Words alone cannot express how very, very disappointed I am with this book. I really like Ward and had high hopes for this book. It's the first in a series and to be honest, I was hoping for another Black Dagger Brotherhood. No such luck. I just don't care about Jim or Vin or Marie-Terese or Devina. I kept reading long after I would have stopped with another author because of Ward's track record, but finally gave up around the 28th chapter. Thought I would push through and finish it, but simply can't read another word.

My problems were mainly with the characters and the plot, as the writing itself wasn't bad. Don't get me wrong, as I think that Ward is a talented writer, but this series just isn't for me. I didn't care about Jim, who comes back from the dead with a mission to save souls. Didn't care about either Vin, who is his first mission, or the two women in Vin's life. And the plot didn't move fast enough for me either. To put it simply, I was bored.

All in all, I was very disappointed with this book. Looking forward to the next one in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but won't be reading any future books in the Fallen Angels saga. Think this is only the second book I haven't been able to finish since I've started blogging, so hoping my next book will be better! ( )

The author grabbed me right from the first sentence of the prologue:

"Demon was such a nasty word. "

That one sentence had me wanting to read more, and the questions were already rushing into my brain: Are demons bad? Are they neutral? Will they be corporeal? Many books start off with a prologue that is necessary, but often more along educational or historical lines. I will find myself skimming to get to the guts of the book faster. J.R. Ward uses the prologue to educate, amuse and to lead us into the story with flair, so I soaked it up instead of skimming.

We meet our main character Jim Heron in the first chapter and immediately wonder if he isn't about to get himself into trouble. The author is very descriptive of both people and places, but not so much that it slows the book down. In the first chapter we meet all but one of the main characters. Ward uses humor and sarcasm in her writing along with pop culture references, and slang. She never sugar coats her characters. They jump out of the pages with their good traits and their flaws.

We meet Jim before he finds out about his mission to save souls, which will be the ongoing plot in the book series. As the book goes on we discover much about him as a person and how he deals with his past and his future. Covet has plenty of twists and turns as we are taken through a gambit of emotions. I laughed out loud at many things, cried at a couple of others, and shared anger with the characters as they suffered. Ward doesn't allow us to feel "neutral" about her characters. We may think we don't care at first, but by the end of the book we are right there, either loving or hating them.

For me, Covet was a nonstop read, though not necessarily a fast read because of it's complexity. I loved the book from start to finish. I highly recommend it to fans of urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. If you love books with romance, action, battles against good and evil plus good old fashioned butt kicking thrown in you will love this book.

Random Notes: This is not a book for teens in my opinion. Some scenes are what I would call extremely steamy, though,to me, that is a side bonus to the action. It's not the focus of the story though. I tell my teens that they can read this book (or other adult reads) when they are over 40 like me.

There are some cool crossovers from Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood books that will tickle her fans, but first time readers of her books won't be confused in the least. ( )

My review: http://moonlighttotwilightblog.blogsp... ( )

J R Wards books are so great. I've loved them all. This new series is one more to love. The ending totally surprised me. I enjoyed having the connection to the Brotherhood. It's like watching a spinoff from a favorite TV series. ( )

J.R. Ward has chosen to go a different paranormal route with "Covet". She leaves her beloved vampires (mostly) momentarily behind as she targets angels and demons. I realize there are differing opinions on how this works out but I for one thought "Covet" was fantastic. J.R.'s writing style is very much unique to her and within the first page I recognized trademark Ward storytelling. This means muscular big men, conniving hate-filled villains, a romance blossoming between two unlikely characters, and a thrilling race to the book's conclusion. Unfortunately it also meant hearing boots described as sh--kickers. Yeah, that makes me cringe even in the Black Dagger books. "Covet" follows a mysterious man named Jim. Jim has done some regrettable things in the past but soons finds himself a pawn between angels and demons in a `game' of saving seven souls (based on the seven deadly sins). His first job somehow involves a wealthy business tycoon named Vin who is about to propose to his girlfriend Devina. Jim has to figure out first Vin's problems and why he is at a crossroads in his life. Then he has to fix the problem and lead Vin on the correct path thereby winning one for the angels. As with other J.R. Ward stories, a lot of this story's effectiveness hangs on how readers feel about the characters. I thought Vin, Marie-Terese, and Jim were well developed. Even more than the blossoming (well done!) relationship between Marie-Terese and Vin, I enjoyed seeing the friendship between these manly, hardcore men develop. (Another strength we see in the BDB books). I don't know precisely where Ward is going to take us on the next ride, but I will certainly be there. Her quality books have earned her a spot on my `buy without question' list. Not all books get to stay there, but I feel sure that Ward will keep me faithful for a long while. This is a five star book because I simply couldn't find anything that detracted from my enjoyment of the story. I wouldn't mind more run-ins with my Black Dagger boys though! ( )