Book review: Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Author: J. R. Ward

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood

Rating: 4 stars

Blurb (from Amazon):


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?

Finally, the waiting is over and I got my hands on this book. I can honestly say I devoured it.

Lover Unleashed is a bit different from the other books in the series. There are a lot of new characters, one of which I understand is from Ward’s Fallen Angels series – didn’t read it, but soon, very soon – characters that I can’t wait to learn more about. Unlike the previous books, we don’t get scenes from inside the Lessening Society and that makes me very curious about the whys behind this absence. Maybe we’ll find out in the next book.

I loved Payne. She’s so much like her brother, Vishous, and yet different in some ways. I think there are a few details that we have yet to find out, since we don’t know much about the time Payne spent in the human realm before she was imprisoned. I hope we’ll find out more in the future. But like I said, loved the character. She’s such a strong female, stubborn and proud. It’s actually a bit funny to see her and Vishous having an argument and see how he realizes that there is another creature on earth that’s just as stubborn as he is. I also think Payne has no idea yet what her powers are, but I’ll bet they’re totally different that her twin’s.

Manuel Manello is the hero in this book. If you’ve read the series, you might remember him from Lover Unbound. He was Jane’s boss. I’m happy we got to see him again. I liked his character then and I liked it even better now. He’s a great surgeon and he always tries to make things right, even the surgery might seem impossible to some. He’s also full of surprises. I’m very curious about how his character will develop in the series in the future.

Vishous broke my heart in this book. If I thought in his book I’ve learned everything about him, I was surprised. He and Butch went through a very difficult situation and you can see their friendship is the real deal. Some of V’s scenes were really heartbreaking, but I think he’s going to be a lot better from now on.

Another thing that I missed were the scenes from the past. I was really hoping to read something from Payne’s or Manuel’s past, but unfortunately, we get only one scene of that. Maybe in the next books we’ll learn more about their pasts.

If you don’t know who’s getting his/hers story told next, I’m not going to tell you. All I can say is I can’t wait for this next book and I know it will be a looooong waiting period, no matter when the book will come out. But I’m happy we’re finally getting this book and maybe we’ll get some answers to the questions brought out by Lover Unleashed.