Review: Lover Unbound

Reviewed by Jen
 

Vishous is one messed-up guy.  He had a tortured youth at the hands of his warped father.  He was nearly castrated and terribly scarred.  He can't have a normal sexual relationship. And he thinks he's in love with his best friend. Who is another guy.  And things are only getting more complicated in his life.

As the book begins, V is mooning over Butch and feeling kind of skeevy about it, since Butch is happily married and decidedly not gay.  Quickly, he is approached by the Scribe Virgin and told he'll have no choice but to become the Primale of the race. Essentially, he is being put out to stud in order to breed new warriors.  But before he takes the job (which, by the way, he does NOT want) he gets shot. He would have died if he had not been taken to a human hospital and saved at the hands of Doc Jane.

By the time the Brotherhood finds him, V is already attached to her and demands she comes back to the compound to help him heal. That is what kicks off the relationship between them.  There are many twists and turns as well as big revelations in this book I won't spoil.  I do want to touch on two things, though. One is the Butch issue.  V's sexual fixation on him made me uncomfortable, largely because it makes him so uncomfortable.  But I found Butch's explanation made perfect sense, when he explained that he was the first person that V ever loved in any way --and that he simply didn't know what to do with those feelings.  Issue two: I'm not a big fan of BDSM.  Yeah, V is messed up and deals with his issues by being a Sadist and a Dom.  But it's not my cup of tea... even if I'm only reading about it.  Thankfully, with love, V can also take a more tender path.

As with all Black Dagger Brotherhood books, there are also several side stories going on. John Matthew finally goes through his transition. It's great watching him become the warrior he was destined to be, while he forges great friendships that extend into future books.. And we also have the set-up for Phury's book. That one is, admittedly, my least favorite in the series, but I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. 

Also of note, no Lesser POV in this one. I usually have to force myself not to skim over those parts, so it was a welcome change. 4 stars.