Love it but...

I LOVED this book. The only complaint I have is that they changed the pronunciation of the names of some of the people. For example, Havers was pronounced Haavers. Xcor was pronounced Core. Xhex was pronounced Hex.

34 people found this helpful

Name changes after 13 books?!?!

Who changes pronunciations after narrating 13 books? This is ridiculous having to figure out who he’s talking about. And I really don’t like the new pronunciations, they’re painful!

7 people found this helpful

J R Ward ~ Hands Down ~ The # 1 Author in PNR!

JR Ward is one of the best authors, and her BDB series is my favorite. I love the action, suspense, steamy romance, and a phenomenal character development and the multiple POV's. I bought this story on preorder before it was released, and prior to my upcoming back surgery. I wanted to have a story ready to listen to after my surgery that would help me cope with the pain and recovery. The Beast was a perfect choice, and kept me engaged from the beginning to the end. I loved how the story weaved in new characters and developed existing characters on a deeper level.

With each new story, Jim Frangione's performance gets better and he delivers another stellar performance by giving each character their own voice and using the right amout of tone and inflection to convey the different emotions throughout the story.

This is a series I would recommend to everyone! It has a great mix of both feminine and masculinity, and should appeal to multiple audiences. If you have not listen to any of the Black Dagger Brotherhood stories, I highly recommend you start from the beginning and I'm confident you will like this series. These stories are well worth the credit and time invested in listening to the stories.

24 people found this helpful

FLAWLESS.... SIMPLY FLAWLESS

Fourteen books J R Ward has written in the unforgettable, unmissable and unstoppable BDB series and each and every one of them are worthy five star listens, each and every one of them delivered an all-consuming multi-layered plot with sub plots and each and every one of them met, then exceeded, my already high expectations. These Brothers, their mates, their families, their big hearts and their relentless unwavering dangerous Quest get under your skin, very quickly work their way into your heart and absolutely nothing is going to dislodge them. Because, as a fan, you've walked alongside them as they've fought evil, fought for love, fought for the Brotherhood and they're still fighting for everything they hold sacred and dear.

For me, JR Ward is way..way....waaay up there on top of the list where only a few truly gifted Author's names appear because there's N E V E R any doubt that you're going to love the listen, there's N E V E R any doubt that it's going to absolutely tick all your boxes and there's N E V E R any doubt that she's going to totally knock it out of the ballpark. And, when all the action is over, the hours have gone and the characters have once more been put to bed, you're left in a bit of a book funk greedily wondering just how long you'll have to wait until the next gripping book will be released.

Gifted writing, wonderful story with many sub plots, drama, action, heartache, sex, romance, descriptive scenes and awesome characters await..... but who am I kidding - no fan needs to read Reviews, no fan needs reassurances that it's going to be epic, no fan would doubt Jim Frangione's ability as narrator and no fan would question the purchase. It was in my pre-orders as soon as I got a mere whiff of its release and I eagerly waited, mentally squirming and anticipating the day..... like a junkie needing her next fix and now I'm BDB juiced up impatiently waiting for my next hit. Ms Ward.... I'll clean your house, I'll mow your lawns, I'll walk your dog and I'll make your coffee just the way you like it if this is what it takes so you can weave your creative thoughts, form them into magical chapters and deliver us book 15. I'm sure I'm not alone, there's an army of us - your willing and waiting fans who'll never ever tire of these characters, their stories.... and you. x

Worth a credit? Gosh, Jeeez.... and smiles - does this question really need my answer? no I didn't think so.

30 people found this helpful

Not what I thought it would be

I struggled to finish listening, this book was not at all what I thought it would be. It was a sappy love story with minimal action, too many corny lines and repeat phrases.

4 people found this helpful

The Big Puppy Dog.

I usually don't want to read books about the same couple as earlier in a series, and at first I was a bit leery of this book just as I was about with V's book. Luckily this book was better than V's second book, I really liked it. As with all of JR Ward book's there are many stories arcing in one book. There was really only one action scene with the lessars in the beginning, the rest of the book was about coming to terms with the life they were dealt with. Rhage and Mary figuring out that they really did want kids, finding Biddy and discovering they can help her. Also a good part was when Layla has her babies, I'm still really interested to see where her and Xcor story will lead. There are a few new characters added to the story it will be interesting to see how they play out in the future. At first I was annoyed that there was so much of Assail in the book. I kept thinking that the book could easily be cut down by a third without him, but his part of the book gets good and I'm glad it was there in the long run. I figured out why the author always calls her characters by their initial, it is because you can't spell them, so pardon my spelling on my review. Narrator is good as always.

7 people found this helpful

Bit of a spoiler ahead: Be warned.

Any additional comments?

I was expecting so much more of Rhage and Mary’s continuing story. I mean there life is for the most part perfect except they don’t have children.  I guess because I don’t have children and have never felt this all-encompassing need to propagate that I was kind of like yawn.  I couldn’t relate to their feelings on the subject.  All of their issues revolve around them each wanting children and not being able to have them.  Or can they?  It was so obvious where the story was heading as soon as Bitty was introduced, which was annoying.   

One thing Ward does well is have a multi POV story that she moves the overall plot along of both the lessening society and BDB in every novel.  It’s one thing I look forward to and why I continue to read this series.  In The Beast, I enjoyed the secondary characters story more than I did the primary.

 I like where she left things because it is enough that we are hungry for the next novel and there are several plot threads left dangling.  Overall The Beast was just OK for me, I think I would have liked it better if this was a secondary story going on and someone else got the lead.  Much like Butch and Marissa in Blood Kiss. 

2 people found this helpful

fantastic

as a reader, you always wonder if the next book in a series will be as good as the ones that came before. I can truthfully say for The Black Dagger Brotherhood , yes, yes yes. Ward says she write what the Brotherhood shows her, it must be true. every piece of the Brotherhood s life is so clearly written you can see and feel it. You laugh and cry , you hold your in suspense . it takes you away to a place where you know in your head it's only in the book but in your heart you know somewhere, some place there is The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

11 people found this helpful

THE WHOLE GANG IS BACK!!!

There's noting I can say about how exciting and thrilling this book is that hasn't already been said. I didn't follow the spinoff so I was excited for a new book with the 'ole BDB gang.

I want Lassiter's story. That fallen angel cracks me up.

4 people found this helpful

JR Just Ain't the Same

What would have made The Beast better?

A better plot. And she could have cut out a lot of the pop culture references for a start, they drove me insane!!! I feel like JR Ward is just churning out half-assed stories now. I really enjoyed the first 10 BDB books. They were well written with great plots and you really cared what was happening with the characters. I feel like after the 10th book, JR isn't really even trying anymore.

What could J. R. Ward have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I really don't know. The book was really sappy, to the point I would roll my eyes and tune out.

What didn’t you like about Jim Frangione’s performance?

Jim Frangione is a good narrator, but his narration does not suit the BDB books. He just doesn't get the tone right. He sounds like someone's father trying to talk "hip" when he curses and says words like "mother f*cker" and hearing him narrate the saucier parts actually made me cringe.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment, definitely.

Any additional comments?

I used to really enjoy JR Ward's books, but her more recent stuff has been pretty bad. I hope she gets her mojo back and starts writing better books!!!

19 people found this helpful