★★★ ½ @edelweiss_squad @JRWard1 #bookreview #Unveiled
Returning to the Black Dagger Brotherhood after almost a decade, it is easy to slip right back into this world. Wondering how the BDB has fared, I picked up this latest installment and found out some big things went down and yet, "nature" apparently abhors a vacuum. A new big bad evil is in town and it shows up in this book. My guess is this is the start of a new arc regarding the new evil. I am not sure I know exactly what is the evil because after reading this book, I am more bemused and possibly on the side of evil. Perhaps that is my jaded older self speaking.
This book felt chaotic at times because I couldn't decide who is the focus of the story. I mean, I knew it is supposed to be about Sahvage and yet, many a times the side stories took over and did not blend as well into the main story. They all sort of tied together, but not as smooth as I recall Ms. Ward weaving in her previous books. Perhaps it is the transitions between the other two to three subplots into the main one with Sahvage that causes this feeling.
Maybe the previous book foreshadowed some of the plot in this book and without reading it, it causes me to be left a little lost in the dark. Let's start with Sahvage, as with all the Brotherhood, he comes with a lot of baggage and his past sucks. I was interested in the MMA fighter part as I enjoy watching fights. This... is not a MMA fighter theme. Well if it is, let's just say the fight happened so quickly that I do not consider this a book with MMA in it. On top of this barely there fight, Sahvage's death wish is problematic to say the least and his pairing with a very messed up Mae is even worse. These two characters need more therapy than I think a book can cover. Both characters are meh for me and their sad plight did not pull me in. In fact, I felt as if the "big bad" totally stole the show.
This new brunette who is causing havoc, I want to learn more about her. I empathize with her ennui. I understand her frustration and why she does what she does. She is not an anti-hero by any means. She is straight out psycho. She is not the one you want to take home to your parents. The thing that has eluded her hands is... dare I say cute? I do not know if it was Ms. Ward's intention to create this horribly evil foul smelling item to be adorable, and yet she did. The description of the item as well as its body language is hilarious. I could see it so clearly and even though I know it is terribly evil, I still wanted to pet it, reassure it and comfort the bloody thing. How wrong is this? So my rating of this story is really based on the evil in this book because I felt more for them than I did for the good guys.
This paranormal romance is recommended to readers who love the BDB family theme and wants to see what evil Ms. Ward is concocting to drive the poor brothers crazy.
*provided by Edelweiss
