Post by Charlynn on Jun 7, 2011 18:53:01 GMT -5
Lover Enshrined
It has been 48 days since I last posted a book response.
Now, it has not been for a lack of reading on my part. On the contrary, I have read story after story, page after page of online fanfiction, but there has been no dent put into the stack of unread books residing upon my bedroom floor. Back in April, my goal had been to finish the Black Dagger Brotherhood series so that the blog's book of the month could have been Ward's latest release. Obviously, this didn't happen. Granted, I was extremely busy with school last semester, but I always make a little bit of time to read each and every night before bed, and, for the past near two months, that time has not been spent reading Lover Enshrined as it should have been. Last week, however, I decided enough was enough, and I forced myself to finish this novel. Yes, forced, because I did not enjoy this sixth installment of the series. Consequently, I will be taking a break from the Brotherhood series, though I do promise to finish reading (and responding) to them eventually. For now, though, let's delve into why I didn't enjoy Lover Enshrined.
As I have mentioned before with these books, if I do not enjoy the lead characters and their relationship, then the novel doesn't make the grade for me, and that proved to be the case with Lover Enshrined. I had no patience with Phury's addition. Yes, in the past, I stated that I believed he would become more interesting if he did progress his drug habit from red smoke to heroin... which he did but just once. However, at that point in the book, I was already bored and, quite frankly, annoyed. Plus, I have little patience for those with addictions. In addition, I do not enjoy the character of Cormia, his mate, either. Maybe she wanted to be an individual, but it took her an entire novel to finalize just a few character traits specific to her own personality. Essentially, for much of the tome, she was a blank slate. There was nothing to identify with, and it was no wonder that she was unhappy. If I didn't voice my own opinions and allowed everyone to walk all over me, I'd be unhappy, too. Although she had a legitimate excuse, for she was a member of the Chosen, this didn't translate into her being dynamic enough to read about.
Another aspect of Lover Enshrined which frustrated me was Phury's poor attitude, his insipid 'Wizard' which spoke to him, taunting him about his life and choices, and the gigantic chip that rested upon his wide yet, apparently incapable of handling such a heavy burden, shoulders. Yes, life had dealt Phury a terrible hand. Not only was his twin brother kidnapped, but his parents were wastes, and he lost a leg saving that brother, but get over it already. Despite all these things, he had a really good life – friends and family who loved him, an important position in vampire society, and all the money a person could ever hope for. Love, honor, and financial means, that's not a combination to take for granted, yet Phury did to the point where he almost threw everything away.
Next on my roster of complaints is Rhevenge's... lover?... I guess I would call her. I like to think that I have a broad curiosity and a pretty open mind, but his sex scene with his symphath queen was disturbing. With the references and comparisons to a scorpion, the chapter detailing their intimate relations bordered on bestiality, in my opinion. At the end, I didn't feel sorry for Rhevenge; I was just disturbed, and, knowing that there is an eventual novel devoted to him and his future relationship, I fear having to read yet another scene (let alone several) between him and his blackmailer.
Finally, I must complain about all the slang and abbreviations used in the books. I swear, with each novel I read in the series, Ward includes more and more of this. While I understand that it is supposed to set a mood and add to the characterizations – creating veracity where the characters are concerned, all it does is distract me, especially if I have to stop in the middle of a sentence and figure out what exactly the characters are actually saying. Yes, maybe there are people who talk the way these vampires do, but I don't, and no one that I know personally does either. It's called moderation. Use it. Please.
I'll admit that this is a lot of complaining. There are a few things that I can speak positively about as far as Lover Enshrined is concerned: I appreciated Lash's reveal and transformation into the Omega's son (though I must say that I think these novels and the war between the vampires and the lessers would be more entertaining if the lessers weren't so clearly the bad guys, if there was a little gray in this war rather than just strictly black and white, but that's an entirely separate matter), I was glad that Tohr was found and returned to the Brotherhood, and I think that there is some promise with the Lassiter storyline. He was amusing.
Anyway, the bottom line is this: if this novel stood alone and was not a part of a series, I would not recommend it. However, Lover Enshrined is smack dab in the middle of an ongoing series, which means, if you want to read some of the books – the good ones, you're going to have to read the bad ones as well or risk being confused and lost the next time you pick up one of Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood novels. So, if you want to read the series, be warned that you'll have to make it through this sixth book, but don't pick it up expecting it to become your new favorite novel. At least, that's my say in the matter.
It has been 48 days since I last posted a book response.
Now, it has not been for a lack of reading on my part. On the contrary, I have read story after story, page after page of online fanfiction, but there has been no dent put into the stack of unread books residing upon my bedroom floor. Back in April, my goal had been to finish the Black Dagger Brotherhood series so that the blog's book of the month could have been Ward's latest release. Obviously, this didn't happen. Granted, I was extremely busy with school last semester, but I always make a little bit of time to read each and every night before bed, and, for the past near two months, that time has not been spent reading Lover Enshrined as it should have been. Last week, however, I decided enough was enough, and I forced myself to finish this novel. Yes, forced, because I did not enjoy this sixth installment of the series. Consequently, I will be taking a break from the Brotherhood series, though I do promise to finish reading (and responding) to them eventually. For now, though, let's delve into why I didn't enjoy Lover Enshrined.
As I have mentioned before with these books, if I do not enjoy the lead characters and their relationship, then the novel doesn't make the grade for me, and that proved to be the case with Lover Enshrined. I had no patience with Phury's addition. Yes, in the past, I stated that I believed he would become more interesting if he did progress his drug habit from red smoke to heroin... which he did but just once. However, at that point in the book, I was already bored and, quite frankly, annoyed. Plus, I have little patience for those with addictions. In addition, I do not enjoy the character of Cormia, his mate, either. Maybe she wanted to be an individual, but it took her an entire novel to finalize just a few character traits specific to her own personality. Essentially, for much of the tome, she was a blank slate. There was nothing to identify with, and it was no wonder that she was unhappy. If I didn't voice my own opinions and allowed everyone to walk all over me, I'd be unhappy, too. Although she had a legitimate excuse, for she was a member of the Chosen, this didn't translate into her being dynamic enough to read about.
Another aspect of Lover Enshrined which frustrated me was Phury's poor attitude, his insipid 'Wizard' which spoke to him, taunting him about his life and choices, and the gigantic chip that rested upon his wide yet, apparently incapable of handling such a heavy burden, shoulders. Yes, life had dealt Phury a terrible hand. Not only was his twin brother kidnapped, but his parents were wastes, and he lost a leg saving that brother, but get over it already. Despite all these things, he had a really good life – friends and family who loved him, an important position in vampire society, and all the money a person could ever hope for. Love, honor, and financial means, that's not a combination to take for granted, yet Phury did to the point where he almost threw everything away.
Next on my roster of complaints is Rhevenge's... lover?... I guess I would call her. I like to think that I have a broad curiosity and a pretty open mind, but his sex scene with his symphath queen was disturbing. With the references and comparisons to a scorpion, the chapter detailing their intimate relations bordered on bestiality, in my opinion. At the end, I didn't feel sorry for Rhevenge; I was just disturbed, and, knowing that there is an eventual novel devoted to him and his future relationship, I fear having to read yet another scene (let alone several) between him and his blackmailer.
Finally, I must complain about all the slang and abbreviations used in the books. I swear, with each novel I read in the series, Ward includes more and more of this. While I understand that it is supposed to set a mood and add to the characterizations – creating veracity where the characters are concerned, all it does is distract me, especially if I have to stop in the middle of a sentence and figure out what exactly the characters are actually saying. Yes, maybe there are people who talk the way these vampires do, but I don't, and no one that I know personally does either. It's called moderation. Use it. Please.
I'll admit that this is a lot of complaining. There are a few things that I can speak positively about as far as Lover Enshrined is concerned: I appreciated Lash's reveal and transformation into the Omega's son (though I must say that I think these novels and the war between the vampires and the lessers would be more entertaining if the lessers weren't so clearly the bad guys, if there was a little gray in this war rather than just strictly black and white, but that's an entirely separate matter), I was glad that Tohr was found and returned to the Brotherhood, and I think that there is some promise with the Lassiter storyline. He was amusing.
Anyway, the bottom line is this: if this novel stood alone and was not a part of a series, I would not recommend it. However, Lover Enshrined is smack dab in the middle of an ongoing series, which means, if you want to read some of the books – the good ones, you're going to have to read the bad ones as well or risk being confused and lost the next time you pick up one of Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood novels. So, if you want to read the series, be warned that you'll have to make it through this sixth book, but don't pick it up expecting it to become your new favorite novel. At least, that's my say in the matter.