Sheep Book Review: Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione

*Since it's 12-12-12, and the end of the world, thought it was the best day to post a review about the four horsemen!It's been real, world. Peace out peoples!(Pours some Kool-Aid out for the homies)* 

Rogue Rider, by Larissa Ione, is the fourth and final installment of her PNR series: Lords of Deliverance. With all the build up for the final Horseman I was very eager to find out how this would all come to an end, and while I wasn't disappointed I am tacking on a qualifying "much" on that statement. 

Plot: 

Jillian Cardiff came to this remote mountain town to forget the demon attack that almost killed her. Instead, she rescues-and falls for-a gorgeous stranger who has no memory of anything other than his name. Handsome, charming, and protective, Reseph seems like the kind of man whom Jillian can trust. But with hints of a troubling history of his own, he's also the kind of man who can be very dangerous . . . 

Reseph may not know why he mysteriously appeared in Jillian's life, but he knows he wants to stay. Yet when Jillian's neighbors are killed, and demon hunters arrive on the scene, Reseph fears that he's putting Jillian in danger. And once it's revealed that Reseph is also Pestilence, the Horseman responsible for ravaging the world, he and Jillian must face the greatest challenge of all: Can they forget the horrors of a chilling past to save the future they both desire?

First I just want to say that Larissa is one of those writers I can't help but love! Her Demonica series was one of the first PNR series I read that really grabbed me, so a soft spot in my heart will always be held for this talented writer. A lot of her books are the most diverse and well-written stories out there today, so truly you cannot go wrong with her titles. But, as the super fan that I am I wanted a little less fluff and a bit more emotion in the final leg of this journey. 

Second, Ares is still and will always be my man and his story will remain at the top of my list for this saga and all others. Hands down I am his, body and soul! However, this story focuses on Reseph, and while he did eventually win me over, I really hated this guy for a long time during the series. He was down right evil to the core and twisted beyond belief because he was being ruled by his evil half, Pestilence. Still you can't ignore assigning some blame for all he did, and trust me, he did a lot! As things get going we find Reseph with amnesia and dumped in the middle of nowhere snow country. 

Enter Jillian, the woman who's hiding out in the big bad woods to both escape and heal from mental and physical wounds. Jillian takes in a stranger she finds buried in the snow, completely naked, and makes him her famous chili! I can't say that I would do what she did but it's a story and so it goes. What I did find lacking was that bond that developed between other characters in previous stories. Jilly is surely a nice person and hard working on the farm she loves, but was she Reseph material...I don't know. 

For someone who has so many issues, Jilly also sure does overlook so much about Reseph. When he gets his memory back, they both find out that not only was he the guy who was leading demons on an attack across the globe but that he's been a huge man whore. For some reason Jillian can just look past all that and take him for who he is now, even if he doesn't know who he is.

As the story hits its stride and the drama builds, demons from all sides of the paranormal world want to take these pair down. The side of good needs Reseph to play a role in the biblical apocalypse while the side of evil needs him to let the bad loose again. The one major bone I have to pick here is that, if Jillian is the key to keeping him sane, why did no one think to plant some kind of protection around the farm and Jilly? Not even my War strategy-loving man Ares? Really? 

All in all the story was good, and you get a big dose of the Horsemen and their mates plus some of the Demonica folks that you can't help but love all over again. Great drama and several funny laugh out loud moments all set to adventure and action I've come to love from Ione.

You have to read this book to continue with the different series arcs but if you're a fan it will be well worth it! 

Getting 3 and 1/2 'Country Karaoke' Sheep 

KD

Sheep Book Review: Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione

Immortal Rider, by author Larissa Ione, is the second novel in her Lords of Deliverance series. Most folks might run and hide from the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse but I'd run straight into their fearsome arms. These men are Hot with a capital H, and when you combine Larissa's uncanny ability to write top quality literature, you have yourself one heck of a party!

Plot:

The signs are everywhere...disastrous world events. Evil rising up, unleashed upon the innocent. The prophecies were there...but no one listened. Until now. The time has come for those who can either usher in Doomsday...or prevent it. They are here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Arik Wagner, a soldier with the U.S. Army's paranormal unit, the R-XR, kissed a girl and liked it. And then he went to hell as punishment. Where he's spent weeks being tortured...and plotting revenge.

Limos, Horsewoman of the Apocalypse, isn't your average girl. She's immortal, dangerous, and her fiancé is Satan himself. In a moment of weakness, she gave in to her desire and kissed Arik, triggering her fiancé's wrath - and his claim on her. In order to save Arik, and the world, Limos must make a dangerous pact with her recently turned evil brother, Pestilence. A deal that might just cost her her soul...and her heart.

For those of you that don't know, I fell in love with Larissa's Demonica series a long time ago. So when she started this spin-off series to Demonica, I knew that I had to jump on board. Book one in the LOD series, Eternal Rider, sold me lock stock and smokin' barrel all because of uber man muffin Ares. *dreamy sigh* That man is one of my fav alpha males from the vast number of books I read. That being said, I was a little concerned going into this story with Limos being the focal character. The sister to the three kickass Horseman brothers has big shoes to fill, but Limos brings the girl power with a vengeance! She's one tuff chick who enjoys a lot of pain with her pleasure. I can dig it. *winks*

Forced to wear a chastity belt for the last three thousand years, Limos is well past due for some romps in the stables. But when your betrothed is Satan himself, getting some action isn't going to be that easy. Limos wants to get her freak on with Mr. beef candy land in the form of military heart-throb Arik. (Sir! Yes, Sir!) BUT with a history of lies and deceit this means Limos has some serious patching up to do with her family. Will she be able to stop all the lying when it's become a habit of survival over the centuries? I'm not telling! As the reader you really are pulling for Limos but things get heated in the book and the path ahead looks bleak and unsure. I gotta hand it to Arik for being the type of man who can understand the "crazy" yet still he's ready to die for his woman.

Larissa puts together some of the most incredible stories with a ton of interesting dialog between characters. Ultimately it gives her books a stamp of believability. Immortal Rider also has tons of action-packed fighting with blood and guts for those that love some gore in there adventure stories. These are not the boring type of books I can't really stomach reading, these are a nonstop journey in the world of the Lords.

I'm going to recommend to newbies that you start with either book one of this series or even go back to the Demonica series and work through those first. There's a bunch of cross-over characters from those books, which for folks that are up to date with Larissa's works is a great thing. Not that you CAN'T enjoy this book but a few things are mentioned with little or no explanation in THIS story. Those details have been talked about throughly in previous books. I think readers would understand the series as a whole better if you read them in order. So it's good for the fans, but a little tuff for new guys in certain areas.

I did get a nice hunk of Ares, so hats off to Larissa for keeping the previous characters still VERY involved in the continuing series.

Getting 4 and 1/2 Ares humping Sheep

KD