Thursday, February 12, 2015

Review of Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #9) by J.R. Ward

Synopsis: 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.

4.5 Stars!

Review: I was really looking forward to Payne's story, once she was introduced, not only as Vishous's sister, the Scribe Virgin's daughter, but also as a female warrior. Payne has been frozen for over two hundred years, though her mother, the Scribe Virgin, recently awakened her. I still can't quite figure out how I feel about the Scribe Virgin, the mother of the Vampires, but she definitely has made some poor choices with both of her children. This is very apparent with Payne's story. In fact, when Payne is injured with an injury that could prove paralyzing, she still refuses to let her mother heal her because she knows that this would mean she must stay with her, rather than to be set free.

Wrath, the King, convinces the Scribe Virgin to let him care for Payne, however, so she is brought to his compound and training center. At this point, there is not much hope, however, so the Vampires turn, once again, to a human doctor to help them. This particular doctor and Payne immediately feel a connection, however, so it only further complicates matters for both Wrath and Vishous, Payne's twin brother. As usual, there are many nuances to this story, many continuations of other stories, but I have to say that Manuel stole the show for me. I really wasn't expecting him to, either, so it was quite surprising.

Manny shows, from page one, almost, that, while he may have a very rough and demanding outer shell, he feels very strongly towards those that buck the system or fight, despite many barriers. He is immediately drawn to Payne, but he is also willing to give her up to make everyone else happy. These two have to learn how to fight for one another - even if that means fighting against others in their family. The trick is that neither of them know, at first, that they can fight for one another, so it adds a lot of anxiety to their story.

Meanwhile, there are some new guys on the scene. I'm not sure, yet, how I feel about them. I'm anxious to see what these new enemies bring to the stage.

Jessica

No comments:

Post a Comment