Hoping For More: May 2011

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Lover Unleashed

Title: Lover Unleashed
Author: J.R. Ward
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood: Book 9
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Page Count: 512 Pages
Pub. Date: Published March 29th 2011 by NAL Hardcover
Rating: 5/5

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.
When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.
As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

~My Review~

I just love this series. I find myself with only a few pages left, wishing that each book wouldn't stop. When I am reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood books I am so taken by the characters, that I get utterly annoyed that they have such a hard time with their lives, and with love - but in the end I'm glad for the struggles and hardships, they make the story richer. J.R. Ward always manages to give me a happy ending while leaving so much to look forward to in the next book.

In Lover Unleashed we get a lot more of V and Jane working out the kinks in their relationship, and we are introduced to an awkward and awesome relationship between Payne and Manny. Of course V still dislikes Manny from his brief time with Jane, but his hate is flared up in this story, and made for quite a few entertaining scenes between them.

I liked the switch-up of having the bloodletter's gang introduced as another antagonist, it helps to keep the Lessers from getting to be old news. They also seem to have interesting dynamics going on with the second in command having such compassion for humans.

There are a couple of background stories; one with Quinn struggling with his feelings for Blay, and another following Butch's old partner as he tries to solve a case with his new partner. I really want a happy ending for both Quinn and for Layla, those two just seem to get their hearts stamped on over and over again.

Lover Unleashed was a great read filled with twists, turns, revelations and cliffhangers, and I can't wait for the next book (Tohrment's story!) to come out.

My Rating: 5/5

~ Other books in this series ~

#1 Dark Lover, #2 Lover Eternal, #3 Lover Awakened, #4 Lover Revealed, #5 Lover Unbound, #6 Lover Enshrined, #7 Lover Avenged, #8 Lover Mine, and #6.5 The Black Dagger Brotherhood - An Insider's Guide

~ You'll like this series if you liked ~

The Fallen Angels Series by J.R. Ward, The Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) By Charlaine Harris, Midnight Breed Series by Lara Adrian, or The Demonica Series by Larissa Ione

~Links 4 More~

Author Website: here
Add to your Shelfari: here
Add to your Goodreads: here
Buy it at Bookdepository (Free Shipping): here
Buy it at Amazon: here

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Forever Trailer

Maggie posted the new Forever trailer and a contest over on her blog. I'm super excited for this one to come out. If you want to pre-order a signed copy go here.

If you read Shiver, that is the song Sam wrote for Grace "Summer Girl", performed by Jonas & Plunkett. You can purchase the song here.

Darkest Mercy - An Epic Finish!

Title: Darkest Mercy
Author: Melissa Marr
Series: Wicked Lovely, Book #5
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Page Count: 336 Pages (Hardcover)
Pub. Date: Published 2011 by HarperCollins
Rating: 5/5

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything.

The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr's New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

~Twisty Series Sum-up~

(warning: spoilers if you haven't read the first 4 books)

Seth became a Faery (son of High Queen Sorcha) so that he could be with Ash - who is the Summer Queen and is fighting the feelings she developed for the Summer King Keenan, while Seth was away. Keenan is in love with the new Winter Queen Donia - who has pushed him away in fear of killing him for his closeness to Ash. Seth is also a declared brother to Niall, the new Dark King who used to be Keenan's advisor, is currently an ally to Donia, and is in love with the former Dark King Irial (who is now dying). Both Dark kings are in love with Leslie - who is Ash's mostly mortal friend from before she became Faery. They are all unstable and confused but one thing is for sure, they all want Bananach dead.

~My Review~

Everyone has to face their demons in Darkest Mercy. Melissa Marr pulls in all of the main characters from the mortal side of the veil and makes them face the consequences of their actions - or inactions in some cases.

A collection of love-sick and mourning regents have to face off with War, or risk losing everything to her. I was happy to finally get to the fight that was looming ominously over the fey for the entire series.

I won't go into too much detail on the events of the book , as I wouldn't want to ruin anything, but I will say that even with the losses and compromises, this book (and series) ended perfectly for me.

Melissa Marr was already on my favourites list but she managed to impress me even more in Darkest Mercy. The action was intense, the love threads were all tied up, and the overall plot brought everything together from the whole series, just wonderful. I am so glad I read this series, not only are they beautiful on my shelf, but they are beautifully written.