Covet – J.R. Ward (Fallen Angel’s Series #1)
September 29, 2009
Paranormal Romance
496 pages, paperback
Signet
Those who read this blog regularly, or see me on Twitter know I am a JR Ward junkie. I love the brothers and was super excited to hear she was going to start a new series. Covet is the first in her fallen angels series. Still set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world and in Caldwell, NY, but no vamps this time- angels and demons. This book gets a big old “meh” from me.
Before I go into what I liked and didn’t like in this book let me set up the world – which is basically set up in the prologue in an odd sports analogy. The Creator is tired – tired of good fighting bad in an endless stream. So there has been a decision – one man is chosen to help seven people who are swaying between good and evil to choose sides. This man, Jim Heron, has played for both teams, yes he has a good heart, which the angels like, but he has performed bad deeds which appeal to the demons. Problem is – Jim Heron has no idea who he is suppose to help, and the demons have cheated and added an extra player into the field. Jim is a regular mortal, until an unfortunate accident, when he then meets four “people” that help guide him on his journey.
In this journey, we have Vin Di Pietro, Real Estate Mogul, wealthy, high powered who is dating Devina, perfect, gorgeous woman. Marie-Terese is working as a prostitute at a high-end club to make ends meet to support her son and stay hidden from her mobster ex-husband. Of course, perfect Marie-Terese will win the heart of Vin, because isn’t that they way things always go?
What I liked:
The World – As I said, this is set in her bdb world, but the vamps are off doing their own thing. Here Jim Heron has a task of a lifetime (or many lifetimes). Jim is not completely on his own, there are hints here and there from above, and he even has his own pair of fallen angels (hello Adrian Vogel!) and a dog (seriously, what is up with the dog) on his side.
Jim – I LOVED Jim. Thank goodness for Jim or I might have thrown this book across the room. He is different – still a mystery even at the end of the book. He will appear throughout the series and I loved his personality. He wears flannel and has more of a regular-guy attitude. I think his past, and the people he used to work for will play a lot into the future books. I’m still wondering if his boss Matthias is somehow connected to the fallen angels in any way. I just have a feeling Matthias will play an important role in this series.
Fallen Angels – Won’t go into too much detail, but I like them. Yes, they are very reminiscent of being “brothers” from bdb world, but I can’t help but like that kind of camaraderie.
What I did not like:
Vin Di Pietro – Vin is the standard cookie-cutter J.R. Ward hero. Replace Vin with Rehv and I wouldn’t have known a difference (well, Vin has less problems in bed). When you first meet him I thought he was pretty cool – he was very stern and direct and no-nonsense. But he quickly turned into your standard alpha male, all mushy over a girl he doesn’t even know. Same old, same old. His personality totally turned around – what happened to him?
Marie-Terese – She had no spark and her personality was perfect, too perfect. She is on the run from her dangerous ex-husband and they only job she could find is to be a prostitute. I am so sick of reading about prostitutes that have no other choice but to work where they are working. Come on!! If m-t hated it that much, I think she was educated, get a job somewhere else. Or take money that is offered to you by Vin, even if that means you owe him. The club where she works, The Iron Mask, is owned by Trez (from Lover Avenged.) Trez is this super nice gentleman pimp. His character confused me. He was too nice to be a pimp. Not that I am schooled in the knowledge of all pimps, but his demeanor did not agree with me. Her kid was also too perfect. Way too understanding of his circumstances.
The unknown villain – Won’t go into spoilery details but throughout the book there is someone following Marie-Terese around. I really didn’t connect with his part in the story.
I am still confused about a part in the beginning – when Adrian Vogel kind of pushes Jim to hook up with the woman in the blue dress. Those who have read it know the part. Why would Adrian do this? He knew who the woman in the blue dress was and while he apologizes for it later, it makes no sense whatsoever for him to have done it in the first place. Is anyone else bothered by this? Maybe Adrian is under her spell?
Something else to consider – I am totally stealing this theory from THIS person on the message boards – but – I haven’t yet considered the fact that bad is going to have to “win” in some of the books to make it a seven book series. If good wins four times, then game over, right? Is it going to come down to a 3-3 tie when book seven comes out? And I realize this is looking seven years down the line, but this will affect the previous books in the series. If bad does end up winning in a book – what does that mean? Will every book have a HEA? I just don’t see JR Ward writing a book with a ruthless ending.
The hero for the next book, Crave, is briefly mentioned in this book (look in my JR Ward page to see who it is). From the one sentence description I have a feeling I will like him better. J.R.Ward has also said she sees this series getting darker – which I am all for. For me personally, I am glad I liked the world she has built since I have to read about it for the next six books. And Jim -he really is a favorite character of mine. I can deal with not liking the hero and heroine this time and hope for better!
Rating: 3 Stars
J.R. Ward’s website.
hhmmm, I received my copy yesterday and I'm very interested now in how I will feel about Vin and Marie because IMO if you don't like the main couple very much than a story loses a lot of its potential.
Great review, thanks for your honesty. Your "meh" rating makes me think I might hold off on this one. I still have a few to finish in the BDB series.
Leontine – Definitely – my dislike for them was the main reason I didn't like it. There was nothing special about them.
Teddyree – No need to rush to read it:)
PS: really enjoyed reading your review Mandi, thanks!! ( With the flu in my system I’m even more of a scatter brain)
Leontine – Go lay in bed and feel better!!!! I hope you have something good to read ;)
Great review, Mandi! I'm intrigued and want to read Cohvet… Chovet Covhet..
Where the hell was I?! LOL
I want to read this one but I SO want to read the latest BDB first!
Yes – Thanks to Katiebabs and CJ we will call it Chovet!! And Lover Avenged was pretty good!
I am not buying into the whole hooker part either, I would rather starve than do that. Well..dunno.
Looking forward to my copy though
Thanks for the review! I think I may hold off on this one for a bit, and wait for the second book..
Cos I am argumentative, as an aside re. the hooker, realistically 'on the lam' if in hiding, hooker is probably best paying job available by a good mile. Education is not going to help you without proper ID, references and a fixed addy. Got a young kid to feed.. just saying…
I totally understand that – I am just saying – m-t despised at the core of her soul being a prostitute. To her,it was the absolute worst thing that she could be doing. It affected her mentally and physically to an extreme amount. So, why not take an offer of money from vin, even if that means setting up a loan and owing him. Take any steps you can to get out of that job, IF it bothers you that much.
Mandi…I'm in bed with Skin Game…cannot read much but when I read it, it is this book :)
Oh no..I'm sorry you are so sick. Skin Game will keep you in VERY good company though. I can't wait to talk to you about that book. Reyes and Foster have to be making you feel a tiny bit better :)
I have been really sick this week too. I hope this means we will be healthy the rest of the winter! Hope you get some good rest!
Hey Mandi! I have yet to read the BDB series yet (ducking head), so this one does not appeal to me as much. And if you are giving it the "meh" rating… well. Then I am like Leontine, if you can not fall in love with the main characters (who you will see throughout the whole book) how can you read the whole book. But you did a great job at the review!!
Hope you are feeling better!!
And Leontine, if you read this… I hope you are feeling better too honey!!
My word verification is: woomopp
WTH! LOL!!!
Hope you have a great day!
LOL Cecile – gotta love the word verifications :)
I'm heading over to your blog now to see what is up with Amanda McIntyre!
I'm waiting for my copy to read this book but i think i lost my emthusiasm when i first started reading the comments and reviews on Covet. I'll read it though because it still sounds interesting but i'm not really looking out for the hooker part. I hope it won't kill my interest in Ward's other books?
It's fortunate there's Jim to be looking for ;)
Ack! Really?!?!?! I was looking forward to this one. In all honesty, you have to give her credit, can you imagine the pressure she must have had to try and replicate the same intense characters and plot line that she did with the BDB?
Hey Mandi…thanks for this refreshingly honest review, instead of "I'm gonna blow sunshine up JR Ward's ass no matter what the hell she writes!" As they say on Top Chef, you're only as good as your last meal (doesn't matter how damned good you were on episode one)…Think I might skip this one. Ciao!
Barbara – I am sure it was stressful to write a book in the same world, but still have a different feeling. I think she did great with the world. I don't have complaints about that. The book definitely had a different feeling than BDB..except for Vin. But the other characters had a different vibe, and that is why I am still looking forward to book two!
Penelope – It is hard for me to say I wasn't happy with JR Ward. I LOVE JR Ward books. I even LOVED Phury's book. So yeah – I had to tell it how I read it.Even though I really wanted to like it.
Man, when I first started reading your review I thought Jim was the hero. Now I am totally bummed that he's not, LOL! I think the series sounds interesting, though. I hope Ward can pull it off :)
No, Jim will be in each book..which is a twist I like. He has to help the h/h find their way. I hope that by the end of the series, he also finds someone:)
Love your review…I just got this book to review on our group review blog and have made it to about page 150. I am liking Jim so I am glad he will be around in all of the books. I also did think since this was a 7 book series that Jim wouldn't be winning all of the battles…but it will be great reading them all.
Froggy
http://froggaritavillesbookcase.blogspot.com
A Blog with Bite!
http://blogwithbitereviews.blogspot.com
I am very curious if Jim will win all the battles!! I am definitely asking her that at the Chat! Thanks Froggy:)
I totally agree with your review. I think I stopped reading around page 175. I'm not saying it's a DNF, but I need to be in the mood to finish it, and so far, I'm not.
Great Review. What is "meh"?
I just bought my copy yesterday, haven't started it yet though. I want to finish the Lara Adrian book I am reading first. I am really intersted… I am hoping that I am not as disappointed as you sound. Wasn't Marie Terese also in the BDB books, working at Rehv's club.
meh is like – ok. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. I guess it is just a made up word – LOL.
Yes, m-t worked at Rehv's club and you see her briefly in Lover Avenged.
I would love to hear your thoughts after you read it!! :)
I just read your commentary as it is next on my list – probably by Friday…
I so want to get to this book, it just is not funny anymore…
E.H>
So blogger ate my informative and mind blowing comment. ARG!!
What I don't understand is why Ward set Chovet in the same world as her BDB series? I really, really thought this book would be a start of a new series in a whole different universe. But because it isn't then everything she wrote about with the Omega, Scribe Virgin and the Phade doesn't make sense because now we have God, the Devil and angels. It is one thing for a culture to have a set of beliefs like the BDB vamps, but with Covet a whole new set of beliefs have come to life.
Unless this Caldwell is a alternative universe?
And don't tell me Lassiter isn't going to show up at one point.
Yes – I don't completely understand how SV, Omega, and "The Creator" are all living peacefully (or maybe not peacefully) together. Wouldn't the creator have something to say to the SV and Omega???? Like – get out of my world:) I further don't understand how Lassiter fits in. Covet introduces us to two fallen angels that sort of help Jim out in his quest. Isn't Lassiter a fallen angel?? But JR Ward has said he is not the same kind. Huh?
I really liked the world she has created in this book and I think it would have gone over fine if she would have started something different than bdb world. I think as readers we would be ok with that.
You don't see Lassiter in this book, but Phury and Butch make a cameo. You wouldn't know it was them unless you read bdb.
There are different angels? Lassiter is the S&M pierced faction?
I am almost positive JR Ward said in a chat that Lassiter is not the same kind of angel as the angels in Covet. The angels in Covet are fallen, so maybe Lassiter isn't? But I am pretty sure he is…
Maybe he falls more under the SV than the creator? I don't know. I am asking her at her chat!
BTW- I loved the two fallen angels in this series. I want more of them.
Okay, I am totally talking out of my ass, because I haven't read the book yet, but… couldn't this be like in our world were we have multiple religions ie, Christianity and Islamic. Maybe you could look at the Scibe Virgin and the Creator the same way?
LOL, my word verification is "dogen".
HA @ your word :)
Yes, that could be! Duh. Yes, I said duh. I swear I am high on cough medicine. What you said makes sense. I was thinking of gods clashing and fighting with each other instead of the world we live in where there are many beliefs :) I've been reading way too much UF :)
Yes, that makes sense to me.
Great review and I've noticed this book has mixed reviews either you liked it or not!
I'm also a huge J.R. Ward fan and so is my bro and I've decided to still read this! LOL!
I am still addicted to her ;)
I definitely think people should read this book just so you are ready for book two!!!
Great, honest review.
I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive, so I will probably jump back on here and give a more informed response in a few days :)
I had reservations about Marie-Therese when I read that she would be the heroine. I remember reading about her in one of the BDB books, just a quick snippet from Xhex's POV in the club, and I remember thinking I really didn't like her. It was a weird, instantaneous thing, but when I found out she would be the leading lady I gagged for a moment.
Oh! And I thought Trez & iAm were running one of Rehv's restaurants? Or going with him to help rule over the sympaths. I really want more of Trez & iAm in the BDB books, but I wonder if Trez being in 'Covet' means he's now relegated to this universe only?
Good review! I didn't realize it was in the BDB world. Disappointed that the majority of reviews I'm reading are similar with the whole "meh" factor, but I'm still curious enough to want to read it…
Definitely read it. Like I said, it sets up the world for future books. Maybe you will like Vin and m-t :)
you just confirmed a fear of mine!!!
Ack – oh no! :) Don't be fearful!
Oh so disappointed about the "meh" rating! I've really been looking forward to this book. Although, I'm still waiting for it to arrive from the Book Depo, they said it was shipped. Um!
Well, at least I know what I'll be going into. But you know, to be truthful, when I had seen that Marie-Terese was going to be in Cohvet (grins), I really wasn't to enthused about that. She didn't make any real impressions on me in the BDB books. But I was hoping it would be good anyways. Thanks for the review, enjoyed it.
Since I haven't even read her other series yet–the one with the vampires–I'm not sure I should start with this one.
On the other hand, it might be interesting to see how someone who hasn't been exposed to Ward would react to the new series, compared to her current fans. But maybe not.
I liked it better than you did but it still wasn't fab. There were some great parts but then there were other meh parts as well.
I think Adrian definitely has something going with Divina. He threw Jim at her, and then he spent all that time "distracting" her while wearing chains? Hrmmmmm.
Hrmmmm indeed. Jr Ward has said Adrian and Devina have a history..whatever that means. What happened when the two of them met in Covet? We never got to see that, right?
No, we didn't, but chains and distraction and "you don't want to know" were definitely mentioned. I wonder if there's an Ash/Artemis thing going on with them.
I'm so totally on board with you on Covet. It was meh at best and it was even poorer than Rehv's book. If I have to compare it with the first of the BDB series… this one goes straight to some endless pit.
I guess two books a year is a bit too much :(
AmericanHealthJournal is looking for partner sites in the medical genre. American Health Journal is a medical content site which contains three thousand of high quality medicine videos. We are seeking blog owners who are interested in featuring our videos. We can offer content exchanges, link exchanges, and exposure to your website. Contact us at our contact page on our site.