Book Review: Lover Unleashed: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward

Letting Go of the Past, Looking Towards the Future
[spoilers- beware if you haven’t read the previous books]

The latest in JR Ward’s epically romantic Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Lover Unleashed, is the umultuous story of Vishous’ twin sister Payne, and his mate Jane’s former colleague, surgeon extraordinaire Manuel ‘Manny’ Manello. The plotline picks up immediately where Lover Mine left off: Payne’s spine has been severely injured during a sparring match with Wrath, and Jane realizes that Manny would provide Payne’s best chance of recovery. Thus begins a surprisingly complex tale of this vampiric society. Lighter than usual in action, Ward gives us a more emotionally nuanced journey than we have previously seen.

Manny has been suffering: mentally from the fallout of having his memories scrubbed after the emergency surgery he performed on Vishous’ six-chambered heart a while back, and emotionally from having ‘lost’ Jane. Vishous, whose dislike of Manny is directly related to Manny’s interest in Jane, is forced to un-scrub those memories in order for Manny to get close enough treat Payne. Given the situation, the antagonism between the two men escalates quickly.

In turn, Payne is still dealing with the after-effects of being imprisoned in stasis for nearly 300 years by her mother, the goddess Scribe Virgin. (We learn pretty quickly what exactly Payne did to earn that punishment.) Add to that the intense internal conflict of being a paralyzed warrior and…well, neither Payne nor Manny is in a very good place when they meet.

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The connection between the two is instant and strong, and probably the most quietly poignant of the series. Manny helps Payne come to terms with her injury, and discover her inner strength. She fills the empty place in his soul. They need each other, but of course from their viewpoint there can be no future for a vampire goddess’ daughter with a 1000-year lifespan and an all-too-human man. Their fatalistic despondency is simple and heartfelt, where in the hands of a less skilled author it could easily be overwrought.

Manny and Payne are great characters, and fit very naturally as a couple. We’ve already seen that Manny can be fierce, and in Lover Unleashed he becomes a warrior in his own right. Payne, with her ability to be equally warrior and woman, breathes fresh air into the Brotherhood.

Although Lover Unleashed is officially Manny and Payne’s story, it belongs just as much to Vishous, and by extension, Jane and Butch. Did we really think that because V is happily together with his shellan, he was automatically going to recover from the malicious abuse he was subjected to by his father? Um…not so much. Dark and twisty on the best of days, first V is overwhelmingly furious with his goddess mother, then he’s placed in an untenable position by Payne – and later, by Jane. Everything piles up, all his demons come back to haunt him, and he goes spiraling towards a potentially catastrophic meltdown.

It’s heart-rending to see Vishous battle himself so violently. Jane, who can be a bit emotionally stunted herself, is agonized by not knowing how to hurdle the first major obstacle in their relationship. Butch is just as desperate to pull his best friend back from the edge. The lengths he goes to in his efforts to save V lead to one of the most gut-wrenching – and starkly beautiful – scenes this reviewer has ever read. The friendship they share is amazingly profound.

Ward also introduces us to a new antagonist, Xcor, the leader of a brutal band of mercenaries whose ranks consist of bastard and otherwise ostracized vampires. Although for hundreds of years they have wreaked their particular brand of havoc in Europe only, Xcor has an interesting connection to the Brotherhood. He has a major bone to pick with Payne, and is contemptuous of Wrath, who they still view as “The king who will not rule.” Having wiped out Europe’s lesser population, Xcor begins to set his sights on the current center of the war with the Omega, with a new goal in mind. He may or may not wind up helping much in the war, but it is clear that Xcor will at least become a major complication for the Brotherhood.

We also meet another intriguing new character, Detective Tom ‘Veck’ DelVecchio. Veck is a rookie member of police detective Jose de la Cruz’ team. He has a dark history-and resembles the Brothers in more than one way. Coincidence, or not? He and Jose become involved in a series of murders that are also linked to the overall storyline. Enough time is devoted to Veck that it leads one to speculate if he will be more heavily featured in future books.

Unfortunately, Lover Unleashed suffers somewhat on a couple of fronts. The most notable is the distinct lack of ‘Brotherhood’ in this Black Dagger Brotherhood tale. While there are a few skirmishes with lessers, and Payne is put in personal peril, the focus is on setting up Xcor’s character. As such there is no enemy that the Brotherhood et. al must confront. We barely even see the rest of the crew, and their camaraderie is missed.

Also, the relationship between Qhuinn and Blaylock, which we’ve been watching for several books now, could have benefited from additional attention. It was good to see Qhuinn making some progress in facing his ‘taboo’ feelings for the man who used to be his closest friend, but this sub-plotline feels sort of tacked onto the story as a whole. The good news is that there will likely be a Qhuinn/Blay novella coming, so hopefully peace and acceptance for these two is on the horizon.

This 9th series outing has the feeling of being somewhat transitory. That being said, all of the main foci receive nicely gratifying resolutions to their storylines, particularly Manny and Payne. HEA’s with humans can be especially problematic in a world where vampires are born, not made, and Ward has struggled in the past with making these situations plausible. Here, though, the author addresses the issue of Manny’s longevity in a way that makes great sense in the context of this book as well as the series as a whole.

Throughout the book, the heavy subject matters are leavened by Ward’s typical snappy dialogue and wry humor. Ultimately, Lover Unleashed takes us on a rollercoaster of sensation. At times it’s almost calm, at times wildly turbulent, but we’re always anticipating what’s coming down the tracks – and are left exhilarated, looking forward to the next ride.

Rating: 8.5 daggers out of 10