Tuesday, June 22, 2010

REVIEW: Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward


ISBN 9780451222350
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5
Genre: Paranormal Romance
(c) October 2007, Signet Book
J.R. Ward's website 

Rating: 5 stars 

"One of the best books, if not the best, in the BDB series!"

Vishous, the hard, cold-hearted brother, met his match in Dr. Jane Whitcomb, human surgeon, when he was brought into the hospital for a gunshot wound. His instincts just kept on screaming "mine" whenever he looked at Jane. However, his destiny could not include her, for he was destined to be the Primale of the Chosen, a worthy endeavor that would see him filling the ranks of the Brotherhood for the war against the lessers.

J.R. Ward pens a moving story of love and sacrifice. There isn't much about the lessers here (yay!), but a lot of romance between V and Jane. Though more would be great. :) As in previous books, some of the pages was also devoted to John Matthew's progress (he's got his transition here!) and laying the foundation for the next book, Phury's story in Lover Enshrined.

I have to admit that I didn't feel anything for V in the first three books and I didn't like him much in Lover Revealed. If you feel the same way, give him a chance! Here, we learned so much more about V--his horrendous childhood in his father's war camp, the negligence of his mother, his horrible background and past that shaped him to be the man that he is. And we see his vulnerability and insecurity where Jane was concerned, and that scene where he made her some hot chocolate at her apartment before leaving her ("he didn't know what to say, but he knew what to do") just about made me cry. In V, we saw how a bonded male cared for his female and it would make every female reader yearned. I know I did.

And Jane. Jane is just so precious with the way she accepted V and stood on his side. I like her doctor-take-charge attitude and the fact that she has purpose and ambition and how she was able to find a way to reconcile the two with V's life in the end. I like the matter-of-fact way she accepted V's proclivities (BDSM) and how she matched him in every aspect of his life. I did raise an eyebrow at how fast Jane wholeheartedly accepted BDSM, even though she's never experienced it. Considering also that her sex life consisted of two past lovers who were not satisfactory at all in the bedroom. Or elsewhere.

I'm glad Ms Ward put a closure on the possibilities between Butch and V, otherwise people will just keep on wondering, not to mention Butch and Marissa. Since this is fiction, I like my HEA's neat and tidy. :)

Regarding the ending, I have to admit to feeling a little out-of-sorts, because I thought V wasn't getting the real deal like the other Brothers. But on second thought, it's the best possible ending for V (a vamp who lived long years) and Jane (a human with limited life span), because at least, as my friend said, this way they're together forever. And I think V was okay with it because it meant he would have Jane with him for always, as opposed to not having Jane. And as he said, "it's the new reality" and they're learning to deal with it. It made me think how life doesn't always turn out the way you want it to. Compromises and sacrifices have to be made along the way. What you have to decide though is what are the things that are important to you, that you absolutely cannot live without? Once you have those, the rest are just a bonus. I think V and Jane have learned that.

Like Z and Bella (Lover Awakened), I didn't want to let go of V and Jane when the story ended. I hope (hope hope hope) there would be more stories of V and Jane in the succeeding books. And, as someone once said, when she found herself thinking of the characters long after she has closed the book, she knew it deserved the highest recommendation. I couldn't agree more with this book.

6 comments:

. Ruz . said...

Wow! Quite a lot of reviews! Niceeee!

I'm following you. =) My book home is at Ruz's Bookshelves

Silver @ TRR said...

Thanks, Ruz! Always great to meet a fellow blogger! I'm also following you! :)

Erotic Horizon said...

I take it this is your fav then..

This one was the beginning of the end for me Ward...

I give her Kudos for stepping outside of the expected mould and introduced something different and it was a strech to the imagination and it was good to see an autohr doing that - but I am an earth bound sort of girl and ghost Jane was just too much for me to accept..

and this was a sad thing because I thought Jane rocked - she was the perfect partner for V, but as a "not there" form.. Too much..

I am glad this one worked for you..

E.H>

Silver @ TRR said...

Hi E.H> Does it show that it's my favorite? LOL I like it in part because of Jane. She's my favorite among Ward's heroines. Like you said, she rocked, and I did think at first she got the short end of the stick on being a ghost, but compared that to never having an HEA with V, well, guess what won hands down?

Of course, I wouldn't have felt shortchanged at first if Jane hadn't ended up a ghost.

I'm sorry it didn't work for you though.

And of course, the main part of why I liked this book is V. I'm itching to read about him again in the next book. I, for one, am glad there will be more of him. I dont care actually if Ward never talked about John Matthew again. just give me more V! LOL

Anonymous said...

This was her worse book by far. Please, he ends up with a ghost. Ward is listening a tad too much to the voices in her head and it's affecting her novels. I'm so turned off this series.

Alexa said...

Personally I love this book. I loved V from the start and his book just made me love him even more. I think that some people are forgetting that although Jane becomes a ghost in the end that Jane feels exactly the same to V when he touches her. It is because of his "curse" that he can still feel her just as if she was still a living and breathing human. I think some people are taking this book a little too harshly just because of the ghost thing. So there is a ghost, BIG DEAL! This is a paranormal romance people, with vampires so why can't Ward throw in another paranormal element.

V is still and will forever remain my favorite.

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