Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5)

by J.R. Ward

Book Overview

#1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward's Black Daggar Brotherhood series continues as the cold heart of a cunning predator is warmed against its will... Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous, son... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451222350
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.7" x 1.3" x 4.1"

Customer Reviews

LOVED IT!

J R Ward continues to overwhelm us. I fell in love with Vishous after this book. I did like him a lot, but after getting to know him better, I was on my knees. The way he's pictured, the words he use, the way he thinks and most of all, that sexy personality...Jane was the perfect mate for him, intelligent, strong minded, charming. There are unforgettable and very hot scenes in this book. The ending is suprising, but creative. Like in all BDB stories, you submerge in that universe, she pictures it so perfectly that it feels like it's real, like you're living it. I WISH!!!!

Wow!

I loved this book! After reading some of the negative reviews, I was a little nervous about buying it, but I'm glad I did because it's a definite keeper! It's amazing that after 4 books, Ward can still manage to make each one an edge-of-your-seat ride. This one is one of my favorites. Vishous has been building slowly as a character from the first book, and in this one he comes into his own. We learn all about his background and early life, and get to understand even more about vampire early history. In some ways he's had things as bad as Zsadist (why does Ward give them these names?!) which has affected him emotionally and sexually. Jane, his love, has some tough things to accept, and the reader gets emotionally wrung out getting there with her. Another reason I enjoyed this book more than previous ones, is that there was less time spent on extraneous action and conversations between lessers. This book is all about the vampires and their world. My only quibble is that Ward's treatment of the Scribe Virgin seemed inconsistent, i.e. if the SV is as powerful and all seeing as she is supposed to be, why did she allow some things to happen, and not others? That aside, there is the introduction of some new, and fascinating characters that will undoubtedly be followed up in subsequent books. I can't wait!

A very good continuation of an exciting series; ending a little off....

First, this is a good book. A good story. J.R. Ward has upped her writing skills, in my opinion. She's dropped quite a bit of the .... urban slang, I guess... that eventually became more distracting than just being a part of the characters' personas. She's careful with her characters' histories, and brings them all nicely through this book. (I personally love John's story, and can't wait for it to get the full attention it deserves.) And, come on, you have to give J.R. Ward credit for coming up with interesting ways to keep her heroines with her heroes. Can't keep using the same loop holes. Same problem hit Sherrilyn Kenyon and her Dark Hunters. But even with that said....this is not exactly the ending I would have opted for. Nor did it make the most sense given some rules she's already laid down for her universe. Not the worst resolution, but...maybe if more time was spent in the book following the incident, the readers could be more comfortable with the idea. Flesh out the "after" part of the relationship a little more. Perhaps we'll get more details in the next book. That would be nice. But don't let the somewhat-off ending dissuade you from picking this book up! If you've read the previous books, you'll only be cheating yourself if you don't read this one just because other reviewers (myself included!) are not flipping over the ending! The ending'll do for now, and right up until that moment when your eyebrow goes up and you mutter, "Really?", you will be eating this story right up. I am already very much looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Don't listen to bad reviews... read the book, and form your own opinion!

I've read less-than-favorable reviews of this book, and I firmly believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But before you use someone's negative review as a basis for your own decision concerning this book, read positive opinions. And please, read the book and decide for yourself what you think. For every negative opinion, there are several positives. Such as... 1. Some believe that the tough, cynical Vishous of previous books was absent from this book. Some have said that his "love" for Jane happened too fast to be believable. My opinion is completely different. When a hero has as much baggage and issues as V, he's bound to have the most potential for vulnerability. That's what I saw in the softening of V's personality, in the swiftness of his fall for Jane. Having kept to himself and been completely alone for so many years, when presented with the opportunity for love, he simply could not hold himself back, even though he wanted to and knew he should. V's vulnerability and the softer side of his personality (of which we had seen none previously) were the most compelling parts of the book for me... the reason I loved it more than any previous BDB book. I think Ward did a beautiful job of drawing the contradictions in V's character, making him not the one-dimensional "my-mother-deserted-me-so-now-I'm-a-commitmentphobe" hero that we've seen way too many times, but rather a man with real emotions and real struggels finding REAL solutions. 2. There were also those disappointed with the ending, in particular Jane's. Without giving away the ending, I too was a bit mystified about it at first. But, knowing J.R. Ward, there is a plan for Jane's "state" to come in handy down the road. And I also realized that, in addition to V now being fully bonded to Jane, there is another reason that there would NEVER be another man for her. She CAN'T "physically" be with another man. It is impossible, even for the other Brothers. Which means it's probably also impossible for the nasty lessers to get a hold of her and hurt her the way they did Bella and Butch. 3. As for the "other" stories crowding out V and Jane's story (ex. John, Phury, etc.) my only question to those who complained about this is... "Have you read the other books?" There are ALWAYS multiple story lines going on. And in fact, I thought that "Lover Unbound" had far LESS of this than the previous books. There was NO major lesser offensive against the Brothers and their race. There was not a single scene from the point of view of a lesser or the Omega. Aside from a few fights outside ZeroSum, we really didn't see the lessers at all. I found this book more focused on the core love story than any of the other books. So, if you haven't read the book yet, don't let the prospect of other story lines scare you off. And besides, any subplot that Ward has going is central to the continuing story of the Brotherhood. 4. And, concerning V's sexual tendencies. If you were

5 Klovers - Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques

With the temporary loss of his premonitions and telepathy, coupled with the loss of his best friend Butch to coupledom, Vishous is floundering. A gunshot wound in a battle with a Lesser leaves him mortally wounded at just the point in his life when he isn't sure what he has to live for, landing him right in the emergency room of the beautiful doctor who can give him every reason to survive. The beautiful HUMAN doctor. There is always a catch, isn't there? Dr. Jane Whitcomb can't quite believe her own eyes when she operates on the strange patient on her ER table. She's never seen anything quite like what she finds inside his chest cavity, and is determined to capture every moment for the medical books. Being prepared for anything is what makes her an excellent trauma surgeon. She isn't quite prepared, however, for her enigmatic and fearsome patient to capture HER. Only half-conscious when his Brothers retrieve him from the hospital recovery room, V knows only that Jane must come with him. And so the Brothers heed his wishes, toting the hapless doctor along as easily as a sack of flour, completely against her own wishes. Although imprisoned with her patient against her will, Jane is determined to give him the best care she can provide. It isn't long before they become much more than just patient and doctor. But a human and a vampire can't mate, can they? And even if they could, V's vow to the Scribe Virgin will most certainly keep them apart forever. It was just last year that some online friends insisted I read J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. They made it sound so intriguing I quickly snapped up all of the books that had been released at the time, and then promptly devoured each back to back! Ward immediately found herself on my pre-order list, and her subsequent releases in this series have held her place there. I've loved each of the books that she has released in this series, each quite possibly more than the last, although I have to admit the one in my hands right now is usually going to be my favorite! LOL Still, the fifth book in this saga, Lover Unbound, will probably hold its position as my favorite yet for a long time, and not only because it is her most current release. Ward reveals so many secrets about various characters in this edition, including the lead male, Vishous. My jaw dropped when I learned along with V exactly who he is. My heart broke along with Jane's as we relived his past torment with him. Understanding what V went through as a child, the tortures and betrayals he has lived with from those closest to him in the past, makes his fierce and unwavering loyalty to those he loves and trusts today all the more understandable. The deficit of caring he has suffered makes him cling all the more tightly to those in his life now, such as his best friend Butch and now his mate Jane. Of course, this same protectiveness extends to the other members of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and their Shellans