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| Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione A wonderful story which I read second. I made a mistake when I borrowed it from a friend. She lent me a book so I read it. I had no idea I had asked for the wrong book. So although I read it second, it was a great book. In Pleasure Unbound, you meet Eidolon, said Eye-duh-lawn, a demon doctor running an underground hospital for paranormal creatures such as himself. We also meet Tayla, a slayer, who's job is to put paranormals like Eidolon into the grave. It's a very fun Romeo and Juliet or Buffy and Spike kind of story. You meet Eidolon's brothers who are just as crazy, grumpy, volatile, and adorable as he is. I just love a big, burly, macho guy who turns into a puddle of goo because of his woman or a cute animal. Eidolon has all of that and more. Tayla is a wonderful sparring partner and I really enjoyed how tough she was and how she handled the brothers. |
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| Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione Desire Unchained was the book I accidentally read first because I got the names mixed up when I asked to borrow the books. So while I was reading it, my comments are all similar to "What the hell is going on?" But, think about it this way... there were a lot of plot points and world building pieces that have a lot of structure built around Eidolon and so when you read the second book staring his brother Shade, you can see why I was so confused. Shade is a wonderful character. He's gruff and angry, he's been tortured his entire life and when his sister is killed, he just can't cope with the emotional turmoil. He wants to kill or be killed and in walks Runa, a lethal werewolf and ex-girlfriend. Shade wakes up in a dungeon chained up next to his ex, whom the last time she was around, she was a sweet human he had just torn up emotionally. Now he sits beside her, a werewolf, not only is she pissed at him, but they're both very concerned because they're inprisoned by the person who wants them dead and who killed Shade's sister. This was an emotional story, but also very hot. Runa was a great leading lady. She's fierce and gives as good as she gets. I love that in a heroine. |
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| Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione Oh, Wraith. Have I mentioned how much I love big ol' bad boys with hearts of gold? Wraith is that guy. He's big and mean and lethal. His life has been horrid, tortured from the moment he was conceived and kept in horrible conditions in such a miserable way. My heart broke hearing him explain his life before his brothers found him. Throughout the story, while Wraith is trying to help/hinder an apocalypse, we learn a little more about Wraith while he is with Serena a blessed human who is charmed with protection because she was chosen by God to protect part of Heaven. Unfortunately for Serena, Wraith needs her dead. I'm sure you can see where we're going. Serena needs to be safe, Wraith needs her dead, angels want to protect her, angels want to kill her, demons want her dead, demons want her alive, all the while Wraith wants to hate her, but she's practically perfect and gives him a ration of shit that he doesn't want, but loves it. It's a really fun story and the ending is traumatic and shocking, but also awesome. I really liked this one a lot. |
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| Eternity Embraced by Larissa Ione This is a mini-story surrounding two Guardians or slayers. Andrea and Kaden. Kaden wakes up after a raid on a vampire nest and finds himself in a cell turned into a vampire. Bummer for him since his job is to kill demonspawn like himself now. He tries to figure out a way to help himself when his lover and fellow slayer comes to kill him. They promised each other they'd put the other out of their misery if this situation ever came about... unfortunately, he doesn't want to die, he kind of likes vampy-ness and Andrea doesn't want to kill him because she really loves him even though she promised him that it was just sex between them. Insert awesome, naughty, dirty story here. :) |
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| Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione Mmm... Lore. So Wraith is my number one demon, the others all have their greatness. Lore is in the top five :) He's grumpy and grouchy, he acts like everyone owes him a favor and most of all, he wants to keep his sister safe. Yeah, twin sister Sin. Fun name. So Lore feels like he needs a favor and owes favors left and right. This makes him a very complex character. Someone's paid him to kill the Demon brothers' human bestie, Kynan, but Kynan seems to have a guardian angel named Idess following him around and making Lore's hit much more complicated than it should. See where this is going? These are fun stories, but they are kind of predictable. Idess is badass and hot, fiesty and lethal, and pretty funny even though she has quite a chip on her shoulder and a very sturdy chastity belt in place. Lore is a sex demon who desperately needs to save his sister by killing a human who just doesn't seem to want to die. Lots of fun inside! |
All of these books are in the vein of Black Dagger Brotherhood and the like. Paranormal elements, romance, erotica, mystery, and thriller elements weave in and out of fun, dark, fast paced stories. I really enjoyed these stories and they kept my mind busy. I think the best part, beyond the hot lemons and fun action scenes, is that there is a great deal of world building involved and an incredible amount of research and planning that Larissa put into these stories. She's built a demon world, but she's also laced in so many religious tidbits and historical facts that it's almost believable that there are humans running around that are actually demons. If they look and love like the Demon brothers, bring it on :)
I'll review number six, Sin's book, Sin Undone, as soon as I finish. I'm looking forward to learning about the sister no one ever though could exist. She's full of piss and vinegar and that's always nice to see!
