"Black Dagger Brotherhood" series book 5 - Rated 
When a gunshot victim arrives in the ER, Dr Jane Whitcomb holds the 6 chambered heart of the patient in her hand, and with skill and dedication stitches him back together. Yet rather than study this unique patient more, she instead witnesses this man awaken and removed from her care by a pair of equally large men. The patient; Vishous is sedated and intubated, yet unbelievably he is still able to function, focus and speak to his friends. With one look towards her and with four words, Jane's life is changed forever.
Awakening from his surgery the word Mine roars through Vishous when setting eyes on the surgeon who saved his life, and at his command, Jane is brought with him to the Brotherhood's mansion. Whilst V uses the excuse that he needs this woman to heal, only to himself does he admit he has irrevocably fallen in love. Jane in turn is worried that she displays all the classic signs of Stockholm Syndrome; becoming increasingly drawn to Vishous and falling equally in love with a man she discovers isn't even human. Yet as a mortal there is no chance of a permanent bond between this pair, and living on borrowed time Jane and Vishous cram in as much time together as they can before her memories are wiped of any knowledge of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and the vampires they protect.
If asked if this book has the same sort of emotional impact found in its predecessors then I would have to say no; even amongst the most heart wrenching moments there is a sense of disassociation. Vishous and Jane are both great characters and certainly generate some serious sexual heat; yet there is something lacking and I believe this may have something to do with the ending and how the pair overcome the ordeals they both face. In fact I would have preferred a different conclusion, yet am at a loss as to what else JRW could have done with the storyline.
That said this book still warrants 5 stars. As previously stated Vishous and Jane are perfect for each other; V a man normally into the extreme side of BDSM is certainly presented with a softer side and definitely enjoys vanilla sex with Jane; whereas Jane, with her clinical eye is able to understand and look past the injuries inflicted upon V's body, and in a complete role reversal, enjoy the power she has over her lover when he is he manacled to a bed and sexually dominated. Whoohoo fan me down now!
Lastly JRW sets the scene for Phury's story and (perhaps) introduces his Shellan. This author also reveals more of the Scribe Virgin and her history, another female is very briefly introduced (who has a very close relationship with someone in the Brotherhood) and John (Tehrror) may have met his match.
A little Let Down - Rated 
Vishous is my favourite Brother and I had such high hopes for his book. JR Ward had built him up to us and given us so many tidbits on the message board that I expected a lot more of V's kinkiness and his dom personality to through than actually did. I thought we'd see more of his evil father than we did. Jane was also a bit of a disappointment, I found her just a little on the bland side and don't get me started on how she ended up. I was left wanting a lot more and feeling like we hadn't really had all of V's story. I kind of felt that the whole book felt more like a prologue.
Drama, drama, drama...never a dull moment with the brotherhood! - Rated
From start to finish lover unbound doesn't take a moment to stop and come up for air! Seriously, in my opinion V's story has to be the busiest in it's content than his brothers previous story's put together! Well maybe not quite as well packed as that, but when your reading LU you will see why I made that analogy. Every chapter has something going on. And it's not strictly focused on V and Jane and their budding, if some what dysfunctional relationship. Don't get me wrong, we do see plenty of interaction between Vishous and Jane as they struggle with the bizarre connection that sparks between them pretty much at first contact! (again, will make sense when you read the book) What a nice way to meet your life partner is all I can say.
Also, the questions behind V's and Butches *coughs* close relationship get addressed and laid to rest. Which is a plus. Given that if you've read the previous books, and your anything like me, i'm sure you've no doubt had a few eyebrow-raising moments in past scenes where them two are concerned leaving you wondering 'okay, what the h*** is going on with these two?'
That's all well and good. But, like I've already said, V's book, is by no means placing all it's focus on the leading characters. It lends a good deal of space to characters whom we have met in previous books in the series. Such as pre-trans John Mathews. And Phury, who is still brooding over his unwanted feelings for Bella (to say he is dealing with those feelings badly would be a serious understatement!) Because off this, you do start to feel a little detached from the real story. I mean it's hard to stay focused on the play out of Vishous and Jane's relationship when you have two secondary characters, who repeatedly hog the lime-light with their own personal dramas. Not that I minded this. I love catching up with old characters, and seeing what's going on with them. I just felt like there was a little to much `catching up' and not enough attention directed towards the main arc of the story...namely the main characters. I know i'm not on my own in my opinion, given that other reviewers have already touched on this issue.
On a whole I did enjoy lover unbound. Even the occasional S&M scenes made for interesting reading *grins* yes they do dabble, but if you've read Butches story, you shouldn't be surprised to find V's wickedly sinful hoby has found it's way into his own book. The ending for me wasn't totally unexpected. Given that I'd been pre-warned by a friend, who had read LU before me, that I might want to scream in frustration at JR Ward for the major twist she slips with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Though i still found myself gaping at the pages like a fish out of water when i reached that point. I'll tell you now, you'll either like or hate it. Note, I said 'like' not 'love' because I doubt anyone who's read the book would choose love as the most apt choice of word to reflect their feelings towards the way JR decided to wrapped up V's story. Just read the reviews here and you'll get the gist. Personally I was fine with the ending. Definitely not the most conventional one I've read, but hey conventionality is overrated anyway. All I can say is, you'll have to make up your own mind when the time comes. Oh and be prepared for the rollercoaster of emotions you'll go through when you reach that crucial point in the book.
If your an avid follower of the BDB series you have to read this book. No question. All said and done, JR is a fantastic author, and she hasn't disappointed me with Lover unbound. Just because it doesn't quite conform to what most of us wanted or expected from V's story, doesn't make it any less read worthy in my opinion.
Ending ruined it for me.... - Rated 
I am a huge fan of the BDB, have read all the books in the series and enjoyed them all (some more than others.)
I was not overly fussed on the previous book but that had a lot to do with the characters, but I eagerly awaited this installment because I had read so much about Vishous and couldn't wait to read his story.
I found myself very disappointed however with Lover Unbound. I did not like the Heroin and the Hero lost somewhat of the intrigue that had attracted me thus far. There weren't enough scenes with the main characters by far and we seemed to get more of Phury and his female than anyone else. I am all for developing future characters but they should not dominate another characters story.
I liked reading about the others but could have done with more about Jane and Vishous because frankly I just did not find myself caring when they were in a scene.
My main bone of contention with this book overall is the dreadful ending. It makes no sense and feels too much like the author had run out of ways to keep human companions with their vampire partners.
I still have not reconciled myself with the ending but I am going to get Lover Enshrined, Phury's book, simply to keep up the series.
I would only recommend buying this book if you are prepared to leave it on the shelf once it's read like I have.
Disappointed for first time - Rated
Having read the other reviews on this page I was relieved to see that I was not the only one disappointed in V's story. Mostly due to the fact that it was only partly V's story ...there was so much sub plot to get through particularly John's journey into the Brotherhood. Did struggle a bit with V's "tastes"- maybe I'm a bit like Butch in previous book and find it "little too freaky for my Catholic ass" but think it detracted from the V I had come to like and admire as a smart but tortured soul. Think his feelings for Butch were handled well but just couldn't see Jane as the female who could change his feelings so quickly and dramatically. Have to say did struggle with this instalment of the series and only hope that Ms Ward returns to form with Phury's story, though I am already bit wary as she has darkened his character so much in this book.Better luck next time?
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