Talking About LOVER UNLEASHED

So, our followers know we’re a book club… and we get together once-a-month to talk about the group book along with all the others we’ve been reading in between… but you never get to hear what that’s like because then we each go home, write our own reviews and post them… so here’s a snippet of what a typical book club meeting is like (imagine glasses of wine, indulgent snacks and background music).

Rebecca: Okay, girls. I'll admit up front to giving up two days of my life (family? what family?) so I could read Lover Unleashed. But it was totally worth it. The book earned itself a place on my favorites bookshelf. And I think I'd even say it’s my favorite since Wrath and Beth's book. I love the multiple storylines, was completely immersed in the suspense and adored Payne's "healer". *sigh* So what do you think? Is it one of her best?

Tyra: I personally LOVED it. It started out a little slow for me but once it picked up I was GONE. I did have some other problems with some of the timeline issues and continuity of the story line. At the end of Lover Mine, Payne thought Vishous (V) was dead and had been for a long time. At one point in this book she tells Jane that she knew she was the perfect woman for V by what she saw in the seeing waters. This is the first time that I have run into this problem with her books and I really hope it’s the last.

Shari: I am really glad you said it gets better because I am almost about a third through the book and I’m not happy. I think that V is being a total donkey’s butt and I want Manello in the story more. Urgh – I know that I get frustrated early and I am trying my best to maintain but I have to say if it wasn’t in my Nook I would have thrown it several times already. Yes, I know that doesn’t mean that I won’t love it in the end and I am sure by the end of tonight I’ll be smiling. Support now is always good.

Rebecca: It was a killer seeing Vishous and Jane go through so much turmoil – some of those times, I wanted to throw my nook. I always envision characters happily-ever-after and forever-happy so it made the characters even more real when Ward showed readers that they still had their struggles. And in the end, I was all smiles.

Jenn: I did enjoy this one but I do not think it was one of the best....what I do think is that she has reached a place in her series where she seems to be "fleshing" out old characters and creating new ones to propel future storylines. That being said, sometimes not knowing things is better - I always loved Vishous, he is one of my fave Brothers, but he is kind of an asshat.  His overprotective brother shtick got real old, real fast.  And the shutting down when he was angsty - oh puhlease, girl - grab you some chocolate and a copy of Beaches and let it all go!  Manny was hot - but the 180 thing he pulls on Payne when she gets to him was totally crap too.  It was like all JR's boys were sniffing glue!  (Can’t even blame it on Lesser fumes since there was only the one big fight!)

Cat:  Well, it is totally killing me because I had just downloaded it and read the first couple of chapters and found Manny to be much hotter than I last remembered and really liked the connection between him and Payne (who is awesome by the way).  Then I lost my dang Nook at a Museum.  Don’t know whether Payne will be able to walk again, whether V will have to off her or whether she and Manny will get together.  Ugh!  I really was getting into the story too.  Now, I am going out to do it old school style, getting the hardback baby.

Rebecca: Keep going, Cat… it’s all worth it in the end. Speaking of which, did anyone see that ending coming? I picked up on bits and pieces of the connections but it was intense. Most of all, it left me wanting – no, scratch that – needing to know more.

Jenn: And more than a little irritated - it was very KMM Fever series-esque for me - tres painful!  Speaking of which - not one mention of Trez and crew...

Tyra: So what did everyone think of the new “brothers”? I personally think it will bring a lot of new story lines to future books. I am really interested to see where she takes it from here.

Shari: I think she needs the next book to be about Quinn and Blaylock or at least use the same format and have two stories going on at the same time.  Would you really call the new guys “Brothers”.  Wrath is the man, I don’t think I could pull for anyone that is against the King. They still wants to take him down and that makes them scum in my book but I guess since everyone is mated she has to do something.  I love that fact that all of the characters are still in each of the stories. They are too special to leave them behind!  I just want to say that I would be happy reading any story even if it didn’t have a new mating in it. She could keep writing about the war and the brotherhood and I would keep buying them. Oh – but don’t leave out the hot love scenes of course.  I mean some of the “Chosen” could find their “males” in the mist of the war. It could happen.

Cat: I like having new characters to become interested in, but don’t like ones that are a bunch of Vampire Vikings, pillaging what they want and not caring.  I guess that they are not that terribly different than many of the other vampires in terms of what they think of humans, but each one of the true Brothers have shown great qualities of compassion and selflessness in addition to killing the heck out of the Lessers.  So, I am still undecided on what I think about having more characters as opposed to more adventures with the ones we already know and care about. 

Jenn:   Shari, you have so been drinking the Kool-aid Tyra has been serving!  LOL.  But I agree I do want to see Blay and Quinn together - if they threw poor Layla a bone and let her join them then I'd be even happier... guess that is a little too alternative for mainstream hardback, NYT best-seller fiction.... hmm.  OK - as for Xcor and his posse - I feel, uh, not so attached.  They are way rogue and not likeable at all.  At least with Revhenge and Xhex, they had attributes that made them captivating and you wanted them to mix and mingle with the Brothers.  These new dudes are kind of all or none feeling and I agree with Cat and Shari - Wrath is King and challengers are not welcome at this time.

Rebecca:   Absolutely want to see Blay and Quinn together. It was great that their storyline boiled down to some of the most fundamental issues human males have with “coming out of the closet”.  But if it doesn’t happen for them soon, I’m throwing the nook – I’ll deal with the consequences later.

Jenn: Alrighty then - so up to this point, most of the books have focused on the Brother's as a team, like a crack commando unit fighting the evil Lesser enemy.  In Lover Unleashed, we see almost none of the Brothers together, hear almost nothing of JM and Xhex (even though theoretically they just got together) and the group seems to have fractured into couples.  Do you miss hearing about the doings of Caldwell?  Did you not wonder what those pesky Lessers were up to? What about the fallout from the Sympath colony war?  I feel like more was left unsaid than revealed in this book.  Your thoughts?

Rebecca: I did miss the comraderie but I thought we got some of that with Butch and V. It just seemed like the natural progression of things. And I was happy when she brought them all together and had the couples interacting, particularly when V announced he’d be formally mating Jane. I just think there’s a shift in the books now… I see changes ahead…

Shari: Predictions anyone?? Tyra is usually good at this part but what does everyone else think too? Talk to us – post a COMMENT.