The Beast by J.R. Ward

I’ve loved every book I’ve ever read by J.R. Ward.

The Beast was another winner. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series as a whole may very well be my favorite series of all. It “may” be my favorite because as a bookworm I hate to pick definite favorites.

What is so great about her writing is that she manages to have each book focus mainly on two people, and yet there are at least 3 or more side stories going on that you equally care about. I’ve read several books that veered off the main story line for other characters and it really made me want to skim pages. Ward manages to keep you entertained and caring about EVERY character in a story.

The Beast revisits Rhage and Mary, a love match made in “Lover Eternal“, book 2 of 14. Rhage is one of my personal favorites in this series. He and Mary face new challenges in their relationship that they didn’t anticipate when they got their forever-after together. A life with each other was supposed to be enough, but maybe they were wrong. Even the strongest relationships fall on hard times.

Moving on to the side stories. Will Assail beat his addiction to cocaine? Will he ever get a chance at a life with his human love? Layla is giving birth to twins with Qhuinn and his lover Blay. How will the parenting trio manage this feat when Layla is secretly in love with Xcor, enemy #1 of the brotherhood? Xcor is currently imprisoned by the brotherhood until he wakes from his coma. Will he be allowed to live after nearly killing the king? The odds aren’t good for Xcor, but Layla has discovered something of his lineage that just might save him.

Layla and Xcor will have their fates settled in the next book of this series, The Chosen.

Is it necessary to read this 14 book series in order, plus the 2 from the spin-off “Blood Legacy” series? YES, yes it is. If someone told you to binge-watch a series on Netflix this Saturday, would you start at the last episode? No. Be grateful that you get to binge-read one of the best Vampire series ever written (start here if you’re new to this series). Honestly, I’m jealous of you. I had to wait years for all of these books.

ASSERTION = a confident and forceful statement of fact or belief.

“Poor people are lazy and abusing the system” = an assertion.  There are people in this country who are poor because they work a job that won’t pay them enough to ever be considered rich. They are kind people making an honest living. They’re working the jobs that are beneath many people but must be done by someone. We can’t ALL work the same jobs making big bucks. YES, there are people without morals who will take a free ride on a system meant to help humanity do better in this world. BUT, there are also people rich as hell who also have no morals and cheat different systems. Not everyone looks down on them though. Many people admire them because they did “whatever it took” to get to the top. Trust me, I know good poor people AND good rich people. We are all individuals with our own choices to make. We can’t keep trying to group everyone together. My advice is to avoid making such grand assertions. They are not facts. 

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

Within the first three pages I was hooked into this book. It’s 1916 and Sophie Lefèvre is roused awake by her sister, German soldiers have their young brother outside. What can they do to save him? Instantly Sophie's character shines. She’s brave in the face of danger. It sets the tone for this book. I realized immediately that this book was going to be a pull on my heart strings. While the story is fiction, it too closely relates to the experiences of real people during The First World War.

That first night, the new Kommandant notices a painting of Sophie in her home. It was risky of Sophie to display the painting by her husband Édouard so prominently during a time when troops were known for stealing whatever they wanted from citizens. That decision is what set about her own fate. The Kommandant became overly interested in the painting and Sophie herself. Suddenly Sophie is forced to make decisions she doesn’t want to make to protect her family and friends in their little town. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees that Sophie is acting selflessly to help them. Is she a traitor to her own people?

The painting eventually goes missing and turns up a century later in the home of Liv Halston. A wedding present from her late husband, Liv is rather attached to the painting. In her mission to prove her ownership of the painting we finally learn what truly happened to Sophie Lefèvre through old letters, witness accounts, and historical records. Her story is also completed by flashbacks into Sophie’s own perspective.


Jojo Moyes is an expert at weaving such a compelling story that you absolutely can’t believe that the characters are fiction. In each of her books I’ve felt the emotions of the people so deeply myself. The sorrow that Sophie felt was so real. I found myself crying with Sophie. The Girl You Left Behind is absolutely a must-read for any book lover. I read this book on my kindle but intend to buy it in print for my permanent collection.

The Not-So-Halloween Decoration

I frequent Target stores a few times a week. Like many, I spend plenty on each trip. That is why I kept passing the opportunity to buy this cute black-framed square Halloween art. It was only $3, but I waited, and now it's gone from my local stores. They don't sell it online. I don't even have a picture of the original decor.

It was a stand alone square with what appeared to be book page collage on the front and "trick or treat" printed in black over the book pages.

For the price of free (because I had all of these things already) I made my own. It started out as an idea of replication, then evolved into something better. I selected some of the best moments from HP The Deathly Hallows. Then after debating between trick or treat, thankful, fall, and boo, I decided on "Always". Duh right?

Now I have year-long decor but it looks nice for October too. :P
[ My actual HP book was not harmed for the project. It was a used copy from Goodwill ]