• Lover Unleashed

  • A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood
  • By: J. R. Ward
  • Narrated by: Jim Frangione
  • Length: 18 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (4,615 ratings)

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Lover Unleashed  By  cover art

Lover Unleashed

By: J. R. Ward
Narrated by: Jim Frangione
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Publisher's summary

Payne, twin sister of the Black Dagger Brother Vishous, suffers a devastating injury, and brilliant human surgeon Manuel Manello is called in to save her. Their attraction is instant, and as powerful as it is dangerous. But as human and vampire worlds collide, a centuries-old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in jeopardy.

Keep chilled: listen to more titles in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.
©2011 J. R. Ward (P)2011 Penguin Audio

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What listeners say about Lover Unleashed

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • M
  • 04-12-11

Good not great **Spoilers**

This book was good but not as emotionally satisfying as some of the others. Payne was as advertised. She had that mix of innocence and warrior which is pretty much what I expected from her. Manny was pretty much what I expected too. Loner who doesn't know he's missing anything out of life but suddenly finds his shellan and "Mine." It was a little too quick and I think that's the problem. The pacing on this book is off. The storyline didn't really have time to develop in the week or so the book covers.


Payne's hurt, Manny gives her sexual healing, Manny can't deal with the vampires and Payne’s impact on him for like six hours, Payne's kidnapped and rescues herself in one night, Manny finds out he's Butch's half-brother and Manny/Payne have sex, the end. Okay, hard to get invested in that storyline. True.


The best part of the book was V/Butch/Jane. Poor Marissa is barely mentioned except to nod approvingly as Butch goes off to fix V. The emotional dynamic between V/Butch and to some extent Jane is just terrific. Love how Butch knew what to do to help. V and Jane's resolution was satisfying. Love the bond and the humor between them all.


Not enough Blay/Quinn. Ward keeps teasing her readers with this couple. If she continues to tease her readers with will they/won't they for too long with no payoff, nothing she writes is going to be enough to satisfy the people who are invested in the m/m couple. She's already said she can't sell a whole book on these two because her readership won't support it so get on with the novella and give fans of Blay/Quinn a break.


The new guys are interesting. Definitely a hook for future books. Not enough of the other brothers. No Rhage humor, no Phury/Zadist to speak of. The shellans must all be on vacation because I don't remember seeing/hearing anything about them.


Overall a decent read but not one I want to listen too over and over except for the Butch/V parts.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Ward You Owe Me One--Soon

This is not the best in the series. If you are a fan of the series and loved Phury's installment this is the book for you. This one starts off slow and I can usually deal with that out of Ward. It's a very tedious listen in the beginning.

I am kind of mad at Ward on this one. I gave it a three because for the dedicated fan you can't miss this installment. There is a ton of new information and interesting new characters you might come to love or hate. Overall, it is a must listen. The romance between Payne and Manny is just a convenient backdrop for new and old questions. Just like Phury's installment is a buildup to Lover Mine.

I hope Ward doesn't make us wait another year before the next installment arrives. She's going somewhere with some of the old and new characters and I am definitely on board with this series. However, if you are expecting an amazing romance between Payne and Manny it just doesn't happen in this book. I would actually characterize this as V and Jane: Part II.

As usual, Jim Frangione does an outstanding job with the narration. So there you have it. A must listen for diehard fans. If this is your first listen of Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series start with another installment.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Just a rewrite of previous books........

Angie in Jamestown, TN

First, let me say that I purchased the book 2 hours after it became available. There had already been 10 5 stars ratings left..on a 19 hour book. Yah, fishy...fans just hiking up the book's rating without listening to it first.
Onto the book **Slight Spoilers may be ahead** It's my least favorite of the series. I LOVE the Brotherhood! I have listened to all of the previous books in one sitting. This one though, took me 3 days to finish.
Is this a rewrite of V's story? Haven't we done the V & Jane thing? Haven't we done the V & Butch thing? And haven't we done the half breed thing? Where's the original ideas? Where's Manny and Payne's courtship? The courtship was rushed, predictable, weak, and I just ended up not caring. It would have actually been better if one of them had been killed off....much more interesting.
It seems like when the book was finished, Ward remembered Quinn & Blay and went back and through a few rewrote pages about them from previous books. Like another reviewer stated....Quinn won't come out of the closet, blah blah blah.
I noticed a few inconsistencies, like when V told Wrath that Payne had recovered and Wrath was excited and surprised. Hadn't Payne just been in there before, asking Wrath if she could leave with Manny? Yah Wrath is blind, but he would have known if she was bed ridden or not when she walked in his door.
The whole showdown between Payne and Xcor.....was that it? "You killed my father" "No I didn't" "Oh, okay." Really?
I still love the Brotherhood! I love hearing a few snippets here and there about previous characters, but when a new book comes out, it should be about the new couple, not 75% the same stuff from previous books. I'll continue with the series, because the new characters that Ward introduced seem appealing, which unfortunately for you who have not listened to this book, makes this installment and necessity for character background.
Once again, Jim Frangione does a YUMMY performance!!! LOVE HIM!

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Okay but...

If you are a fan of the BDB series, brace yourself, because the new installment is out. Unfortunately, Lover Unleashed leaves much to be desired. At best, this book is unfocused. Lover Unleashed spans three relationships: Vishous/Jane, Qhuinn/Blaylock and Manny/Payne. In addition to trying to develop three relationships, the book also introduces a new brotherhood enemy. In the end, there is just too much going on to fully explore any of the storylines. This results in a book that serves as more of a transition between stories than a story itself.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Lover What?

Where did J R Wards' in depth story and character development go? I wanted to feel vested in the characters of this story, but found that impossible with all of the story lines she "unleashed". Maybe a better title might have been Lover Overlooked!

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Coundn't finish

I have to agree with the others that this installment is too much like others in the series. Unfortunately, I'm adding J.R. Ward to the same "do not read" list that Anita Hamilton and Chairlanne Harris occupy. The first books in all the series were great, but as the series continued, they've lost their steam.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Love BDB but....

I am so glad to see that I am not the only one who felt this book was a bit of a let down. I have "read" all the BDB books and have recommended them to others as I LOVE the series. This book left me feeling unsatisfied somehow and after waiting on pins and needles for the next installment, I needed more. I agree, it was Jane and Vishous part II with a little Butch thrown in. At times, I forgot this was Payne's story. For the die-hard BDB fan, you will read it as you NEED to know what is going to happen next. If you are new to the series, start with an earlier book... Hopefully, we will not have to wait as long for the next book. As I said earlier, I LOVE this series!!!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator makes these books great

Jim Frangione makes the Black Dagger Brotherhood come alive wonderfully. His voice makes the characters what they are meant to be, strong, sexy, cool. I just cant get enough. I hope there are many more to come and they must always be read by Jim Frangione. I tried reading one and it just wasn't the same. He should have narrated JR Wards other (much inferior) Fallen Angels series. Wish there were more series like this.... another good one is the Ghost Walker series, narrated by another great reader... Tom Stetschulte.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointment

I absolutely loooved the other books. This one...not so much. I had to hear that same old crap about Quin and Blay and Vishous and.... Wait a minute. It was supposed to be Paynes and Manello's book right? Wrong! Nothing against it but I really don't want to hear about someone struggling to come out of the closet. Nor did I believe why V had such anger management issues about somebody he knew all of.. what... 5 minutes. Probably my last book also. I thought the book left you with more questions and answers to other questions, I didn't want answered. J.R,Ward? Not happy. Not happy.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Unleased WHO!

Very disappointing, it's more of an extension of V and Jane story, with V having a mental breakdown, then you have the story of Pyane & V's half brother Score and his band of bastards and finally Quinn who is still pining for Blayah. The two main character of this book is in the BACKGROUND! Methinks me will be done with this series (that's part of the language in the book)

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7 people found this helpful