Covet by J.R. Ward
Series Name: Fallen Angels
Genres: Angels, Contemporary, Demons, Erotica, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Urban
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Signet/Penguin Group (USA)
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-451-22821-5
Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon Barnes & Noble ThriftBooks
Synopsis from the Book
Redemption isn’t a word Jim Heron knows much about – his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option.
Vin diPietro has surrendered himself to his business – until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley riding, self-professed savior, and a woman who makes him question his destiny. With an ancient evil ready to claim him, Vin has to work with a fallen angel not only to win his beloved over…but to redeem his very soul.
Personal & Info
I don’t remember how I came across this. I think it popped up as a recommendation on Goodreads because I’m reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Upon researching this series, the first thing I saw was people asking the relevance to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I’m not sure of the extent, yet, but this is definitely noticeably crossed. Timeline-wise, it’s recommended to read this series in tandem with the Black Dagger Brotherhood based on publication dates.
The series can probably be read without reading the BDB series, but if you choose to read it in tandem, like I am, Covet would be read after Lover Avenged. They mostly alternate except for after Rapture, at which point there are two BDB volumes before the next Fallen Angels book. Then it goes back to alternating every other single for the last two.
I’m not even going to try to pinpoint which books are based around which sins, because I didn’t realize that was a thing until I was at least a couple books into the series. It’ll probably be more fun for you to figure it out for yourself anyway.
Characters
I don’t want to say much about some of the characters yet, because unknowns for some are needed in this volume to keep the story from being spoiled as the introductory volume.
Jim Heron is the main character, and based on the plot, he probably will be for the whole series.
Adrian and Eddie…it’s been a hot minute, but I think they are construction workers on Jim’s crew. I vaguely remember finding Adrian to be annoying.
Vin diPietro is a wealthy business man, whose soul is in need of saving. Jim’s construction crew is working on building his house.
Devina is Vin diPietro’s fiancée.
Story & Thoughts
There is no mention of vampires in the entire book, but references to the BDB series constantly pop up in other ways. This book takes place in Caldwell, New York, the same place as the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Characters from the BDB books pop up everywhere, mostly by description, but Trez is just blatantly a side character in this. Trez is not a Brother, but he is a fairly significant character in the BDB series. The leading lady, Marie-Terese, was literally introduced in the BDB series. I chose to read these as recommended, by publication order with the BDB series, and I think that was the right thing to do, so I will continue to do that.
An angel named Lassiter was introduced in, I think it was Lover Enshrined. He hasn’t had a big role in the BDB series yet, but I feel like reading these in tandem gives better insight into angels on both fronts. How they operate, what their abilities are, how their powers work, etc.
I was a little confused at the beginning of the book, because the descriptions of Marie-Terese and Devina were extremely similar. I thought they might be the same person, but the order of events made that perspective very confusing. It took a few chapters for me to get that straight.
The story had a slow start, as most first books in a series do. It took at least a good quarter of the book to really get going. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I enjoyed the story.
I do think it’s a little strange, if Jim is supposed to be a neutral party, someone demons and angels can both agree on for their savior candidate, why should he become a fallen angel as the synopsis says? Doesn’t that make him obviously lean one way over the other? It would make more sense if he stayed human. I guess it could just be that might have been the only way to keep him in the game.
Trigger Warnings
There very well might be things worth mentioning for trigger warnings. I can’t remember much on that front, but I’ll try to list what I can remember.
Necrophilia? (not sure if this is accurate, but there is a brief sexual scene involving a person who looks like a rotting corpse), sexual themes, violence