Posted on by Jacquie Biggar

#BookReview- Claimed by J. R. Ward #Mystery #Suspense


Claimed

A heart-pounding new series set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, about a scientist fighting to save the gray wolves—and getting caught in a deadly trap herself…

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project—and becomes a target.

One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious, and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something?

As the stakes get higher, and one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, while others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love…or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?

Biography

J. R. Ward lives in the South with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. After graduating from law school, she began working in health care in Boston and spent many years as chief of staff for one of the premier academic medical centres in the nation. She is the author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Fallen Angels series.

My Review

When biologist Lydia Susi finds an injured wolf on the preserve where she’s worked for the past three years, it sets off a chain of events that endangers not only the wolves, but Lydia and the staff at the Wolf Study Project. Is the multi-million dollar hotel chain being built across the lake behind the killings of her beloved wolves, or is the culprit closer to home?

With her boss on the lam and repairs needed, Lydia hires drifter Daniel Joseph to work on the towering list of things needing done in order for her to concentrate on what’s important- the wolves, but Daniel isn’t easy to forget. He’s handsome, mysterious, and seems to turn up whenever she needs help. There’s off-the-charts chemistry between them, but with everything else in her life falling apart, Lydia is hesitant to trust the compelling stranger.

Daniel is on a life and death quest. He doesn’t have time to develop a relationship with the beautiful biologist he can’t seem to get out of his head. When Lydia is stalked and the missing director’s house destroyed, Daniel sets aside his own priorities to protect the woman he’s coming to care for more than he should.

Favorite Line

Lydia’s heart rate started to ease a bit, especially as the woman made a hand motion, and the Dobermans took off like a flank of fighter jets, shooting back around to the rear of the house. Where they no doubt resumed chewing on the bones of a newspaper boy. Or DoorDash driver.

Claimed- J.R. Ward

There’s a lot to like about this spinoff from the BDB (Black Dagger Brotherhood) series. Daniel is a complex character, his job shadowy and dangerous. Lydia is likeable, though a bit scattered for a biologist/tech whiz. I love Candy, the receptionist, and want to know more about the implacable Sheriff Eastwood along with mysterious benefactor C.P. Phalen.

What I found jarring is the almost hopscotch writing. The author (one of my favorite go-to writers) seemed to go down a rabbit hole and couldn’t find her way out with this storyline- it was literally all over the place. There’s questions left unanswered and a cliffhanger ending, which doesn’t bother me as much as the missed opportunity this book represents. The cover and blurb leads the reader to expect a story about the wolven, yet that concept is barely touched on. Instead, a character from the BDB, Xhex, is inserted into a few chapters and her story threatens to take over, leaving Lydia and Daniel to come up as secondary importance in what should have been their book.

That said, it IS an entertaining read and I will buy the next in series because I want answers to my questions! lol

Photo by Shelby Waltz on Pexels.com

Have you read any of J.R. Ward’s books? Are you a fan? Interested in trying this new series? Let’s talk about it…

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27 Replies to “#BookReview- Claimed by J. R. Ward #Mystery #Suspense”

  4. Pingback: #BookReview- Claimed by J. R. Ward #Mystery #Suspense | Secrets, Lies & Alibies: Wounded Hearts Book 8 by Jacquie Biggar – DEEZ – News about Art, Books & more

  5. I used to read everything she wrote. I read the whole Fallen Angels series (granted, it was only six books) and I was about thirteen books into the BDB series before I quit. She refuses to close loops. There were so many storylines that she started, but instead of following them through, she kept circling back to brothers whose stories had already been told and not answering questions she posed about new characters. Or original ones. It wasn’t curiosity-piquing; it was unsatisfying. And I got tired of it. Plus, it felt like a money-grab to me. This was a thorough and candid review that I appreciate very much, but I know I won’t be investing any time or money into more of her work.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Her fans are rabid for the brotherhood. It seems as though every time she tries to move on from them, she gets dragged back.
      I Loved the Fallen Angels series! That Lavinia was something else, lol

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I used to read the BDB series. Staci actually told me about it. I stopped two books before she did. She kept introducing new characters, but not wrapping up what she started with the old characters. I haven’t read any of her other works, but I don’t want to go down the same rabbit hole. Nice review.

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  11. Thanks for the review, Jacquie. I don’t know what’s going on, but suddenly, I noticed that I hadn’t been getting your posts. I went back last week and followed you again because it said I wasn’t following you. Today when I checked, it says that I’m following you, but your posts are still not showing up in my email. Hmm? This is happening on one other site too. Maybe I’ll see if the WordPress gods can figure it out.

    Liked by 1 person

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