Review: Envy by J.R. Ward

Envy (The Fallen Angels #3) by J.R. Ward
Synopsis (Goodreads):

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.

My Thoughts: I have two things to start with about this book. #1: I'm glad I waited to read it until AFTER I read Lover Unleashed because not knowing how Veck ended up in front of a mangled body with no memory would have driven me MAD. And #2: J.R. Ward sure can write the sexy, can't she? *fans self* Veck has a whole lot of sexy and I'm wickedly in love with the way he focuses all that appeal on Reilly.

Veck himself is intriguing. His father's deeds have stained him and he has the constant fear in the back of his mind that he could be just like him - a cold-blooded serial killer - if he lets the reins slip on his control. He doesn't allow himself to get close to people. He's always on guard because he never knows if the person chatting him up is one of his father's groupies. He's lived a life of isolation and it's slowly killing him.

I *liked* Reilly. She's cool, collected and her attraction to Veck goes against what she considers to be prudent. Yet... she can't stop thinking about him. When things start to heat up, she can't stop herself from being with him. She's helpless against the demands of her body but she's more than capable of taking care of herself in a dangerous situation. I like that.

The Fallen Angels. Oh, man. They kind of slayed me this time around. Adrian... I love the guy. He's loud and brash. He likes to give people shit and he has more piercings than I'd know what to do with, but I ADORE his character. His emotional transformation to deal with the fallout of a very bad thing HURTS. He pulls things together and is there for Jim when he needs him but.... Oh, Adrian!

As a hardcore BDB fan, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy the shout-outs to that series. From the Iron Mask to Detective de la Cruz to the mention of vampires. It ties the two series together nicely without overwhelming this one and leaves me constantly on the lookout for more parallels with the BDB world.

While this series isn't quite up to BDB fangirl level for me, it's still a fun, fun ride. Jim is doing things that an Angel probably shouldn't and Devina is a weirdly neurotic demon (and I can only hope that her neurosis ends up being her downfall) who still manages to evil up the place. The characters are hard and hot-tempered. The sexy is steamy. I have no idea how things will play out down the line, but I'm enjoying wallowing in this world.

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Books in this series
1. Covet
2. Crave 
3. Envy - Paperback | Kindle
4. Rapture

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