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A review by cristalclearshershelves
The King by J.R. Ward
Originally posted on Three Little Birds Book Blog
This is the first review I’ve written for a BDB book, so this is more a review of the series as a whole, as well as The King.
I fell in love with the BDB on a weekend a few years ago when I was bored and curious. I started and caught up with all the books in the series in one week (and that was after there’d already been 7 books released). ONE WEEK – that’s how addicting these books are. I was a fangirl from the first chapters, having already chosen my favorites (Rhage, Z, and JM are my boos!), daydreamed fan-fiction, and stalked J. R. Ward. But, as the series went on, the intimacy of the first books was lost as the world kept expanding to include more characters and storylines, and my attention waned with each new release. I just didn’t love the series as much as I used to.
So, you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that book 12 (damn, this series is long) was Wrath and Beth’s story. Where it all began. I was stoked. Unfortunately, things didn’t flow smoothly when I first tried to read this book. I just couldn’t connect (!!), and I was devastated. I tried to read this book multiple times, but struggled to get past the first couple of chapters. Then I tried again. Same result. I couldn’t deal. Was I going to have to give up on a series that I loved, a series that gave me so much joy? Unacceptable. I’m not usually one to hesitate about DNFing – I’ll quit the hell out of a book – but after 11 books, I wasn’t ready to give up on that relationship. So, I bought the audiobook, pressed play and started listening while I visited my mom over the weekend and drove her around on errands (I listen to audiobooks and zone her out all the time; she’s accepted the fact that I’m rude, so don’t worry).
What did I think of The King? I think this is a Black Dagger Brotherhood book that takes it back to the beginning, resets a series based on the best alpha males in the game and sets the stage for who knows what kind of excitement is to come. Now, it didn’t start out that way – I still struggled for a good 40+% to fully invest, but once everything started coalescing, it rolled smoothly and quickly. I even grew to love all the secondary characters that I wanted exorcised in the very beginning. Once all the storylines settled, and I had background for everyone, and when it became apparent that the political stuff was tied in with the romance, I fell hard again for this world that The Warden created. These truly are some of the most passionate and loving men in romance, and I loved being reminded of why I felt so much for them in the first place, and why they’re so hard to forget.
This is still a series that has a lot going on, with…what, 3 solid romantic relationships unresolved, and at least 2 potential ones yet to exist? All of which I'm excited about. I’m glad I didn’t give up on this series. The BDB are still the shit, and I won’t take as long to read The Shadows as I did The King. Seriously, I love this series, and I love that J. R. Ward still has so much to say regarding her brothers, because it doesn’t seem that I’ll ever get enough of them and their Shellans.
This is the first review I’ve written for a BDB book, so this is more a review of the series as a whole, as well as The King.
I fell in love with the BDB on a weekend a few years ago when I was bored and curious. I started and caught up with all the books in the series in one week (and that was after there’d already been 7 books released). ONE WEEK – that’s how addicting these books are. I was a fangirl from the first chapters, having already chosen my favorites (Rhage, Z, and JM are my boos!), daydreamed fan-fiction, and stalked J. R. Ward. But, as the series went on, the intimacy of the first books was lost as the world kept expanding to include more characters and storylines, and my attention waned with each new release. I just didn’t love the series as much as I used to.
So, you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that book 12 (damn, this series is long) was Wrath and Beth’s story. Where it all began. I was stoked. Unfortunately, things didn’t flow smoothly when I first tried to read this book. I just couldn’t connect (!!), and I was devastated. I tried to read this book multiple times, but struggled to get past the first couple of chapters. Then I tried again. Same result. I couldn’t deal. Was I going to have to give up on a series that I loved, a series that gave me so much joy? Unacceptable. I’m not usually one to hesitate about DNFing – I’ll quit the hell out of a book – but after 11 books, I wasn’t ready to give up on that relationship. So, I bought the audiobook, pressed play and started listening while I visited my mom over the weekend and drove her around on errands (I listen to audiobooks and zone her out all the time; she’s accepted the fact that I’m rude, so don’t worry).
What did I think of The King? I think this is a Black Dagger Brotherhood book that takes it back to the beginning, resets a series based on the best alpha males in the game and sets the stage for who knows what kind of excitement is to come. Now, it didn’t start out that way – I still struggled for a good 40+% to fully invest, but once everything started coalescing, it rolled smoothly and quickly. I even grew to love all the secondary characters that I wanted exorcised in the very beginning. Once all the storylines settled, and I had background for everyone, and when it became apparent that the political stuff was tied in with the romance, I fell hard again for this world that The Warden created. These truly are some of the most passionate and loving men in romance, and I loved being reminded of why I felt so much for them in the first place, and why they’re so hard to forget.
This is still a series that has a lot going on, with…what, 3 solid romantic relationships unresolved, and at least 2 potential ones yet to exist? All of which I'm excited about. I’m glad I didn’t give up on this series. The BDB are still the shit, and I won’t take as long to read The Shadows as I did The King. Seriously, I love this series, and I love that J. R. Ward still has so much to say regarding her brothers, because it doesn’t seem that I’ll ever get enough of them and their Shellans.