The Beloved

The Beloved by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ugh, this one is a reluctant four stars, but it kind of hurt. This is where not reading blurbs and instead just downloading the next in a series bites me. I was unprepared for the time hop that we get here and that we would need to spend more time with Nate in his dark, dark world.

This story is kind of like the turning of a page. Could the series have ended with the “death” of the king and started a whole new world with just the next generation? Sure - but as is the common complaint I have of these books, we need at least 5 or 6 parallel stories to tell in a book to make it into the BDB world. In this book we have Nalla, her family, her job, her friends, etc. Then we’ve got Nate, who is just… terrible. Unlikeable and a real struggle to see as a romantic interest for anyone ever. Then we also have the return of the king (ha!) and what all of that means. Then there’s still the lessening war and all the bad guy POV that comes along with it. Side story/teaser for next book also delivers the king’s son and Bitty. Oh and a new adopted kid of the BDB via the tech sector. I’m probably leaving something out.

These books are a tangled mess, but somehow I can’t quit them! There are definitely elements I enjoy, hence the rating, but Nate was pretty painful. I guess he came out as intended, since he is like what you’d get with an angsty teen who can’t get killed. I just kind of wanted something better for Nalla, who already had the burden of being one of the elder second generation. I liked how she stood up for herself, but the HEA is a little underwhelming. Maybe we get to revisit that? Probably not. I was way more interested in the king element and am just tired of the never ending war. I guess we will see where the series takes us with the new generation, but at some point we need to stop adding characters just to complicate the plot.

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