Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward [Review]

 5 out of 5 Robots!

  

Title: Lover Unleashed
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood, #9
Author: J.R. Ward
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release: March 29, 2011
Hardcover: 512 pages
Publisher: NAL
ISBN-10: 0451233166
ISBN-13: 978-0451233165
My Copy: Publisher
Reviewer: Rex

My Review:

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward is just ...wow. Dark. Wickedly Sexy. A roller coaster of emotionally shocking ups and downs for some of our favorite characters. This is the ninth installment in J.R. Ward's fantastic dark fantasy series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, and it can be read as a stand alone- though I would never recommend a reader skip the first eight brilliant novels. The novel shifts between so many intertwining stories. Vishous & Doc Jane. Xcor (New Character!!) Payne & Manny. Qhuinn. Jose.

I don't even know where to begin. The only reason Lover Unleashed is 4.5 instead of five robots is because I did have a slight problem with Payne and Manny. Their story was a little boring and full of the cheesy. Now, I know there is a good bit of the cheese in previous brotherhood novels, but there was something about Payne and Manny that stopped me from being totally enthralled with their story together. Maybe because everything about their relationship seemed too convenient? Either way, I still liked their story, chemistry and both are very likable.

Now, on to the important stuff. The real reason I loved this book so much. Vishous. Butch. Qhuinn. Blay. There is SO MUCH Vishous! I was so excited that he had such a large presence in this book. He evolves, has revelations. Makes Butch cry. That's right, the moment you've all been waiting for- Butch and V...  And Vishous isn't the only character with revelations. Qhuinn also does some soul searching in this book. I want to say so much about Vishous and the situation between Qhuinn and Blay, but I just don't want to spoil any little thing for anyone. If you want a spoiler, shoot me an e-mail.

I am not sure if many other readers will feel this way, but I loved the prologue. Don't skip it. Xcor and his band of bastards are introduced and for some reason I had a hard time not liking them. He has motives that are relatively evil, but something about him and his men keeps me intrigued. They don't actually interact directly with the brothers in this book, only Payne, but they will soon. I think they're going to take this series for an awesome new ride. Wonderful new characters with depth and  a horde of their own personal tragedies- and they weren't even front and center. These guys have great potential and I can't wait to see where the Warden takes them.

I am still giddy with excitement that I was able to read this story early, we had to wait way too long for it! And now the painful wait begins for book ten. Dark Fantasy and Paranormal Romance junkies, rejoice! J.R. Ward has knocked another one out of the park. If you have not yet read this series, jump on it- and for those that are already fans... You are going to love this one, though you may be a little frustrated with a couple characters leaving things unresolved ;) 

Books in this Series in order they should be read:

1. Dark Lover
2. Lover Eternal
3. Lover Awakened
4. Lover Revealed
5. Lover Unbound
6. Lover Enshrined
7. Lover Avenged
8. Lover Mine
9. Lover Unleashed
   

Lover Reborn Release Day!!!

Just because this is my number one favorite Paranormal Romance series, I have to announce that today is Lover Reborn release day. If you haven't read this series, DO IT! If you have, you're probably just as anxious as I am to dive into Lover Reborn. Can't wait until I can dive into this sucker tonight! 

Happy Lover Reborn Day!! :)

Get your copy at Amazon.com!

The Black Dagger Brotherhood in the order that they should be read:

1. Dark Lover
2. Lover Eternal
3. Lover Awakened
4. Lover Revealed
5. Lover Unbound
6. Lover Enshrined
7. Lover Avenged
8. Lover Mine
9. Lover Unleashed
10.  Lover Reborn

Ahh! Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward Cover!

Alright, so maybe you have all seen this... I have not though, so I am super excited to see it and had to post it. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of my all time favorite Paranormal Romance series. Sigh. These covers are all gorgeous. Can't wait to read this one! Thank you to Fiction Vixen for bringing it to my attention:)

What do you guys think?

I think March 27, 2012 is too far away ;)

Check out my reviews of the previous books in this series here.

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward - RELEASE DAY!

LOVER UNLEASHED releases today! 

Read my review Here

 

About the Book:

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself-only to face a devastating injury. 

Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can-but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. 

With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates them?

Books in this Series in order they should be read:

1. Dark Lover
2. Lover Eternal
3. Lover Awakened
4. Lover Revealed
5. Lover Unbound
6. Lover Enshrined
7. Lover Avenged
8. Lover Mine
9. Lover Unleashed
   

 

Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward

5 out of 5 Big Golden Stars from me!

My Review:
Brilliant book- just awesome! JR Ward completely came back from the last book- this one was so much more intriguing to me! (I was a little underwhelmed with the previous two books, but boy is Ward back to avenge the other BDB novels- haha!) So do NOT give up on this series, "Lover Avenged" lived up to its title. It has everything I asked for - magnificent (modest) hero/heroine in the illegal entrepreneur Revhenge and nurse Ehlena, intimate love scenes, complex plot...

Ward is truly brilliant in that she can make the audience fall in love with a drug dealing, pimp such as Revhenge. Other than Zadist, I think Revhenge is my favorite vampire. Never thought I would say that after our first introductions of Revhenge as Bella's grumpy and overprotective older brother in the previous novels. But now that we finally have him figured out and the history of Revhenge is in the open- he is just as beautiful as Ward pegs his nurse Ehlena to be. Both Revhenge and Xhex were unlikeable to me until this novel. Geesh, now I love them - way to go, Ward.

Now we have the lovely nurse Ehlena as the newest main character. She was bold, adventurous, courageous, a parent for her mentally ill dad and reacted in just the ways I felt I would in her situations. You find yourself heartbroken for her situation and feeling just how unfair life can be. But she takes it in stride and makes good with what she has, never really complaining or being whiney. I have to admit she really pissed me off in the beginning with how she treated Rehv. These two obviously belong together and they were both being totally silly. As cliche as this sounds- Ward had written it so that it really felt like a situation you could relate with. Will probably be my favorite couple in the entire series...IF John Matthew & Xhex never get together!

My favorite part of this novel may have been the deceit that Wrath put Beth through. It brought the romance back and added some heat to the plot. I was really hoping when reading the last few novels that Ward would bring some of the relationships of the other characters to the forefront of another book... and here she did it with Wrath and Beth. Thank you, Ward! I got what I needed.

Sex scenes were pretty incredible in this book- super steamy. No skimping on details. I found myself blushing a few times ;] Also, all the characters have cameos in this novel- the only one I don't recall having any dialogue is Cormia, but she is mentioned in passing. Ward also has Xhex mention a BDB member Muhrder, who went rogue to save Xhex. Can't wait to hear more about him, I'm hoping we do in the next book. Payne, the twin to V, also makes a quick appearance to wrestle Wrath... and 'wake him up.' (Lots of cliff hangers that keep you wanting more!)

"Lover Avenged" has the brotherhood making smartass remarks at one another that will make you laugh out loud. It is awesome, I forgot how funny the brotherhood could be. So much humor in the book! It really assists in alleviating tension that builds up in the plot. For instance, when Wrath questioned the effectiveness of a bullet-proof vest he was wearing because of how light it was- V recommends he strap a garage door or maybe a car to his chest. SOOO many great moments like this in this book.

Your heart will break with John Matthew... and then again with Xhex as they both like to screw around with each other's (and their own) feelings. I know a book is good when I feel like my heart is breaking along with a character. I'm praying this is all resolved in the next book, it will be an outstanding story... especially with all the history we get on Xhex in this book. You will be like, AGH TELL ME MORE!

Long book- but I couldn't put it down. There are so many plots going on at once and they're all intertwined... never was confusing though. It is easy to keep up with. Hopefully you can't put it down either!

Well- I loooooved this book. Ward is back and I think I'm happy I've got this book in hardcover! No swapping or trading for me =) There is so much more for Ward to tell us....

Book Details:

• Hardcover: 527 pages
• Publisher: Hardcover; April 28, 2009 by NAL
  
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451225856
• ISBN-13: 978-0451225856

Books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series in order they should be read:

1. Dark Lover
2. Lover Eternal
3. Lover Awakened
4. Lover Revealed
5. Lover Unbound
6. Lover Enshrined
7. Lover Avenged
8. Lover Mine (Release Date: April 29, 2010)