A Review of Lover Unleashed by J.r. Ward

Lover Unleashed is book nine in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series written by J.R. Ward.  Vishous, son of the Scribe Virgin and the Bloodletter did not know of his twin’s existence, but Payne knew of him.  She loved her brother, and when the Bloodletter’s crimes against him became unbearable, she murdered the man.  The act freed her brother but cost her.  Angered by her act, the Scribe Virgin imprisoned Payne.   She spent centuries in limbo, aware but not aware.  And that, according to Payne was the true meaning of Hell.

Once freed from her imprisonment, Payne remained on the Far Side.  She did not fit into the role of the Chosen, there was too much warrior in her, but she could not fight in the war next to her brother.  Her sole enjoyment in life was her sparing matches with the Blind King Wrath.  During one of those sparring matches, Payne is injured and paralyzed from the waist down.   Wrath brings her to the compound hoping that Jane (Vishous’s shellan and a gifted surgeon) could reverse the damage.   

Vishous’s life spirals out of control.  Not only did his mother keep Payne’s existence from him for over 300 years, his shellan turns to an old friend for medical help for Payne.  Manny and Jane were close at one time, and even though Vishous believed Jane when she claimed that they were only friends, jealousy and possessiveness raises its ugly head.

As with all the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, Lover Unleashed has several stories within the story.  It’s Payne and Manny’s love story, but Vishous and Jane’s problems frequently take the forefront.   Blay and Qhuinn’s problems surface again, and an old enemy arrives on the scene.  Questions posed in earlier books are answered, but new ones surface. 

I enjoyed Lover Unleashed as much as the earlier books, but there were a few things I had a problem with.  In earlier books Payne was portrayed as a warrior, but in Lover Unleashed her strength was downplayed.  Often times she came across as a simpering female rather than a warrior born of the Scribe Virgin and the Bloodletter.

If you enjoyed the first eight Black Dagger Brotherhood books, you will enjoy Lover Unleashed.  It’s fast paced and entertaining.  I give the book a four, not because of the quality of the story, but for the inconsistencies.  Inconsistencies are inevitable in a long running series, but they are annoying.