Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.
When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.
As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.
Each time a new release for the Black Dagger Brotherhood series is on the horizon I find myself becoming more and more excited as each day passes to the countdown to the big day. Time and time again J.R. Ward has wow’d me with this series of books with only the occasional disappointment. While I’m not completely disappointed in Lover Unleashed it was not all that I’d hoped it would be.
The romance between Payne and Manny–while semi-sweet– basically fell flat. There just wasn’t anything outstanding or extraordinary about their relationship and offered little more than “irresistible attraction and lovely bonding scent”. Their coming together lacked the emotional peaks and valleys that we’ve seen in past romantic relationships in the series and was just okay and fairly predictable.
I had really high hopes for Payne as a good strong heroine. She is V’s twin sister and is a warrior. She’s supposed to be a skilled fighting machine, yet even when she is in great personal danger she’s damned polite about defending herself. I wanted action and she just never really delivered. I was disappointed to say the least.
After reading Lover Mine I was really looking forward to reading more from Qhuinn and Blay. Unfortunately this was not the book for any big revelations or life changing events for these two. Qhuinn and Blay each got a little page time as Ward begins to set a foundation for what could become a very complicated future for this couple but we really got nothing solid regarding their relationship.
What I found interesting in Lover Unleashed was the absence of the Lessors. They do make an appearance here and there but they are not the villains this time, instead we get an introduction to the Band of Bastards. They are set up to be dastardly (and a little horny) however I couldn’t help but sympathize just a little bit. They are a threat from the past that the Brotherhood is aware of and will perhaps be the new bad guys in the series? We’ll see.
What carried this book for me was the storyline involving Vishous. He has a very tortured past and is dealing with having Payne in his life and the threat of losing her. There has been some strain in his relationship with Jane, and of course the demons from his past that continue to torment him. He’s very much in love with Jane but turns to his best friend Butch for help. Butch and Vishous have had a complicated relationship in the past. Their relationship goes well beyond friendship and they explore that in depth making for some extremely, emotionally intense scenes. The emotional peaks and valleys that were missing in Payne and Manny’s relationship were more than made up for in V’s heart wrenching journey.
I may be in the minority but I have never disliked Jane. Like most people, I don’t like that she is a ghost, but as a heroine I’ve always thought she was okay. But I really thought her character stepped up and stood out this time. The problems between Jane and V were quite heartbreaking and although she showed some serious vulnerabilities, she was strong and sensible and I just loved what she did for V. (I can’t say more without spoiling)
I complained about the lack of passion and bedroom scenes between Payne and Manny but WOW did V and Jayne pick up the slack! These two burnt up the pages with their chemistry and passion and brought the love and passion back up to white hot levels!
Although I was disappointed in several aspects of this book, I still found Lover Unleashed mostly enjoyable. V is one of my favorite characters from this series and I am so glad that Ward decided to devote so much of this book to Vishous and his story. Fortunately his story was enough to carry this book for me and if there hadn’t been so many pages devoted to the uninspired romance between Payne and Manny I could have given a higher rating.
Favorite Quote:
“I wish I were whole. I wish I could have given you young if you’d wanted them and could conceive them. I wish I could have told you that it killed me when you thought I had been with anyone else. I wish I had spent the last year waking up every night to tell you I loved you. I wish I had mated you properly the evening you came back to me from the dead. I wish…” Now his shimmering stare flipped up to hers. “I wish I deserved you. And…that’s about it.”
Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward
March 29th 2011 by NAL
Paranormal Romance
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About FV Sophia
I like the BDB books, but they have never wowed me like they have everyone else. They are like crack though, and even though the reviews have been lukewarm for this book, I’m still looking forward to it.
@Colette @ A Buckeye Girl Reads: Every now and then one doesn’t hit it out of the park for me. This one would have been better without all the Payne and Manny stuff. They were ok but since the book was billed as “their story” I expected more from them.
Thank you for the review! I am on pins and needles waiting for this book! I LOOOOOVE Vishous so I am excited for more of him. I, too, am among the minority when it comes to Jane. The ghost resolution was disappointing but I can’t hold that against her as a character.
This was much different from the other reviews I’ve read other than about Payne and Manny, which makes me a little sad as I have high hopes for her as well. Even with this review in mind.
I’m curious about this new threat…is this in an effort to carry on the series, I wonder? Lessers seem difficult to develop as characters so maybe Ward was looking to add another element? Very, very curious.
@Jewelz: Yay! Another V and Jane fan!! You will like this book then because you get a lot of V time.
Payne and Manny were just ok. With all of the other romances in this series they were BIG and emotional. Payne and Manny just didn’t have that kick and I think Ward dropped the ball by building Payne up to be this kick ass chick and then she never really kicked any ass. So frustrating.
I am very curious about the new Band of Bastards. They are set up to be bad guys but not all of them seem totally bad.
V and Jane were awesome in this book. “I feel like I’m making love to you for the first time.” Swooon.
Ah the BDB llamas look to cute as I type this.
@KB/KT Grant: Yes, I’m so glad we got more V and Jane. He’s such a tormented character. So glad he worked out a few problems this time.
Great review FV. I liked this installment but like you felt that Payne and Manny should have been “more” then they were.
I hate the word ‘true’ now.
@tori: NO!! You hate true? It’s V’s ‘thing’ LOL.
Yay lots of V!! I’m excited about that but I’ll have to see about Payne and Manny.
Stephanie G
Paranormal Haven
Oh damn, that quote killed me!!!
Is it wrong to say im only looking forward to the V parts in this book? we haven’t had much of payne of manny for me to look forward to seeing them.
Im all about the V!! so it makes me happy to know Ward has given him much page time. CANT WAIT!!
Great review FV! you made me want the book more, if that’s possible! =)
@Paranormal Haven: V broke my heart more than once.
@Claire (Sparklybearsy): I could ten more books on V. I love him!!
For me it seems like the initial books and characters were the strongest. As the new ones come out they almost seem “weaker”, if that makes sense. I always found myself skimming over the Lessor parts anyway so if they’re absent it won’t make that much difference to me.
Like everyone else though, I agree that these books are somewhat of an addiction but the story I’m most looking forward to is Qhuinn & Blay’s. I sincerely hope that’s the next one!
I totally agree with everything you say. I wanted Payne to be more like Xhex!!
V was pretty awesome though
I need to know who is next.
You really made my day with this review, Sophia! This wait is impossible though! I’m so happy I’m not alone in my affection for V. I’m also very interested in what happens with him and Butch!
@Jeannie: If you mean the original Brotherhood then yes, I agree their romances were amazing. But, I am glad to see some new characters added into the mix and look forward to much more from this series.
@Mandi Schreiner: Yeah, I didn’t feel like Ward gave us a direction for the next book. Who will it be? Get on those message boards and report back! LOL
@Jewelz: Oh I won’t spoil you but wow, just wow, it was so intense. I’ve never been a huge fan of Butch but I like him a lot more after this book. He is a great friend to V.
Any way I can ask you something privately?
Well, I’m happy with all the V and Jane (I like her too) and a little Butch on the side perhaps? YEY… I’m also happy Payne is not like Xhex, the macho girl is not my thing, but the Choosen thing is also bleah, I was expecting a feminine kick ass chick, so we’ll see. I hope the new guys are not really the new bad guys, I could use a few new hunks…..
@Jewelz: I emailed you.
@Dani: If Payne hadn’t been set up to be a kick ass warrior I wouldn’t have had a problem with her but she’s been kicking Wrath’s ass for goodness sake! I expected more from her lol.
The bad guys are dirty bastards and like the dirty sexy times *g*
This was the first BDB book that I was not really looking forward to. Payne and Manny really didn’t do anything for me. I’m so glad you reviewed this book, I’ll probably wait till this comes out in paperback to read it.
Just have to say I <3 @Sophia
Thank you girlie! You feel me.
@Rain maiden: If you are a V fan then this book is worth reading now. He gets a LOT of satisfying page time.
@Jewelz: LOL <3 you too, True.
What a great review! I cannot wait for this book and your review has made me want it so much more!
@jjjc517: I hope you enjoy it.
Umm…I really liked this review and was going to share it with my friends on Facebook and other places. However, I just can’t bring myself to post the picture of that cross dressed ken doll. :/ Sorry.
@Suz: That’s crossed dressed Z not Ken.
Payne sure seems to such, but wohoo! No Lessers, always hated those chapters
Yeah, I’m not so excited for this book.
Ever since we learned that Manny and Payne would be heading the new BDB book, I haven’t been really psyched for the new installment. I mean, we don’t know them, so why should we care about them?
I want Tohr’s book. Or Trez. Or iAm. Anyone but Layla… I hate Layla, verily.
@Danielle: I really have to wonder if Layla has any fans. I should take a survey LOL
*sobs buckets*
I’m verily sad! I can’t help it. I was expecting more too. Maybe the series had just gotten too big in my head. Gawd, the pace that the Qhuay story line is moving is maddening. Please tell me there will be more FV/Smexy books stories we can indulge in for a better fix.
And I’m not surprised to hear that Vishous carries the book. He is pretty dynamic, though I still cry over the fact that he got stuck with Jasper.
@Missie: Jasper?
Thank you so very much for this review! That final quote made me cry! Thank you! I was so worried about V and Jane – I’m glad I don’t have to be.
Jane, the ghostly cousin of Casper.
@Missie: ROFLMAO!!! I like Jane and I think she was really good in this book. It’s not her fault Ward made her Jasper LOL
I have been noticing the steady downward spiral in this series. I loved it and V’s story was the best. Phury’s story was only interesting to me because of the Blay and Qhuinn’s story in it. The Rev’s story was good but not wowing although I did like going back to see how Wrath and Beth were doing. In JM story I wasn’t that impressed with the passion that I thought I would see it was good but not awesome. Now it sounds like this book is only interesting because of V and Jane. I am excited to see more of V though since he is my favorite so maybe that’s why I will like this book once I get ahold of a copy. I think it is kinda dumb that we are releasing more bad boys in the story because Ward pretty much let the war between the brothers and the lessors die so what would she even do with more evil characters.
It’s a shame Payne is a little dull, but what can you do? lol
I’ve always loved Jane. I hate that she’s a ghost (I mean, really?!) but I think she’s fantastic for and with V. She’s even on my favorite characters list!
Great review Sophia!
Thanks for the review!
But unfortunately like many reviews it mad me dread this book even more.
I love V, he’s my fave character of all! But I HATE Jane and I hate that HEA! I can’t put in words how much I loathe it.
But I knew we would just get LU2! I hope he at least has lots of scenes with other peeps.
Sorry for my rant!
Thanks for the review. V and Jane are my fave couple so I’m definitely looking forward to more of them. I’m going to go in with an open mind about Manny and Payne. I’ve liked the snippets I’ve read about them so far. Also looking forward to the new characters.
Thanks for your round up.
Good to know V an Jane finally got their story…
i felt like this one should have been called Vishious Part 2. I liked it bc hello, its J.R Ward – but the main romance barley had any page time I felt.
Mmk i’m already match-making i’m thinking Xcore and Layla.
thanks for the review. I had a lot of the same “issues” with the story, but still devoured it. CRACK I tell you. It’s all crack to me!
To be honest the book was a complete and absolute flop for me. I love the BDB and fell that Ward is just not into to it, as she should be. She is dedicating her energy to her new series and is not dedicated to the brothers anymore.
I love the first seven books. Lover Mine was interesting and still pretty awesome, but I expected more. My fave couple is Bella and Z. Their story is just the best. I just love them!!!
About the current book is just stupid. Why write a book about two characters that we barely know?? Introduce her first, makes us love her, build her up and THEN gives us the juicy stuff. But, come on…we don’t know them, why should we care??
I will still read the other books because there are a lot of good characters and stories to be told (Quinn, Blay, Thor, but as much as I love them I still think this book is very lacking.
PS- Layla is one of my favorites. I love it when she shows her true colors, when she stops being “the chosen” and we get to see her personality. She is very strong in her own way. She has dealt with a lot of changes and is still hopefull. I like her for Quinn. I know there are a lot of Blay fans out there, but I just love the idea of Layla and Quinn together. Maybe a three way relationship? jajajaja. Can Quinn be mated to both? I guess not, but still I could be an original plot line.
I just recently discovered this series and read through the first 8 books in a couple of weeks. I ran out today to purchase Lover Unleashed. It sounds like most of you were a little bit disappointed by this last installment. Personally I’m hooked on the brothers. I don’t care for the Lessers. I don’t care to see any story lines featuring any more Chosen. I would like to see more about Blay and Qhuinn and what about Murhder who got mentioned in Lover Mine? What was with that ghostly manor story?
Lover Unleashed” aka “Lover Unbound 2″ is one of my least fave BDB books. I was annoyed and disappointed with so many things that I had a hard time with it. Sometimes I even had to force myself to read it. I’m still trying to find all the reasons for it.
*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***
Show Spoiler »
One of them is definitely the huge amount of page time V and Jane got. V is my favourite character of all! I love him! But I hate Jane and his HEA and WARDen did exactly with it what I expected.
To me it always seemed lik V’s HEA and the character of Jane are some of the things most heatly debated among BDB fans. There are those that are fans of it but an equal number of those who don’t like it. And I knew WARDen would try to make the critics like it! And she failed miserably!
In V’s book, the SOL “Interview that never happened” and on her boards she constantly claimed how “happy” and “in love” V was. In his book, he and Jane had a longer convo about the mating ritual and he was like “I can’t wait!” They were holding hands and during Phury’s mating ceremony they smiled at each other etc. Not that I believed any of this but this is the topic for another review (“Lover Unbound”).
And suddenly she tells us, they didn’t get mated! That they didn’t really talk about his past etc., behaved like “strangers” when with the others?!?! I admit I don’t expect V to be like Rhage who doesn’t hide his feelings. But seriously! All the stuff she told us before is suddenly not true! From holding hands to not even smiling at each other!!! Well, seems like she wasn’t successfull with her first attempt to sell V’s HEA and had to pave the way for a second one.
Btw, Jane’s name on his back is mentioned in the IG but WARDen said this has to do with the fact that she and the Brothers are usual 3-4 books ahead! So if the info from the IG is from AFTER LUn, why does V state he’s an only? Why doesn’t the WARDen mention Payne during her interview with him? This doesn’t sit right with me!
And then she does it! She turns V into “a prince from a Disney movie” (here I quote a friend of mine). When I read the scene after the therapy session with Butch (thank God for the cop!) I didn’t know if I should barf or laugh! This is not V, not even “healed” V! Guess he hit his head on the wall when Butch smashed him into it! He even starts talking about children although WARDen has stated that he doesn’t want them! The WARDen was so desperate and overdid it so much, that it showed even more how fake V’s HEA is. Changing a character completely and repeating the same sappy phrases over and over again, doesn’t make a HEA more believable or creates chemistry between characters!
And this is not the end! Later there is a scene where he grabs the “Queen of the Dead” and then makes a mating announcement! I wanted to scream! WARDen finished the BL’s work and completely castrated my beloved Vishous! And if we ever get to see that mating ceremony, I’ll lose it!
If a HEA needs two books and an SOL, this says a lot in my eyes! Enough is enough! WARDen should accept that some don’t like and believe V’s HEA. With her attempts, she only makes it worse and even less believable!
Btw, they had one great scene! When V threw the duffel bag at her! I was cheering. To bad the book didn’t end there. But hey, this gives me hope for the future!
Interesting, btw, that V was real in the scenes with his boy Butch!
Jane has always been my least favourite character in the series and this book even added to that. Especially since WARDen gave her a personality transplant. The dead doc went from being emotionless and clinical to crying and whining all the time, interrupted by some hallmark moments. Once again, it feels like WARDen desperately tried to make people like an aspect, in this case a character, of her series. Well, failure again! At least where I am concerned.
Not to mention that the TTWNST (“thing that would not stay dead”) now can turn invisible (including her clothes!!). And she can make inanimate objects invisible too. *rolls eyes* To top it all off, she can sleep without falling through the mattress of the bed. This and many other things (why can her body produce blood, why can people walk through her but the clothes don’t fall off etc.) have always bugged me and I still think this is the most stupid concept of a ghost I’ve ever seen. Too bad, WARDen never explained any of this. I wonder why that is!
This book was supposed to be about Manny and Payne but they were only one of many plots! They were like a sub plot and although I don’t feel Manny I think those two deserved to be the main focus of the book. Some of their interactions were interesting and you could feel the attraction but there was something lacking. It could have been way more exciting.
But WARDen rather gave us a sub plot about a murder case in Caldwell. And as nice at it was to see Jose again, this part of the book bored me to no end. Veck, one of the characters, is the hero of “Envy”, the next book in the Fallen Angels series. It’s fun to have these two series loosely connected but this was a bit much. It’s not my fault that obviously the FA series doesn’t sell as good as expected. And now page time is wasted on this instead being reserved for the main couple or other BDB characters.
Characters like the SV, for example! THE SV WAS NOT IN THIS BOOK! This is the story of her daughter and we don’t get to see her! V says he’d kill her, Payne says she was put in suspension for killing the BL and that’s it?!?! I can’t believe it!
Where was Murhder? I have no idea how he could have played a role in this book but we had to read those annyoing ghosthunter parts in LM and now he isn’t even in LUn! WTF!!!!!!
I have to admit that I don’t like No’one very much but she was sent to serve Payne. Where was she? She wasn’t even mentioned!!! And considering Tohr’s book is next and she’s most likely his HEA, this makes even less sense!
Wrath! The King had a scene with V which I liked. But we didn’t get to see him with Payne! Why? He was there when she got injured, he fed her after her surgery and we get nothing of that! Nothing!
Speaking of nothing. One of the moments I’ve been waiting for was V’s reaction when Payne tells him she killed the BL! How he would react when he heard that she’d cared for him and put herself in danger to revenge her Brother! When he sees how much she loved him. But we didn’t get a reaction! Nothing! Niente! Nada!
We heard from the WARDen that her editor found that Manny and Payne were so hot. Well, tastes differ but I was very disappointed with the sex scenes. There was sexual tension between Manny and Payne but when they finally got it on, it was over after 1/2 pages! The Porsche scene was laughable and her first time happened on the last 10 pages. Well, on 1/2 page! With V and Jane it’s business as usual. He is hot and sexy and kinky. She is asexual and boring. Payne saying one sentence is 1000 times hotter than ghost in action. Her and sex make me shudder but not in a good way. Too bad V doesn’t have a mate who’s as hot and sexual as him. The only hot thing was the threesome!
But I wonder about that one too. I thought we’d only get detailed sex scenes with future HEAs. Does that mean the whore will end up with either Xcor or Thore? Or that these two males will end up together? I’m curious if we’ll get an explanation!
The solution for Manny was a joke. He’s Butch’s half-brother. Very convenient that all these relatives pop up when needed! The King must have been a excited as I was because his reaction was merely an “okay, move in!” Oh, and he doesn’t want to go through the transition! But – surprise, surprise – Payne’s hand can keep him young and actually makes him even younger! She even sustains both herself and Manny!!! Can I say convenient again?
Not to mention that all of this happens on the last couple of pages. Manny finds his brother, Payne gets kidnapped and free (Xcore wanted revenge for 200 years but a 10-minute talk with Panyne makes him foget that), they finally have sex.
But not everything about the book was bad. It might be a surprise but I actually liked one or two things.
V and Butch! Those two broke my heart, made me laugh, made me cry, made me thud. I was so afraid that something bad would happen to them but the opposite is the case. This book showed again how much they love each other. Butch is the one who knows what V needs (and not his “mate”, btw) and is willing to go to hell to help him out of his dark place. The scene in the penthouse has nothing to do with BDSM but is more of a therapy session. Hardcore but not BDSM. It just shows how good Butch knows his boy. And then there is a scene in V’s bedroom that leaves room for speculation. Their scenes are my faves in the book! Here we see V and not an altered version of him! Their interaction feels real and makes me love them even more! They are beautiful together!
One scene I loved was V and Payne on the terrasse where they hugged and said “I love you”. That was one of the moments I’ve been waiting for. I really hope that we get to see more of the twins in future books.
I love Xcor! There is just something about him that intrigues me! I hope and am sure we’ll get more of him and I can’t wait to get to know him better!
I can’t give the book more than one star. I just can’t! And it is only for V and Butch, V’s scene with Payne and Xcor!
Rant is over and I’m going to reread the first four books of the BDB series to remind me of why I fell in love with that series. And to enjoy the real V!