Review: Lover Unleashed (#9)

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've really been trying to think about what I wanted to say in my review. I've read so many about this book, I don't really know what to say for my own.

There seems to be a lot of hatin' going on for this BDB novel. And yea, I can see why. It's put out there as a book exploring the relationship between V's twin sister, Payne and Doc Jane's former (human) boss, Manny. But really - this book is more of a continuation of Doc Jane and V's storyline. Payne and Manny come across as a secondary plot at best.

But here's the thing.....I liked the book. I LOVE V and Jane as a couple. There's a tortured soul in V that wasn't fully explored in his book. In Lover Unleashed, we get to see his emotional side. OK, yea - we ALL know V loves Jane more than anything. But he seemed to always hold something back - and that something finally gets explored here. And I love how that all played out. It broke my heart and made me fall in love with V all over again.

As far as the Payne/Manny storyline.....it was sweet. I think Ward had some missed (ok, MANY missed) opportunities for some hot sex between those two crazy kids. There were some steamy scenes - but having them NOT doing THE deed until the very end of the book? Not cool, Warden, not cool. *shakes finger at JR*

And the continuing build up of tension between Qhuinn and Blay - well - that's just cruel. We all want to see them get it on. I mean, really. We all want some hot boy-vamp on boy-vamp action. Don't keep us waiting much longer, Ward. Seriously. You won't like us when we're angry.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Was it perfect? No. Nor is it my favorite of the series. What I really wished the author had done was focus more on Payne and Manny in this book and take all the V and Jane stuff and channel it into a novella. But she didn't ask me what I thought.....so there.

And I shall close with this: the whole serial killer plot point? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?