Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #9), J. R. Ward
489 pages
urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Started 8/1/12
Finished 8/3/12
4 STARS
* I apologize for the lateness of this post - I'm on vacation, and contrary to what the brochure said, the "in-room wifi" is crap. :)
This is the first book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood to NOT follow a Brother (I count John Matthew as a Brother - wouldn't you?). In fact, it doesn't even follow a male. This book is about Payne, Vishous' twin sister, whom we only learned about two books ago. I approached this book with a bit of trepidation. Being that it wasn't about a Brother, who knew what it would be like.
Payne has been putting the smack down on Wrath daily since he went totally blind. It's all good, though - it's a form of therapy for both of them. But, a "therapy session" goes wrong when Payne gets a little out of control and gets hurt beyond what vampires can automatically heal on their own. Against his better nature, Vishous runs to get Jane's former colleague, Manny Manello, to try and fix his sister. Manny and Payne immediately connect, but being that he's human and she's not, it makes a relationship between them a bit difficult. In addition, Manny's presence seems to open up some rifts in Jane's and V's relationship, and for the first time, there is trouble in paradise between a Brother and his mate.
Ok - first the stuff I liked. I really liked seeing more from V and Jane. I like that Ward is going back and showing us more from the Brothers who have already had their own book. V had so much baggage - of course it isn't realistic that everything was tied up in a nice neat package as soon as the right woman comes along. Sure, Jane helped that process a lot, but nothing can be solved that quickly. I love that not all the Brother's relationships is perfect. It's just not realistic.
I like that we also got to see more from Butch. I love that guy. And, I love his very strange and complex bromance with V. It transcends friendship. This book proves that. I also like that Ward hasn't let up on the Blay and Qhuinn storyline either. My heart is breaking for both of them. I think that was Ward's plan.
Now, the stuff I didn't like as much. Payne. *sigh* I know she's the main character of the story, but to be honest, she kinda bugged the crap out of me. I don't buy that Manello just happened to be her match. And he just happened to be the doctor that worked with Jane. Who married Payne's twin brother. Riiiiight. And, then there's the revelation at the end of the book. Another very convenient event.
I'm frankly getting a little tired of the Scribe Virgin and her arbitrary rules. Sometimes she can perform miracles. Other times she can't. Sometimes she can heal people easily. Other times she can't. In the beginning of the books, she was scary - you couldn't even ask her a question without risking her wrath. Now, you have people cursing her out all over the place, and she just ho-hums around. It kinda sucks.
Overall, this was my least favorite book of the series. There were more inconsistencies. More happenstance events. More things that were hard for me to get past. But, you know - it was a Brotherhood book, so... yeah. Four stars it is.
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