Covet (Fallen Angels, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

J.R. Ward (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 29, 2009 | Series: FALLEN ANGELS (Book 1)

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 charge with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he’s good with that — until fate intervenes in the form of a tough- talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. But then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart—and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harley-riding angels battle a demon temptress in the latest paranormal romance thriller from bestseller Ward, author of the beloved Black Dagger Brotherhood series (Lover Avenged, etc.). Jim Heron, an acerbic construction worker and former assassin, has been selected by the forces of Heaven to save "seven souls at a crossroads with a choice that must be made." His first subject: Vin diPietro, a "silk-suited, M6-driving, misogynistic" jerk with a paranormal secret: "Vin saw dead people, all right. Before they died." Forgiving some hyper-masculine postering ("I sound like a Lifetime movie or some shit") and tiresome clichés ("Nobody ever said life was fun or easy or even fair," "luck had always been with him-like magic"), Ward provides the combination of fun, thrills and gratuitous sex she's best known for. Fans of the Brotherhood, clear a shelf: your next series addiction has just begun.
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About the Author

J.R. Ward is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, including the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. She lives in the South with her family.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Signet; Original edition (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451228219
• ISBN-13: 978-0451228215
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (335 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.R. Ward is the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series of vampire books. She is a winner of the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA award for Best Paranormal Romance and is a multiple RITA nominee. A graduate of Smith College, she was a double major in History and Art History with a medieval concentration in both and she still longs at times for a return to those days sitting in dark lecture halls, looking at slides of old triptychs and reliquaries. Prior to becoming a full time writer, she was a corporate attorney, serving for many years as the Chief of Staff of one of Harvard Medical Schools premier teaching sites. Her idea of absolute heaven is a day filled with nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot and the Brothers, of course.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#3 in Books > Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic

#25 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#42 in Books > Romance

#50 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance

#95 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#3 in Books > Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic

#25 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#42 in Books > Romance

#50 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance

#95 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

169 of 183 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars - Promising start to Ward's new series - Romance, Redemption and Angels on Harleys September 29, 2009

By melindeeloo TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Romance and redemption kick off this first sortie in a winner-takes-all endgame between angels and demons with the final outcome determined by seven battles for seven souls. The only thing that stands between those souls and damnation is Jim Heron - a man whose own soul is gray enough to make him an acceptable advocate for both Heaven and Hell.

The first soul up for grabs is Vin diPietro's. Vin is a rich and powerful man who is never satisfied with what he has even though everything he has is the very best. A man who started with nothing, did whatever it took, and bent whatever rules he could get away with to make it to the top. A man who has `lost' himself in a fog of avarice somewhere along the way, teetering on the edge of damnation, until the night that he catches a glimpse of Marie-Terese across a crowded dance floor. Seeing the beautiful and somehow familiar Marie-Terese is like a wake-up call for the soul Vin doesn't even realize that he's been loosing.

When Vin enters Marie-Terese's life she too is at a crossroads. The job which has meant her survival for Marie-Terese has been eating away her soul bite by bite. The wealthy and handsome Vin is everything Marie-Terese finds attractive in a man, but she's been there done that and paid a steep price for that mistake.

Little do the pair realize that Vin is a playing piece in a cosmic game, with points awarded based on whether or not Vin takes that final step towards damnation. But Vin is not alone on the game board, he has a champion in the form of Jim Heron - the sole person who has been chosen by both sides to help Vin with his choice. But of course Team Hell is cheating and trying to push Vin over the line. Still, even with Jim's help, it is Marie-Terese who is the key to Vin's salvation.... But if Vin and Marie-Terese can't break free from the ghosts of their pasts and Jim can't head off the demon working to keep them ensnared by said ghosts, the world will be literally one step closer to Hell.

I really liked the romance between Vin and Marie-Terese and the development of both of these romantic leads. As cold and detached as Vin starts out, author Ward does a good job of transforming him so that it is easy to root for his redemption. Ward also does a great job of fleshing out Marie-Terese, a character that we've glimpsed as the lead prostitute from Zero Sum in the Black Dagger books. The back stories that Ward develops for Marie-Terese and Vin are detailed enough that there is a really good sense of not only who they are but who they were and the choices that lead them to this point. But I really like the way that they are the catalyst for each others redemption and I liked the tenderness which augments the attraction between the pair.

Okay this is the question that all of Ward's fans want answered, "Is this as good as the Black Dagger Brotherhood series?" Ward's style is pretty distinct - which means that the f-bombs, slang, and brand name dropping which irks some readers are present here - but I enjoy her style and it gives Covet the flavor of the BDB books without the fangs. What fans will appreciate - and this is what adds the icing to Ward's other books for me - is that she is already starting to setup for the strong male friendships which will carry through the series. Another plus is that the demon who is Jim's nemesis is a better adversary than the BDB's the pre-Lash-Lessers. Also fun, since this series is set in the the Brothers' home town, it looks like there will be some crossover and future development of some characters from Ward's other books - in addition to Marie-Terese, Trez and Detective De La Cruz appear - and there is a very very brief "nudge-nudge-wink-wink" drive-by cameo which will give fans a chuckle.

So the answer to the question for me is that I think that it will be as good. I say `will be' instead of `is' only because - even though I really enjoyed the romance and what we've learned about Jim so far - the fallen angel angle is not explored much here in this first book which it makes it hard to compete with the fully established series that BDB is after seven books. Personally I would have liked to have seen just a little bit more explained this go round - I was asking myself whether Jim was or wasn't a fallen angel through most of the book. Even with my lack of patience, my only other nit with Covet is I didn't much care for Jim's heavenly pep talks. Still my nits are minor and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. There is enough promise in what's been laid out for the series so far that I liked everything else about Covet -- there is no doubt that I will be reading the next book. Read more ›

120 of 131 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not really a romance..... October 4, 2009

By Salty Girl

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I guess what bothered me the most about this book is that I simply could not warm up to any of the characters. About half of the book is about Jim, who I did not find intriguing on any level. The other half was evenly split between Vin and Marie-Therese. I felt like they got short-changed. To make it worse, many of the scenes between Vin and M-T were told through Jim's point of view. To me, this created a sense of distance that was disconcerting.

I love the BDB books, and don't mind when significant amount of page space is devoted to other chatacters because they are so engrossing. The BDB books have a momentum and an intensity of emotion that makes me ache for the characters and plow through the book dying to see what happens next. I care about the PEOPLE (ahem, or vamps, as the case may be!) I don't care so much about the intricate vampire or lesser history....although those are interesting too. I'm dying to know when John Matthew figures out who he is, when Phury is going to man up, how Bella is doing keeping Zsadist on track. I buy JR Ward's books because she has me hooked on these beautifully drawn characters.

I just did not get that feeling from COVET. Jim is a standard issue character. Vin and M-T are more interesting, but did not get enough page space together to develop much electricity. I also thought the whole premise of the series is a little gimmicky. I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the series. (I kind of wish Ward would resurrect her Jessica Bird persona.)

78 of 87 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Talk about a mess October 9, 2009

By J. D. Witt

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I am not disappointed in this book because it is not about the BDB characters, I was ready for a completely new cast to entertain me. Problem was...no entertainment. As a matter of fact I took a deep breath on page 112 and was shocked to realize that I still hadn't met a character yet that I cared about. Shocked because Ward has never before failed to write characters that vividly come off the page. It just didn't happen in this book. I will say I had grown a little more interested before the end but not by much.

So we have lackluster characters, what about plot? The plot was ridiculous at best. The final battle for the fate of the world and the best the good side can come up with is an off-duty government assassin with over 100 kills? This is the good guy? The assassin with the heart of gold? Right, except he didn't have a heart of gold either. But if he doesn't accept his mission then all of creation is going to be wiped out as if it never existed. Since he doesn't care about anything he says that will be just fine with him. But wait, his mother is in Heaven and she is enjoying the only peace she has ever known. Well, in that case he'll accept. But if everything is wiped away how will his mother know she lost Heaven? Um, nevermind, it doesn't make sense but carry on. Now we are involved with a Catholic good and evil plot in the same town the Brotherhood lives in. How does that mix with the Omega and Scribe Virgin? Um, nevermind, just further examples of a nonsensical plot. If none of that makes sense then no surprise that none of the parameters for the Fallen Angels make much sense either.

On a more positive note the book did pick up a little toward the end. But Ward dropped the ball there too.... Much of the action happened "off camera" and it wasn't explained how things were accomplished or even what happened. Why would key scenes be left out, especially when they promised to be so interesting? Since those scenes involved the demon's behavior it was as if her imagination failed when it came to describing the evil side's activities. It really left a hole in the book when it came time for the big show-down between Devina and the Fallen Angels and there was no show-down. And she had been one of the more interesting characters so her presence was missed.

Apparently there will be at least six more books in the series. The other reviews are saying that the first book is sometimes slow to get started. She is going to have a lot of room for improvement. Frankly if I want a shot of J. R. Ward I'll just go back to the Brotherhood. This series is going to have to carry on without me. Read more ›