Review: Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 9) by J.R. Ward

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover (March 29, 2011)

Goodreads Description:

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.
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For those of you who haven't read this series let me stop you here and say RUN don't walk to your nearest bookstore and start with book one of this series (if you are 18+). It is amazing and reading out of order would just ruin the story for you.

This has become one of my very favorite series and i eagerly anticipate reading each book when it comes out. That being said after reading Lover Unleashed I can sort of feel the wind down of the series which is sad. Maybe I am wrong and there will be a ton more books but to me it seems like things are starting to wrap up. This is Payne's story but it is just as much Vishous' story as well, which only seems right since they are twins. In the last book Payne became injured, paralyzed from the waist down, and it was also the first time Vishous met his sister or even knew she existed. In Lover Unleashed, Dr. Manello is brought in to treat Payne and sparks fly between the two. Of course it is not easy for them though. Dr. Manello is human and not supposed to know of the Vamps existence and Vishous hates the man with a passion because of his history with Jane. It was an interesting relationship to see develop. I am most surprised by Payne's personality though because although she is strong and can fight she seems very gentle and shy which goes against what I thought I remembered of her in the last book. In my mind I thought in the last book she had a more "warrior" kind of attitude but I most have been getting her mixed up with Xhex somehow.

Things get really dire for Vishous. He always seems to be on the edge of a major break and things really came to a head in Lover Unleashed. Emotions really ran high and I think Vishous sort of eclipsed Payne in this book actually. Other than Butch and Qhuinn, none of the other males are featured. They are barely even mentioned in passing which was just a little disappointing because I always enjoy sort of catching up with what everyone is doing. The most disappointing was the lack Of Blaylock who is a character I really feel for. Although he is in it and is talked about some it is basically a tiny snippet. I am really keeping my fingers crossed that the next book is focused on him. Not a whole lot of action (of the fightin kind) but the parts that are there are good of course. The drive the Brothers have to fight enemies was lacking a bit so everything didn't feel as crucial which in turn had me feeling a little less invested in what was going on. The physical chemistry between the Doctor and Payne was smokin hot and I really love that through it all the Doctor was a gentleman about it which really made me feel the connection he had with her. Ultimately this was an excellent read that I could not put down and has me desperate to read the next in the series.

5/5