Karen Does JR Ward’s Lover Enshrined…Sorta

Posted in J.R Ward Monday October 5, 2009

Lover Enshrined

I read Lover Enshrined yesterday, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here are some quick observations/comments:

1. I loved the whole John/Qhuinn/Blay dynamic. I was most fascinated with the plots involving all three of them.

2. I think the Qhuinn/Blay story was probably how Ward wished she’d have handled the Butch/Vishous story. Of course I never had a problem with the way she handled them in Lover Unbound in the first place. I didn’t see the mutual male/male romantic love till the blog version of Chinese whispers started.

3. I can’t wait for John’s story.

4. I think Ward’s handling of Phury was fine. He was a drug addict at the end of the day, so not bound to change overnight. Very angsty, but not annoying.

5. I can’t wait for John’s story.

6. Ward seems to be a specialist in portraying strong male friendships. There seems to be an intensity to them that’s severely lacking between any of the female protags. She should sort that out.

7. I can’t wait for John’s story.

8. As much as I hate the lessers, I’m glad they were back in LE, I think they’re a necessary evil in the the BDB books.

9. I can’t wait for John’s story.

10. I wonder if Xhex is really going to be John’s mate when he gets his book. I bet Ward changes her mind just like Lisa Kleypas did with the Cam and Daisy.

11 I can’t wait for John’s story.

12. Lash is a twat.

13. I can’t wait for John’s story.

14. I was surprisingly sympathetic towards Cormia. I didn’t hate her at all. In fact, I found myself liking her a lot, especially when her knickers started defrosting, and she grew a backbone.

15. I like Jane The Doc, even if she is a ghost.

16. I can’t wait for John’s story.

17. I’m happy about what happened to the majority of the Glymera, they were assholes.

18. I can’t wait to read John’s story.

19. I wonder if Ward is feeling the pressure to make John’s book the best of them all?

20. I still have a very soft spot for Zhadist and Bella. I love their pairing.

21. How many of you are also looking forward to John’s story? *g*

24 Comments »

24 piped up to “Karen Does JR Ward’s Lover Enshrined…Sorta”

  1. AvatarSarahT
    Posted: Oct 5th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
    1

    Yep, I’m still on board for John’s story! ‘Lover Mine’ is out in April 2010.

    I agree with your assessment of ‘Lover Enshrined’. I see J.R. Ward’s books as ongoing sagas involving a multitude of characters, so I the lack of focus on the alleged hero/heroine doesn’t bother me.

    Despite the blatant product placement, I found ‘Lover Avenged’ a mostly positive reading experience. Rhev is a great character and she did a good job with his story arc.

    The thing with Ward’s books is that there are always enough good bits to keep me entertained, even if some elements of the plot don’t work for me.
  2. Avatarjmc
    Posted: Oct 5th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
    2

    I’m looking forward to John’s story…but then I’m leaving the BDB behind, I think. Too many books, too little time.
  3. Avatarsallahdog
    Posted: Oct 5th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
    3

    I might sneak in for Johns story… I hated this book so much I didn’t even bother with Rhevs story.. or whatever the last book was supposed to be about…

    I haven’t loved a BDB book since Zsadists… I wtf at Vishcious, bored at Butches and Phury? Phooey…
  4. AvatarTara Marie
    Posted: Oct 5th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
    4

    ditto to the entire post. And yes, I can’t wait for John’s story.
  5. AvatarKristieJ
    Posted: Oct 5th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
    5

    I’ve only read the first two books in this series so I barely know John. But I’d be willing to bet that having kept up with this series, you are probably looking forward to John’s story.
  6. AvatarAztecLady
    Posted: Oct 5th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
    6

    I don’t know… I may be interested, but first I would have to read Lover Avenged. Which I may do if I find a cheap used copy somewhere *shrug*
  7. Avataralisha rai
    Posted: Oct 5th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
    7

    I can’t wait to read John’s story.

    Me too! I also love Qhuinn and Blay, they don’t get much screen time in Lover Avenged. Except for some emo longing looks and sighing from Blay.

    Re: the product placement, it’s so a part of Ward’s writing, I kind of look forward to it. In Covet, I had a good chuckle when the hero made a sandwich with Jif. Of all the things to brand name drop…

    ETA an h to Qhuinn. Qhuin? Whatever, sigh.
  8. AvatarChantal
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 3:07 am
    8

    Not me. This series is getting as bad as LKH’s books.
  9. Avatarkatiebabs
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 3:22 am
    9

    Phury and Cormy’s romance was beyond lame and that invisible British dude on Phury’s shoulder was beyond annoying.

    I have the feeling that JM is going to be the most alpha of all the bros. But Xhex is one freaky biotch.

    I loves me some Lassiter though. He has the best one liners.
  10. AvatarLeslee
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 9:42 am
    10

    I agree with this entire post! I liked this book , I like them all. Even when Ms. Ward does something I am not crazy about I still enjoy the book. I didn’t like Rhev all that much before his book came out and then I read his book and I fell in love with him. I can’t wait til John’s book comes out. I still love Z and Bella the best of all. I will probably buy it in hardcover on the release day because I can’t wait to see what happens!!!!
  11. AvatarShiloh Walker
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 11:46 am
    11

    I haven’t kept up with this series…I think Lover Unbound was the last one I read.

    I do adore Z/Bella and Rhage/Mary…
  12. AvatarBarbara
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
    12

    LOL!! Hmmmm… I take it, you can’t wait for John’s story ;)

  13. AvatarMireya
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
    13

    This is, of all her books, the one I’ve liked the least and I admit to having skipped portions of it *sigh* When I got “Lover Avenged” I was fearing that I had wasted my money (the book came out in hardcover as you all know). Thankfully, I really liked that book, and I am getting used to the fact that the series is more urban fantasy than romance. I think that my favorite ones from the series, so far, are “Dark Lover” and “Lover Revealed”.

    And I can’t wait to read John’s story!
  14. AvatarKaren Scott
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
    14

    I forgot to mention how much I loved the scene at the end with Phury and Z. It moved me a lot.
  15. AvatarLesleyW
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
    15

    I was looking forward to John’s story more than anything else in the entire BDB until I read Rehv’s book and now – not so much.
  16. Avatarjoannef
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
    16

    This one broke my crahck habit. Hated, hated, hated the way the Brotherhood treated Phury – especially Zsadist’s self-absorbed “poor me, F-U” crap. The one Brother who helped all the others was given absolutely no help or support, and then thrown out like last week’s trash. I liked Cormia, but their romance was missing from this book. I wish she’d have made this into 2 separate books; one for Phury & Cormia, and one for the 3 Stooges. I read Lover Avenged too, but got it from the library. I liked it a little better than Lover Enshrined, but that’s not saying much. I’d love to know more about the Chosen, but they’re females and JR Ward never wastes her time with their stories.

    I don’t like the John/Xhex pairing. I’ll probably read Lover Mine, but will again get it from the library. Not looking forward to it, really. It’s more like it’s become a habit & I want to know how it ends; even though I’m repeatedly going back and forth between being thoroughly bored and thoroughly confused on the meandering path to the end of this series.
  17. AvatarJessica
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
    17

    8. As much as I hate the lessers, I’m glad they were back in LE, I think they’re a necessary evil in the the BDB books.

    not sure if it was intentional, but this one was funny as hell.
  18. AvatarKaren Scott
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
    18
    Author Comment

    I don’t like the John/Xhex pairing.

    I bet many other romance readers will probably feel the same way. I wonder if this is because of Ward’s portrayal of her as an almost masculine woman?

    I figure that most traditional readers would probably prefer a much more ‘feminine’ female for him.
  19. AvatarNicola O.
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
    19

    Oh, I’m all over the map on this. I didn’t much like Phury’s story AT ALL; the romance was weak and the best part about the other BDB books — the interactions between the brothers– was completely absent.

    The best part was definitely the developing story among the three youngsters, but sadly I think JM is kind of whiny, and his pairing with Xhex is very wtf-ish to me. It’s going to take a lot of work to sell me on that couple, but Ward may be up to it.

    We’ll see in April.
  20. AvatarKaren Scott
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
    20
    Author Comment

    I didn’t much like Phury’s story AT ALL; the romance was weak

    The romance was weak, but I didn’t mind because the other parts of the book were so much more interesting. Plus I’ve learned not to look for too much romance in Ward’s BDB books anyway.

    In fact I think I kinda like the lack of focus on the romance actually.
  21. AvatarMichelle(mlg)
    Posted: Oct 6th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
    21

    I enjoyed it. I think she did a really good job regarding the addiction. You can’t help an addict until they hit bottom and want help, otherwise you are just enabling them. I liked how Ward didn’t have Cormia magically cure him, but he had to help himself so that he could be there for Cormia. I don’t mind John and Xhex’s pairing. The one I really dislike is Tohr, can’t stand how he abandoned John.
  22. Avatarsallahdog
    Posted: Oct 7th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
    22

    I actually really like Xhex… but I have always had a bit of a Xena Warrior Princess fetish… Its probably because I have always worked in traditionally male jobs…

    My biggest issues with Wards books (which was there from the beginning, but got worse as the cast got larger) is the jumping around from storyline to storyline… I am a more linear thinker and reader and I found it frustrating… I think I actually read this book 4 times, I would skip forward to stay on one storyline, then go back and read the next one… Its not really the way to fully enjoy a book…
  23. Avatarsallahdog
    Posted: Oct 7th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
    23

    I actually really like Xhex… but I have always had a bit of a Xena Warrior Princess fetish… Its probably because I have always worked in traditionally male jobs…

    My biggest issues with Wards books (which was there from the beginning, but got worse as the cast got larger) is the jumping around from storyline to storyline… I am a more linear thinker and reader and I found it frustrating… I think I actually read this book 4 times, I would skip forward to stay on one storyline, then go back and read the next one… Its not really the way to fully enjoy a book… I know a lot of people don’t have a problem with that, but its just one of those things that end up bugging the crud out of me…
  24. AvatarAmanda
    Posted: Oct 9th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
    24

    The problem with JR Wards books right now is she is changing her writing so her BDB-fan board will love it. She has moved away from writing for the fun to writing for the money. SERIOUSLY!

    I believe the first four books were pretty good well not fair they were great books. When she got to V it fell. V and Rhev are two of my fav characters and I think she didn’t do them justice. Plus she has turned her males from hardcore Im gonna kick your a@@ to Puppies that need to be led around by a leash. Althought I guess V would like that….not sure though.

    Rhev’s book was a total let down for me, I saw so much potential for his book but yeah you took the man’s PIMP-ness away. And now we have seven for lack of better words pussy’s. There has to be a way that she keep the men Alpha’s with a heart and not make them soo weak. I just don’t get it.

    Will I read Lover Mine, sure its JM’s book have to kinda, but can we say repeat plot…somehow I see Bella being kidnapped instead of Xhex, oh and someone please tell me how a woman like that can be easily taken away with out her fighting…the reasons in Rhev’s book don’t fly for me. So here we will be in April, re-reading Bella’s story only the names and incidents will be changed for the protection of the peeps who went through it the FRIST TIME!

    Someone needs to sit Ward down and say look, get your head back in it, cuz the stuff you’re writing now is nothing like it started out to be.
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