Lover Unleashed - J.R. Ward

Lover Unleashed
J.R. Ward
NAL  Hardcover
Copyright Date: March 29, 2011
978-0451233165

The amazon.com product description:

#1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward's thrilling new novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

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? 

Well, after more than a month on my "Want to read list" I finally got around to reading Lover Unleashed, the latest book in J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The previous book in the series was Lover Mine, which I read and reviewed last April.

The reviews I was seeing were saying that this book is Manny's story, which it is, as well as being Payne's story. The only problem I had with that, was that for the first part of the book, I couldn't remember who Manny was. After that though, the whole book was smooth sailing, and when I had to put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to the book.

It's hard to review Lover Unleashed without getting into the whole Black Dagger Brotherhood series, which at this point is now made up of nine books. However, the place to start in this incredible series of paranormal romances is Dark Lover. Without that, the whole world that J.R. Ward has created probably won't make as much sense - especially as the world and the storylines are getting more complicated as the books go on. Now there's several storylines in each book, with more and more different characters. The books all seem to set up the next book in the series.

One of the things I love about this series of books is that there's plenty of time with all of the characters from the previous books. Yes they got their happy endings - these are romance novels, after all, but their stories aren't over. Which means we get more time with the characters we got to know in the earlier books. Lover Unleashed gives us plenty of time with Vishous and Jane, and Butch, as well as Payne and Manny. Not to mention a few surprises.

I've said it in other reviews, but this series does deserve to come with a few warnings. Namely language, and some illegal activities, though they're not as noticeable in this book. But, the characters don't hesitate to use foul language at all.

Regardless, the whole series is one of my favourites, and I'm already looking forward to the next book, as well as starting to re-read some of the earlier books. If you like paranormal romances, you should give J.R. Ward a try.