Envy (2011) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 4 stars

“Interesting "mystery" and another fun paranormal romance and mythology from the author. These angels are definitely NOT for the faint of heart. LOL”

• Rated 5 stars

“Really liked this one.”

• Rated 5 stars

“I loved it this book was such good read I could not put it down I loved it .”

• Rated 4 stars

“I really enjoyed Envy. JR's use of the same slang for pretty much all her characters gets a bit repetitive but that's all and the scenes up in heaven with Nigel, Colin and the other archangels was kinda boring. But I liked the love story and Veck was hot!”

• Rated 4 stars

“so Envy picks up from that motel scene in Lover Unleashed with Old World vamp Xcor and friend, ravishing the bejeezus out of serial killer, David Kroner.

Thomas "Veck" DelVecchio Jr. was at the wrong place at the wrong time when the vampire retribution happened. So to protect their race and identities, his memory about that night was wiped out. Veck being the son of another famous serial killer, has this nagging feeling that he is somehow responsible for Kroner's attack. Might be his alter ego coming out of the trenches? But further investigations exonerated him which led him to meet Sophia Reilly, an Internal Affairs officer who will be more than his temporary field partner while the Kroner case is ongoing.

Meanwhile Jim Heron is still reeling and seething from the soul he lost to Devina in Crave, and is now tearing walls trying to get ahead of the enemy. He struck an unusual deal with the demon herself but knowing Devina, she have something extremely devious up her sleeve that will not only shake Jim's defense but will certainly strain their offense. On top of that, Nigel and Co. are having internal disputes so Jim Heron is practically on his own in this mission.

Oh. My. Fallen. Angel. I wasn't floored by Crave but Envy more than made up for that! Right off the bat the story builds momentum in the first 50 pages and doesn't let go til the end. Veck is a fascinating hero, his family history alone will set back any therapist years and years of speculation and psych analysis plus his ongoing desire to steer clear form his father's "legacy" and prove that he is nothing like him. Veck is a fascinating character, he has so many layers about him and at one point I was second guessing myself thinking that Devina might win him.

Adrian and Eddie's relationship became more explicit in this one although I wonder what the deal is between these two aside from spending multiple lifetimes together? What exactly did Devina do to Adrian that left him empty and on the brink of death, infected by Devina's "cancer"? I almost lost it like Jim when... SPOILER ALERT!... Eddie fell! He's an angel, how in the world can he die like that? Jim went nuclear when he was't able to save Eddie and Adrian went stoic but I'm betting my last cent that in the coming books, Ad will go apesh*t on Devina once he accepted Eddie's death. That I can't wait to see.

Jim's side project, taking the soul of Sissy Barten (that virgin chick that Devina sacrificed in Covet) back from the demon has made progress. He found her body and my heart broke for Sissy's mother. She became Jim's banner in vanquishing Evil and winning the war. He has still a long way to go before he can retrieve her soul back because Jim is forced to play by the rules while Devina pushes the limits. At the end of the book, Ward threw a curve ball, seems like there will be a rebuttal on Matthias' soul in one of the next books so that will definitely be interesting.

I'm at ends here, I LOVE Ward's men! They are more colorful than a box of 150 colored Crayola. At the same time they are very disturbing so maybe that super latent deviant part of me is responding to her stories. J.R. Ward just writes about men so well and I'd like to believe that she'd captured their POV to a tee. If I don't know who she is, I'd think that she's a dude!

If you are a Ward fan and haven't started Fallen Angels then you better haul some serious a$$ and start reading because the story is getting better each time. Envy was worth the hype and I hardly reread books immediately but I think I'll make an exception for this one.”

• Rated 4 stars

“With a loss, Jim is more determined than ever. Now that he has experienced Davina's games and see the virgin sacrifice, he is using all resources to win. Reilly and Veck are police officers, she is IA and Veck in homicide. Veck's father is a serial killer on death row and Jim is trying to help Veck move on without following his father. There is an unexpected death that changes the complexion of the game and has repercussions for both sides.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Hmm...I like the ever-present characters in this series [Jim/Adrian/Nigel/Devina], but the rotating hero/heroines kind of let me down as characters, which may just be due to their quick intros/quick stories/quick "fall in love" sequence. I'm going to keep reading this series, but I think I like Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood books better. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the crossovers in the two series present in this book; hopefully there will be more of that in the future books!”

• Rated 4 stars

“Awesome”

• Rated 2 stars

“Not nearly as good as the first two in this series...disappointed. Think I'm done with the Fallen Angels as a result.”

• Rated 5 stars

“All of J.R. Wards brotherhood series were fabulous. Kept me awake at night.”