Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

The King- J.R. Ward
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #12
Published by: Penguin, on 1 April 2014
Genres: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 352, Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase

Long live the King…

After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle--with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything--and everyone--at risk.

Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response--or the distance it creates between them.

The question is, will true love win out... or tortured legacy take over?

I have been anticipating The King ever since I knew there was going to be a second book about Wrath, son of Wrath. I fell in love with these urban vampires with the first book in the series, and I have loved more or less every single installment so far. The King however was a little disappointing to me. There were too many side-stories, and although I was interested in Marisol and Assail, they took far too much time away from Wrath and the brotherhood in my opinion. And also, what the hey was up with all the Miley bashing? At least three times, there was a mention of Miley, and truly bashing her, and that just wasn’t necessary at all! It brought nothing at all to the story.

Of course, it is always a pleasure to delve into the world and politics of the brotherhood, and I actually really appreciated that there were some flash-backs to Wrath’s parents. The intricate way the glymera was trying to get Wrath away from the throne and rather put someone else up there with all the power over their people. The intrigues between Xcor and the glymera at one side, and Wrath with the Brotherhood on the other were truly well done, though, and I never really knew what to expect next. And those parts were satisfying to me. There is also a lot of hotness to be appreciated in The King.

However, getting to know a lot more about Assail and Sola, as well as more back story for Trez and IAm at the same time made the story a little convoluted, and really took away some of my enjoyment. I wanted it to be more about Wrath and Beth, the brothers and the fight to hold on to the throne. But, since those parts were so well done, I’m not taking off more than one star – even if The King would have been a solid five star read for me if there hadn’t been so many distractions.

The character development for both Wrath and Beth was pretty amazing in The King, I really enjoyed how both of them had to learn to be better at seeing things from each other’s point of view. And especially Beth grew a lot in this story, she matured and was able to better understand a lot of things about vampire politics that she didn’t really seem to consider before. I have always had a soft spot for John Matthews, and I really hope there will be another story about him as well, it seems he is starting to remember some things that he really shouldn’t and I’m very curious to see if that will play out in any way.

If you’re a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy The King as well, but you might also share my frustrations a little bit. If you haven’t read this series yet, you should really get your hands on Dark Lover and possibly even Lover Eternal, because I don’t think you’ll be able to stop after just one story

Yet here she was, head over heels with a straight-up killer who had a trucker’s vocabulary, a royal bloodline as long as his arm, and enough attitude to make Kanye West look like a self-esteem reject.

And shit knew he felt sick: His chest was aching, his head was pounding, and his skin felt too small for his bones. Clearly a case of asshole-itis. And it was probably terminal.

As Beth put her arm out, she had a moment of total, stunned disbelief. Was it possible that all that sex had worked? Like, for its true biological function?