There Be Spoilers Here!!!
You've been warned.
So, let's get into Lover Unbound shall we? Let's start with the general outline of the story - you know -
Cindy Blurb: Vishious is one of the Brotherhood (seriously, read the first book if you are lost already) and is in some serious pain since his love Butch found his own one and only. Being the pain ridden kind of hero Ward writes about he heads off to do some damage to the evil do-ers and gets his ass shot. Since he is playing Lone Ranger without his boy Tonto he gets picked up by an ambulance and ends up at a local hospital.
Here we meet Jane, a top notch surgeon, who saves V's life with her awesome surgical skills and is hella happy to discover a 6 chambered heart in her patient which means her name will be in lights.
The 'boys' finally figure out that V got picked up and show up at the hospital to bring his butt home only V opens his eyes and recognizes his mate Jane immediately and demands she be brought with him.
Some other crap is going on too so I'll try and sum up. V is the Scribe Virgin's son (yeah, poor bastard) and there is so much going on in that one thing that I could write an essay on how much the Scribe Virgin resembles a spoiled princess. Blergh. V was brought up by a guy channeling Caligula and suffered some serious harm, thus, he is a dom sexually. Also, V has a glowing hand that can torch anything and he used to be able to see the future but the future thing has dried up and left and the torch hand is a pain in his ass.
V and Jane fall in lust which is equal to love in Ward's world and they work towards their HEA.
There's a whole bunch of Phury crap and stuff about the 'pretrans' guys (seriously, every time I saw that word I thought of transsexual which is probably not the image Ward is going for) and some character named Cam-something that I pretty much just skimmed. I think Cam-something will be a main character in the next book but I'll read about that then. I don't care now.
Oh! Jane dies. Yeah. Dead, dead. The Scribe Virgin makes a sacrifice (bitch please) and returns Jane to V as a ghost that only he can touch.
Whatever.
There we go. How we all doing? Confused? Meh. It's not that hard and if you skip the parts with the 'pretrans' and the Cam person you'll be fine. Hell, I wanted to skip the Phury stuff to but decided to read along.
So let's start with one thing.
Butch and V belong together.
Never thought I would be one who would prefer to read about a male/male relationship but I telling you these guys are hot for each other. And it's hot to read about. I really feel like the women were forced into Butch and V's stories. Weird thing. Anyways, there is a point where V tells Butch he wanted to have sex with him and Butch said that he knew that but also, that he kinda felt the same way but he's not gay. I was screaming at the book by this time 'get a room!!!' Seriously. The idea of Butch and V together gives me hot flashes.
Yeah, that was TMI.
Onwards!
I liked Jane and V together (except for you know) but it was more about 'you are my mate' than reading a love story. V definitely gets 'better' for lack of a better word in that he can now become submissive to Jane and it really is because he trusts her implicitly.
There was some crap about how a Brother can be with a human but it wasn't drawn out to be a huge deal. V, for some reason, sends Jane back to her life by wiping her memory of him but she can't seem to forget that someone loves her. Meanwhile V is horrid but I guess he feels he needs to become the Primale (male stud to the female chosen where the Scribe Virgin lives) because he gave him mom his word. Lame. Anyways, Phury throws himself under that bus and V is now free to love Jane.
Reunion followed by Jane getting shot and dying.
V goes apeshit crazy but Butch finds him and brings him home.
I think it's three days later the Scribe Virgin shows up and gives Jane (a see through Jane) back to her son and it's because of his 'cursed hand' that he can touch her.
Whatever.
I knew Jane was going to die because of spoilers I accidentally came across while blog hopping. Knowing this definitely kept me from freaking out and I already knew she'd come back as a ghost. Yetch.
General Thoughts:
I already mentioned Butch and V forever, right?
Okay, I'll move on.
1. The Scribe Virgin is horribly stupid. I mean, I have no clue who this chick is or why she even exists but wow, this chick is fucked up. She decides she wants to know what it feels like to give birth so she assumes a body and ends up picking that Caligula like guy. Then she needs to bargain with him and strikes a deal that is well, stupid. What is worse is that her child is tortured by the father for years and she never stepped in and stopped it. Why? She gave her word. I don't say crass things too often but what a dumb slut!
2. Quinn, Blay and John. Am I supposed to be taking these guys even remotely seriously? It's like reading about pre-pubescent boys who suddenly have hard-ons. I have heard that these guys will get their own stories but I'm hoping this isn't true. Basically I'm not sure I can get past the sense that these guys are just like horny 19 year olds. Not heroic material for me.
3. The chosen and the Scribe Virgin. WTF!? Doesn't even begin to make sense considering there is a glimera (ton).
4. The so called 'cost' of bringing Jane back from the dead. The Scribe Virgin gave up her songbirds. She gave up her SONG BIRDS!! Weird sort of currency for bringing someone back from the dead. Maybe that's why she's a ghost.
5. Just something weird that tapped at my brain. Jane died and went on. We actually see her move on from her life. We don't know where she goes and when she gets back she doesn't know where she was. Yet, there is a reference to God in this book and He is even thought about by the Scribe Virgin. So, if there is God, there could be Heaven and if there is Heaven, would Jane really leave it behind even for V? Yeah. That's where my brain went. And well, any more talking about that and we'll be into a discussion on religion so I leave that alone. For now.
So, hey. Not bad. Not great.
B-
You've been warned.
So, let's get into Lover Unbound shall we? Let's start with the general outline of the story - you know -
Cindy Blurb: Vishious is one of the Brotherhood (seriously, read the first book if you are lost already) and is in some serious pain since his love Butch found his own one and only. Being the pain ridden kind of hero Ward writes about he heads off to do some damage to the evil do-ers and gets his ass shot. Since he is playing Lone Ranger without his boy Tonto he gets picked up by an ambulance and ends up at a local hospital.
Here we meet Jane, a top notch surgeon, who saves V's life with her awesome surgical skills and is hella happy to discover a 6 chambered heart in her patient which means her name will be in lights.
The 'boys' finally figure out that V got picked up and show up at the hospital to bring his butt home only V opens his eyes and recognizes his mate Jane immediately and demands she be brought with him.
Some other crap is going on too so I'll try and sum up. V is the Scribe Virgin's son (yeah, poor bastard) and there is so much going on in that one thing that I could write an essay on how much the Scribe Virgin resembles a spoiled princess. Blergh. V was brought up by a guy channeling Caligula and suffered some serious harm, thus, he is a dom sexually. Also, V has a glowing hand that can torch anything and he used to be able to see the future but the future thing has dried up and left and the torch hand is a pain in his ass.
V and Jane fall in lust which is equal to love in Ward's world and they work towards their HEA.
There's a whole bunch of Phury crap and stuff about the 'pretrans' guys (seriously, every time I saw that word I thought of transsexual which is probably not the image Ward is going for) and some character named Cam-something that I pretty much just skimmed. I think Cam-something will be a main character in the next book but I'll read about that then. I don't care now.
Oh! Jane dies. Yeah. Dead, dead. The Scribe Virgin makes a sacrifice (bitch please) and returns Jane to V as a ghost that only he can touch.
Whatever.
There we go. How we all doing? Confused? Meh. It's not that hard and if you skip the parts with the 'pretrans' and the Cam person you'll be fine. Hell, I wanted to skip the Phury stuff to but decided to read along.
So let's start with one thing.
Butch and V belong together.
Never thought I would be one who would prefer to read about a male/male relationship but I telling you these guys are hot for each other. And it's hot to read about. I really feel like the women were forced into Butch and V's stories. Weird thing. Anyways, there is a point where V tells Butch he wanted to have sex with him and Butch said that he knew that but also, that he kinda felt the same way but he's not gay. I was screaming at the book by this time 'get a room!!!' Seriously. The idea of Butch and V together gives me hot flashes.
Yeah, that was TMI.
Onwards!
I liked Jane and V together (except for you know) but it was more about 'you are my mate' than reading a love story. V definitely gets 'better' for lack of a better word in that he can now become submissive to Jane and it really is because he trusts her implicitly.
There was some crap about how a Brother can be with a human but it wasn't drawn out to be a huge deal. V, for some reason, sends Jane back to her life by wiping her memory of him but she can't seem to forget that someone loves her. Meanwhile V is horrid but I guess he feels he needs to become the Primale (male stud to the female chosen where the Scribe Virgin lives) because he gave him mom his word. Lame. Anyways, Phury throws himself under that bus and V is now free to love Jane.
Reunion followed by Jane getting shot and dying.
V goes apeshit crazy but Butch finds him and brings him home.
I think it's three days later the Scribe Virgin shows up and gives Jane (a see through Jane) back to her son and it's because of his 'cursed hand' that he can touch her.
Whatever.
I knew Jane was going to die because of spoilers I accidentally came across while blog hopping. Knowing this definitely kept me from freaking out and I already knew she'd come back as a ghost. Yetch.
General Thoughts:
I already mentioned Butch and V forever, right?
Okay, I'll move on.
1. The Scribe Virgin is horribly stupid. I mean, I have no clue who this chick is or why she even exists but wow, this chick is fucked up. She decides she wants to know what it feels like to give birth so she assumes a body and ends up picking that Caligula like guy. Then she needs to bargain with him and strikes a deal that is well, stupid. What is worse is that her child is tortured by the father for years and she never stepped in and stopped it. Why? She gave her word. I don't say crass things too often but what a dumb slut!
2. Quinn, Blay and John. Am I supposed to be taking these guys even remotely seriously? It's like reading about pre-pubescent boys who suddenly have hard-ons. I have heard that these guys will get their own stories but I'm hoping this isn't true. Basically I'm not sure I can get past the sense that these guys are just like horny 19 year olds. Not heroic material for me.
3. The chosen and the Scribe Virgin. WTF!? Doesn't even begin to make sense considering there is a glimera (ton).
4. The so called 'cost' of bringing Jane back from the dead. The Scribe Virgin gave up her songbirds. She gave up her SONG BIRDS!! Weird sort of currency for bringing someone back from the dead. Maybe that's why she's a ghost.
5. Just something weird that tapped at my brain. Jane died and went on. We actually see her move on from her life. We don't know where she goes and when she gets back she doesn't know where she was. Yet, there is a reference to God in this book and He is even thought about by the Scribe Virgin. So, if there is God, there could be Heaven and if there is Heaven, would Jane really leave it behind even for V? Yeah. That's where my brain went. And well, any more talking about that and we'll be into a discussion on religion so I leave that alone. For now.
So, hey. Not bad. Not great.
B-
11 comments:
Cindy, I'm so on the same page with you about Butch and V. Now THAT would be a love story to sink your teeth into. Yes, I know Butch and Marissa's love story came first...but I say remove it and this one and let the guys be together.
And ghosts? I've commented on this before. Just in general it's not a device that works for me. Here specifically it was ridiculously. People can walk through her? PUH-LEEZE!
I'm more in the C to C- area because of stuff like you mention, but we are definitely on the same wave length.
I'm still on the fence whether I'm going to read these at all. I'm glad you thought it was okay ~ hope the next one is better.
Good review. I agree with most of it, although I think I might just be the only one in the entire universe that wasn't sold on the Butch/V pairing. I never really go the vibe from Butch that it was a mutual thing, particularly since he's been panting after Marissa since like book 1. I did like that Ward went ahead and had V verbalize how he'd felt since it seemed to be implied in LR. But yeah, I never really felt that they were meant to be together forever. Like I said, I think I'm the only one who didn't, so sue me. lol.
Totally with you on the SV though. Dear lord, what kind of a stupid beeyotch would pick that kind of a man to sire her offspring and then (after fully knowing what a mean mofo he was) give her innocent baby son into his tender care. ugh ugh ugh. And then she has the audacity to expect V to now serve as the stud for her stable of creepy nuns? *shudder* I could so have done without that whole plot.
I really liked Jane though. Too bad she and V only get like 1/5 of the airtime in "their" book. :-(
Like Sula, I was never really into the V/Butch loving. But that might be because I like V, and, you know...projection. Plus Butch is TJ Hooker, didn't you know? *lol*
I absolutely agree with you on #2. I think you're the first blogger I know who's said it.
seriously, every time I saw that word I thought of transsexual which is probably not the image Ward is going for
Exactly! Exactly!
Oh, thank you for this. It was just what I wanted to know. Ghosts don't work for me either. V + Butch would have made a better story :) I'm going to skip this book. I agree with you about John, etc. and the Scribe Virgin. I can't stand them and I getting bored with the whole series.
Rosie - I also didn't like how the minute V saw Jane all his feelings about Butch just *poof* disappeared. Yeah. Sure. That's how feelings work. I gave it a B- because it definitely snapped me up and I'm not ready to just throw in the towel although now I want to see if she can do a m/m romance because the homoerotic stuff is all over the place!
Dev - The second book and the third book are awesome - Rhage and Zsadists books. Dark Lover was also excellent but I fell hard for Butch in that story. After that, you can probably wait until you see a KEEPER!! post ;)
Sula - No, Butch didn't have those feelings but if Marissa had really dumped his ass and then he healed and suddenly looked up I could see it happening with B and V. And I wouldn't sue you - might send flying monkey but no suing ;)
SV - ugh. I skimmed most of the Chosen part because I don't really get how SV and her chickies can move from where they are to the real world.
More time spent on two people falling in love is always better for us romance readers ;)
Kat O+ - *sputter* It's a good thing I have no clue about TJ Hooker or you might have ruined my mental lustin - ah, musings ;)
JMC - Yep. I find it weird that Ward has so many different ways to make readers see homoerotic undertones when she claims there aren't and now this. Very weird. And you know how I feel about YA books so I was definitely feeling creepy about reading about these guys.
Renee - yep, V and B - loved them! Jane is such a great female character for the first time for Ward and then she dies. I should have mentioned you only have to see her as a ghost for about the last 10 pages or so but still, there is a whole lot of playing loose with the laws of nature with this series.
CindyS
I'm just finishing with an intense romance novel, Coinage of Commitment. I am intrigued by your reviews on Lover Unbound to test the waters of paranormal romance. I hope they are just as good.
Hilarious, love your Cindy blurb.
I'm with you on the B/V and SV stuff.
Very true about the pretrans thing.
I'm really not looking forward to the next book. Didn't care for the Phury/Cormia/Chosen/Primale stuff. Took away too much from Jane/V.
I would have so rather have read about a relationship between V and Butch! ;-)
And I think I already said how much the Chosen wigged me out. The whole concept is just EWWWWWW. And the song bird thing?? Please.
I'll be interested to see how things go with the next book.
I read it, didn't love it, and I hate the "MINE!" thing as courtship. But I just love her world, and it's like candy to me, so I didn't feel disappointed in it. I still had a good time reading it.
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