- Title: Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 9)
by J.R. Ward
- Classification: Adult Fiction
- Genre: Urban Fantasy/Parnormal Romance
- Format: Hardcover, 512 pages
- Publisher: NAL Hardcover (March 29, 2011)
- ISBN-10: 0451233166
- ISBN-13: 978-0451233165
The Black Dagger Brotherhood - A group of elite vampire warriors sworn to protect their people and King - Wrath. Doesn't hurt they're also some of the best looking, sexist, loyalest and, at times, scariest group of guys you'd ever have the pleasure or displeasure to meet.
Payne, it was discovered in the last book, is Vishous' (V's) twin sister and the daughter of the Virgin Scribe and the Bloodletter. She is now in the "real" world and still paralyzed. Jane has done all she can to help her, but decides Payne's best chance for recovery is Dr.Manuel Manello (Manny), Jane's her former boss and friend. We will finally get to know more about Manny and find out what the connection he has to the Brothers.
A new, or should I say old, set of warriors enters the land of Caldwell, New York. The Bledletter's band of warriors is now being led by Xcor. As there seem to be no lessers left in Europe they've decided to come to America. A new story line that has to do with Payne will be revealed and it will put her life in jeopardy. They will also end up being another force that the Brothers will need to eventually deal with. I look forward to seeing what Ward will do with this group.
Meanwhile, Jane and V are having marital problems. Some of the problems are caused from abuse V suffered from his father. Something V is still trying to deal with. This part of the story I liked because Ward doesn't do the classic fairy tale ending. Let's face it in real life seldom do we fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. There are almost always bumps in the road and if you ask any long married happy couple what's their secret they will almost always tell you it's something you have to work at. So kudos to Ward for letting her book mimic, at least in some ways, real life.
Qhuin is still dealing with his feelings for Blay. Again kudos go out to Ward for portraying the feelings of a person who has not yet 'come out of the closet' about his sexuality. Even though I'd probably classify Qhuin as a bisexual as opposed to gay, he is having trouble dealing with the fact he might just end up in a long term relationship with another man. I also like the flip side of this story which is that of Blay's. He already knows his feelings and has to deal with the person he loves not being able to reciprocate.
Something I didn't care for in the story is the BDSM angle that comes along with V. While I applaud Ward for making it clear something like child abuse doesn't just magically go away once the abuse stops, I kind of don't care for all the whips, chains, masks, etc that go along with V's story line. I don't understand the lure of this stuff and, to be truthful, I find it a bit creepy. Was hoping Ward had gotten the whole BDSM out of her system with V's book. If she goes more and more into this I will need to stop reading her series. That is one story line I just don't want to explore or read more of. Granted, she's kind of not fully delved into this area and kind of dances around the hard core stuff. When it comes to Ward, however, I've always sensed she tries to test the waters with her readers before taking the big plunge to gauge how her readers respond to wherever she's thinking of leading them.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Notes: BDSM and homosexuality are in this one.
Favorite Quote:
Vishous, the one who always had an answer for everything, seemed to get tongue-tied. But then he said, "You're the reason I get out of bed every night. And you're the reason I can't wait to come home every dawn. Not the war. Not the Brothers. Not even Butch. It's...you."
Song that danced through my head with this one:
Sexual Healing as sung by Marvin Gaye
Video with J.R. Ward on Lover Unleashed:
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