Lover Unbound

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-

Inbetween

First things, my guest review of Ice Storm by Anne Stuart is up at The Good, The Bad and the Unread so hope on over there if you are fence sitting on buying this one. Humungous Thank You to Sybil for sending me the ARC.

Okay, next post I'm going to spill how I feel about Lover Unbound - like I said, it worked for me but I wasn't invested in any of the characters and I knew V wasn't going somewhere I would have maybe liked to see. I'm happy for the most part and 'get' it but there are just too many weird laws or rules and it all needs to be pushed at. I'm still working things out in my mind so hopefully I can come up with something coherent.

I sent in my AAR Top *mumble* ballot. I way over thought the whole thing. Basically, if I hadn't read the book in the last 10 years I didn't put it on my list except if I actually remember more than one scene. Thus, A Rose In Winter by Woodiwiss made it on the list because I swear I remember almost all of it.

Let's just list them up:

Lord of Danger Anne Stuart This is the ultimate Stuart for me. I love every teeny tiny bit of this book. The hero has a bit of beta in him which in an Anne Stuart hero is rare. If you have never tried Stuart and have been thinking you would like to I would highly, highly recommend this title. Yes, it's a historical (which I really don't read much of anymore) but it's just Mmmmwah!!

Dream Man Linda Howard Favourite hands down. This book was released when paranormals were as hard to find as my keys on any given day of the week. I can't remember the name of the psychic thing but it was so well done and I loved how the heroine fought the hero every step of the way. Dane was pure alpha and wasn't above being a complete asswipe. Still when he found her after a vision and realized just how much they took out of her physically, he took care of her. *sigh* Loved it! With such a well written paranormal out in the market so early, is it any wonder that those of us who love them don't just love *all* of them. They have to be excellent!

Dream Fever Katherine Sutcliffe If you have never read Sutcliffe and would like a gritty New Zealand historical to read then find this book as soon as possible. Not for those who have problems with the heroine being hurt after meeting her love.

Lover Awakened J.R. Ward (1st) As you can see I had to mark certain titles within an author group because the titles confuse me. I know this is Zsadists book and I remember saying when I finished that the book had to be in my top 10 favorite books. And it is.

Moonrise Anne Stuart This was one of her books that was printed under general fiction and it blew me away. I still pick this book up and thumb through the pages when I'm not finding anything to read.

Ride The Fire Pamela Clare I blogged about this one and it's just one of the best western/frontier type of romance I have ever read. There was even a baby in the story but it didn't make a peep and the love that grew between the H/H was hot.

Caressed by Ice Nalini Singh Paranormal with a hero so yummy and wonderful. Judd just made the love story sing and he was well matched with a female who just couldn't let him go, even though the were in her didn't recognize him as her mate. Brilliant!

Mr. Impossible Loretta Chase Don't panic, Lord of Scoundrels in on my list but Mr. Impossible has a hero who was so charming and funny and who fell in love with a woman with a brain. Yep, he loved the way she thought. I adored him.

For My Lady's Heart Laura Kinsale This story was hard to put on the list because the beginning dragged but when the H/H are finally together again it's just a wonderful love story. A truly noble knight falls in love with a woman of power and she isn't above using it to get what she wants.

Now You See Him Anne Stuart I love so many Stuart books but this is one that I will pull off the shelf for one scene alone. After the H/H fall in love they are separated and the hero believes it is for her own good. He drinks too much one night though and calls her - the scene is full of longing and I loved it. Once I finish the scene, I can't stop reading so I end up reading the rest of the book.

Time Enough for Love Suzanne Brockmann Best Time Travel romance ever written. I have a 'no bullshit' zone when it comes to TT so it's very hard to impress me. This one worked perfectly and I have no real need to read TT because I read one that made logical sense. I find most TTs don't take consequences of TT into consideration.

Okay, so that is how I feel about my top 10 books. The rest might be self explanatory:

All Through The Night Connie Brockway
Slave to Sensation Nalini Singh
Gone Too Far Suzanne Brockmann
Lord of Scoundrels Loretta Chase
Anyone But You Jennifer Crusie
Lover Eternal J.R. Ward
The Secret Julie Garwood
Devil in Winter Lisa Kleypas
Worth Any Price Lisa Kleypas
Glass Houses Anne Stuart Sorry, just thought I would mention that this book is a departure for Stuart in that I remember there being humour.
Night Watch Suzanne Brockmann Was the perfect romance between two people who knew how to communicate. One of her best.
Duncan's Bride Linda Howard
Bet Me Jennifer Crusie
Fairest of Them All Teresa Medeiros I loved the brutality of the second half of the story. Some definite drama and I do like my drama!
Cry No More Linda Howard
A Pocketful of Paradise Kathleen Kane Again, a paranormal written before they were even considered a genre. There were three of her books that were just excellent and I wish she would write in this genre again.
Perfect Judith McNaught
Public Secrets Nora Roberts
Night in Eden Candice Proctor
Ice Blue Anne Stuart
No Rest for the Wicked Kresley Cole
Texas Glory Lorraine Heath
A Rose in Winter Kathleen Woodiwiss I mentioned above that I remembered most of the scenes so I felt safe in listing it. It was either this or Shanna but I could only remember one scene in Shanna so I let that one go.
Morning Glory Lavyrle Spencer This is one story that I think will stand the test of time. There was something gentle and giving in this story of two social misfits finding love and then becoming part of their small town community.
Honor's Splendor Julie Garwood


Phew! So I think there are 34 titles here. I had up to 40 something but again if I couldn't remember the story then I didn't put it on the list.

So, for the most part I'm very happy with this list although I know I could have put at least another 10 titles in by Stuart but I decided to put in titles that showed different aspects of her writing.

I don't know about you but this just drives home the point that I need new auto buy authors pronto!!

Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward

I'm not even going to front with you and try and pretend like I'm going to do a review.

I just ashed the book so I'm still thinking.

Okay, I'll stop the smack talk.

Onward!

I think it was a good thing I had fallen over some spoilers because in the end I would give this one a B or B+. Not so much as a romance but as a story.

Don't get me wrong, there is a HEA of a sort and there is supposed to be people falling in love but for me it's more like 'you my mate. you mine' kind of thing happening.

I figure I'll be combing through the back blogs on your site and reading your thoughts and then commenting. Cause other than that, I'm not sure I can sum up the story. I can pull out the things that bothered me but that doesn't seem fair in that I obviously liked this and at least V got a good story unlike my poor Butch.

That's right. I'm holding a grudge.

I think I'll head over to Ward's site and read the interview she did with Jane and V but I didn't have a problem with how things ended in the book. Then again, I knew something was coming so I wasn't flattened by it.

And thus, I learn that spoilers can be my friends.

If you guys want me to write up a Cindy Review let me know and I'll figure out a way of working it out without spoilers. Unless you've all read the book and the spoilers then, let me know so I can spill my guts without worrying.

If you are keeping score that would be 2 1/3 books read of my 20 that I need to read before the end of the year.

The 1/3? I'm counting that short story by Singh.

Hey. My rules and it's not like I didn't read the story. I just don't have any intense need to read the rest of the anthology.

So chill.

I'm hoping my *cough* review *cough* for Ice Storm will be up at Sybil's place soon so I can direct you to my wondrous insights.

Yeah. I just took my sleepy pills which explains my ginormous ego right now.

I used ginormous long before I ever read Ward's books so that word is so MINE.

I'm not sure what book I'll pick next but I'm curious about Sarah McCarty and since I have Promises Linger, I may just pick that one.

You'll be the second to know.

Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy by HelenKay Dimon

I finished!!

Not only has this book brought me out of my slump, I have already started my next book and I'm already 3/4 of the way through.

That's HUGE! I'm a slow reader but I'm starting to feel like I'm channeling Tara Marie's reading speed.

Let's see if I can do a semi-review.

Cindy Blurb: The hero, Kane Travers, is a local police chief in Kauai but is on forced vacation while being investigated by internal affairs. On his second day of extreme boredom he finds a woman washed up on shore. Naked and starting to turn blue, Travers takes her home and puts her in the shower to get her warm.

The woman, Annie Parks, has secrets and for some reason doesn't trust anyone so when she is forced to open her eyes and look at her saviour (captor?), she decides amnesia is her best play. To say Kane ain't playing is an understatement and the fireworks begin.

Kane has to figure out who this woman is, why she is hiding and just how involved she is in a potential murder. All this while trying to keep his past from swallowing him whole.

If you have been keeping up you will remember a blog on motivation. I was thrown in the first chapter by Kane's actions. I'm still not buying into what was going on in his brain but I'm wondering if I was over sensitive to the heroine being restrained.

Basically, Kane knows this woman is lying to him so he decides he can't trust her or let her out of his sight. So he handcuffs her to his bed while he goes to get into dry clothes. At this point I'm wondering what the hell just happened. The guy is a cop and I'm pretty sure he knows about unlawful detention. Not only that but Annie doesn't go ape shit. Sure, she's mildly upset about being restrained but I'm sorry, as a woman, if some guy I didn't know whipped out a pair of handcuffs and came at me the two of us would be battered and bruised by the time he got the cuffs on. Kane did tell her he was a cop and he flashed a badge but not long enough for her to look at it.

Like I said, I may be watching way too many 48 Hour Mystery shows or real life crime shows but I also stumbled on why Kane would do this. When I was telling Bob about why I stopped reading his response was 'maybe he didn't want her to leave'. Uh, well, yeah but she didn't know that was his motivation.

Anyways, I decided I needed to get over myself and I'm glad I did. Sure there were more areas where I didn't really get how these two people were good for each other but the dialogue was snappy enough to keep me reading.

I will buy the next book by Dimon (March 2008!?) even though I'm not sure I bought into these two people being in love but hey, the blurb from her next book looks like it will be funny and I'm all about the funny.

I'm going with a C+

This story was more about the suspense than about the romance, at least for me.

Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson

I don't think too many of you read MJD but I think Jennie mentioned she wanted to know what happens even though she wasn't planning on reading the book. So I'm going to do my usual crappy review and there will be spoilers.

Well, it's a short book and the spoiler I'm going to lay on you hit fairly early but just in case you want to read the book with no influence then I would stop reading now.

Oh and don't read the author forward. I think I've learned my lesson now but wow, by the end of the book I had to sit and think about what MJD had thought was the momentous occasion that all the previous books had been leading up to.

Now I've never claimed to be that bright (quiet!) but I was expecting something HUGE and maybe it was but when I get warned something is coming I start over thinking and well, I was set up. Or I out thought myself. Whatever.

Still, it's not quite on par with Paris' epiphany that God has bigger things for her to do, even without her moisturizer.

Okay, that was a cheap shot but really, why do I have to hear about this chick daily?

Cindy Blurb: We have Betsy (Vampire Queen) getting ready for her wedding to Eric Sinclair (vampire King - or bedmate, whatever) who insists they are already married and that he doesn't care about the ceremony which of course, pisses Betsy off. So there is some bickering and then an engagement ring is presented.

Flash forward to two weeks before the wedding and everyone has left Betsy alone. Betsy and Sinclair had a fight and she figures he's off sulking, her best friend is dying of cancer and is hospitalized, Marc has disappeared (he's the gay Dr - no really, sometimes you need a chart to remember who all these people are and I still can't remember where the ghost Cathie came from), the werewolf eightball (she sees the future) is missing along with her lover and I mentioned the ghost, right? Also her mother is acting weird and her sister Laura (the Devil's daughter) is acting weirder still and her father and the Ant were killed in a bizarre car accident leaving Betsy the legal guardian of her baby (literally) brother BabyJon.

All right. Did we lose anyone? Everybody still here?

I think that this book is the more grown up version of the Betsy world even though it is still more of a skimming of personalities. Also, if you read this series for the funny, it's not really here. I think I chuckled once.

As much as Betsy is supposed to be alone in this book, there are still a lot of people showing up and moving through scenes. That said, I felt sad for most of the book which was probably how Betsy was feeling but whenever she was faced with something new, she didn't really consider asking questions, she just asked people to leave. Eg. The Wyndham werewolves show up because they haven't heard from their eightball and that's bad. Basically they are a hit and run kind of group and attack Betsy first and start talking later. Betsy, meanwhile, shows no interest in why these people showed up. I thought of about 12 questions that could have been asked and weren't. Meh. Maybe she was tired.

Anyways, there is a reason why everyone disappeared and when she gets down to thinking about what is going on she finally gets her shit together and finds her people, discovers a new power that scares the shit out of everyone but cures those around her (including her best friend) and I think the big thing the book was working up to was Betsy finally accepting that she is the Queen of the Vampires. So now she owns it and Sinclair is not the one the Vamps look to for answers anymore.

I'm giving this a B because it kept my attention and I enjoyed it for what it was even though Betsy can be slow to pick things up. My feeling is that this could be the last in this series without anyone wondering what happens next. Sure there is her sister but other than that, everyone has found their HEA and it's even hinted that Laura finds hers in the near future.

So, it's all good.

Books Glorious Books!!

If you drop by a bunch of Canadian blogs over the next few days you may discover that many of us bought a lot of books over the weekend. Thanks to Nath for sending along a 20% off coupon for Chapters - our bookstores don't often have big sales or free books with the purchase of three others so it is a big deal when we get a break!

Demon Moon by Meljean Brook. No brainer. Although I haven't read Demon Angel yet I already knew I had to buy this one. Funny how the book is twice the thickness of the rest I bought. I get scared of huge tomes but I will be getting to these very soon!

The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. I'm not sure I'll like this book as there were things about the first I wasn't keen on but I haven't seen a bad review of this book so what the heck.

Rises The Night by Colleen Gleason. Again, I haven't read the first book but I have a good reason. I really can't handle the wait times between books in a series so I'm letting Gleason get ahead of me a bit. I'm buying the book now so that I'll have the book when I'm ready to sink into the series.

This is where I start to step out of my reading box.

Count To Ten by Karen Rose. I haven't seen a bad word said about this one so I thought I would pick it up. This would be a new-to-me author.

The Marriage Spell by Mary Jo Putney. I have maybe read one book by Putney but I couldn't tell you which one. I read the backblurb and was intrigued so once again, with the help of the discount I put this one in the pile.

And then I stepped way out on the ledge.

Prince of Fire by Linda Winstead Jones. Never heard of it but they had three of her books on the shelf and this one sounded like it might work for me. New author, check. (Also noticed she mentioned Linda Howard in her Thanks area)

The Lord Next Door by Gayle Callen. Again, never heard of it or the author but I wanted to take risks. I waffled for a bit but decided again, the 20 % off helped.

I know I would have tried even more new authors but I did have Bob prowling the store and I know what's it like to be in a store where you are bored out of your mind (Home Depot!!). I don't know how someone could be bored in Chapters but hey, I was being a good wife.

This time.

On another note, I had my TBB list printed out last night and decided to check which bookstores in my area would have most of the books I was looking for.

Uh, no. I think the first 12 books on my TBB list were not in stock anywhere. Then the ones that were in stock were like 40% off online so why would I buy them in the store. Eg. MJD's latest one I can get for almost half price. Makes buying the HC easier ;) Some of the erotic titles I have on my list were also not in stores but it looks like I can get them online. OH!! The Nora Roberts I have on my list is like 5 bucks online!!! That's half price!

So you will soon see a companion post with my online purchases. I may just order them tonight so I can see all the pretties this week!

Claiming The Courtesan by Anna Campbell

I'm glad that it took me a while to read this book. It allowed me to figure out if I enjoyed it or not which is a weird thing to say because it's normally pretty cut and dry with me.

So let's get the blurby thing over with.

Cindy Blurb: Soraya is a courtesan of high regard in 1825 London, a woman who is bought and paid for and whose latest protector is the Duke of Kylemore. What London does not know is that Soraya is an act that was brought about by necessity and now that she has set herself up financially well enough to care for her brother and sister, she is preparing her exit. Thus, Verity comes back to life and in the process, angers the Duke of Kylemore beyond what a human should ever feel.

The Duke of Kylemore, meanwhile, is far from likable and is quite taken with his possession. When Soraya up and disappears he puts all his power into finding and exacting revenge on her for daring to embarass him.

The Duke finds her, drags her away from her family, forces her to travel for days to an old cottage of his family's and then forces himself upon her as his vengence. (Okay, seriously, I'm not really sure what his vengence was supposed to do but I'll get to that) Slowly and without any great cause, these two share their pasts and somehow this absolves the Duke at the very least for his sins. They fall in love but hey, she's a courtesan and he's a Duke but they find a way.

Just trying to summarize this story is hard to do.

Let's be fair, I would have stopped reading this book long before they ever made it to the cottage because I found the Duke repulsive and Verity never seemed to fight him. Cause it was all inevitable. Ugh.

I continued reading the story to get to the muched talked about forced seduction/rape scene and well, it didn't really affect me. However, the heroine does everything she can to keep distance from the hero during the sex and this slowly erodes at the Duke's sanity. I think in the legal sense, in today's world, it is rape. No question. But then, it doesn't take into account what the hero and heroine are thinking.

Part of the reason the scene didn't feel upsetting was because Verity had days of thinking how the Duke was going to force her to have sex. It was inevitable. Over and over and over the reader hears how it's just going to happen and well, what can you do? I felt that Verity never tried to get away from Kylemore.

Get this, she asks someone in the Dukes' employ to help her escape because she has been taken against her will. The woman says how the Duke has saved her family and she can never go against him. Meanwhile, this woman knows the Duke is wrong. Then the H/H get to the cottage and again, Verity asks someone for help and gets the same answer. The Duke is a great man blah, blah, blah. By this point I had no idea who these people thought the Duke was but whatever.

Now this just didn't work for me. I was thinking that everyone in the book was off their friggin' rocker. I mean, you have a best friend right? Your best friend has been there through thick and thin and then one day they show up on your doorstep with a person in tow that you know is not there of their own free will. You think maybe you'd do something about it? Hell, take your friend to task? Okay, the guy was a Duke but I was just flat out annoyed. I could have understood if the people were afraid of him but to not go against him because he once did something nice? Not buying it.

So you have all these people saying the Duke is a great guy but we've been in his head and egads, this guy is missing a few screws! He believes himself to be above everything and well, he acts like he is a god. I was repulsed by this guy and even when he starts to become human, I'm still not sure I would want to be near him.

Needless to say, I was expecting some really great trauma from his childhood. Again, not so sure that he has any reason to be such an asshole. People have lived through far worse and managed to not become so offensive.

Still, at some point the story grabbed onto me. I do think that Verity was the saving grace of this story and yet, I didn't like that she wouldn't fight. She fought in her own way but it wasn't enough for my bloodthirsty self. And then the ending was over the top in the drama department.

Basically, I would read the next book by this author because I do like the flair for drama and the intensity of some of the scenes. I'm only hoping that maybe the characters in her next book have more honour and thus, more of my empathy.

I'm going with a C+. The beginning was maybe too drawn out and could have been cut down some. The heroine could have had more of a spine and the hero could have suffered more for what he did to her and the ending with the 'evil' was a bit much. A frustrating read for sure.