Highs & lows? It is rare that you find an author who you have no qualms with. We are individual, so we are not going to love every aspect of their writing. This is not a mud-slinging fest, but a way for me to explain what I find the most difficult about an author's stories, and what keeps pulling me back. J R Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series is the first.
Highs
The pull of the unknown - consistent mysteries big and small
One word. Coffins. This is one of the longest running secrets; consistently brought up at the Q&As. J R Ward has always been able to replace one mystery or secret with another, giving some of the most subtle clues that are easily overlooked. It is one of the biggest pulls to a fan of the BDB series.
Comedic use of the individual personalities.
Lassiter light up like an LED, in armbands, diving into a pool filled by apprentices. Anyone can remember the smile that stretched our lips when this scene was read. And that was because it was pure Lassiter. J R Ward knows her boys inside out and she can utilise their qualities to create comedy that is seamless in dispersing tension and drama. It is always a joy to read, as you find yourself smiling before you have already realised what she has had them do.
Lows
Female Characters
The BDB boys get J R Ward's undivided attention, and that is understandable, as they are the driving force and core of the series. The females in their lives lack the same level of deepness to their character that the males have. This creates an uneven relationship. All this does is leave them as secondary characters, and does not correlate to the world she has created where they are the central figures in their male's life. There is a clear lack in distinguishing factors and appear to be at a level that I would call a skeleton characterisation. They have not been allowed to fully develop; bar two, Xhex and Jane.
Butch & Vishous
It was there! It still is. The tension between Butch and V makes is clear why it is so shipped. Now, I know why it did not happen (link) and it has left me p@#*!$d of with societal views and I am sure if she could go back then ideals of society would have been kicked out of the stratosphere. But it has left us with a constant tension and a what if? between them. [Spoiler] This is even more heightened and probably resulted in the current adulterous thoughts of Vishous!