I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Covet
by
J.R. Ward
paranormal romance in Paperback edition that was published by Signet on October 29, 2009 and has 474 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened, Crave, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound, Lover Enshrined, Lover Avenged, Lover Mine, Lover Unleashed, Envy, An Irresistible Bachelor, Leaping Hearts, His Comfort and Joy, Lover Reborn, Rapture, Lover at Last, Possession, The King, The Shadows, The Bourbon Kings, Blood Kiss, The Beast, Blood Vow, The Chosen, Blood Fury, “Dearest Ivie”, The Thief, "The Reception", "The Rehearsal Dinner", Consumed, The Savior, Blood Truth, Where Winter Finds You, The Sinner, A Warm Heart in Winter, Claimed, The Wolf
First in the Fallen Angels urban fantasy series and set in Caldwell.
My Take
I enjoyed this very much, but, do not start this series thinking it’s going to be like her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Yes, it incorporates the paranormal, and there were glimpses of the brothers in a couple places, and it appears to take place in the same neck of the woods in Caldwell near the Hudson River. But Fallen Angels is definitely its own series.
It’s actually three stories that eventually merge: Marie-Terese who is fleeing her Mob ex-husband with their son; Vin diPietro, a billionaire contractor about to contract a very bad relationship; and, Jim Heron who is fleeing his old life as a sniper/assassin through his new job as a construction worker for, you guessed it, diPietro.
Marie-Terese is battling her way through her stripper job picking up johns as she struggles to pay off the lawyer and the private investigator. It was worth it. She got her son back and the husband is now an ex. And it’s made her very leery of any good-looking, rich guy. Jim is so stunned to discover who he was boffing the night before that he manages to combine electricity and water creating a round-trip event to Heaven where he encounters four Wodehouse-escapees and accepts their terms. In the meantime, Vin just bought a humongous diamond engagement ring as he’s about to propose to Devina — it seems the thing to do, another check on the list.
Popping back into normal existence, Jim believes that Vin and Devina are his task and in trying to fulfill it, Vin encounters Marie-Terese and falls in love. Yeah, it gets predictable. But it’s fun to watch as Devina does everything nasty to keep Vin while Jim is struggling to figure out what’s going on with Adrian and Eddie as he plots how to keep Devina and Vin together even though Vin is gone on Marie-Terese.
Things get complicated [yeah, even more complicated than the paragraph above!] as we discover Marie-Terese has a stalker who takes exception to any man interested in her while Devina ramps up her particular campaign. For Jim, things just get nastier and nastier: Matthias requires a very stiff price for his help while Adrian and Eddie present Jim with some surprises.
The Story
Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he’s good with that — until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. And then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart.
This is the first battle of the Test that Jim must wage. A savior who doesn’t believe, for redemption isn’t a word Jim Heron knows much about — his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative.
But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option.
The Characters
I enjoyed the characters in this story. Yeah, Vin is a bit over the top. But I’m a sucker for a sincere but dominant guy.
Trez is Marie-Terese’s boss and that boy is hiding some dark secrets. I’m wondering if he’s acquainted with the Black Dagger Brotherhood… For a guy in charge of a strip bar pimping out the ladies, well, all I can say is that it’s too bad there aren’t more pimps like Trez.
Adrian and Eddie are an interesting twosome: Adrian runs off at the mouth and has an addiction to the ladies while Eddie seems more laid back. They both ride bikes and are very interested in hooking up with Jim Heron, the loner.
The Cover
I loved the cover! There is such an air of bad boy menace with the ripped hunk in black leather straddling his bike…la-la-la…
