Book Review: Covet by J.R. Ward

Title: Covet (Amazon)
Series: The Fallen Angels, #1
Author: J.R. Ward 
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: bought
Published: October 2009 by Signet

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 charge 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. But 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.

My Thoughts:

First off, let me just say that I didn't have high expectations for this book to begin with; I'm not into Angels and Demons and such. But I figured it's by J.R. Ward so why not give it a try? I liked that it wasn't predictable; it had me wanting to know how things were going to follow through.

J.R. Ward doesn't disappoint with the bedroom scenes! She paints a very vivid and explicit picture of the hanky-panky. So much so that when I let 2 friends of mine at work read page 343, they were blushing! Go ahead, get out your copy and turn to that page. Just wipe the drool off the keyboard when you're done. Oh, and don't forget to wipe your seat....(oh yes I did just say that!)

I appreciate that the book, especially since being first in a series, was initially released in paperback. It's hard to shell out the green on a hard cover that you don't know if you're going to like. Psst! Publishers: I'm more likely to invest in a series when it's available in paperback. Just sayin'.

The cover is good. Not great, but good. Take off the leather jacket and slap me silly. As is, it doesn't scream at me to pick it up. I don't want to stroke it and pet it but at least I'm not embarrassed to be seen reading it.

Confession: The first thing I did when I got the book was flipped to the back to read the excerpt from Lover Mine, which was very short, too short. Not very revealing. John Matthew gets a Xhex tatt. Okay, no shocker there. Just give me John Matthew already! Just for the record, he's mine ladies! And no, I don't share.

The Book Vixen’s Rating:
 

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BLOG WITH BITE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Q1 - Did you relate to Jim at all? Did you feel like he was a good choice or worthy of this mission?

I can't say that I relate to Jim but I think he's worthy of this mission. He's a trained government professional on hiatus. He's pretty much a loner with nothing tying him down; no girlfriend/wife, no kids, only the dog that "popped" into his life. The main focal point of the book for me was Vin and Gretchen. I wanted to know what was going to happen between them, more so than with Jim and the Angels. What can I say? I love me some smut.

Q2 - How do you feel about the tone of the book? Did you think that there was too much slang/not enough/just enough? How did you feel about the word choice in the book- did it add to your reading of the story or take away from it?

I like that J.R. Ward creates her own slang terms and sayings. She makes the alpha males tough and rugged. The choice of words used in the book brought the story to life. It's who the characters are. And they definitely aren't pansies.

Q3 - When the "fantasy" of the book is based on a belief system that is regarded as truth by some religions (the angels & demons) does it help you relate better with the story, as opposed to a story about vampires and werewolves?

I don't read paranormal books because I feel like I'm going to relate to them, because I'm not. If anything, I relate better to the vampires and werewolves than Angels and Demons. And I'm not really into demons. But the premise of [1] Jim finding the person he's suppose to save and [2] how he's going to do it appeals to me.

Q4 - In the opening of this book we read about a football game analogy of Demons verses Angels, even though this is fiction what do think of Demons being portrayed as "Good Guys"?

I get the impression that it was written as the point of view from someone on the Demon team. So to me, the Demon team are going to think and declare that they're the good guys, even though they are not.

Q5 - How do you feel knowing this will be a 7 book series featuring Jim and he might win all of the battles?

I'll take it book-by-book and see how it goes. I'll read other reviews first to see if the next book is TBR pile worthy. Jim solving "crossroads puzzles" is interesting to me but I'm not sure if I can deal with Demons. I wonder if the Fallen Angels will assist him with the remaining 6 challenges or if it will be left up to Jim alone....