Sunday Soup: December 2, 2018

In The Soup This Week... Oliver Willis, Chuck Wendig, Sam Sykes, Rachel Caine, JR Ward, Ilona Andrews

Soup Dish:  personal dish; on my mind; good links
It's been a while since I dished, so I'll take a few minutes to catch you up on what's going on with me...

✽ I'm in the midst of a temporary health challenge that has me off work for several months. I have lots of time for reading and reviewing, though the illness comes with some challenges to energy and focus. So far I think I can say the blog is coming out a little bit ahead on the equation. 

✽ If you've been reading here for awhile, you might recall that I've been trying to get myself to read a bit more (some? any?) non-fiction, and it's been quite the uphill road. I've figured out the solution: audiobooks. Generally I do not like listening to talk radio, or talking-head TV. I never thought I'd like audiobooks, but it turns out that a good narrator is able to bring non-fiction to life in a way that my inner reader-voice cannot. I don't really want to dilute my brand here on the blog so when I choose to review those, I'm putting them over on Goodreads.

✽ So I mentioned before, I had been reviewing for the last few years for RT Book Reviews.  With their closing,   I'm selectively choosing a few books off of Netgalley and other sources for review, but my self-discipline has never been great.  I am forcing myself to review everything I have open there before picking new ones.  So you're going to occasionally see reviews for older releases, but hey, why not.

✽I wrote this bit (slightly updated) almost a year ago and never posted, but the links are worth checking out if you haven't seen them: Twitter is evolving. There have been threadrolls and Storifications and so on before but I've never seen anything quite like what Oliver Willis has done, and it is insanely good (the whole project is available as a novella on Amazon - I recommend it, assuming your politics align). However, before Willis launched this masterpiece, we had Yo Can You Help Me Out from Sam Sykes and Chuck Wendig, which I 100% adore. I was not the only one, so there have been a few more of these epic dialogs unfold, like the Lovecraftian Hey How's It Going; a hellish goat pyramid scheme in "Yo Hey You Busy."


What I'm reading
I just can't get enough Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance lately. Having some trouble getting into historical or contemporary-- bring on the werewolves, vampires, witches and magic! 

✽Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series. I've had a number of these paperbacks around for a couple years now and I decided to get serious. I binged the first 5 books but got a little stuck on the 6th. Probably just needed a wee break. I'm enjoying them and hoping to write up a series review when I finish them.

✽Jeffe Kennedy's Dasnaria Chronicles. The third in the trilogy, Warrior of the World, is due out in early January. Look for a rave review from me as we get closer, but I've enjoyed the whole trilogy (oh hey, looks like the first in the trilogy, Prisoner of the Crown, is on sale for $0.99 -- do yourself a favor and snap it up), as well as the latest in the Uncharted Realms series, Arrows of the Heart.

✽I went back to my PNR roots and grabbed the most recent Black Dagger Brotherhood book, The Thief (when I noticed the price had come down). I liked it, but I felt a little let down with Sola's character. I liked her so much in the early parts of their arc but she didn't quite hit the high notes for me overall. The Jane and V arc worked fine for me, though I'm finding these original-brothers'-marriages-in-crises arcs to be getting a little stale/repetitive.

✽Last but definitely not least, I grabbed the latest Hidden Legacy (Ilona Andrews) book, a novella titled Diamond Fire, about Nevada's younger sister Catalina. Predictably, I loved it a lot and it inspired a re-read of the whole preceding trilogy. These are so, so good.


That's it for this week. Happy reading!

ps -- apologies for the wonky font situation. My HTML is befuckered and I have run out of patience trying to deal with it.  Sigh.

Consumed, by JR Ward - Review

Title: Consumed

Series: Firefighters (book 1)
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster)
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Reviewing: e-ARC via NetGalley
Reason for reading: With JR Ward, hope springs eternal

The Short Answer: 
Consumed brings in the best of the Black Dagger Boys in a contemporary, non-paranormal context. Danny reads a little bit like a less-damaged Butch, and the boys in the firehouse are deftly set up for the next JR Ward Dude Group. The characters are diverse and down-to-earth; more blue-collar and less blue-blood; struggling with the real-life baggage that tends to get in the way of a healthy relationship. The suspense plot keeps it from being too angsty and Ward's hallmark storytelling is on point.

The Blurb

Anne Ashburn is a woman consumed...

By her bitter family legacy, by her scorched career as a firefighter, by her obsession with department bad-boy Danny McGuire, and by a new case that pits her against a fiery killer.

Strong-willed Anne was fearless and loved the thrill of fighting fires, pushing herself to be the best. But when one risky decision at a warehouse fire changes her life forever, Anne must reinvent not only her job, but her whole self.

Shattered and demoralized, Anne finds her new career as an arson investigator a pale substitute for the adrenaline-fueled life she left behind. She doesn't believe she will ever feel that same all-consuming passion for her job again--until she encounters a string of suspicious fires setting her beloved city ablaze.

Danny McGuire is a premiere fireman, best in the county, but in the midst of a personal meltdown. Danny is taking risks like never before and seems to have a death wish until he teams up with Anne to find the fire starter. But Danny may be more than a distraction, and as Anne narrows in on her target, the arsonist begins to target her.

From the creator of the bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood, get ready for a new band of brothers. And a firestorm. 

The Longer Answer 
Ward doesn't pull any punches in this book. Bad stuff happens to her characters, and miracles don't save them.  There's a brutal edge to the plotting that feels true to the style she has developed with her various paranormal books. (I confess I did not finish Bourbon trilogy, so there may be echoes there as well, but I can't comment.)

One of the threads that I really enjoyed is that as a firefighter, Anne is the only woman in her precinct, and as much as she wants to be treated as one of the guys, she gets a certain "little sister" treatment. While her work is respected and she isn't coddled, it's more about her place in the social constellation of her team. I thought Ward did a great job of threading that needle.  Anne's status changes after the "risky decision" mentioned in the blurb, and the way she adjusts is one of my favorite things about the book.

Danny... well, Danny. Readers who are allergic to the physically uber-alpha should know by now to give anything by J. R. Ward a pass, and Danny is no exception.  He's physically tough, ridiculously stubborn, carries a bunch of family baggage, and loves with his whole heart or not at all. And by "not at all," I mean "turns it into a stream of self-loathing." Usually I feel like Ward's books are all about the hero with the heroines hovering in "accessory" territory, but it's reversed in Consumed. Danny is a worthy foil and gets a decent hero's arc, but Anne is for sure the star.

I've noticed a definite trend in Ward's book about characters seeking therapy for their issues and I think that's a great thing. Love cannot conquer all, and the rise of the angsty hero also created this trope where the expectation of the Happily Ever After kind of included some magical love-heals-all-wounds subtext.  I'm glad to see explicit inroads on that subtext. Love doesn't mean finding the perfect person, and love can be healing for sure, but finding a partner does not equate to fixing a person, and that's a message that deserves repeating.

I think this author is incapable of writing a book without multiple arcs, and in my opinion, it's very well done in this book, though there is plenty of disagreement across the reviews on that point. There's a mystery, a complicated romance, family baggage galore, an ensemble cast being introduced, and they all get a decently tidy wrap-up in this book. I look forward to getting to know the rest of the cast and their stories.

Around the Web
Book Binge didn't like it all, and makes a fair point about some questionable decisions on Anne's part (this is why I don't read other reviews before I do mine, heh)
The Reading Café - Two for the price of one reviews! Generally positive
Romance Reader liked it too.
Random Book Muses - short and sweet

Happy New Year!

Yeah, so I haven't written a blog post since the election.  Social media has been nearly unbearable for me, and my reading has been divided between diving into my favorite escape, reading think-pieces on politics, and mindlessly playing solitaire puzzle games on my phone.

So I've been reading, a lot, but I have not been very present in the online community.  Ramping back into that always takes a bit of energy. But I'm going to try!

A few highlights - my favorites from the last couple months:

✽I have a big (for me) home project in process: I'm switching my office for my daughter's bedroom. That might not sound like much, but my office is packed full of 10 years worth of partially finished craft projects, girl scout projects, scrapbooking and quilting supplies. Both rooms needed painting, and finding space to hold all the STUFF while the swap is in progress has been painful. Bottom line is, I figured it was a good time to try audio books. I went with a YA series, thinking my daughter might like to listen along, and chose Kresley Cole's Arcana series. OMG this is good. I started it around Thanksgiving and yeah, something post-apocalyptic seemed just right. It verges on too violent for me, with some really f*cked-up torture scenes, but the story is like, steel bear-trap gripping, and I love the characters. I'm caught up in the series; the next isn't due out until next summer, and I can't get it out of my head. It's a very compelling love-triangle premise, so if you hate those, this is going to be a conundrum for you.

✽I figured that I owed it to myself to read a few sure things, so I grabbed books in Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires, and Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I am not caught up there yet which makes me happy in a weird sort of way, because I can pick up another EXCELLENT book any time I want.

✽Last year about this time, I got my first taste of a Rachel Caine series, and it was awesome, so I decided to dive into the Weather Wardens. Well, I read the first book and loved it. Hmm, picking up the next book in that series might be just the thing for my first 2017 read.

✽Amid my towering stacks of book swag from RT16 and other cons, I found two Rebecca Zanetti titles, from two different series. I am on a bit of a post-apocalyptic kick right now, so I gotta say, the Scorpius series is hitting all the right notes for me. Forgotten Sins was also really good, but I have to say the hero skirted the alph-hole line pretty close for me.

✽Last for today, J. R. Ward's Blood Vow lived up to all my expectations. I'm really happy with the spinoff series.

Look at that -- all my favorites were paranormals. I do have a few contemps and historicals I could talk about, but I'll save those for another time.

Sunday Soup - December 6

In The Soup This Week... JR Ward, Ilona Andrews, Caroline Linden, Shelly Bell, and Jayne Ann Krentz

Soup Dish:  on my mind
✽It's been a busy week. I'm getting a lot of holiday shopping done; a lot of reading, and a lot of thinking about the social and political happenings. There's a lot going on out there.

✽I've referred to Jayne Ann Krentz's Bowling Green speech a few times over the course of this blog, and at some point, sadly, it was taken down off the web.  In this week's interview, she alludes to some of the same material, about popular fiction celebrating heroic values (in the classical sense), and why that's the reason it's both popular and persistent.

✽Here's a pop-science approach to male characteristics that have been proven in studies to be attractive to (het) women.  Of course, none of these will surprise readers of romance, since pretty much all of them feature frequently in hero descriptions.  Although the "limbal ring" is some new vocabulary for me.

✽Book Riot always delivers, this time with some really lovely editions of classics for the young readers on your list

What I'm reading
✽JR Ward's Blood Kiss was.... ready?.... fan-freakin'-tastic.  Best thing she's written since before Phury.  I really really liked the "weed-out" scenes for the trainees.  If you're not up to speed, Blood Kiss is the first in a spinoff (that isn't really a spinoff?) series from the Black Dagger Brotherhood, that follows a younger generation of vampires who have signed up to be trained to help defend the race.  The characters are post-trans, unlike the early training days of John Matthew, Blaylock, Quinn, and Lash, which was a good choice IMO.  Some of the characters have a certain recycled feel, but overall I am very happy with this book. Great central couple, a secondary arc with Butch and Marissa, just the right amount of sequel-baiting, and a welcome lack of other multiple arcs.  A bit shorter than what we've gotten used to from JR Ward, but by no means skimpy at 350 pages or so.  Strong recommend.

✽What could possibly follow that act? Why, Ilona Andrews' Sweep In Peace, of course. I really loved the first book and this one was just wonderful. The magic is just so intriguing. I'd say this stands alone reasonably well, but they're both so good, if you haven't read Clean Sweep, you won't regret picking it up.   And while we're on the topic, Andrews' has an excerpt from the upcoming Kate Daniels novella posted on their site -- Chapter 1, Magic Stars.

✽Written in My Heart, by Caroline Linden, was a sweet little short. At 33 pages, it's more of a vignette than a fully-realized story, as there is no real conflict other than distance. It's full of longing and sweet, innocent love and made a wonderful palate cleanser between darker more intense stories.

✽I also read last week's featured author, Shelly Bell's, first installment in her White-Collared serial. I've been avoiding serials in general, because I'm not a big fan of cliff-hangers and the pricing can be a little off-putting when you add everything up.  I might be coming around though.  Mercy has good characters, great sexual tension, and while the ending does make you want to read on, the story itself had a satisfying resolution, even though there is an open series arc. So like everything else that I sometimes avoid or sometime seek out based on a format or trope, it [almost] always boils down to how well the author executes. I'm not exactly sure how the whole series is structured, but the first installment opens with a graphic torture/murder scene and kicks off an arc regarding the husband of the victim, his lawyer, and his legal intern.

That's it for me this week. Hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

The Bourbon Kings, by JR Ward - Review

Information
Title: The Bourbon Kings 
Series: The Bourbon Kings 
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher:  New American Library, a division of Penguin Random
Release Date: July 28, 2015 
Reviewing: eARC for Kindle 
Reason for reading: Because JR Ward!

The Short Answer
Classic JR Ward -- lots of story threads, wealthy lifestyle, daddy issues. Fair to middlin'.

The Blurb (from GoodReads)

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood delivers the first novel in an enthralling new series set amid the shifting dynamics of a Southern family defined by wealth and privilege—and compromised by secrets, deceit, and scandal....

For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege—as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet.

For Lizzie King, Easterly’s head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted—and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane’s beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the ironfisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets.

As family tensions—professional and intimately private—ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive

A Few Negatives...
I found this book oddly dated-feeling. It reminded me of an 80s mini-series, or mainstream fiction book by Judith Krantz or Sydney Sheldon. It felt like a prime-time soap opera pilot episode: there was even a reference to Alexis and Krystal.

The romance here was just OK, in my opinion. Still better than Phury and Cormia, but that's a low bar. There was a lot going on in this book; a lot of series threads kicking off and backstory development. I found that the romantic resolution was not quite enough for me to feel like the book really ended well, because pretty much everything else was left hanging, and the romance was not the biggest or most exciting thing going on.

Finally, on a more global and, well... uncomfortable topic, I'm not really sure this is a great moment in time for a series about the fabulously wealthy. Social unrest, riots, protests... the distribution of wealth in the US right now is a pretty ugly situation. I know billionaire books are always hot but there's just something about the flagrant and conspicuous consumption of these characters and this setting that made me uncomfortable and frankly pretty unsympathetic to their point-one-percent problems. There was a lot of detail here about the inner workings of a wealthy household, but I would've liked to see more about the actual bourbon business.

The Good Stuff
That said, there are certainly some elements to get sucked into here. Ward doesn't pull her punches with the nasty things humans can do to each other -- paranormal vampire or demon powers not required-- and it sets up tension for the books to come quite well. I'm hooked by Edward's story -- a horrific crippling accident under mysterious circumstances, and Mack's -- the Master Distiller for the empire and by far the most intense interestingness-to-pagecount ratio in the book.  While arranged marriages in contemporary romance pretty much always make me roll my eyes, sister Gin's situation finally caught my attention near the end and I am definitely looking forward to seeing how that unwinds (I kind of want her to escape and live like a prole for a year or two).

Bottom Line
As a series opener, this wasn't a home run book.  But in general I'm a fan of how Ward intertwines multiple series arcs (not everyone is!), and I'm sufficiently intrigued by most of the characters to read on, with the hope that the series is stronger than the first book.

Sunday Soup - June 7

In The Soup This Week... RUDCon, Kit Rocha, Courtney Milan, Kevin Hearne, & JR Ward

Soup Dish:  on my mind
✽So the big blog news is the Reading Until Dawn Conference. I've agreed to be a featured blogger, which entails writing more posts than I usually do, and of a type that I usually do not (author interviews & features). So look for a bit of a flavor change here at Alpha Heroes between now and October as I do my best to fulfill the responsibilities of my new office. :D (and if you think you might be interested in the Con, please don't hesitate to hit me up in comments or email.)

✽Are you ready for summer yet?  Around here, school isn't out until June 19th, so even though we installed our window A/C unit yesterday (one does the job for our house in the Pacific Northwest), it's another two weeks before the schedules really change up.

✽Last camp-out of the school year - usually my troop does 2 camp-outs: an indoor "retreat" in the cold weather and then a big, multi-troop event sometime in March, April or May. This year, we got wind of another event that was already planned at a site that my daughter loves, so next weekend we're hopping on the coattails of someone else's planning effort. All I have to do is show up and not lose my 4 girls; no schlepping food or activities supplies or worrying about filling the time (Well, not much.  I have backups.  I am a control freak, after all).

What I'm reading
I've been reading like mad since the last Soup -- here are some highlights:
✽Beyond Innocence, by Kit Rocha.  I do love this series, and the latest installment does not disappoint.  I think it doesn't break a lot of new ground for the series, and it wouldn't be a great place to start, but if you're already a fan, it will be well worth your reading budget investment.  If you haven't tried the series yet, Beyond Shame is free right now, and the next couple in the series are nicely discounted.

✽Sweet Agony, by Charlotte Stein.  To be honest, this was a bit over-stylized for my tastes; a modern take on a classic gothic reclusive hero/poor housekeeper trope.  The hot scenes were very hot, though, and the angsty hero so very, very--VERY-- angsty, so while it wasn't a perfect hit for me, it will be just the ticket for folks who like things a bit more twisted than I do.

✽The Duchess War, by Courtney Milan. Oooooo, I loved this so much. It's free right now, and if you haven't read it, you should really really grab it. A duke who wants to do away with the peerage and a heroine with a secret identity-- just so brainy and rule-breaky and self-aware.  Love love loved it.

✽The Bourbon Kings (ARC), by JR Ward.  I'm mulling this one a bit. I liked it well enough, but it's a bit different than what I expected.  It's clearly a series set-up, and it's very, kinda, soap-opera-y.  Reads a bit more mainstream fiction than romance.  It has that BDB thing where there are lots of threads going, and while the hero/heroine are front and center, the romance doesn't feel like the main thread.  You'll see a full review on this one next month (honest!).

✽Trapped, by Kevin Hearne.  I'm pretty far behind in this series, but I'm enjoying my leisurely catch-up.  In this installment, Granuaile's induction continues, and (slight spoiler, I guess) she comes into her full Druidic powers, which I thought was the neatest part of the series development. Action-packed as usual, full of smart-alecky wisecracks as usual -- so yeah, pretty awesome.

Outlander Thoughts.

✽eeeeeee I've still been too chicken to watch the last couple of episodes.  I'm not 100% sure I'm going to... although I probably will.

Sunday Soup - April 26

Sunday Soup is... lots of reading, a little bit of summer dreaming, and for some reason, a bunch of song lyrics.

Soup Dish:  [on my mind this week]
✽How is it possible that April is almost over?  I'm as bad as my kids, looking forward to summer and how much easier their summer schedule is on ME, what with the no homework and the "not schlepping my 9th grader to the bus stop at o'dark-thirty" before work.

✽Summer planning in general is underway. Camps, vacations, day trips. It's really amazing how short summers actually are when you start trying to accommodate multiple schedules. Hmmph.

✽I've also started stalking the #RT15 hashtag a little bit. I'm not going to go this year; I'm basically on the every-other-year plan due to the high cost, but they've just officially announced Vegas for next year. While I'm not necessarily a Vegas kind of girl, I think it's a great place for a big party, so I am tentatively in for #RT16. I will also be looking for a roommate, I think, this time around.

✽Other than that, things are pretty quiet, so I've been doing quite a bit of reading, maybe we should just get right to that bit.

What I'm reading

✽The Shadows, by JR Ward. I sort of feel like I should do a full review of this; there's plenty to think about.  My bottom line -- I didn't hate it, but I understand why other people did.  I feel like it's a pretty solid "second generation" BDB book.  By that I mean, not as good as the first 5, but back in a decent groove from the dark days of Phury's book.

✽Tricked, by Kevin Hearne.  I started reading this series about a year ago, and went on a three-book binge.  I really loved the world and I don't know why I waited this long to get back to it.  Great, great stories, well plotted with great characters and fun humor.  For anyone who loves mythology mixed in with their urban fantasy.

✽It Started With A Scandal, by Julie Anne Long.  The latest in the Pennyroyal Green series, this one was simply delightful.  I really enjoy how different Long's characters are from one another. What struck me most about this one is how really, really sweet it was.  The characters come to care for each other before being struck witless by lust.  I am hoping to do a review of this one (maybe a dual one, eh, Betsy?)

✽Driving in Neutral, by Sandra Antonelli. I really wanted to love this one -- it has all the ingredients that I want, and I'm particularly looking for older heroines these days.  And it was OK.  However, it was just OK.  It didn't really click into place for me, and I don't know why.

He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don't know why

 (lyrics from Vertical Horizon, Everything You Want)

✽I went on a bit of a Beth Kery binge, speaking of RT, and read 3 titles that I picked up at #RT14 (Because We Belong; Since I Saw You; and Release).  I had read one from her before and didn't like it much; it was a dub-con captive kind of thing where I didn't buy the justification.  These were good though; all three were the billionaire-BDSM trope but these have richly realized characters, high-stakes plotting, and the erotic scenes were super-hot, so all in all, I move her into the winning-author category for me.

✽I've been trying to make a dent in the backlog of books that I already own, since my budget has been squeaking a little bit lately, so I dug into a title on my Kindle, Recipe for Seduction, from the Madewood brothers series by Gina Gordon.  (Surely I am not the only one snickering like a thirteen year old boy at the notion of a hero named MADEWOOD.  Madewood.)  Aside from that, this was a sweet* contemp with a friends-to-lovers trope, with bonus "brothers' best friend" and "heroine who raised her siblings" sub-tropes (is that a thing? I guess it's a thing now.)  I think the central conflict was waved away MUCH too easily, and possibly to a wall-bang degree if I'd been reading in a more critical mode, but the majority of the book worked for me so I'm forgiving the [really, pretty terrible] ending.

*sweet in that it's emotionally very tender, not that it lacks erotic heat.  It's pretty medium-high for that.

Outlander Watch... Och. They're back, they're back!

✽I really enjoyed the witch-trial episode.  I thought the places where they deviated from the book were actual improvements and made more sense (particularly the thing about the smallpox vaccination mark).  I forgot to watch Return to Lallybroch! I can't believe it.  I'll have to make time this evening and hope I can remember how to work On Demand.

Random Other Thing:

Big Head Todd and the Monsters is my all-time favorite band.  I don't go crazy for bands the way I do for books and authors, and --I know this is a mystifying stance to many of my friends-- I don't really love live music all that much, mostly because I'm just cheap.  For the money, I'd rather be someplace comfy and not so crowded and be able to repeat my favorite songs and skip my not-so-favorite ones.

Even so, I've seen BHTM more than once live, most recently at a summer mini-festival near my home.  They played for less than an hour, sharing the stage with Bare Naked Ladies and Blues Traveler, and it was just a really nice, laid back show.  I came across an article about them in my social media feed today, and started thinking about how long I've loved this music and what brought me to them and keeps me a fan.  The article talks about

Squires’ driving bass and Nevin’s frenetically precise drumming provided a seamless backdrop for Mohr’s rootsy, earnest baritone and, most important, his artistry on the axe

... but it's always been about the lyrics for me.  Although Bittersweet is their biggest hit, the song that clobbered me was It's Alright:

You can turn back the tide
Of the cold tears from your eyes
The pangs of wounded pride you hold me

Did someone do you wrong, yeah
Good lovin's as good as gone, yeah
Maybe you ain't as strong as you wanna be

It's alright if you don't wanna go home
It's alright if you don't wanna be alone
It's alright if you don't wanna go home
I understand, I understand, I understand

But then the reprise of the chorus changed it up:

It's alright if you just wanna go home
It's alright if you just wanna be alone
It's alright if you just wanna go home
I understand, I understand, I understand 

Because the contrast of those two, and the notion of someone who understands you either way... well, it just it me where I lived.  If I had to pick a favorite though, I also love Broken Hearted Savior so, so much.  I think the lyrics aren't quite as brilliant, but the combination of them plus the deep, twangy moody guitar still totally gets me:

And every heavy night
Takes out the little life that's left within her
Every man she gives her love, he takes it
And leaves her with a dinner
Our love was once a flame, now I'm just a forgotten name
Am I the only one to blame for ever loving her?

And I'll love her yet, though she has done me wrong
And I'll bring her back, though she has been long gone
And I'll always be her
Broken hearted savior 

It does remind me of the modern angsty romance hero though -- how many of them are broken-hearted saviors?  And does it get any better than that?

The King, by JR Ward - Review (sort of)

Information
Title: The King
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher:  NAL
Imprint: Penguin Group
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Reviewing: Kindle ebook
Reason for reading: JR, I can't quit you.

The Short Answer 
I think you have to be a pretty hard-core fan of the series to enjoy this particular book.  Which I am, and I did, but there were also a lot of things that were kind of... terrible.

Series Handicap:
This is a tough one to answer. Because there was not very much going on with the brothers, the handicap might actually be fairly low. You'll be totally lost on the Sola/Assail arc, and have missed some key things with the Xcor/Layla arc... but the King's story stands alone pretty well, actually.  On the other hand, this is probably not the best intro to the world and to JR Ward. I'd give it a 3 of 5, I guess, which is kind of a cop-out number. ;-)

Ye Olde Vocabulary
Someone should really put a shock collar on JRW and set it to taser her every time she writes something involving the words "partake" or "unto."  Scenes written in this psuedo-historical narration have been cringe-worthy since the first book and I honestly think they're getting worse. Interestingly, The King starts with a flashback scene featuring our Wrath's father, Wrath. You had to read a few pages into it before you were sure that it was the previous King Wrath, and I think the Olde-Timeyness of the language was deliberately toned down... and it was so much better than other scenes where it was not.

Stop the Madness
This was in the first chapter after the prologue, in Wrath's point of view:

...he was fully capable of going wrecking-ball to get at her. And not in the stupid-ass Miley Cyrus poser-sex way...

I refuse to believe that Miley Cyrus plays any part in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Period. I am excising the three (THREE!!) references from my brain.  It never happened. We won't speak of it again.

Wrath and Beth
This book was aptly titled, because Wrath really was the centerpiece, and he has a lot of work to do.  If Dark Lover was something of a coming of age story for Beth, this is one for Wrath. He comes to terms with the value of his kingship, his blindness, and his future in general.  He does some things in this book that I think are long overdue in the world-building, and it is a good thing indeed.  However, I would've liked to have seen more of the reactions from his populace -- both the commoners and the glymera.  There were scenes that seem conspicuously absent in retrospect.

I also really liked the background on Wrath's father. I think this is the first "history" we get of the race that isn't from a current character's point of view -- we just get to see some stuff that happened, that (our current) Wrath was not actually part of.

Other Arcs
Like all of the books in the BDB, there is a lot going on here.  Besides the arcs with Wrath and Beth and the kingship, there is a Trez arc, an Xcor/Layla arc, and the Assail/Sola arc. If this annoys you in general about the BDB books, it's probably going to be a bigger problem than usual for you.  Of the secondary arcs, I really like how the Sola/Assail one is going, although the folks who say it seems unconnected and distracting have a point. I don't know, there's something about those two that has hooked me in a way that Xcor/Layla did not.  Trez has some interesting problems to get handled too; I'm looking forward to that story (which is apparently going to be in the next book, according to announcements made at Saturday's Cincinnati signing for The King (you can find the transcript at JR Ward's Facebook page).

Unfortunately, I found the Xcor/Layla pairing to be pretty much just terrible all around.  Xcor does a wholly unbelievable 180 degree character turn, and not much else other than pining and thinking.  Although one of the best moments was when he was buying a new wardrobe and the clerk at Macy's looks him up and down and says, "You're not from around here, are you?" I cracked up.

Are people still arguing about whether the BDB books are romances? This one is probably less in that mold than any so far.  I have always staunchly said: "YES, they definitely are!" but the romance is less central to this book than any so far.

Bottom Line
I think this book could have done with fewer side-arcs and deeper treatment of the kingship arc -- it felt like a lot of things were glossed over.  The things that I don't like about JR Ward are present and accounted for and just as unlikeable in this book -- the annoying Olde Timey-speak and the fact that everyone has essentially the same voice, primarily. But it is still somehow a can't-put-it-down story that kinda makes me want an oversized, over-testosteroned-up vampire of my own.

Around the Blogosphere:
Interview with JR Ward
Vampire Book Club
Cocktails and Books
Under the Covers

As always, if you have reviewed this book feel free to leave a link in comments!

Fan Girl Moment with J. R. Ward

RT Con Anyone?
So, I'm here.  I don't think I posted that I was going but I have mentioned it on the Alpha Heroes Facebook page.

Overall, I'm having a good time.  It's been pretty intense, with about 12 events going on in any of the 4 main timeslots, and of course I have usually been wanting to go to 3 at a time on average.  Most of the daytime events in the various tracks did not have lines to get in.  If they did, the lines formed about 10 minutes before the event started.  However...

NO HOLDS BARRED...
With Jessica Anderson and J. R. Ward, was the name of the event on the program.   I went to get in line 30 minutes before this one, and it was already stretched out far enough that I thought I wasn't going to get in.

Magically though, the event coordinators got everyone to fit and I wasn't even in the back-most row.  I had a seat and everything.  See that picture?  I was RIGHT THERE! 

The session was by far the most dynamic and fun reader session I went to.  Ward appears to travel with an entourage; she had a bodyguard, several very efficient handlers, a microphone when many of the other speakers did not, and she is frankly just an amazing speaker.  She enjoys the audience as much as we enjoyed her, or at least gives a damn good imitation of it.

Swear Jar
Who knew that JR Ward is as potty-mouthed in real life as any of her macho vampires?  She makes a pretty sincere effort to keep her forums "PG-13" rated, but in a roomful of adults it was indeed, no holds barred.  So she put a dollar in a swear jar every time she let one fly and I'm pretty sure there was about $40 at the end of an hour.  Hilarious!

A Few Tidbits
I'm sure most of these have been put up on the web already, but here's what I heard:

Q: Is there a connection between Michael (from Story of Son) and Murhder*?
JR: Keeeeeeeeeeeep Reading!

Q: What's the deal about the wolven and the dog biscuits and maybe Murhder*?
JR: wide-eyed innocently:  I don't know WHAT you're talking about!

Q: Is it fair to say that there is a blood connection between two characters with ice-white eyes with dark blue rims?
JR: looks down.  I believe my ass is in a crack right now. puts a dollar in the swear jar, pauses for assorted wisecracks, and attempts to skirt the question. OK, fine.  It would not be INCORRECT to say that ice white eyes with dark blue rims are from a limited genetic pool. 

Q: We haven't seen much of Butch and V lately--
JR: interrupts They've been seeing plenty of each other!
Q: -- will we ever see any of that on the page?
JR: No.. [paraphrased]... I will give hints about it and talk about it verbally, but it won't be on the page... because too many people would hate it.  sotto voce Butch is getting it regularly.

Q: Will the Band of Bastards ever join the BDB?
A: shocked One of them just shot Wrath in the motherfucking chest!  NO they're not going to be united on ANYTHING any time soon!!  pays the swearjar.  But, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend', so they could be aligned against the lessers at some point.  Down the road.

Last BDB tidbit:  Ward says that one of the very best visions she's had is of Layla turning her and Qhinn's newborn child over to Blay in the birthing room, because she really wants to see Blay as a father.  Initially her wording implied Layla would be giving up the baby, but as Ward went on it sounded possible that they would do some co-parenting. 

Last last tidbit: you might check the #peegate hashtag on Twitter.  Pretty funny stuff.
____
*I sure hope I put the H in the right place there

Crave, by JR Ward -- Deep Thoughts

Not a Review
I'm working back up to doing actual reviews.  For now, I really just have a topic I want to muse on, which is this:

I think JR Ward is a hellluva storyteller in the paranormal space.

However, I do NOT like her writing about the metaphysical.

Too Deep For Me
I'll credit one particular element of Crave for making that distinction gel for me -- and it applies to the Black Dagger Brotherhood books as well as the Fallen Angels.

The wings, like him and Eddie and Adrian, were neither there nor not there, real nor unreal, tangible nor intangible.

They just were.

Honestly? That's just weak. I have the same issues in the BDB books with the Omega's tampering with time and with Darius's reincarnation into a being that had to have been born before Darius died. 

Furthermore, a fair amount of Jim's character development and scene-setting for future series story arcs are predicated on the corporeal nature of these immortals, including the arch-angels:

Nigel, as with the others, neither lived nor breathed; he simply was. And the food was the same, neither necessary nor extant-- as was the landscape and all that the four of them did to pass their eternity. But the trappings of a gracious life were of value. Indeed, the quarters that he shared with Colin were well kitted-out and the sojourns they took therein were not for any sleep necessity but for recharging of a different kind.

War was exhausting, its burdens ne'er-ending, and at times, one needed physical succor.

Now, the WARDen can build her world any way she wants to, but the thing is, I'm just not feelin' it, to use the vernacular. You can't say in one sentence that the  physical doesn't matter and then in the next say, oh well, but it helps.  I don't get it.  Why would one need "physical succor" if one doesn't need oxygen or food or, hey, the laws of physics?

And the coyness of the reference to Colin and Nigel's relationship really turned me off.  If you're gonna go there, let's just spit it out, shall we?

OH! and can I just say: the fake what-what-old-chap dialog/narration around the archangels SUCKETH MIGHTILY, YEA VERILY HUZZAH. (of course I can.  See? I just did.)

OK, I Guess It Actually Is a Review
Ward's writing and pacing and male characters keep me turning pages, they honestly do.  And Jim is promising, aside from the metaphysical problem.  I liked his engagement with Devina's victim and in general I'm liking his character development.

As for the romance, it's vintage Ward, in both good and bad ways.  Grier and Isaac had good chemistry and an interesting non-supernatural storyline.  But I pretty much felt like the characters were a rehash: poor sad little blond princess, who is so so very good and smart and pretty and good all the way to her patrician blue-blooded bones finds such unexpected, unseemly happiness with the earthy passionate badass damaged Taurus desperately seeking redemption.

All up?  Not that great.

Real Vampires Don't Sparkle

I haven't talked about JR Ward here lately, have I? Don't worry, Lover Mine is on my list to review.

In the meantime, I give you this little Facebook exchange between a high school friend of mine and me:

Covet, by JR Ward - Review

Finally.
I know, I know. Inertia has its claws in me. I'm reading a ton, honest, but finding it real work to sit down and do the reviews. So Covet has been out for almost two weeks; I finished it over a week ago. Yeah, finally.

Divided Loyalty
First off, if you don't like the direction Ward has been going with the BDB series, I'd recommend you skip it.

However, if you're good with a somewhat divided focus for the sake of the ongoing series arc, I think it's good news. The new premise feels fresh--don't know about you but I was getting kind of tired of the lessers. Ward's whys and wherefores of demon possession have an original spin while borrowing perhaps more heavily from traditional medieval Catholic lore than some of the current trendy demon-based UF.

I'm trying to think of another series that has a strong romantic focus on individual couples (as romance does) while also keeping a constant, catalyst character in the forefront (as UF does), and not coming up with anything comparable. The closest I can think of is Meljean Brook's Michael, but he's not directly involved in the protagonists' relationships the way Ward's character is. I'm guessing that Kenyon's Acheron might be similar, but I'm only going on buzz -- haven't read them myself.

Anyway, I'm finding it promising how deliberately the structure has been created-- I think it's a bit harder to take when that third-party role evolves through the series and risks feeling like shark-jumping. And it's a risk, because it breaks form-- some readers have complained that the focus is too divided, which I can understand. I'm reserving judgment about that because I did find both stories interesting with satisfying arcs, and the teaser for Jim's continuing story is compelling. Though some of the information about Jim's former life skirts the line between teasing and frustrating.

The new series is also set in Caldwell, NY, which I enjoy. I like having "insider" info, and find the cameos from Trez, Detective de la Cruz and Phury entertaining BUT if you haven't read the BDB first and don't want to, you won't lose any comprehension.

It's the End of the World As We Know It
I think Ward is taking herself-- or this series-- a little less seriously than the BDB, and it's good. She's always been able to write humor and absurdity into her books, especially in dialog, but I think a lot of what happens to Jim is pretty tongue-in-cheek. It might even tempt you into eye-roll territory (cricket-playing angels? a fortress castle = heaven? divine assistance via television messaging?) but it worked OK for me and was effective, if slightly silly, imagery.

Wardisms, and The Very Long Book
You'll find the voicing familiar, as both Jim and Vin sound very much like any given Black Dagger Brother, perhaps V, if I had to pick one. (Vin also gets premonitions about people's deaths, and he is NEVER WRONG-- coincidence?) The weird tendency to add an "ie" to the end of words like "freshie" for a "fresh drink" is still in here but toned down a bit (thankfullie) and O'Donovan? just for you? not a "shitkicker" boot in sight. (I was watching.)

It's no secret that I'm a fan of The Very Long Book. This is probably a requirement for a reader to enjoy this book-- if you merely tolerate long books only when the complex plot and characterization absolutely require it, you might pass this by. If this were Ward's first book, I would dare to say an editor might have been a bit more, um, editorial on this page count. As Mandi* astutely points out in her review, there are a couple of subplots that are not especially pertinent or, um, logical. At least one of them might become clearer as we get to know Jim's sidekicks in future books though, so I'm looking forward to that.

Bottom Line
I think just overall I have lowered expectations from JR Ward these days. I'm happy to see the last two Ward books rise above the barrel-bottom-scraping of Lover Enshrined, but I've stopped expecting to get that heart-stopping OH MY GOD reaction I got with the first few BDB books. Maybe it was the novelty of the formula, and it just only works so many times. If it happens again, that'll just be a fabulous bonus.

In the meantime, I'm still a loyal reader. If I gave ratings, it would probably be something like a B+ for Covet-- good solid read, but not knock-your-socks-off, and I'll be reading the next one. Rumored title is Crave.

Honestly though? I don't think Ward is going to remain a Hardback Author for me. I might be hitting the library or waiting for Lover Mine to come out in paperback.

Around the Web:
*Smexy Books
Smokin' Hot Books
Darque Reviews
Dear Author (Brrr. Cold.)
Bibliophilic
I Heart Book Gossip
... and as always, if you've reviewed Covet and I've missed it, please feel free to leave your link in comments!

Disclosure: Purchased.

Next Up From JR Ward:

Lover Mine, John Matthew's story

A Small Peeve

Look, I know the names of JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood are stupid. I know they're annoying and spelled wrong and have random H's stuck in all over the place. And normally I'm not one to be picky about typos or mis-spellings, because I'm sure as heck not perfect myself.

But. People. Tohrment, the guy who tragically loses his mate, is called for short, TOHR. Not THOR. Thor is somebody else. This is Thor:



God of Thunder, big hammer, valkyries, all that? Right? Right.

This is Tohr*:



I'm sure his hammer is more than adequate, but we won't really know until his book comes out.

So please, if you're going to mis-spell it, make it Torh or Tor or Toar or Tahre or Trowhel... just anything but Thor.

Thanks much.

_________________________
*not actually a photo of Tohrment. Tohr is a fictional character, thus, no pics. But with a crew cut and some fangs, Brando is pretty close, no?

Lover Avenged by JR Ward - Full Review

Those of you who've followed this blog for a little while will not be surprised to know that I bought Lover Avenged early last Tuesday morning and spent every spare minute reading it. The only real surprise is that I was able to put it down Tuesday night and finish it up on Wednesday. I'll say straight up: I liked it. Flawed, but still a great story.

There's a lot going on in this book, like all of the BDB novels. A number of side plots and series arcs add to the complexity-- and the page count. A typical book so far would have the main romance plot, a couple of ongoing series arcs, a secondary romance plot building up, and a tertiary romance plot just hinted at.

The main difference with LAv is that rather than giving us ideas of what might happen in the book after next, Ward returns to the beginning and continues Wrath's character development. Which I loved.

Is It Really a Romance?
A question that has been bobbling around Ward's readership since, oh, I suppose since Lover Unbound came out: are these books really romance? Or are they urban fantasy?

Since this is my blog, you get to have my opinion (did you think you wouldn't?) : The answer is YES. Unequivicably, every book that Ward has given us has included a hero, a heroine, conflicts to their relationship, and a resolution to those conflicts leading to a Happily Ever After. Ergo, ROMANCE = .TRUE.

In pure urban fantasy, there may be romantic elements but you don't get that romantic HEA in each book. Great examples are Patricia Briggs' Mercy, who spends a couple of books deciding who she wants, Kim Harrison's Rachel, who may not ever decide at this rate, and Jenna Black's Morgan, who--well, let's just say her romantic life is interesting.

The BDB is an ensemble cast -- the best books include a hearty helping of life as a part of this close-knit family, and where that's missing, the book fails. (cf: Phury. "Fail" is a strong word, I know. Still-- my blog. Deal.)

So for my money, as long as the core romance is there, I don't mind having it share the spotlight with lots of other stuff going on, as long as it's well organized and well orchestrated. For the most part, I think LAv succeeds in this.

The Romance
In an earlier post, I Heart Book Gossip commented that there was too much other stuff in the book and not enough romance. I actually enjoyed the other stuff going on but I agree that the romance was a bit weak, and here's why: both Rehv and Ehlena are underdeveloped as characters, and I didn't really feel the chemistry between them.

As far as Ehlena goes, that's really nothing new for Ward; I feel that way about almost all of her heroines. We get that she's tough and kind and brave... and that's pretty much it. What's her favorite color? Does she read or have a hobby? Enjoy classical music or hip-hop? Does she like being a nurse or was it her only choice? Dunno. Her whole existence is defined by her father's illness and then, her feelings for Rehv. Even Cormia was better developed (though I have to say I always found the peas-and-toothpicks thing more than a little WTF).

Now Rehv... see, as a survivor of a number of years in writers' workshops, I can't shake the feeling that he is suffering from a told-us-didn't-show-us problem. We get told a lot what a bad-ass he is. We see him rough up (but not kill or permanently injure) a couple of minions. There's the issue of the DOAs that overdose on his "product."

Even with all that though, Rehv himself always seems, well, not evil. Not bad-ass. A teddy bear at heart who's forced by circumstance into heartbreaking choices. Our primary insights from his point of view are the love he has for the women in his life and the loathing that comes from his situation with the Princess. In this book, I don't ever see any glee, any high, any pleasure he might take from inflicting pain, which I gather is what makes the symphaths such a problem. There were some tantalizing hints in previous books -- his freaky scene with the Princess in Enshrined; the fight scene in the alley in... uh, Revealed I think -- but no closure in this book.

So while, yes, I think the book qualifies as a romance, it's not a *great* romance.

What Exactly Is a Symphath?
My biggest complaint is that, as mentioned before, I still don't really understand what a symphath is. What makes them so evil. So they can read emotions, so what? Vampires can read thoughts. Symphaths can manipulate emotions, so what? Vampires can wipe out memories. Seems like a very similar skillset. Why "sin-eater?" Call me a literalist, but I don't know what they mean by this... and I want to.

IIRC, it was alluded to before that symphaths feed off of strong emotions, maybe especially negative emotions. OK, but then what? does it make them stronger, or just get them off? And why would either necessarily be a bad thing? No clearer now than it was before.

When the half-breeds "go symphath," or whatever, what exactly does that mean? Their eyes go red, and...? they can't control themselves? They can't tap into their moral compass? I think we needed to see the consequences of Rehv losing control, even if it happened in the past. Why does the dopamine help? It's been losing effectiveness, what will he do now?

How about feeding? And sex? Xhex and Rhev discussed at great length what a mistake it would be to be with a "normal" when Rhev was feeding Marissa. Is it just that the barb is freaky? We know it can be painful for Rhev's female, but we don't know if it has to be. All these issues, raised as insurmountable in previous books, are hand-waved away.

All unanswered questions. At this point, I don't really expect to get answers. Which ticks me off a little, but I'm letting it go. (for now). Deep, cleansing breath.

Other Stuff
All in all, it's the Other Stuff that keeps me reading. I'm very invested in the characters and the world now, so even if the romance isn't thrilling me, and even if the world-building has plot holes the size of a Brother's.... uh, shoulders, I... wait, what was I saying? oh yeah, I'm going to keep reading. I appreciated that there was more group action in this book.

At first, the subplot around Wrath adjusting to the kingship seemed slightly random. Not that I didn't like seeing him and Beth and their romantic epilogue. But it turned out to be a great choice: it's a logical way to give readers more information about the political state of the vampire society, and I really like how it tied into Rehv's resolution. And may I say, it's about time he ditched all that pansy-ass twiggy furniture.

John Matthew and Xhex's setup continues apace. I have to admit, I'm not a huge JM fan. For 6 books now he's been this pitiable victim, sexless and pre-adolescent. I'm having trouble shifting gears into seeing him as remotely adult, much less an Alpha Hero, no matter how many times I hear about how exceptionally large he is. Lots of fans are disappointed to see his behavior in this book, but I think it's about time he stopped feeling sorry for himself and allowed himself to feel some anger and to take some initiative in directing his own life. I've always had doubts about him and Xhex too, but learning more about Xhex is helping. I'm not totally convinced though.

Yay, Tohr woke up. Finally. I do like how this was handled.

Lassiter amuses me. So far that's about it. I wonder if he'll transition into the Fallen Angels series? I've heard that the worlds overlap, so it would make sense.

Oh yeah, and Lash. Eeek. I'm afraid that Ward might be painting herself into a paranormal corner here, making him indestructible, and then somehow needing to... well, destruct him. If Butch can't vaporize the fore-lesser, I wouldn't think his trick would work on Lash either. Hope she manages to get us out of this satisfactorily.

I think that's about all I can squeeze into one post, though I could go on. And I might, LOL. But that would be a post for later.

PS
Please note -- I updated the countdown widget in the sidebar for Covet, due out 9/29. Feel free to steal the HTML if you want!

What Others Are Saying:
I Heart Book Gossip (spoilers)
Smexy Books (spoilers)
Ms. Moonlight (spoilers)
Good Books, Bad Books... (spoilers)
Happily Forever After (spoiler-free!)
Adventures in Kati-dom (mild spoilers)

(do I get a prize for NOT having spoilers?? heh)

Lover Avenged by JR Ward - Teaser Review

Verdict: Better than Enshrined, not as good as Revealed; gotta love the Rehv but I still don't really know what the hell a symphath is.

More later. Now: sleep would be good.

Back to the Classroom

For the second of this two-part foray into Literary Critique: Vampire-Style, I'd like to welcome Jessica Price, Graduate Assistant at the University of Cincinnati. Jessica also presented at the recent pop culture convention.

Nicola: Jessica, welcome! Sooooo-- any chance I could get my hands on that paper, virtually or otherwise?

Jessica: I'd be happy to offer up pieces of my paper, but not the entire thing because I am hoping to get it published - and it still requires a considerable amount of editing. *laughs*

Nicola: OK, fair enough. Let's start with the same questions I asked Maria: Why JR Ward? Are you a fan? What makes her work a candidate for academic and/or social critique?

Jessica: I began reading paranormal romances the summer of ‘08 after, I’m pained to admit, reading the Twilight series. I’ve been a fan of vampires for years - I’m a HUGE Joss Whedon fan and Buffy is a source of much of my academic/social critique. Ward was one of those authors everyone talked about, so after I began reading vampire romances, I picked up Dark Lover in August of 2008 and never looked back. Something people don’t seem to realize is that you can be a fan (a HUGE fan even) of someone’s work and critique it. The fact that there is so much to critique is a credit to the writer because they create a complex enough universe and character list to warrant academic critique and challenge. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read the BDB series - and how eagerly I’m awaiting Tuesday’s release of Rehv’s book. Even if I find parts of the series to be sexist or heterosexist or racist or whatever, I still consider myself a fan and love to dissect the series with other fans who are willing to move beyond the “zomg” stage of fandom *laughs*

I see Ward’s work as critique-able based on the many layers and characters present. Anytime an author expects characters to fit within some sort of categorization there is room for critique. My academic focus is on sexuality (specifically representations of non-normative sexualities in popular culture) so my radar immediately starts going off when a series controls character sexualities in anyway (V “giving up” his life as a dom after he meets Jane, V’s erotic feelings towards Butch “disappearing” when Jane arrives, Xhex presented as stereotypically lesbian but then “pimped” out by Rehv for Butch, etc)

Nicola: OK, but hold on -- isn't expecting Xhex to be a lesbian based on her body type and "presentation" just as... uh, some kind of bad "-ist" goes here... as reeling V and Butch back away from a homosexual relationship based on their position as heroes in a genre romance? note: Jessica hasn't seen this question from me, I snuck it in. Hoping she replies in comments...

Nicola: Did you get a chance to look at what the Other Jessica posted about your paper? Do you think it fairly represents what you had to say?

Jessica: I wish it had been pointed out that I discussed my paper more than "read" my paper - I think that changes the presentation of the framework and such. My paper is much too long for a 15 minute presentation and I didn't want to keep repeating things the previous BDB writer (Nicola's note: that would be Maria) had spoken on as much as I could help it. Other than that, it's pretty good. I wouldn't mind expanding on the "specific ways of having sex" comment since she seemed to not understand my pointing that out.

Nicola: taking notes furiously Yum. Let’s totally expand on that. First though, maybe a little bit of background would be good?

Jessica: My actual title is "'She was not woman. She was female. She was vampire.': Challenging Sexuality and Gender in The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series" The beginning of that is a quote from Lover Revealed and it really illustrates the sex/gender difference Ward deals with in her series - the vampires are very clearly female or male and they are not gender specific. This is obviously rooted in the fact that vampires must feed from vampires of the opposite sex. Gender performance does not matter because if a male-bodied woman is walking around, a male would not receive subsistence from her blood, so there is a clear acknowledgment of a vampire’s sex, rooting their very existence in their most primal nature - feeding, which is connected to sex.

My three main focuses are Alternative Sexual Expressions (BDSM, challenging the sex/gender binary), homosexuality (specifically V/Butch) and identity, and female sexuality (specifically Xhex).

Nicola: OK, I don’t think I get what you mean. Are you saying that male vs. female is not gender-specific?

Jessica: A good way to talk about the sex/gender binary is by saying gender is between the ears and sex is between the legs. Gender is socially constructed. It is the way society expects us to act based on our gender identity (which is expected to match with our biological sex). Sex is the biological makeup of ones body. This has nothing to do with gender, although our society demands they match. “Man” and “Woman” are terms related to gender as are “Masculine“ and “Feminine“. “Male” and “Female” are terms related to sex. This is, of course, working within a binary system - if you ask people who work in the field of study relating to gender and/or sexuality, many of them will talk about the spectrum of sex and gender because there are more than two sexes and more than two genders - but that is beyond the scope of this interview. *grins*

Nicola: Hmmm. I agree with some of that, but not sure I agree with *all* of it. You're probably right about scope limitation, though. (Rats. Maybe next time.)

Jessica: In response to what [the other] Jessica said on her blog, I want to clear up what I was talking about with V. [The other] Jessica pointed out that we all have very specific ways of having sex, which is absolutely true and true within the Brotherhood. But the way the Brothers (minus V) have sex, is still considered normative in their society. They are expected to have non-kinky sex with their mates and stay monogamous (because even though males can take multiple shellans, none of the Brothers do, setting up a norm for us to expect). V, on the other hand, rejects this notion of “normative” sex. It goes beyond having sex with sex workers (which a few other Brothers are shown doing), but having a harem (if you’ll allow the word) of women at his beck and call. He participates in BDSM sex and he is framed as having non-heterosexual fantasies - all things that are set up as non-normative by the books that proceed it. That’s all I meant by saying he has very specific ways of having sex. Compared to the other Brothers (if we are analyzing the series, we cannot look beyond the scope Ward gives us), V has a very specific way of having sex.

O’Donovan: For the record, I love, love, loved the Vishous/Jane romance, but I felt (to a degree) that it was a cop-out, that V's long history of highly flexible sexuality was, in a way, reduced by the requirements of the genre. You can be kinky, sure, but only so far; just as the women are conventionally virginal/virtuous/sex-averse outside of a single relationship, so must the men hew to a conventional one-man/one-woman preference when the author's eye focuses on him. So, in the broader sense, I'm curious (a) whether you share that perspective and (b) at what point the conventions of romance break, so that a novel about love/sex/relationships is no longer a romance as the market defines it (becoming literary fiction or GLBT fiction, or whatever).

Nicola: I blathered on at great length about what I think about Butch and V in a previous post. My biggest beef with Ward’s treatment of V’s BDSM inclinations is that she made it pathological. Sex with Jane was completely different – either vanilla or with him as the bottom, and his sexual history up to that point was pretty much equated to that of a rapist: although his partners were willing, the act was always posed as one of control, not of affection or intimacy. In a sense, V was as much a virgin as Marissa or Phury.

Jessica: V/Butch’s relationship may be my very favorite, although I love Z/Bella. I fear that the fact that V and Butch don’t end up together is this fear of the gay hero - no matter the feelings between these two men, they must return to the safety of heterosexuality. I feel V’s BDSM sexual expression was the same way. While my study of gender is excited over the very clear flip of gender norms between V and Jane, the sexuality portion of my study is heartbroken over the fact that V continues to be restricted, in a way, based on his partner. With the women before Jane, he had to be dominant to them and in control. With Jane, it’s the exact opposite and while he may physically dominate her, she is the dominant one in the relationship and he has given up control. It seems that there is no balance for V - it’s one extreme or the other. I hate that he had to be “cured” of his homoerotic emotions towards Butch - that was probably one of my least favorite moments in the entire series.

Nicola: I can definitely see how you'd read it that way, but I guess I interpreted it differently. I felt like (and I'm repeating myself from the discussion with Maria) the point was that V had been so deprived of affection that it was difficult for him to tell the difference between a fraternal love and a romantic love.

Jessica: I feel as though the definition of the romance novel is something that demands restructuring. Paranormal romance authors (including Ward) are going in the direction of the Paranormal Fantasy and I can’t help but feeling as though that is tied, not only to the content, but to the way the romance genre tends to force/control the sexuality and gender of its characters. The dominant audience for the romance genre is heterosexual women and as much as they seem to enjoy the idea of two men being sexually involved, I feel that it is limited to the imagining of themselves as part of that sexual relationship. The heterosexual relationships are spotlighted because the (presumably) heterosexual women reading about them can place themselves easily into the shoes of the female character.

Nicola: I've been reading romance since the early 80s, and one of the things that makes me really happy is seeing the diversification of the genre - 25 years ago, you pretty much had your choice of medival historicals, regency historicals, American Western historicals, or American civil war historicals coffGWTWwannabeescoffcoff. I love that there's everything from futuristic sci-fi romance to werewolf romance to suspense romance -- but it's true that outside of the erotica section, genre romance is still pretty well-defined as having a relationship between a man and a woman that ends happily. You and Maria are probably right that current genre norms are restrictive, but I do see them becoming more open. There is a whole lot more variety now than there used to be-- twenty years ago, I'm QUITE sure that scene at Butch's induction would have been very different, for example.

Jessica: I talk in my paper about the virgin/whore binary and how all the females in Ward’s series fit within the two of these categories (the “virgin” title because women who are virgins or women who don’t enjoy sex before meeting their males) except Xhex. I’m excited about Rehv’s book because I can’t help but expect to see more Xhex and I believe she will continue to challenge the expectations of females in the series. As for V being a virgin, don’t forget that he referred to himself as a “vascular virgin” and feeding is very much tied to sexuality/erotica. Of course, he did give his blood to Butch (although not mouth-to-vein), so we could debate whether or not he “gave” his “virginity” to Jane or if he gave it to Butch.

I just want to say thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts about this series. I have had so much fun writing about the BDB and I look forward to seeing what challenges my paper throughout the rest of the series. It’s been fantastic having the opportunity to discuss these topics - and I am happy to continue to do so. Please do not take anything I say as disrespect toward Ward or the series. I am a huge fan of both and of vampire literature in general (although I am new to the genre) so I do all of this with the utmost respect.

Nicola: You're so very welcome! I hope you can stop back and check in with comments, and maybe we can compare notes on Rehv later this week. ;)