Reviewer: Casee Covet by J.R. Ward
Series: Fallen Angels #1
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: October 29, 2009
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 474
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Series Rating:
Seven deadly sins. Seven souls to save. This is the first battle between a savior who doesn't believe and a demon with nothing to lose!
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.
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—and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.
It’s really no secret that I’ve been seriously disillusioned by J.R. Ward over the last three or four BDB books. I now tend to start reading her books with an attitude, already expecting that there are going to be things I don’t like (slang, name dropping, etc.). I tried (and mostly succeeded) in going into this book with an open mind and no expectations. And while there were remnants of why I was once so amazed by JRW, I continue to be disappointed in her writing.
My number one problem with this book is that it crossed over into the BDB. That doesn’t mean that Marie-Terese went and had dinner with the Brothers, but she could have. I didn’t like that at all. Now, when I read a BDB book, I’m going to be thinking about how it relates to the Fallen Angels. While reading Covet, I was thinking about the Scribe Virgin. Shouldn’t she have been a part of the making-fallen-angels decision making process? So I don’t like the fact that these two different series take place in the same world. It leaves the door open for too much confusion.
Jim Heron is given the job of a Fallen Angel b/c he’s neither too good nor too bad. So the good side and the bad side (it’s explained as football teams) both find him acceptable. Jim has to help seven souls find their way before they give in to the darkness. Because then the bad team wins and that would be, well, bad.
Jim thinks that he’s supposed to help his boss, Vin DiPietro, find his way. The whole thing with Vin’s almost fiance was weird. At the beginning of the book, Jim slept with a woman that he didn’t know was Vin’s girlfriend. While Vin was out buying her an engagement ring, she was doing Jim in his truck. But see, she was ev-il and it was all part of her master plan.
Marie-Terese was in the last BDB book. She went on the run with her son from her ex-husband who had strong mob ties. She’s a devout Catholic. Who is also a prostitute. I read somewhere that her character wasn’t fleshed out too well and I have to agree. With all the pages written about her, we should have gotten more. I was left with a vague sense of dissatisfaction when it came to Marie-Terese. And for all her safety measures, girl can’t even tell she’s being stalked.
Vin feels a sense of peace when he’s with Marie-Terese that he has never felt in his life. The fact that she’s a prostitute obviously grates, but he tells himself that she has to survive somehow. Vin isn’t the type of man to share and tries not to go all macho/alpha on her, but it’s hard for him. The relationship between the two was lukewarm. I thought Vin had great potential as a hero. I just didn’t get the appeal of Marie-Terese other than the fact that she looked like a picture of the Madonna he has had since he was a kid.
I can’t say if I’ll continue reading this series. I fully admit to being hooked on the BDB, but that’s not the case here. So I might pick it up, I might not.
It also took me FIVE long days to read this book.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5.
Fallen Angels
I love the BDB series. Although, I have only read the first 4, I do have the others. This series…. I have been trying to read this book for about 3 days now, and I just keep putting it down. It isn’t drawing me in like it should. I don’t even think I am 1/2 way. Now it’s a “do I finish or not?”
I totally agree with your thoughts on marie-terese..boring and flat!
Wasn’t a huge fan of Vin either. The cross-over to bdb world didn’t bother me so much…I like Jim and the angels..hopefully the next h/h will be more appealing.
Completely agree Holly. And this book is bloody LONG. I hope the next one is more memorable.
I agree with you too! And you are right about the 2 series being in the same world… does leave it open for some confusion and plot holes IMO.
I’m dragging my feet reading this book. So not happy it is in the same world as the BDB boys.
if only Lassiter had his own series! I would eat those up.
You pretty much summed up how I felt about ‘Covet’. I’m still on board for ‘Lover Mine’, but I think I’ll give ‘Crave’ a miss.
KB, the cross-over world thing really annoyed me, too. It’s too confusing.
Sarah T, I haven’t even heard of Crave.
I hated the last few BDB books I read, the series has taken a huge dive into the dumpster. I was hoping that this one would be better, more like the early BDB books, but it sounds like it starts off where the last craptaculer BDB was.
Thanks for the warning. I wont be reading this one.