Book Shelf: Envy (The Fallen Angels, #3) by J.R. Ward

A man and a woman tread the lines of danger, desire, and deliverance in the new novel of the Fallen Angels from the #1New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

As the son of a serial killer, homicide detective Thomas "Veck" DelVecchio, Jr., grew up in the shadow of evil. Now, on the knife-edge between civic duty and blind retribution, he atones for the sins of his father- while fighting his inner demons. Assigned to monitor Veck is Internal Affairs officer Sophia Reilly, whose interest in him is both professional and arousingly personal. And Veck and Sophia have another link: Jim Heron, a mysterious stranger with too many answers... to questions that are deadly. When Veck and Sophia are drawn into the ultimate battle between good and evil, their fallen angel savior is the only thing that stands between them and eternal damnation.

Blurb from Goodreads......


Review:

J.R. Ward is one of my all time fave authors and I love practically everything she writes. This book is no exception! I love The Fallen Angel series. A fantastic spin-off from her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, I love nothing more than diving into this hard, dark, gritty world. With raw intensity coating each page, Ward isn’t afraid to shy away from harsh themes; murder, violence, torture in both physical, mental and sexual forms all make an appearance this series and it may not be for those faint hearted. Or those who like their PNR an easy ride--expect a wild ride with this one as each book unfolds.

Envy kicks off with Jim about to begin the 3rd round in the battle between Heaven and Hell, having lost the last and being currently 1-1 with Devina. Devina continues to torture our heroes in her pursuit of the 3rd soul. What can I say? I’m thrilled to be with Jim again as he continues his mission and watch his work his angel magic.
In this book we are introduced to Thomas “Veck” Dellveckio, a tough as nails homicide cop who has a disastrous family history and who lives with the shame of his father’s actions hanging over his head. I really liked Veck. He’s the kind of cop I love to sink my teeth into. Tough, sexy and a bit of a rough playboy who looses is head when a certain woman walks into his life. I enjoyed reading about his inner struggles and battles and loved his honourable nature. He was willing to face what it was he was and what it was he’d done, even if it meant ending up in jail, all in a desperate attempt not to end up like his father.

I did like Sophia Rielly, Veck’s romance interest, but I was not without my issues with her. She’s an equally tough Internal Affairs officer with her own complicated history and I felt she was a fitting match for Veck. Rielly may not have been overly feminie and she thought with her head, but I still felt the relationship between them. Yes, it moved fast as is standard with these kinds of books, but it felt real considering everything that was going on. There were some seriously steamy scenes between the two of them and I enjoyed that, however I did have one issue with Rielly. I really, really hated how easily she accepted what people were saying about Veck and how quick she was to condemn him when he was a murder suspect. I know people tell lies and some times they can’t help but believe them, but I truly thought she should have known better than to believe such things of him. Didn’t she know him better? She should have stood by him and believed him instead of automatically believing the worst of him--which is really what she did. As I said I still liked her and enjoyed her in the rest of the book, but I just found that hard to move past.

On a side note to this romance, we have Jim and his fellow angels forever in the background and dealing with there own problems, including a heart-breaking loss. The loss of someone they love shatters Jim and Adrian and leaves them gutted. I couldn’t fight the emotion in this book. Fans of this series should be able to guess who dies considering the extent to which Adrian is broken by his loss. I may be giving away some spoilers, but there really is only one person Adrian would be destroyed to loose. The friendship and love he shares with his fallen comrade is strong and the pain and anguish he experiences over loosing him even stronger. In the scenes where we watch Adrian drown in his grief, especially the actual death scene is so heart-wrenching. Watching him cry and be so shattered is horrible. Adrian is my honey in this series. I love Jim, but it’s Adrian who has my heart and I hated seeing him so hurt in this book too. I hated seeing him change and loose a lot of himself. I wanted to see the old smart-ass Adrian back. I loved how he managed to find the strength he does to continue on and think that in time he may be okay, but it’s still saddening none the less.

The next soul and round for Jim and Devina will revolve around someone we’ve already met and while I’m not going anything away I have to wonder what the hell J.R. Ward is thinking. Why is she bringing this person back? Especially when I thought they were done and dusted; their fate decided. It just doesn’t make sense and yet I know it will have an importance in the next book.
All in all, another great read by Ms. Ward and I cannot wait for more!

Rating:
Source: I bought
Format: Paperback
Recommend: Yes!
Recommend borrow or buy: Buy
Cover: I love the blue--this is a lighter cover than I expect from this series though
Read sequel/continue with series: Uh...duh! Yes.....

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