Review: The Renegade by J.R. Ward

“I love the small town feel of the books even though they are not the typical small town romance.”
~ Under the Covers

Yes, shocking!  This is a J.R. Ward book and it’s getting a 3.5 star rating.  Not to say I didn’t enjoy it, it just wasn’t as wonderful as I was expecting it to be.  Let’s rewind a bit and say that I’ve read the first two books in this series and I’ve enjoyed them quite a bit (the second being my favorite so far).  I love the small town feel of the books even though they are not the typical small town romance.  They mix in a bit of the traditional Harlequin billionaire romance (some of them) and feature some hot alpha males.

I think that’s what was lacking a bit with this one.  Our hero Alex Moorehouse is all alpha gruffness.  He’s a sailor, spends most of his days out at sea and is a legend really in his own world.  He’s been in love with his best friend’s wife since the first time he laid eyes on her.  It eats at him, it almost makes him feel dirty.  Then a storm and an accident leaves him badly hurt and not knowing if he will get to keep his leg, and his best friend dead.

Cassandra has dealt with some of the grief of losing her husband and has some unfinished business to settle with Alex. While visiting she ends up getting the job of reconstructing the Moorehouse bed & breakfast.  That puts her in constant contact with Alex.  The more she sees of him, the more she wants him.  And he’s never liked her.  Or so he thinks.

I thought I was going to love Alex more than I did.  I was really into the plot.  I was really into the setting.  I was really into the cast of characters and mostly on the romance.  I just wished some of it would’ve developed differently.  I’m not going to to into details and specifics as to not ruin the book, but things could’ve been dealt with better by Alex owning up to that alpha gruffness a bit earlier.  He was just too soft in his interactions with Cassandra.  Too much of putting a woman on a pedestal and not wanting to taint her.  And on the other hand, they could’ve both done with some better communication.

But all in all, I really enjoy being in this world and I’m left actually itching to get the next few stories.  The last book in this series will be about a couple that is introduced in this book, and then the spin off series will continue with the O’Banyons.  I am very excited to read through all that!

It is safe to say this is not the BDB.  Nor is it The Bourbon Kings, which still has a very Ward stamp to it.  This is a contemporary romance written before Ward got into all that.  Sweet contemporary romance with hot alpha males, but a bit more on the sexy than scorching scale.  And while there still is a small glimpse to that writing style and the way she narrates this story is still a beautiful and complete picture, I think it’s good to go in with the mindset that this is something completely different and not draw parallels.  I’ve enjoyed all her old books I’ve read, but I’ve never gone in expecting the same.

[about-author author=”J.R. Ward”]

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