Crave: A Novel of the Fallen Angels [Versión Kindle]

J R Ward has found her groove in Crave. While I liked Covet, the first part of that novel was a little slow - not sure if Ms Ward was trying too hard to write differently from the BDB series. This time out she has her rhythm - the dialogue is snappy and the story moves quickly and smoothly (yes there is are brand names sprinkled throughout the book - but not as many as are in the BDB, and yes lots of swearing and slang, but it works, the only thing that doesn't is the typos - rather surprising- do people actually "proof" read these days or do they just use the "spell check"?). In any event, I really did enjoy this one much more than the first installment; Isaac and Grier are stronger characters and I enjoyed their story more than Marie-Terese and Vin. You learn more about Jim Heron in this installment and while his "earthly" sidekicks are an odd bunch of guys with lots of baggage (can't wait to find out more about them), they are princes compared to Nigel, Jim's "heavenly handler." This is not a 5 star for me, but a very solid 4 star and I think the series will get better and better given this installment.

As started in the first book in this series Covet, angel Jim Heron is the pawn between good and evil. After seven battles, where seven people's soul is at stake, the world will know if evil or goodness has prevailed. In Crave, we see battle number two. Isaac Rothe is a former XOps member, an extremely secretive organization that runs on intel and murder. No one leaves XOps without a bullet in their head, but Isaac has managed to escape - for now. Needing cash and to let out steam, he starts participating in illegal cage fights - until he is busted by the police. Thrown in jail, under his real name, is like a beacon to call his former boss, Matthias to him. He needs to get out pronto.

Jim owes Isaac a debt from their former XOps days and knows Matthias has thrown in the call to have Isaac taken out. Jim figures the least he can do is get Isaac out of the country - alive.

Attorney Grier Childe takes on public defender cases every so often, and the one she is handed is a doozy. Isaac is a mountain of pure muscle, and the very successful Grier can't help but set aside a little of her professionalism to drink in the sight of Isaac. Although beaten, and very rough around the edges, Grier likes what she sees.

With a brother dead from a drug overdose (who shows up as a ghost and felt very misplaced throughout the book), Grier feels the need to do something to save or protect Isaac from whatever he is running from. Isaac in turn feels the need to repay Grier for her kindness and cash to get him out of jail. But Isaac's dark world is about to descend upon them, and the light is far from the end of the tunnel.

The first half of Crave is so good! I became very excited, because for me, Covet (book one) left much to be desired. Isaac has a very messy past, and I don't know if I would call him a tortured hero, but definitely one that sees himself as no good, especially for the gorgeous Grier. As for Grier, I immediately liked her better than the heroine from Covet. She stands her ground and doesn't cower in the presence of the roughed up Isaac. They have this whole "are you going to kill me or have sex with me" vibe that really notches up the sexual tension in the first half of the book.

But then the second half of the book comes around and the romance fizzles to lukewarm. Where did my sexy, murderous Isaac go? Much more of the second half focuses on the other characters. There is a lot going on in this book and does not leave a lot of room for the romance to develop between the two main characters. Jim has a huge side story (which makes sense and I enjoyed). Eddie and Adrien, Jim's angel friends have their thing going on, as does Devina, Matthias, the four dudes in heaven. I'm not saying the other storylines were boring - far from it. But I just wanted Isaac and Grier to build up their romance more - they make it to the bedroom quick - and then that is it.

I also don't know if I like (or understand) the cheating that occurs on both sides. The four dudes in heaven make it such a point that they can't interfere at times or the entire "game" will be forfeit, but then one of them does - without consequences from the Creator. Same thing with Devina - what are the rules of this game they are playing? They seem very wishy-washy. Devina does make for a worthy villain and I like her continuing story.

Crave kept my interest much more than Covet did and also had a better hero and heroine. With more focus on the romance throughout the book, I would have really liked it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Another soul is at the cross-roads and up for grabs in a cosmic winner-take-all between Heaven and Hell. With this second entry, Ward solidifies her new Fallen Angels series and get past some of the things that bothered me in the first book: Jim Herron, the sole entity `allowed' to influence the soul's decision, has definitely gotten his wings, and Jim's relationship with his crew - Adrian and Eddie - is beginning to gel, and there are not too many heavenly interventions - the angelic mentors didn't really grab me last time. Jim's nemesis also gains a great deal of depth with her 'help sessions' and 'her collections'.

Heaven is ahead by one soul, but Hell is up to bat and in Crave, Jim has more of a vested interest in this skirmish since several of the players are people from his not so distant human past as a black ops soldier. This when combined with the fact that I also liked the pairing for the romance better this time are also strong plusses in Crave's favor. Jim's former black ops comrade Isaac and lawyer Grier Childes both are solid characters and the intense attraction between them as they are thrown into danger together seems real - even though it is hard to imagine a HEA for a pair from such different worlds.

Crave is definitely darker than the Covet and there are some difficult to read moments when one of the characters is tortured and violated - and in the aftermath of that as well. I can see Ward's purpose in this, as it affects relationships between several characters, but it still was hard to take.

I guess the bottom line with Crave was that I enjoyed the immediate story of Isaac and Grier and thought that Crave effectively advanced the elements of the larger series arc. With all that happened, I felt as if that there was a real battle going on and not one with a quick and easy resolution - and I didn't find the outcome to be predictable. Despite my discomfort with the extent of the darkness, I still am interested in seeing how things unfold for Jim and how the battle progresses in future books