Review of Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione

It's fair to say that Larissa Ione has her fair share of duds, even in an otherwise lovely series. That was certainly the case here. In the interest of full disclosure, it's not like I went into this book expecting a terrific read. As a hero, Reseph failed to excited me. He spent the previous three books as the vile, villainous version of himself. We were never given enough information on good Reseph to make me feel like I wanted to see his redemption story. Nevertheless, I was willing to try.

So, to recap, Reseph had been turned into Pestilence, and committed all sorts of crazy evil. In the last book, Pestilence was stabbed with a dagger that turned him back into Reseph. Now, Reaver (the guardian angel of the four horsemen), erased his memory and dropped him in a snow bank. Our heroine, Jillian, discovers him, takes him home to her cabin, and romance ensues. Jillain was once attacked by demons. When her neighbors start dying under very demon-like circumstances, she's determined to believe that Reseph is not to blame, despite the fact that he doesn't know who or what he is.

The first and most obvious issue with this book is pacing. We spend a lot of time with Reseph and Jillian in her cabin, just kind of waiting on something to happen. It is boring as hell. To rub salt in the wound, the payoff following all that boredom isn't particularly grand. There is just nothing within the plot that captivated any part of me.

Sadly, I was not enamored with Reseph. He has his charming moments, I'll admit. He's sweet and protective toward Jillian, and yet he appreciates her ability to take care of herself. I was regrettably distracted by the fact that he has amnesia, which of course I knew would come crashing down at some point. I was distracted by the nasty things he did while evil, however involuntary, and by whether the author was going to get around to resolving all of that angst. I wasn't crazy about the way his family handled his return, either. No one could decide whether it was okay to be pissed at him for what Pestilence did, or if all should be forgiven because it was all against his will. At the risk of getting a tiny bit spoilery, I was also really unsatisfied by the fact that he doesn't earn his redemption or return to sanity--the heroine kind of does it for him.

Jillian, who initially seemed bland and uninspired, actually turned out to be the more engaging of the two. She's survived a horrible ordeal, coped by living alone and working her ass off on her farm, and she makes huge sacrifices for what she believes is right. Her judgment in blindly trusting Reseph very questionable, but I'm willing to assume she simply has good instincts.

Whatever my expectations might have been for this book, it did not surprise me and it did not elate me. I can only hope Ione's next book will be better. 2 stars.

On Death: A Review of Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione

First, there were the Underworld General books, in which we learned about demon hospitals and sex demons. From those, grew this series--The Lords of Deliverance, featuring the four horseman of the apocalypse as the romantic leads.

This, book 3, puts the spotlight on Thanatos (who would be Death), and his relationship with Regan, a demon huntress of special talents. And guess what, guys? This is a secret baby book! No joke! In the last book, Regan forced Than to sleep with her, believing that their baby could stop the apocalypse. Because Than has been in a coma-like state for the past 8+ months, he doesn't know about the baby. When he finds out, he's launched into a world of uncertainty regarding how to raise his baby, protect Regan, and take down his now evil brother, Pestilence.

Positive Comments:

I really liked Than. He makes an interesting death figure. I found his struggles, his pain, and his way of dealing with everything to be highly sympathetic.

I like the mythology. After having so many books to build this world, Ione has found a balance between too much and too little world building that really works for me. The angels, the demons, the what, where, and how of the apocalypse, are explained just enough so that you don't feel lost--but not at just length that you get bored.

There's, umm, pregnancy sex. Which is interesting. Than and Regan have great chemistry, and the sex is hot...But I'll admit, I was surprised to see them getting it on while she was 8 1/2 months pregnant and knowing that the baby has this huge part in the apocalypse and they need to time the birth just right...whatever. It didn't bother me, but use your judgement.

Critical Comments:

Regan is given these sort of off-hand flaws and issues. She has OCD, but it's not really a problem. She was bulimic once upon a time, but she's over it now. She has abandonment issues that kind of get solved with no fuss or bother. I just felt like the author half-assed her character development. She's got issues...poof, they're gone. Happy ending! I felt blind sided by it.

Recommendation:

I continue to recommend Larissa Ione to anyone who likes their paranormal romance a little on the dark side. If you like demons, sex, and a touch of horror, you'll like these books. If you've kept up with the series so far, I can assure you that Lethal Rider does not disappoint. 4 stars.

Buy the Book: Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance)

On Horsewomen: A Review of Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione

Immortal Rider is the second book in Larissa Ione's Lords of Deliverance series (read my review of book one HERE). Lords of Deliverance is a spin off of her Demonica series, but I think you are supposed to be able to read it separately. It's hard for me to say for sure, since I've read and enjoyed both.

In any case, this book is about Limos, who would be Famine if she were to turn evil and help the Apocalypse to start. She's been betrothed to Satan, the ultimate evil, since birth. The engagement contract states that he can claim her when a man who she has given affection to utters her name in agony. Thus when Arik, a human soldier fighting on the side of good, makes the mistake of kissing her, he's dragged to hell and tortured. But Arik is made of strong stuff, and refuses to say her name, even as he vows revenge against the woman who he believes has doomed him to hell. Limos sets out to rescue Arik, break her engagement, and hold on to her good side in order to stop the Apocalypse and save the world.

Positive Comments:

Every time I read a new Larissa Ione book, I'm reminded of how much I like her style. She's one of a small group of authors that can mix horror and romance effectively. I trust her to take me to some dark and creepy places, and still deliver a satisfying happy ending. I haven't figured out exactly what it is about the tone or the mood of these books that makes them work, but there's definitely some magic there.

I love twisted biblical mythology, and Ione uses it very effectively. I love that we have a female Horseman. The overarching plot of the series has me firmly invested.

I love that Ione is unafraid to write deeply flawed, even potentially evil main characters. Limos is on a rocky road to redemption and remaining good, and to me that is far more interesting than a nice character doing nice things. One of her primary flaws is that she loves to lie. Arik has a history that makes him hate lies and liars, so this alone creates a huge point of conflict for the two of them. I did think, at times, that Arik was almost too understanding and forgiving toward Limos when it came to the secrets and lies. But overall, there's a lot of rich and realistic conflict between Limos and Arik, and seeing them overcome it is very rewarding.

Critical Comments:

The romance between Arik and Limos is a bit drawn out. Especially the physical aspects. One obstacle after another gets thrown up to stop them from consummating their relationship and fully committing to each other. As a reader, I found it tiresome.  Perhaps fewer conflicts would have made the romantic development a little less frustrating.

A lot of the conflicts, both between Arik and Limos and between Limos and her brothers are based on miscommunication and misunderstanding. The book would have been 100 pages shorter if everybody just talked to everybody else. Again, lies are a big weakness for Limos, so naturally it took her the entire book to fully overcome them, but what about everyone else? What's their excuse? There's a rather big, spoilery incident that I can't mention in this spoiler-free review, that could have been End-of-the-World bad--and was fully avoidable through a quick conversation. I tend to dislike miscommunication as a means of creating conflict, so that was a flaw for me.

Overall, though, I count this book as another good one. Yes it's longer than it needs to be, yes it frustrated me at times, but it also left me wanting more. I highly recommend this series and this book to all paranormal romance fans. 3.5 stars

On Horsemen: A Review of Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione

Hmm, I always thought hellhounds would look like Yorkies.

This is the first in Larissa Ione's Lords of Deliverance series, which is a spinoff of the Demonica series. For those unfamiliar, I think it would be best to start with the Demonica series before trying this one, because it sets up a lot of the mythology. For those who are fans of the Demonica books and wondering if this one measures up, I can tell you you won't be disappointed. I was initially skeptical, but was pleasantly surprised.

Plot Summary: MINOR SPOILER ALERT. This series focuses on the four horsemen of the apocalypse, each of whom has a seal which, when broken, causes them to turn completely evil. When all the seals have broken, the end of the world will begin. The first seal, belonging to Pestilence, has broken. The other three horsemen are desperate to avoid turning evil and signaling the end of the world. This book focuses on Ares (War), for whom the seal is contained in a person--if the person dies, the seal breaks. That person is Cara, a human woman of mild supernatural talents. Ares tries to keep Cara safe while finding someone to pass the seal to, because harboring it is slowly killing her. Cara is also bound to a hellhound puppy, who's life force is helping to sustain her--but if the puppy dies, she will die also. In the meantime, Pestilence is free to cause disease and suffering in the human world, and the only weapon that could take him down has been lost.

The book starts out a bit slow while all of this is laid out, but it improves tremendously. It's stylistically diverse, mixing fantasy, romance, and horror in an almost seamless blend. I was very impressed by Ione's efforts in world building, which are steadily improving with each book she writes.

The characters were fairly three dimensional and interesting. Ares has a long and violent history, and it really comes through in his attitude and emotions. Cara initially seems weak, helpless, and even naive, but you quickly learn that there is more to her and she grows into a surprisingly tough heroine. I liked them as a couple, and I though Ione did an excellent job of developing their relationship from misunderstanding and dislike to love and acceptance. A few new characters are introduced, and all intrigued me sufficiently that I'm looking forward to their books. And yes, many of the characters from the Demonica books show up and play strong roles in this book.

Overall, this is an excellent choice if your looking for a dark paranormal romance. 4.5 stars.