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Edgy. Sexy. Romantic. Thrilling. All these words can be used to describe J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, including the latest entry, Lover Unbound.
 In five books now, Ms. Ward has taken us on a journey into the lives of one of each of the Brothers, telling us who they are, showing *them* who they are and ultimately bringing them personal happiness after decades, if not centuries, of warrior’s solitude.
In Dark Lover, she introduced us to the blind vampire king Wrath, then in Lover Eternal, came Rhage, a brother with a serious inner beast. In Lover Awakened, we meet the tortured and lethal Zsadist, and in Lover Revealed, the human cop Butch proves to be more than meets the eye.
Now comes Lover Unbound and the story of Vishous, a ruthless warrior and computer guru with a tortured past, an ability to see the future, and a cursed hand that he can use to kill, maim or forge hardened steel. That’s a heck of a package for the tall, dark and handsome vampire, and it’s topped off with a bow of hard-edged sexual proclivities.
Vishous, fondly called “V” by his brothers, is wound tight, a deadly focused warrior with one mission in life: to destroy the Lessoning Society. There is no place for softness of any sort in his life. But then, as fate would have it, a bullet in a dark alley one night lands V in an emergency room and on the operating table of the equally brilliant physician Jane Whitcomb, and he soon finds himself feeling things he’s never felt before for a woman. The crux is that he’s just been given a charge by the Scribe Virgin — one that leaves no place in his life for the first woman he’s ever truly loved. Will they get together or won’t they? You’ll have to read the book to find out, dear friends. It’s well worth the cover price to venture into the world of the Brothers again, and into the heart of our dear Vishous and his perfectly matched lady love.
Though I still think Lover Awakened (Zsadist’s story) has been the best of the books so far, Lover Unbound upholds the same quality as the other books in the series, one I personally consider a must-read for vampire romance fans. There’s plenty of action, intrigue, romance and hot between-the-sheets action. There was less of an appearance by the Lessers in this entry, but they show up at pivotal points in the book. In trade out, we do see more of what goes on in the Scribe Virgin’s realm, a fleshing-out, if you will, of who she is … and it may just surprise some; it certainly did me.
Have you read Lover Unbound? If so, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought.
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       (31 votes, average: 4.45 out of 5)
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VampireRomanceBooks.com will mark its first anniversary on October 1 and, as the date nears, I want to take this opportunity to extend my warmest thanks to the many readers and authors who have helped make it a successful first year. And while I'm extending thanks, I must send out a very special thank you to Colleen Gleason, author of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, for her constant support and encouragement, and the advice she gave me early on that led me to a grander vision for VRB.com's purpose and future.
This has indeed been a grand first year. We've conducted nine interviews with both veteran and up-and-coming authors, reviewed more than 30 books and started a forum and reading group, providing a place for readers to share their opinions. Also, in May, we met one of the primary goals behind creating VRB.com with the launch of the Authors & Titles section, working toward the creation of a comprehensive list of vampire romance writers and their books. The section has become one of the most visited parts of the site and I encourage authors to contact us so that you can access your page to edit the content, adding a bio and updating any of your book titles. There are plenty of readers looking for vampire romance to read!
Indeed, the site has gone from averaging 100 visitors a month in December 2006 to more than 3,500 visitors in September 2007. That's an amazing amount of growth and I'm thrilled beyond belief to know that people are enjoying the site so much. And it absolutely makes my day to see readers and authors posting comments and offering their own opinions on the books reviewed, which I hope to see happening even more in the future, through the comments and also at the fledgling reading group at the VRB.com forum. I truly want this to be a community where readers can discuss the writers, books and characters they love, and get to know one another in the process.
With those high hopes for the future of VRB.com in mind, we're going to kick off our second year by celebrating the first with:
- Interviews of TWO of the most popular authors of vampire romance!
- A sweepstakes giveaway with four prize packages, including a grand prize package that will have romance readers drooling to enter!
Further details will be announced on October 1st, so everyone stay tuned. Until then happy reading, dear friends!
Dawn
Founder and Operator of VampireRomanceBooks.com
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 The human condition is a terminal one. That’s something Jennifer Armintrout understands quite well and manages to showcase once again in her Blood Ties series.
The latest and third installment, Ashes to Ashes, takes us to both familiar and new territory, and builds the stakes yet again as Nathan, Carrie, Cyrus, Max and Bella face off against not only the Soul Eater, but also the deadly vampiress known as The Oracle.
There is plenty of angst and anguish to go around in Ashes to Ashes as Carrie and Nathan rediscover each other only to have a Cyrus’ reemergence drive a wedge between them again, and Max and Bella must put aside the remainder of their vampire-werewolf prejudices in order to finally admit they love one another.
The battle between good and evil is an age-old device in storytelling and Ms. Armintrout uses it quite well while continuing to blur the line within each character’s, well, character. Even the best of us have a little bit of bad in us and sometimes we let that out to play, whether by taking a full-out walk on the dark side or by just letting it color our judgment when we know it shouldn’t. Either way, it makes for some interesting drama, suspense, even passion.
Hearts will be broken. Hearts will be healed. And a new life is on the way as Carrie and Nathan and the gang prepare for a showdown with two very nasty baddies and their plans to descend the world into utter chaos where vampires rule with fang and fury.
Have you read Ashes to Ashes? If so, feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of the book.
Also, don’t forget, Ashes to Ashes is our reading group pick of the month, so feel free to drop off at the forum and join in/start the discussion on the book.
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(6 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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In Michelle Hauf’s paranormal romance world vampires and witches are deadly enemies. So deadly that one drop of a witch’s blood can destroy a vampire in a matter of minutes, the death akin to being eaten alive by acid. Hence the title of Ms. Hauf’s latest book, Kiss Me Deadly, the story of a vampire and witch who go from being hated enemies to lovers. How is that possible, you ask. Read on…
 Our drop-dead-gorgeous leading man, Nikolaus Drake in Kiss Me Deadly, Book Two in the Bewitching the Dark series, is relatively young for a vampire but he has just miraculously survived an attack by an out-for-revenge witch. Now he wants a little revenge for himself, against the centuries old Ravin Crosse, who has slain more vampires with her witch blood than even she can count.
Nikolaus’ plans go awry, however, thanks to a love spell that Ravin has cooked up for the devil himself. Doused accidentally with the liquid (remember that song Love Potion No. 9?), it is absorbed into Ravin’s bloodstream and when Nikolaus takes a bite out of his enemy… well, let’s just say love is in the air.
One might think from that description that this book falls on the lighter, humorous side, and while it does have funny moments — Ms. Hauf actually managed to make the devil rather laughable, if you ask me — this book doesn’t play for laughs. It is a solid adult tale of passion unleashed; of love found, lost and found again; of natural enemies opening up to one another and discovering there’s more to each other than they thought; and a lesson that love can heal any wound or bridge any divide, if we but let it.
Have you read Ms. Hauf’s Kiss Me Deadly? If so, feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought.
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  (3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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Jenna Black is May/June's Featured Author.
Check our our interview with Ms. Black
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