Tuesday, December 22, 2009

REVIEW: Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione


ISBN 978-0-446-40103-6 
Series: Demonica, Book 1
(c) 2008, Forever Imprint,Grand Central Publishing
Larissa Ione's website 

Buy Links (paper): Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble
Buy Link (ebook): Barnes and Noble Ebook

"An awesome start to a new paranormal series!"

Larissa Ione crafted a rich, unique, spellbinding world of demons, wargs and vampires that drew me in long after I've finished reading the book. Her demons are the good guys, hot (hot, hot, hot!), gorgeous, wicked, witty males whose mega-watt smiles are guaranteed to melt the bones of any female they meet. (Seems to be every female.) Her writing flowed with non-stop action and conflict, keeping the tension carefully on the edge. Each scene, seemingly small and insignificant, plays an essential part in the bigger picture.

Eidolon, our demon hero, is a doctor at Underground General Hospital, a facility he built that catered to the needs of demons. Whoever thought demons would do that? In fact, his two younger brothers are involved as well--Shade is a paramedic and Wraith is a procurer of rare artifacts and potions that aimed to bring about healing. Though Eidolon is the hero of this book, the different personalities of the other characters shone through, and their interactions are real and genuine. You could see that his brothers mean a lot to Eidolon, no matter how they difficult they are and how they made his life hell. Literally.

Take, for example, Wraith, the youngest brother. There's one situation wherein he made me laugh out loud.

Wraith rubbed his hands together in cheesy horror-movie glee. "Join us or die." He grinned. "I've always wanted to say that."

Now, you wouldn't catch Eidolon saying that, no matter the many cracks he made throughout the entire book.

As a Seminus demon, a rare breed of incubi, Eidolon couldn't resist any aroused female. More so when he is nearing the Change, the final maturation stage of a Seminus demon's life, after which he is able to procreate and shapeshift into the male of any demon species. Needless to say, he is resisting the Change, because without a mate, he will turn into some sort of insane sex monster and lose his personality. At the same time, a demon-organ harvesting operation is going on, killing friends and family, and being a principled demon (sounds like an oxymoron), he vows to get to the bottom of things and put down the operation for good.

He has reasons for suspecting the Aegis, demon slayers and general scourge of demons, of being behind the operation, of which Tayla Mancuso is one, Tayla, the sexy female whom he couldn't get to orgasm.

And Eidolon is insulted and challenged to try until he succeeds.

Unfortunately, Tayla doesn't like demons, hates them in fact. Demons are evil and the world is better off with them dead, especially after the way a demon killed her mother when she was sixteen. Tough, no-nonsense and strong, Tayla gives as good as she gets, though she can't help falling under Eidolon's spell. At times, she wonders if it is her own attraction to Eidolon (considering that he's a demon and she hates them) or merely the Seminus demon working his spell on her.

Though Eidolon and Tayla are strong characters, it's easy to empathize with them, because we see their struggles and conflicts, their thoughts and emotions, their weaknesses and redeeming characteristics. Complex, complicated characters like them generated fireworks especially when there's inherent conflict in their situations, and oh man, the sex scenes are way too hot to describe. The only place where I was jarred out of the book was the scene after the battle toward the end. The happenings in the aftermath was kinda...awkward, to say the least.

Pleasure Unbound abounds with more twists and turns than a mountainous road, and it's the journey toward the end that provides all the fun. However, the end is not yet in sight, because there are four more books and one novella to devour--lots more enjoyable reading time ahead!

Rating: 5 stars

Buy Links (paper): Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble
Buy Link (ebook): Barnes and Noble Ebook

10 comments:

Madison Blake said...

I love this book! I had a hard time at first with the new terms and the concept of a demon hospital (wow!) but once I got past that, it's a great and exciting read. Sad to say, I couldn't quite empathize with Tayla.

Speaking of demons, I have one in the works, but my demons are generally the bad guys, except for one or two.

Madison
http://madison.thelovechronicle.com

Madison Blake said...

By the way, Silver, I followed you from your old blog. Did wonder what's wrong that you haven't posted for some time. Glad you've got a new place to post your reviews.

Madison

Wendy said...

Great review, Silver! I really did enjoy this book as well. :)

Silver @ TRR said...

Thanks, Wendy! I've read Desire Unchained (review out soon) and I loved that too! Now to get to Passion Unleashed before Secrets Unveiled comes out. :)

Anonymous said...

I too like the story and also the sequels Desire Unchained and Passion Unleashed. Anyone who enjoys reading this should also read Gena Showalter's Darkest series. They're good too.

Al said...

I like the story to, and the worldbuilding's quite good. I wouldn't mind a harrowgate to shortern my everyday commute to work!

Silver @ TRR said...

@Anonymous I have got to read Gena Showalter's series! You're not the first to recommend her series to me. That's why I've got The Darkest Night on my TBR. Another author recommendation is Kresley Cole, which I'll get around to as soon as I've finished...my mountain of books.

@Al Yeah, seconding on the worldbuilding and Harrowgate! Commute problems would be solved if we have Harrowgates. But then, other kinds of problems may arise too. LOL

Silver @ TRR said...

@Silver post #4.

Sorry, Larissa Ione's next book in the Demonica series is Ecstasy Unveiled, not Secrets Unveiled. Don't know why the word "secrets" is stuck in my head.

Larissa Ione said...

Wow -- what an awesome review! Fabulous Christmas surprise! :) I'm SO glad you liked the book!

And yes Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series is super fabulous, and not to be missed! :)

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Silver @ TRR said...

Thanks for dropping by, Larissa! Gena Showalter's books are definitely next on my list. :) Happy holidays to you and your family!

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