Black Dagger Brotherhood - Book 9 - Lover Unleashed

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another well written and enjoyable book by J.R.Ward and certainly a great addition to the series. I once again cannot wait until the next instalment and to fall back into the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

SUMMARY

Whilst this book is supposed to be Payne and Manny's story, I must say there was so much of Vishous and Jane in this book, that it could certainly have been a spin-off to their book. But seeing as I really loved Vishous and Jane, you don't hear me complaining about that at all. The book is very comprehensive and I am not even going to try and summarise the entire book, but I will have a go at the main story.

At the beginning of this book, we find Payne paralysed from the waist down from an accident during another battle with Wrath. Jane decides to take her to her old colleague Manny for treatment as she believes him to be the best surgeon for the job. Payne immediately feels drawn to Manny as he to her and despite her brother's ambivalence towards Manny (leftover jealousy from Manny's relationship with Jane) she still cannot help her peaking interest in Manny. Whilst Manny's mind is initially wiped by the Brothers, he still suffers headaches from recollections of Payne and soon has to be brought back into the Brothers' world as Payne's situation does not improve. Manny and Payne of course find that they are very compatible sexually as well and the attachment between them grows beyond anything that they could ever imagine. In the meantime, Vishous and Jane are experiencing problems in their "marriage" as Vishous seems to fall back into his dark self and a new group of vampires/lesser slayers come onto the scene.

WHAT I LIKED

I loved being back in the Black Dagger world and the brothers are certainly as bad and sexy as always. It was excellent to learn some more of Vishous and Payne's background and their lives were intertwined from an early age, despite their separation. Payne is almost childlike in a way and her enjoyment in everything that she learns is infectious. As always I felt very much at home with the story. It was quite a surprise that a new group of lesser hunting vamps were introduced and I suspect that they will be bringing a new flavour to future books. Not a lot of lesser action in this book, but I must admit that that was definitely to my liking. The writing is good and the exploration of the characters was sufficient. Another solid read from J.R.Ward to entertain us.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

I feel very much that Payne and Manny got jilted and I hope we will learn more of them in future. However as I have already said, the Manny and Payne characters are not as well rounded as the others and their back stories seems to be limited when compared to the other characters. So it really did not bother me that most of the book was dedicated to Vishous and Jane, however one does want to know such things before you start reading with an expectation. I missed the presence of the Scribe Virgin (and even the Omega) and I hope we will see them return soon. The anticipation between the gay brothers is becoming a bit tiring for me and I hope we shall see a conclusion to their dragged out relationship soon.

SO WHAT’S THE VERDICT?

Definitely another great book and seeing as I absolutely adore the Black Dagger Brotherhood, I cannot do anything else but give this book two thumbs up. Despite not liking certain aspects of the book, it was certainly an enjoyable read and a great addition to the series. I feel that it is sometimes necessary for middle books to be a bit more informative than exciting and therefore I still give this book a solid two thumbs up!

WHAT’S NEXT?

J.R.Ward has not yet made known the title and/or cover of the new Black Dagger Brotherhood instalment, nor do I know the date, but I will certainly keep you all updated so watch this space!

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