Blood Truth (Black Dagger Legacy Book 4)
As a trainee in the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s program, Boone has triumphed as a soldier and now fights side by side with the Brothers. Following his sire’s unexpected death, he is taken off rotation against his protests—and finds himself working with a former homicide cop to catch a serial killer: Someone is targeting females of the species at a live action role play club. When the Brotherhood is called in to help, Boone insists on being part of the effort—and the last thing he expects to meet is an enticing, mysterious female...who changes his life forever.
Ever since her sister was murdered at the club, Helaine has been committed to finding her killer, no matter the danger she faces. When she crosses paths with Boone, she doesn’t know whether to trust him—and then she has no choice. As she herself becomes a target, and someone close to the Brotherhood is identified as the prime suspect, the two must work together to solve the mystery...before it’s too late. Will a madman come between the lovers, or will true love and goodness triumph over a very mortal evil?
Reviews (472)
3 stars for me because there were as many filler/fluff pages as there were story pages
Blood Truth 418 pgs *** Boone & Helaine 3 stars for me because there were as many filler/fluff pages as there were story pages. The actual story was awesome, loved the character building, all the characters and especially having all the Brothers there. I skimmed so many pages that were filled with what characters were thinking, I was irritated most of the time while reading. I was disappointed in the book, only because I felt like there should have been way more story than filler pages. I was also disappointed in the fact that DNA wasn’t tested for Altamere and his son. Sex scenes were romantic but there were a lot of “filler” within the actual sex scenes as well which drug those scenes out for pages and pages so I kind of lost the romance of the moment. This won’t stop me from reading every book that Ms. Ward puts out though, within the Brotherhood books, because they are some of my all time favorite books
Schizophrenic Hero & Continuity Error!
I don’t understand how J.R.Ward’s books aren’t proofread for errors. Gallery/Simon & Schuster is really letting this author down. In Chapter 10 Helenia mentions her parents died in the fifties. But in Chapter 13 they pop up alive and well after her transition in the sixties! WTH !!! I am TIRED of paying for books by big names authors that have these errors. This is sloppy business on the publishers end. Maybe their employees don’t really care about the product. The last several Black Dagger Brotherhood books, since Simon & Schuster merged with Penguin, have ALL had errors in them. Even the authors acknowledgements as her Team Ward SPELLED WRONG. I refuse to rate a book, no matter how much I enjoyed the story, more than two stars if it has such a large continuity error in it. In the beginning Boone has a bum ankle, which he then doesn’t get until later on in the book. I guess Gallery knows Ward’s books will sell no matter if they are proofed or not. The story is good especially for those of who love police procedurals. I love that the race is being held accountable. Boone’s bloodlust, which was never resolved, gave me pause in jumping wholly on board as a hero! Ward never wrapped that up either. The torture killing of the rapist, seemed out of character for the Boone in other chapters of the book. It was as if Ward was writing two different characters. The loving male, who was funny and a monster who played with and tortured his prey. It was never explained what drove him for the thrill kill, as the rapist wasn’t the only representative of his passion for toying with his prey. Helenia was a really good character, and the Boone in the scenes with her don’t ring true with the torturer. Hmmm.... confusing. I personally think Boone thrill killing was to set up the character Syn’s book which is due next year. Kind of felt like character manipulation by Ward. I truly wish Ward would have stuck to the Boone she created instead of inserting those off the rail torture killing scenes. How can a guy who is pretty much a torture killer be investigating a murder, was it because the victims were a Lesser and a human, playing with the kill was just freaking wrong. I know all of Ward’s rabid fans are going to rate this book FIVE STARS, but most defend the author no matter how off the rails her publisher gets with her books. I’ve been reading Ward since her first BDB book. I judge Ward against her own work, and this book with it’s errors and schizophrenic Boone doesn’t deserve five stars.
Cliche aside, this BDBLegacy book is a great read
I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood books and I always like a second bite at the apple when I read the Legacy books. The third book was a cool way to wind up the Beast storyline with Rhage, Mary and Bitty and get Ruhn and Saxton introduced. This book was a great intro for the Band of Bastards. Tho the story is about Boone and Helania, I liked the way Syn's story was teased and I hope we hear more about him. Like the brothers, this troubled male had what sounds like a harrowing life and I hope we learn more about him and the other Bastards. But this story was about Boone. Can I just say how much I hate the Glymera? They just never learn. And the social structure of the doggen is worth paying attention to. There were a lot of clues that pointed to the guilty party but like some of the folks in the stories, we don't pay enough attention to the doggen servant class to realise they know who doesn't belong. The killer is a little cliche but that's alright, it gives V a chance to crack wise. Boone is a solid dude who tries to be thoughtful and do what is right, but there is some darkness in him that reminds me a little bit of Phury when he was going ginsu on the Lessers. I have some problems with the girl in the story, she doesn't seem quite as carefully thought out and I felt a little dubious of her. The star though was Butch. After being in the world of the Brotherhood for four years or so, Butch got to put his trench coat and hat on and go Columbo on everyone. He was even nostalgic about his old partner Jose, who I suspect we may see again. Despite the fact this story is a little messy, I liked it, and it was a satisfying read. If you are a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood you will enjoy it.
Not that good
I love the BDB world. I do not love this book. Boone's character fell flat and his lady love was weak. The most interesting parts were the glimses of the brothers. Butch brings his police training into this book investigating a series of murders. It was awkward and not what I was expecting. I do not enjoy procedurals. Butch's investigation how-to's detracted from the main story of Boone with his female. Honestly, I say that, but I am not sure what could have been added in its place because Boone is just not that interesting. Re-write this book from Syn's perspective, now we talkin'.
Need a new proofreader
I'm a big, big fan of the BDB. Have read all the books, most several times so I'm pretty up on sequences and characters. The first Legacy stories were more meat and less fluff as this one was. I was glad to see Boone get his own story but it seemed to be written more as an afterthought than as a good, fulfilling story. Lot of cliffhangers. Don't know if that was an oversight or just a tease for future stories. Still, too many unanswered questions. The earlier BDB books, up to the story of Blay and Quinn were the really entertaining ones. Different publisher? Different proofreader or a not very good one? In any case, this one does not compare very favorably with the other Legacy stories and certainly not with the Brotherhood ones.
Series needs to end.
Nope, nope, nope. This series has run its course. No good storylines anymore. Same stuff, different characters. No grit and blah sex scenes. It makes me very sad. I used to LIVE for this book series. It’s nice seeing Butch and V, but seriously, Syn seems like a “wanna be Rhage “. No one is unique anymore. Where the hell are The lessers? This was a murder mystery book, and sorry, but that’s not her forte. It was a lot of fluff, some plot and horrible sex scenes (compared to the early books) So, I wanted to finish the Legacy books, because I did enjoy the previous ones. So, now, I am done with this series for good. No more collecting hardcovers like I have with the entire series. Makes me sad, because this series was a HUGE part of my life and reading for a long time.
Rinse lather repeat....REPEAT... REPEAT...REPEAT....
Warning there's enough filler in this book to do every set of cheekbones in Hollywood. If you don't figure this out in the first 200 pages in, you're not even trying. There's still some fun moments with the brotherhood you get a few jokes and you get a few tears but repeats so badly that you seldom get anything else. .. her last book the Savior fabulous. BIG YES. THIS CRAP HUGE NO.
Great with a flaw
This book is a thriller. The plot was exciting, mysterious and I felt like I was reading a wonderful detective story. Add to that a sweet romance between 2 adorable, though a little boring, characters and I was completely enthralled. I loved that when I thought that I had everything figured it out - which was before I reached half of the book - there was a plot twist that I absolutely couldn't have predicted. So it looks like this book had it all, right? So why I'm not giving it 5 stars? Well, as I keep stating in my reviews, I hate when a book ends leaving questions unanswered. And that's exactly what the fore mentioned plot twist did. It was supposed to present the solution to all the mystery, which it did, but it also raised a whole lot of other questions that were not addressed at all. For instance, [ even though Marquist presented his reasons to kill the 2 females, I honestly felt that said reasons were ridiculously feeble, specially considering the brutality of the killings. And that is also something that wasn't addressed at all. Even if he had reasons (very weak, but still reasons) to kill the females, why not just slice their throats? Why the necrophilia? Why hook and hang them? If indeed he killed Boone's mahmem - as I suspect he did but that is also something that was not confirmed (nor denied) - we can assume that he didn't use that kind of violence. What changed him? And what about the human killed? Was it related to the females? How? No one knows. I really wished we had more information about his background and his relationship with Altamere but as it is all we have are speculations. (hide spoiler)] And because of that, what could have been a great, surprising and unexpected solution to the drama, felt forced and artificial due to the lack of explanation. Which is a pity because I really loved the story. But I can't give it more than 4 stars when the ending was so disappointing.
Lots of twists and turns
Any time I get to spend in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood is pure gold and "Blood Truth" is a worthy addition to the canon. We get to know Boone, one of the trainees, and his instant attraction and fast growing love for Helainia who is searching for her sister's murderer. I don't usually care for police procedurals but when the Brother Butch is conducting the investigation with Boone as his assistant, I'm there. Syn, one of Xcor's Band of Bastards, has a part in the book and is a fascinating character about whom I'm sure we'll hear more. Most of the other Brothers pop in and out but Vishous gets more page time. He does have the best line in the book, as Ms. Ward has said, and it is a laugh-out-loud one. Love that male! There are lots of twists and turns as the murder mystery is unraveled, and quite a few surprises. This is a very enjoyable read that has plenty of ideas to engage the imagination, such as the nature of love and survivor's guilt. Just one question: since when is Butch able to de-materialize?
Great addition to the Dagger books.
I have read all the Black Dagger books, and enjoyed every one. Although I like the earlier ones the best, I look forward to each addition to the series. I also have read all the Legacy books. I have not liked them quite so much, but I like them enough to keep going with these “spin offs”. However, I loved this latest book. It hooked me from the beginning, and I was reading every chance I could get until I finished it. It was a great read for me, like all the earlier books in the series. I highly recommend this book, and if you are like me, and have not loved the Legacy books, be sure to read this one. I know you will love it. And of course, it looks like we have another book coming that will be based on a really interesting character that had a somewhat prominent place in this book.
Comments
Post a Comment