Lover Unleashed

Hello, hello it's Tuesday again and I have been in a new release state of orgasmic bliss for the past week and it looks like it's going to continue for a couple more. I seriously don't have enough free hours in my day to read. Damn the fact that I am not independently wealthy and have to work and that my husband and children expect me to have food in the house. LOL Damn you real world, don't you know I have vampires and breeds and horsemen and shifters that I want to spend time with??? Ok so I have actually spent some time in my favorite pretend worlds because I did get to read the newest Black Dagger Brotherhood book, Lover Unleashed, and that is why I am here today. So lets get on with it!

Lover Unleashed, J.R. Ward, March 2011

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?

I was so excited for this book because I truly love the world that Ms. Ward has created, and while it satisfied in some areas in others it was a little lacking. I had a hard time with some of the inconsistencies in this book; Payne thought V was dead in the last book but in this book she tells Jane that she has always watched V through the seeing waters, and that Jane is the best woman for him. The timeline is totally off in the beginning of the book in a couple of different ways....Payne was hurt right before Xhex was brought in at the end of Lover Mine, but in LU, JM and Xhex have already been mated and it has been long enough for them to be off rotation. Jane tells Manny at one point that she has spent an hour looking for him when it has been longer than that. I mean she pages him before he goes into the surgery for his horse and he is in there for over and hour and then has to make the drive back to Caldwell. I hate to pick at things like this but they are things that drive me crazy!! Ok enough of the complaints, let me tell you what I liked and there was a LOT.

I loved the fact that we got to read more about V and Jane and their relationship. I felt so bad for both of them through so much of this book. The scene between V and Butch was heartwrenching to read. It's reads so much more real to me when she re-visits some of the couples and we see that it's not all sunshine and roses but that they have problems and that they have to work to make their relationships last.

I thought the introduction of the new characters was interesting and will help with the plot development for future books. I am looking forward to seeing where the vampire society will be going next. I did think it was curious that there was no mention of Lash in this book at all and I am anxious to find out which direction the Lessers are going as well.

The relationship between Payne and Manny was nice but was not as strong for me as some of the other couples. I have to say I was a little disappointed that Payne's character, who was a strong, smartmouthed, warrior in the previous book was a little weak in this one for the most part. I did like the way that Manny always stood up to V and chuckled everytime he called him the "goateed hater".

As always I wish the book had been longer because I want those peeks into the other characters lives and we didn't get much about Tohr this time around or JM and Xhex, I also wish there had been more with Qhuinn and Blay because for me that is the story that I am most looking forward to reading. And PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD will you throw Layla a bone and let the girl have some sex. LOL While I liked this book a lot I didn't love it so for me it's 4 chocolate dipped strawberries.