck into Lover Mine.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 48/50

Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon - Saturday

Today was day two of the read-a-thon and I have finished Unholy Ghosts and I'm 269 pages into Lover Avenged. I think reading Lover Avenged may drop my overall book count as it's a whopping 712 pages long. I really want to know more about Rehvenge though so I'm loving every page!

I also took part in an awesome picture challenge over at Book Briefs and the answer to my puzzle was The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Annette Blair. It's the final part of her awesome accidental witch trilogy that starts with The Kitchen Witch (clicking should take you to Goodreads).

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

Title: Unholy Ghosts
Author: Stacia Kane
Publisher: Harper Voyager
ISBN: 978-0-00-73528-14
Pages: 346
Series: Downside Ghosts #1
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Library
Goodreads


Chess Putnam is a Church witch who investigates claims of hauntings, debunking most and exorcising the few real ghosts she finds. Being haunted gets you compensation from the Church so Chess is kept busy but now her drug habit has caused her a problem. Her dealer wants Chess's debt paid in full by clearing a ghost from his property which sounds simple enough. Until of course Chess investigates and discovers this is no ordinary ghost...and that others don't want the property cleared.

This is the first book in the Downside Ghosts series and is a bit darker than the urban fantasy books I usually read. The author has created an amazingly complex world full of hidden depths and the reader is dropped straight in with no info dumping. It is based on the premise that in October 1997 Haunting Week saw ghosts rise from their graves all over the world and seek vengence on the living. By the end of the week, only a third of the previous population remained alive and the Church of Real Truth had stepped in to take control.

The plot is well developed with lots of twists and turns, but I figured several twists out quite early on which dented my enjoyment a bit. I was a bit thrown by the way some of the characters in the book speak, for example "Right. You not there they miss you, aye?". It's a bit hard to follow, especially when someone talks for a while so it distracts a bit from the storyline.

I liked Chess as a character which surprised me as she is a drug addict and spends a lot of time thinking about where her next fix is coming from. Regardless of this she does manage to kick some serious butt and it's nice to have a break from the standard goodie-two-shoes heroines. Terrible, the enforcer for Chess's dealer, is brilliant and without him Chess would have screwed up a lot more.

All in all, this was a good read and I'll probably pick up a copy of the next book Unholy Magic.

Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 44/50

Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon - Friday

So at the end of day one, I have finished Silence which totally rocked and I'm 60 pages into my second Unholy Ghosts. I've also managed to participate in a couple of the contests including making a sentence out of book titles, which was both harder and funnier than I expected!

Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon - Challenge

So Britta over at Lovely Lit has created an awesome challenge for the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon where we get to make a sentence using only book titles. You can't leave out or add in any words and, while the sentence can be as silly as you like, it must be a real sentence (with a subject and a verb).

The forest of hands and teeth enchanted Anna dressed in blood.

Britta's awesome post is here if you want to check out hers, and Vicki's over at Books, Biscuits and Tea is brilliant too :)

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Silence
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 978-0-85707-227-6
Pages: 438
Series: Hush, Hush #3
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Nora wakes up in a cemetery in the middle of the night, with no idea how she got there and no memory of the last five months. Somehow it is September and she can't remember anything after April. Her world has moved on without her, and Nora struggles to recover her memories as she is haunted by black eyes and a mysterious boy whose absence has left a hole in her heart. But amnesia doesn't last forever and Nora's about to learn there are some who will kill to keep her in the dark.

This is the third book in the amazing Hush, Hush series (after Hush, Hush and Crescendo) and picks up three months after the last one finished. I had no idea of the direction this book would take, and even after Crescendo's cliffhanger I definitely wasn't expecting this.

The plot is brilliantly developed and is full of twists and turns that keep you turning the pages to find out what will happen next. The tension is kept high from the start as readers of the previous books know who kidnapped Nora and she has no idea, so we get to see her cluelessly interact with her kidnapper. Nora's struggle to find out the truth leads her on some risky paths and that too adds to the tension.

Patch is incredible in this book! I liked him in the previous books, but it was this book in which he stole my heart. It's hard to go into without adding spoilers but he is brilliant. Vee is a much changed character. Her past experiences means she has developed an anti-boy streak but she still adds a sense of fun to the book which is much needed while Nora's amnesia is in full swing.

The ending is cleverly done, creating a lead in to the next book and changing the balance between Patch and Nora forever. There is going to be a fourth and final book due out approximately October 2012 (confirmed by Becca at a signing) which will be set during Cheshvan.

All in all this was an incredible read and I can't wait for the next book!

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50

Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon

So this weekend I'm participating in my first ever blog-based read-a-thon. It's being hosted by the awesome My Shelf Confessions and runs from today until Sunday. Sign ups are open until then so if you want to join in for just one day or even all three click here to find out more.

I'm super excited and have been debating about which books to read all week. So I've made a shortlist of books and I'll pick from these as I go:

Silence is a given as I'm about 5 chapters in and loving it! I know I'm not going to get much reading done today as my niece is here, but I'm hoping to get more done tomorrow and Sunday.

I'll be posting reviews as I go otherwise I'll get confused and muddle the books up. All the reviews will be tagged as "wonderfully wicked" and I'll do a round-up post with links to all of them once the read-a-thon is over. There will probably be updates each evening before I go to sleep, but not many during the day as I'll (hopefully) be busy reading.

If you're taking part, feel free to say hi! I'm looking forward to checking out your blogs and updates :)