Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward 489 pages

Lover Unleashed is the ninth novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward. The Brotherhood’s members are vampires who live close to a city just outside New York, NY. They roam the city at night looking for and killing the undead known as Lessers. Throughout the series the history of each brother is revealed along with the history of the Brotherhood and the reason the vampires moved from Europe to the U.S. “Unleashed” is the story of Payne, the Scribe Virgin’s daughter (technicality here), who escapes from her mother who has imprisoned her for centuries. One of Payne’s duties is to spar with Wrath, the king of the vampires, and during a sparring session Payne is badly injured. Payne’s twin brother, Vicious is mated with a surgeon. Payne’s injuries are too complicated for Jane so she finds her old boss in the human world and brings him to the Brotherhood mansion to operate. Needless to say, sparks fly between Payne and her healer, Manuel. If there is interest in reading the Brotherhood series I suggest starting with Book 1. Each novel stands on its own but the progression of stories helps build a knowledge of the lives and histories of the charactes.