Midniteillusion’s Reviews > Dark Lover > Status Update

I loved this series, until I didn't. I think I stopped reading it around book 10

I will forever love the single digit numbered books, of this series.. My faves will always be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.5, 7, 8.. I have a love hate thing with books 5 and 6.. But I finally left this series alone after book 17.5. I wasn't even reading the books every year on release day, when they came out at this point either..

Hands down my favorite book in the entire series.

Patricia wrote: "I loved this series, until I didn't. I think I stopped reading it around book 10"

I read much further than that, but it really changed I feel like after The Shadows. Her story telling and writing just aren't what they use to be. But I also recently heard she may use a ghost writer so that could be part of the issue.

I don't really want to read the stories that jump ahead 30+ years either.

~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ wrote: "I will forever love the single digit numbered books, of this series.. My faves will always be 1 2, 3, 4, 5.5, 7, 8.. I have a love hate thing with books 5 and 6.. But I finally left this series alo..."

I don't love V in general and he seems to take over everyone else's books, so I get that love/hate relationship. lol
I really wanted Ward to write another book for Payne and really do her justice, but that's just wishful thinking on my part.

I stopped reading at 19. They're just not the same unfortunately.

Debbie wrote: "Hands down my favorite book in the entire series."

I'm loving it again on the re-read a decade later. I think Z's will probably still be my top but you never know, I could change my mind on the re-read. :)

Midniteillusion wrote: " ~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ wrote: "I will forever love the single digit numbered books, of this series.. My faves will always be 1 2, 3, 4, 5.5, 7, 8.. I have a love hate thing with books 5 and 6..."

😂😂

I love V but I'm scared of him.. I hated his book cause I hated how he and Jane's ending came about, and I always felt like he and Jane just never quite fit anyway.. I did love all of the secondary plots in his book though.. Book 6, same thing.. I hated Phury's story and his pairing with Cormia.. He deserved so much better on all fronts, but I loved all of the secondary plots within his book..

~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ wrote: "Midniteillusion wrote: " ~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ wrote: "I will forever love the single digit numbered books, of this series.. My faves will always be 1 2, 3, 4, 5.5, 7, 8.. I have a love hate ..."

This all makes sense. And I think you're right about V and Jane. There is one book, maybe Payne's, where V admits that hes not fully committed to Jane, which I guess can make it more realistic, but it's a romance series, I want them with a HEA.

Midniteillusion wrote: " This all makes sense. And I think you're right about V and Jane. There is one book, maybe Payne's, where V admits that hes not fully committed to Jane, which I guess can make it more realistic, but it's a romance series, I want them with a HEA"

Exactly! And it just doesn't make sense in the world she created.. If he's bonded to his mate, then he should be committed, totally.. So V and Jane's dynamic never made sense to me at all.. Ever. He's more bonded and committed to Butch than Jane.. So weird.. And just wrong.

~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ wrote: He's more bonded and committed to Butch than Jane.. So weird.. And just wrong."

I think she has touched on this and said that at the time she didn't feel or think about Butch and V together, but if she were to rewrite it or write it in more current times she would have made them mates, so I think that is part of it. I could see V leaving Jane for Butch but I don't think Butch would leave Marissa.

Agreed.. I think Butch would NEVER leave Marissa. He's too hetero to go there.. We all know Vishous is basically Pan sexual and always have been.. But Ward throwing that carrot out there and not seeing it through, ticked alot of fans off, and this is why I've always believed that is why she'd decided to give them Qhuinn and Blay.. Qhuinn was definitely Bi or what some would call just open about his sexuality, but he was also very adamant about being with a woman when he chose to settle down. Always. Then all of a sudden around book 6, because Blay makes his feelings known, then it's oh I want him but it can't happen type of thing.. Which we all know their Saga. They end up together..

But I always got the impression by the way she was writing Qhuinn up until this point, that he was never intended to be with Blay.. So I've always felt she threw the fans a bone (with Qhuay), who were ticked about Butch and V not getting together..

Me personally, I was happy that Butch and V never got together. I was unhappy about the tantrum pairing, Ward chose with V and Jane, by default because of that.. And she ALWAYS made it a point to figure out a way to inject Butch being the balm that sets Vishous straight when it came to all things Jane and his relationship with her. How V for some reason, has not fully bonded to his Shellan the way every other brother was to their own. This is the world she made up, created. The rules of the bonded male. Yet, all of a sudden they don't apply to V?? V would always go back to reflecting on his feelings for Butch in some way or cheating on Jane. Rather that was physically or emotionally..No bonded male does that.. So yeah, I felt like she wanted to make V and Butch an item, but the climate at the time regarding them, via the fan base, would not have gone over well at all.. Ergo here comes Qhuay to save the day!🤣

I'm also not happy about Qhuinn and Blay getting together, because my gut says that's not how it was supposed to be. I wanted Blay with someone else, (guy or girl) and Qhuinn with Layla or another female.. I definitely had an idea of Vishous's mate and she was NOT Jane at all.. Then their HEA was just insult to injury for me..
And while we're on this topic, I was never fully invested in JM and Xhex getting together either.. I actually wanted JM to be with Cormia, he had way more chemistry with her than Phury did. Or with some other chick. Someone who was strong, but softer than Xhex.