Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

J.R. Ward keeps surprising me every time I read a new Black Dagger Brotherhood book, because I always expect to get bored with the series. On the contrary, while the main themes remain the same or similar throughout the series (love, angst, strength, good vs. evil, etc.), the actual stories and characters couldn't be more different. With this ninth book, I'm still hungry for more and I definitively need to play catch up for the release of the twelfth book early next year.

This story is mostly about the vampire Payne, a female that has been imprisoned by her mother for ages and Manny, a human surgeon who has been plagued by the disappearance of his friend Jane and by his lonely life. An unlikely pair, an impossible pair, since a vampire will always outlive a human. I'm glad the author brought it up early in the story because it makes it that much more realistic instead of having them ignore the elephant in the room and deal with the "aging differently" later on. Their chemistry seemed a little odd to me at first, especially since Manny was more or less turned on by her when they first meet and she's on a hospital bed with a broken back. Eventually, with her naivety and his constant need to help everyone, they grew on me and their attraction became relevant and intriguing. Not that there weren't any other bumps on the road because there most definitely was, including an overbearing brother named Vishous. Just a name like that would force any man to have second thoughts.

I'm pleased that this book also allowed us to revisit Vishous and Jane's story. They are obviously in love and have great chemistry, but with a troubled history like Vishous', things from the past are bound to resurface and cause marital problems. I'm glad that Vishous and Butch's friendship is also on display because it allows us to see how deeply V is affected by his past. I guess you could say that this book is really about the brother-sister twin duo because V and Payne are more or less equally represented in this one.

I can't finish this review without mentioning the Quinn and Blay saga. While I'm not usually a fan of homosexual relationship books, this is one relationship that I can't wait to read about. J.R. Ward is such a tease for making this story stretch out over a number of books, and I almost feel like skipping book 10 to jump right into their main story in book 11. The few scenes we get in LOVER UNLEASHED are exactly that, teasers that make you anticipate their own book.

There' s a reason why J.R. Ward keeps winning the Goodreads Romance Choice Award almost every year. LOVER UNLEASHED won the prize back in 2011 and that goes to show you how much of a fan base this series has. Not only do the fans love reading about the brothers, but they actually believe the brothers' stories are #1. The only reason why this series didn't win this award last year is because it had to compete with the erotica phenomena, that included E.L. James and Sylvia Day's notorious books. In my opinion, J.R. Ward is a great storyteller because her books can be read so easily and effortlessly. You shouldn't expect literary masterpieces when it comes to her books but if you haven't pick up this series yet, you're in for a treat. I've recommended this series to a few friends that never read paranormal books but love romance books, and none of them have been disappointed so far!

Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 Black Dagger Brotherhood, J.R. Ward, Paranormal Romance, Penguin, Purchased, Review, Signet, Vampire  1 Person left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

Follow Tynga on: Facebook | Twitter