Larissa Ione

Immortal Rider is the second book in Larissa Ione’s Lords of Deliverance series, which is a spin-off or sub-series of her Demonica series that is about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who are half-angel and half-demon. Most of the time, they’re good, although they tend to be drawn to whatever part of the world in which their curse is playing out (eg. War is drawn to war, etc.), but if their Seal breaks, they turn full-on baddie, trying to take over for the side of evil. If all their show more Seals break, then the Apocalypse is imminent. In this book, we have Limos aka Famine, the only female Horseman, paired with Runa’s brother, Arik, who is a member of the R-XR, a secret branch of the military that deals with paranormal phenomena. These two shared a brief sexually-charged moment in the previous book, Eternal Rider, and as this story opens, they finally share a passionate kiss, which lands Arik in literal hell, where he’s tortured for a month before finally escaping. Afterward, Limos nurses him back to health, during which time things gradually heat up between them even more, but she is supposed to become the bride of Satan, and at first glance, there doesn’t seem to be an out-clause in her contract. So they spend the better part of the book trying to figure out if there’s a way for them to be together, while still battling her brother Pestilence, who has regrouped and is once again wreaking havoc on the Earth. There are also sub-plots for a number of secondary characters that start building their stories that are yet to come, so Immortal Rider ended up being an almost non-stop, action-packed adventure that didn’t skimp on the romantic and sexy times.

Limos is the only one of the Horsemen to be raised by their mother, Lilith, in Sheoul, where she was treated like a princess. As a result, during her early years, she was more in touch with her demon side, so when she came to Earth to find her siblings, she was at first actively working against them and harbors many secrets associated with that time. At birth, she was also betrothed to Satan and is supposed to become his bride, but he can only take her to his realm under certain conditions. She’s also a five-thousand-year-old virgin who wears a chastity belt that can only be removed by her husband when she weds, and if any other man comes too close to her lady parts, it releases barbs that chop bits off. Additionally she has no idea where her agimortus – a vessel that if destroyed will trigger the breaking of her Seal – has been hidden, and with Pestilence actively trying to find it in order to get her to join him in his evil pursuits, it’s imperative that she get to it first. Limos is very attracted to Arik, and in a moment of weakness she shares a kiss with him that causes her jealous betrothed to drag him down to hell. She spends the next month, searching endlessly for him, and when she finally gets him back, she’s extremely surprised that he’s able to forgive her for all that happened to him during that time. She soon realizes that she’s fallen in love with him, but there’s a great deal of danger ahead as they search for her agimortus, hold Pestilence at bay, and find a way to break her marriage contract so that they can be together. Limos is a very relatable heroine. I very much liked that even though she’s a bad-ass Horseman, she also has a very feminine side that enjoys girly things and actually likes it when Arik plays protector, even though she’s far more powerful than he is. Because of her demon upbringing, she does have a tendency to lie about a number of things and keep a lot of secrets, because lying gives her a rush. But she at least has the decency to feel guilty about most of them and eventually finds that being with Arik gives her the same feelings.

If memory serves, Arik was introduced in the second Demonica book, Desire Unchained, where I seem to recall, I didn’t like him a whole lot because of his arrogance. However, if that was the case, I’ve totally changed my mind after seeing him as the hero of this book. As I mentioned, he’s Runa’s brother. Growing up with an abusive father, he’s always had to be a protector, first to Runa and their mother, and then as a member of the R-XR. He’s been totally hot for Limos, pretty much from the moment they met, so it’s only natural that he decides to kiss her at a party they’re both attending. Unfortunately that results in the earth opening up and him quite literally being dragged down to hell, where unspeakable tortures await him. Just before he was taken, Limos begged him not to say her name, because it’s one of the tricks that Satan might use to finally take her as well. Arik is incredibly strong, and with a little help from a Seminus demon who heals him after each torture session, he manages to maintain some semblance of sanity throughout his ordeal and stubbornly refuses to say Limos’s name. Eventually he manages to escape Sheoul, and ends up at Limos’s Hawaiian villa, where it takes him a while to actually believe that he’s no longer in hell. Once he does, he knows that he should hate her for everything that happened to him, but he simply can’t. In fact, he loves her enough that he believes in her even after all of her secrets are revealed. I adored Arik for how protective he is of all the women in his life, including Limos who could totally kick his ass. He doesn’t take crap from anyone, including her brothers. He’s also incredibly forgiving, loving, and determined to do anything it takes to ensure that she never has to wed Satan.

With Immortal Rider being part of its own series as well as intertwined with the larger Demonica series, there are supporting characters aplenty who appear in other books of the series. In fact, this book had almost as ensemble cast with many of these characters getting their own POVs and sub-plots. Ares and Cara (Eternal Rider) are still fighting the good fight with Ares still protecting his Seal and Cara commanding the hellhounds who are loyal only to her. We see a lot more of Thanatos aka Death and are introduced to Regan who will become his heroine in the next book, Lethal Rider. Thanatos is desperately trying to protect his virginity which he believes is his agimortus, while being incredibly attracted to Regan, an Aegis Guardian who has been sent to his castle on a sensitive and quite frankly pretty messed mission that the Aegis thinks may save humanity. Even though it wasn’t her idea in the first place and there were lots of details she didn’t know going into it, I wasn’t too happy with what Regan did in this book, so she’s going to have a lot to make up for to become a heroine I can admire. There’s also Reseph aka Pestilence who apparently will be redeemed to become the hero of the fourth book, Rogue Rider. Two other characters who get their own POVs are the angel Reaver and his counterpart, the fallen angel, Harvester, who are the Watchers of the Horsemen and who will become the hero and heroine of the book, Reaver. Harvester puts Reaver through an ordeal in this book that I’m certain will continue to have repercussions in future books, so she, too, is going to need a major redemption. Shade and Runa (Desire Unchained) show up a few times to check on Arik, and Shade’s brothers, Eidolon and Wraith are seen as well. Kynan, the head of the Aegis, isn’t too happy about their plan for Thanatos, but reluctantly goes along with it. Lastly Tav, the Seminus demon who helps Arik in Sheoul, shows up again later in the story, and although he doesn’t appear to headline any books in the series yet, I hope maybe we haven’t seen the last of him, as I found him to be an intriguing and complex character.

The entire Demonica series as a whole so far has been chock full of incredible reads, most of which have made it to keeper status for me, and Immortal Rider is no exception. I loved Arik and Limos, and they’re definitely among by favorite heroes and heroines of the series thus far. I understood and related to Limos quite well, while Arik was the perfect hero for me. The book is loaded with tons of action and adventure that keeps the story moving along at a brisk pace, and when it slows down a bit to allow for some romantic moments, they’re very tender, while the love scenes are every bit as steamy as I’ve come to expect from this author. The plot is full of twists and turns that I’m sure the reader won’t see coming and that will definitely keep them on their toes. There’s so much that happens in this book that will affect future stories in the series that it’s certainly not to be missed. I know that I enjoyed every minute I spent reading it and can’t wait to see what happens next, so I’m looking forward to continuing with the next book very soon. show less

Read for fun (Physical Copy)
Overall Rating: 5.00
Story Rating: 5.00
Character Rating: 5.00

First Thought when Finished: Reaver was freaking Amazing and now begins the countdown to the next book!

Story Thoughts: Holy Kick Ass trip way down under (and I am not talking Australia)! I had so much "fun" (seems wrong after all the things Reaver/Harvester/and a few others went through) going on the "Rescue Harvester even though it is possibly the worst thought out plan EVER" journey! Seriously, remind show more me to always hire the assassins he did but never let Reaver do the planning. The best part of the story was how Larissa took me from "loving to hate" Harvester to "loving to root" for her. That character growth through the storyline arc was most impressive. I wanted a little "smack upside the head" to Reaver from her. Hey they guy deserved it even if he wasn't the same person anymore. We all grow and change but in this case, a little bit of kick ass is sometimes needed to make the harmed feel better. I didn't say I was rooting for a knock-down drag out just a few well placed "you ass" moments :) I got that and some action, suspense, and story-arc that made me roar!

Character Thoughts: I should have never doubted that Larissa could make me love Harvester (though I did have my doubts). However, I never expected to love and root for Harvester more than Reaver. That's right people, in the end I just had one hope for them: That Reaver would continue to prove that he was worthy of Harvester. That really floored me. However, let's talk about Dr. Blaspheme: BEST.CHARACTER.EVER! I would have used her quote that ended with "toodles" for the quote jar but this is Reaver/Harvester's story.

Final Thoughts: The wait for the next one is likely to kill me *sigh*

Quote Jar (everything above a 4.75 gets a quote):

Conversation between Wraith and Reaver:

"So," he said, "you really think having archangels string you up by your halo is worth saving this Harvester chick?"
Yes. "Even if stopping Lucifer's reincarnation isn't a good enough reason to rescue her, she still deserves it," he said. "She saved the world."
Wraith shrugged. "So did I, but I don't see you offering up your holy ass to save me."
"Are you suffering unspeakable horrors at the hands of Satan?"
"No," Wraith said, "but sometimes I have to eat hospital cafeteria food." show less

Read on March 10, 2013

Read for Fun (Paperback)
Overall Rating: 4.75
Story Rating: 4.50
Character Rating: 5.00

I will be doing this in love letter form since I read Books 1 to 4 back to back

“For the next eight and a half months, you're going to be mine. Every. Night.” ― Larissa Ione, Lethal Rider

My Love Letter to Thanatos/Death and Regan

Dear Thanatos: You are my favorite horseman! Don't tell the others please as I really don't want their wrath to come down on me. You are so very alpha, so show more very stubborn, and so very awesome. Regan is a lucky gal to have you but I think you are pretty lucky to have her too. Your love story made me swoon!

Dear Regan: You are a kick ass chick and will be a wonderful mothers. I loved that you were willing to make hard decisions, apologize when necessary, and hold your ground when it came down to it. The fact that you listened to your instincts and let love rule pretty much made me want to be your Best Friend.

Dear Story: You were almost perfect. You gave me love, action, suspense, and made me cry. I wasn't aware of how invested I was in Than and Regan until the end when I was biting my nails. You fulfilled your duty of making me a happy reader.

You also made me giggle...

“So ask me again why I’ll win a battle of wills.”

“Fine.” She jammed her feet under the covers. “Why?”

“Because I’m immortal and you’re a mere human. I have an eternity to out-stubborn you.” ― Larissa Ione, Lethal Rider show less

When he is sent to Hell for stealing a kiss from Limos, an immortal beauty who is engaged to Satan, Arik Wagner uses all of his military training to survive demon torture and prove to Limos that they belong together. Easier said than done.

First sentence: "Arik Wagner had to hand it to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; they threw one hell of a party."

This is the first book I have read in this series, and I expected to be confused as all get out given all the various players, but Larissa show more Ione did an excellent job of working the backstories in without taking away from the current one. I'm now madly in love with the Horsemen (and woman) and look forward to going back and reading all the books in this series.

This book definitely brought the heat, and although there was violence and gore, it was balanced out with humor and emotionally charged scenes. The plot was engaging and the various settings were described very well. The characters were well written and the writing kept me on the edge of my seat, promising myself just one more page over and over and over until the end.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much, and heartily recommend it to others.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing and Larissa Ione for the opportunity to read and review this book. show less